Opticom

[Robert Gift]

We have an LED Opticom-like emitter on our vehicle.

The Good: It will cycle crosstraffic and opposing traffic signal Green-Yellow-Red just like a signal change. Then give the traffic ahead of the Emergency Vehicle a green thru signal, and green arrows if any.
This allows traffic ahead to get moving and have room to clear out of the way. Also, I often can avoid sounding the siren, which nearby residents and businesses really appreciate.

The Bad: It keeps the green too long after we get through and stops 3 directions of traffic, even if we are turning right and no one need stop.

Also, it may take hours forushour traffic flow to recover.
When the first "platoons" of traffic are denied their turn, then the next
arriving platoons stack behind them. Now you have four platoons
which causes even more lag time to get everyone moving,
so flow is further impeded with everyone idling and polluting.

Often, I have turned off themitter, gone left around traffic,
used the siren sparingly and gotten out of everyone's way with minimal traffic disruption.

The Ugly: Someone was caught using a MIRT [Mobile IR Transmitter] purchased on Ebay.
If any rearend collisions had occured because a green light prematurely
cycled to red because of him, a good layer would sue him.

Really terrible of the selfish jerk to take everyonelse's fair turn away from them, causing waste of fuel, air pollution, traffic congestion, etc.
Plus, if he "captures" the signal before an EV, he gets the green and the
EV the red.
The jerk thought it pretty cute until they are searching for any accidents/incidents for which he may be sued.
If I were so much as bumped from behind, I'd sue him for all the time
I lost and inconvenience.

Opticom has a visible strobe, but the detectors sense IR.
His was an LED IR with no visible emission.
I believe a camcorder would see it. Mine will see the TV remote flash.

Now, because of jerks like him, cities are paying a fortune to encrypt their systems. There goes 10s of K$ for Aurora's new trees.
(3M loves this!)
I'd like to see violators like him fined to pay for the new systems. (Will never happen.)
With no encryption, my emitter will no longer work.

Denver, Aurora, Littleton, Lakewood and Boulder have Opticom.

The frequency has to be EXACT. If not, the system rejects it.
On very cold mornings, my homemade system was off enough that it did not work.
Two levels of priority determined by frequency.
Busses have low priority to hold signals green so they can pass.
Don't believe they can INITIATE a cycle change, or, if they can,
they can only shorten a crosstraffic interval. (I may be wrong.)

[Shinkansen]

I've seen those round my area, allways wondered what they were. opticom. Cool. My dad had told me, before opticom, there would be a sensor for the flashing lights, but people would blink they're high beams and it would turn green.

[KnightFox]

Yeah, that was the early version of Opticom

[Robert Gift]

I've also heard abouthat.
I'd expecthem to make it foolproof so just anyone can't change the lights.

Does anyone know if such a flash detection system really existed, or just
rumor.?

Before encryption, Opticom required a precise (secret) flashes per second
to which I designed my LED flasher.
Just slightly above or below that rate would be rejected, so even trying
to discover the frequency would be very difficult.
Has to be EXACTLY RIGHT ON for the minimun detection periods, 3 seconds?

I like the lights which indicate when Opticom is activated.
I guess 3M charges so much for them that many places do not
buy them - the changing signal is the indication.
But I always wonder if the signal is cycling or preempted.

In Denver, only fire and paramedic units have Opticom.
Not police and no onelse is allowed. I asked permission and
was denied. (But not my fault the combination of my two LEDs
flashing alternately at precisely HALF the rate triggers Opticom.)
(I do not have any lights flashing at their proprietary frequency.)

[loudmouth]

my firend tricks the lights all the time with this LED light he has from snap on tools 70 bucks for it ... he can flash it due to the way the buttion set up on it you can flash the light very quickly. it works !

[Robert Gift]

I don't believe it.

[Robert Gift]

my firend tricks the lights all the time with this LED light he has from snap on tools 70 bucks for it ... he can flash it due to the way the buttion set up on it you can flash the light very quickly. it works !

Oh, I don't believe that at all.
Pure coincidence that the signal just happens to be cycling at the time.
I even wonder the same about my system.

The signal frequency has to extremely accurate and consistant.
Even if my non quartz-controlled timing circuit is only slightly off,
it's signal will be rejected.

To ensure a reliable trigger frequency, I'd have to use quartz timing.
No one is going to attain that perfect timing just by accident.

[KnightFox]

my firend tricks the lights all the time with this LED light he has from snap on tools 70 bucks for it ... he can flash it due to the way the buttion set up on it you can flash the light very quickly. it works !

Either your lying thru your teeth or what he's tricking is an early version of Opticom and his city area has not thought about upgrading to the newer version.

As I have stated, The new Opticoms run on a fequency theory very similar to how your remote communicates with your TV. So if your Friend's city area is running on the latest Opticom then I suggest you quit while you have the chance. But again, he might be tricking an old Opticom System.

[Robert Gift]

my firend tricks the lights all the time with this LED light he has from snap on tools 70 bucks for it ... he can flash it due to the way the buttion set up on it you can flash the light very quickly. it works !

Either your lying thru your teeth or what he's tricking is an early version of Opticom and his city area has not thought about upgrading to the newer version.

As I have stated, The new Opticoms run on a fequency theory very similar to how your remote communicates with your TV. So if your Friend's city area is running on the latest Opticom then I suggest you quit while you have the chance. But again, he might be tricking an old Opticom System.

Even their original system could not be tricked without the PRECISE
frequency +/- .000something %, which certainly wouldn't happen by accident.

Anothereason (3M claims) for encryption is to keep records of what
ambulances/apparatus are responding.

Not worthe $100Ks to have that information which dispatch ALREADY has if you need it for some strange reason.
(I'd like that money to go to more trees in our city parks.)

Selfish jerks who bought MIRTs (Mobile InfraRed Transmitters) ebay should be heavily fined to pay for the upgrades.
My camcorder "sees" our TV remote IR. Could that also detect MIRTs?

[KnightFox]

I dunno, if the frequency isn't to high then maybe it could