Teardown of traffic enforcement camera

[dexters_lab]

hey, just did this video doing a mostly complete teardown of a red light traffic enforcement camera and figured some of you maybe interested in seeing.

I do have romdumps as well for all but one of the eproms, my reader didn't support one of them. But probably best not to post as they would still be copyright.

Camera links in with traffic lights and inductive loops in the road to trigger the camera when someone jumps a red light. I believe this was installed at a rail crossing in Tyne & Wear, UK.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxON2lFPmlI

[SeanB]

Funny enough a guy I used to work with went to work at Truvelo, where he was servicing and repairing those cameras. He had a lot of tales of there, and his high point was when he was testing a radar gun, where he would lean out the window, point it down the main road next to the building and look to see how far down the road the sudden burning rubber stripes started.

BTW the camera units and control sofdtware are the same in speed and traffic cameras, so that you can simply stop and drop the camera in the housing at the end of the day, and do red light enforcement after doing the speed checking. The camera has as standard a 800 frame magazine, and takes 2 photos at each trip. You also get an extended magazine with 2000 frames of film.

Triggering is the same in both modes, you arm and then it will trigger on the first trip in red light mode and again on the second. Second trip will have speed info for the vehicle as well. Triggering is per lane, and it will handle multiple triggers per cycle ( though the film advance will limit the rate for multiple triggers), though most are only armed a few seconds after red.

Speed mode it has a simple positive contact cable, either a pneumatic system with a rubber tube a preset distance apart ( depending on model you can either input the actual distance or select for one of a set distance) or a piezo cable ( the modern version, longer life and much more rugged) across the road. Then it simply waits for a pulse on the first cable, and then on the second cable trigger it fires the flash. Then as the second wheel passes it does it again so you get 2 photos per vehicle.

The flash is very important, as it is the illumination for the vehicle, as the shutter is not really fast enough to stop the motion of the vehicle. the mechanical shutter is driven open, the flash fires and then the shutter closes, the led units light to imprint the info on the film then the mechanism advances the film to the next frame.

Here they regularly have high powered rifles fired at them ( AK47 most commonly) so the housings are armoured with a very thick steel case and 2 inch thick laminated glass cover for the flash and camera ports. As well, because they also get necklaced, the housings are fire resistant lined as well.

[dexters_lab]

Here they regularly have high powered rifles fired at them ( AK47 most commonly) so the housings are armoured with a very thick steel case and 2 inch thick laminated glass cover for the flash and camera ports. As well, because they also get necklaced, the housings are fire resistant lined as well.

LOL! i would suspect the UK models have somewhat less protection against such things!

The worst you see in the UK is maybe one burned out though you dont see it much now as many have been decommissioned anyway. There are miles and miles of the SPECS average speed cameras appearing on the motorways at the moment while they 'upgrade' them so they are 'smart motorways'  or in other words... stick up speed cameras every few miles.

I only found references to 600 or 800 shot cartridges in the literature i have, maybe there are differences between makes and regions?

[SeanB]

Different models, different makes in an area. Mostly depends on the local and country legal system as to which models are classed as "legally admissible as evidence" in court. you also have to have here both a certified operator, a certified unit and as well a legally predetermined location for the camera. You cannot put them up willy nilly, you have a legal requirement that there is a sign erected somewhere before the unit that it is there.

Thus by me you can get fines that are located at places like "Tollgate bridge East/West bound", " Brittania Hotel" ( favoured by a certain S African world record holder swimmer), "Riverside hotel", "Archery club", "Argyle road bridge" and such. As I know the vehicle will be at this place I do not speed around there, and often wave as I pass by. Sometimes they wave back, if they are not sleeping or sitting on the phone.

I regularly have to go to the office and pay fines for the company vehicles, and, depending on the area the fine was issues, it might be Metro police, KZN traffic police or even to the bank to direct deposit the money on the attached deposit slips. I always ask for the printout of the photo, so that I can give it with the receipt copy to the driver. Not often I get one for myself, though last year I did. Smile and pay........ or as it is said locally, Kak en betaal is die wet van Transvaal.

For Metro police they offer a discount for prompt payment, of 50% off. Seeing as the top 10 non payers are all minibus taxi's, and the worst one owes around $100 000 ( not an error, he does have that amount of outstanding fines and more that are not paid for certain reasons due to Erm"connections") and currently the Taxi industry is burning the town claiming that fining them for minor things ( unroadworthy, unlicensed, traffic offences like red light running, no permits, stolen vehicle etc) is unfair. Look on news24.co.za for video if you want.