Salt dust. What does it do?

[RedRocket]

Being a Northeast commuter and the constant snow and ice that is on the roads. How much does the effect the protection of my car?

I am referring to the white powder that is on the front driver side head. Thoughts?

I did a roadside test(last winter,HP-905) by deliberately allowing the road salt grime to build up on my ride.Indeed,there is a degradation in performance on both receive & transmit.The whitish film caused by salt/dirt is a very good diffusion medium to IR photons.I didn't take the time to quantify results by measuring distances before & after.If I had to guesstimate a number I'd go w/ 40-45% performance loss.Mine had about 20% heavier film coating than shown in your pix.

To minimize scratching of the "Perspex" extruded front lens of the Sensor always use a wet solution to wipe clean.Personally,I never use a chemical cleaner/solution of any kind.Just plain water or a handful of clean virgin fresh snow as a lubricant to prevent scratches.I also only clean the Sensors & leave the rest of the car dirty for obvious reasons in the winter time,heh,heh,heh.

Now that I have the higher output AL-P Sensors maybe it's time for a redux...but,I would expect similar results,frankly.As long as we're on this topic,two other conditions result in similar effects -
1. Fog - near impossible to shoot through even at close range.
2. Rear tire road spray at highway speeds on a rainy day,the "rooster tail" of mist is an excellent diffuser of IR if it rises high enough to mask LP & TL's !