Which Radar Detector to get?
 

I think it's time for a radar detector. My wife told me to be careful on the roads after reading this article:

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/16660336.htm?source=rss

I typicaly drive about 10-15 mph over the speed limit. Once in a while late night I'll open her up and do 100-110 for a quick stretch bt not too often because I get a bit nervous thinking there might be a cop hiding out somewhere.

I don't have much knowledge in radar detectors.

Are police using highly suffisticated radar guns nowadays that dectors aren't catching?

In this particulat case, the cop is using a Laser Tech Ultra-Lyte 20 Lidar gun .

Any recommendations on detectors that cover all these guns would be great!

Thanks

From what I've read the Valentine V-1 is the only way to go.

http://www.valentine1.com/home.asp

The best 2 types I've owned are the Valentine 1 and the Passport 8500, with the V1 being the better of the 2 IMHO (they are right...once you have the arrows, everything else is 2nd best)...I do have a bit more "falsing", but I trust the V1 over anything else.

Of course, NOTHING will help you on a Ka shot if you're the ONLY thing around. You'll learn to "blend in" and avoid being "Mr. Obvious". Last time I felt "immune" was back in the late 70's with a really nasty 10.5 gigahertz transmitter....

Valentine 1 is your best choice with the Passport 8500 coming in second

Valentine 1. Worth every penny.

This topic comes up on a semi-regular basis. A few guys will swear by something other than the V-1, but the vast majority will tell you the V-1 still tops all the others..

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+2

C&D hasn't done one in quite a while. I think '02 was the last one. V1 was the hands-down winner, if I remember correctly.

I think a new test is in order, though, now that the Passport 9500 is out (or will be out very soon).

I had the original Escort, then some passports and then a V1, never lookign back from the V1. IMHO its the only option.

$400-$500 for the Valentine, OUCH. I'm sure it's the best but my price point is around $150-$200 for a detector.

not a K-40- too pricey and is only okay rated. I have heard only good things of Valentine

Screw detectors. Get a H.A.R.M. :D

Cheap detector + 2 tickets + V1. I've had my V1 for over 4 years and love it. Mike V. really takes an us v. them approach to his product - always trying to stay one step ahead. Product is upgradable too!

+3

how much does one ticket cost?

Do like I did - Purchased my V1 on fleabay and then did the upgrade. Came out ahead and got a brandnew V1 (with all the toys included) for about $300

Yeah, the directional arrows on the V1 are better, but all the reviews and comparos I've seen put them on par with each other, with the 8500 sometimes winning. The 8500 is sleeker and the V1 is kind of dorky looking, IMHO. If you want to integrate laser, the 8500 is capable of an integrated upgrade. Relying on laser detection won't likely prevent you from getting a ticket. You need to jam it. Escort calls it "shifting."

http://www.passportsr1.com/zr3.htm

Paul, see this video clip for an idea of the Valentine 1. Understand that the motorcycle cop I busted was on the opposite side of the road, pointing his radar gun away from me. You will see the value of the Valentine's directional info. $400 bucks has long been paid for with mine. There is simply no other choice.

Paul, you realize that with your local LEOs running lidar, neither detector is gonna do squat for you. Well, it'll go off to let you know when you should pull over for the LEO that just tagged you doing 15-over. Realistically, lidar is "instant-on," meaning there won't be enough time to detect it and slow down in time to not register as speeding.

If you want to try something that'll actually give you a chance against lidar, then you'll have to look into a laser jammer. No one seems to know which one is the best (or, at least I've never had anyone give me any useful information when I've asked this question on this board a couple times in the past), but I've heard good things about the Lidatek system. It runs about $600+, IIRC. But it will actually jam the lidar gun for about 5 seconds, giving you a chance to slow down.

FWIW, I've got a V1. But I realize that it's pretty much worthless against the state troopers, who mostly run lidar from the side of the highways here in Mass. It's still good against troopers in cruisers (lidar can only be used from a stationary LEO), and most local police (as lidar doesn't seem to be used by them, yet). Don't know if I'd trust much of what's available in the $150 price range.

edit: This link may have been posted in the past. Remember that while some science is used, this site is also trying to sell products.
http://www.radarbusters.com/support/speedlabs-2006/default.asp

Another enthusiastic vote for the V1. The product is very high quality & the arrows are EXTREMELY helpful.

I just bought my 2nd V1 to replace my 11-year-old V1 that was starting to act up a bit. It still worked against radar, but it would often go into this "mode" where it would beep 2-3 times, stop for 5 seconds, beep 2-3 times....It drove me nuts!

It worked flawlessly for 11 years, so I can't fault the product. I can't count the number of times it saved me.

Get the V1. I would not buy any other detector.

No lidar in the Bay Area, paul. Just K & Ka bands. Lidar is too expensive to justify when they nab all the speeders they need with the old stuff.

Another voe for V1 and using common sense.

Never go fast when your the only car on the road. Even though your not harming ANYONE you will be a perfect target for a "Road Tax".

Always follow a "B!tch" never lead. This will give you time to slow down when the cop shoots at the lead car. And follow at a resonable distance so you don't get nabbed too.

I have been popped by instant on Radar and I was picked out of a pck of about 6 cars travelling at the same speed. something about a "Red Porch" makes cops excited and they gun for you.

In Georgia, I should have a brain tumor from all the laser and Radar I get shot at my Porsche.

BTW- Laser - When your laser detection goes off it means pull over and get a ticket. Unless you follow, then you'll get about a 4-5 second warning to slam on the brakes.

I am trying not to go on a rant about "safety" on the highway. Speed traps do not make safer roads. If all the stupid cops hiding on the side of the road would just drive around and spread out they would be 100X more affective making the roads safer than sitting and hiding in the bushes.

/rant

My V1 has saved me countless times -- one of my best electronic gizmo purchases ever.

http://homepage.mac.com/drew1/.Pictu...les_Copper.jpg
Another vote for the V1.
I don't leave home without it!

Another vote for Valentine 1. Amazing device, but if you know that you drive in areas where cops use laser, then no radar detector is going to provide much help. Most of my driving is in areas where they are still using radar. I drive in some areas where they use laser. I've been hit with laser before. Once when I wasn't speeding the cop hit me three times. My V1 went off, but if I had been speeding, it wouldn't have mattered because it would have been too late. I've gotten what I believe to be scattered laser once before. For an area with lots of laser your only real defense would be a laser jammer. Those aren't illegal.

But for a radar detector, I say V1.

I got a lidar ticket in Danville. Detector didn't even go off, as the laser beam is very narrow and aimed at your license plates or headlights. The only way to fight them is to have your sensors mounted near the plates with a jammer that reacts instantly. When you get an alert, you slow down and then turn off the jammer so the LEO can get a "good" reading on you. Yes, illegal in CA, but they'd never know if you use it correctly. Escort offers an integrated upgrade that uses your detector, Valentine does not.

BTW- an 8500 is not going to fail to detect anything the V1 would; the differences are nominal except for directionality. And adding the laser "shifter" is steep at $500, but one ticket avoided would probably pay for it.

So how can we find out what our LEO is using,...other than the obvious "Hard Way"?

I have the Passport 8500 and it's saved me a few times. I haven't tried the V1 and the arrows look useful, but as far as I'm concerned just knowing someone has radar on will slow me down, I don't need to look around and find out where they are. If you feel the extra $100 is worth it to know where the radar is then go for the V1, otherwise get the Passport.
I will repeat what someone else said though, don't make yourself stand out. If you're sitting out in the left lane and the only car overtaking you draw attention to yourself.

Aerkuld, the V1 also has a bogey counter which is just as important as the arrows - maybe moreso.

Up here, the RCMP like to travel the highway in pairs, about 2km apart. While following my bro(who had the 8500), my V1 gave my a Ka warning of two bogies up ahead. I didn't see his brake lights for at least 10 seconds after I got my warning, even though his Passport was mounted up high in his 4x4 and mine much lower in the 930. Once he got past the first LEO he put his foot back in it and got nabbed, but I knew there was a second RC coming.

I have the 8500 blue display in the 993 because they are illegal in VA and I need it stealthy. The Valentine would be way too obvious at night with so much red reflection on my face, even with the remote display. When I put my 8500 on dim, it is invisible outside the car. In the Bimmer I run a cordless Solo S2. Both have paid for themselves several times. The upside of the RD ban in VA is that the cops use antiquated equipment and usually just leave them on, making them very easy to detect.

I can tell you that when a cop uses laser he's got to aim the laser at a specific spot on your vehicle like the license plate. So if you see a cop on the side of the road standing beside his car and it looks like he's aiming a gun at oncoming cars, then he's using laser.

Otherwise, the chances are that it's radar.

Here in Houston, when I see HPD on the side of 45, 59, 610, etc... they are usually standing beside their car pointing something that looks like a gun down the street, but most of the other various LEOs that I see are usually using regular radar. I occasionally see laser other places.

I got a feeling they use both around here. Sometimes I see the local LEO's parked on a side street eating a jelly donut, with a dashboard mounted unit. That would most likely be Radar.

However I've seen the State LEO's leaning over thier car like they are a sniper or something.....I suppose that would mean they have the.... "Laser" (said like Dr. Evil with my fingers making the quotation marks) ;)

I believe you're correct.

Its almost 100% laser here in the Seattle area, so I don't see what a detector would do for me.

If you follow a fast car he will get zapped and your detector will pickup the splash. Follow the "rabbit" and you won't get bitten by the "Bears" on the interstate.

I love my V1: I'd rather have the arrows and bogey counter than a 2% increase in sensitivity.

If you only drive where there's laser, and you never go anywhere else and there's absolutely no radar, then a detector will do very little. IMO, a radar detector will warn you of radar at least 90% of the time. Occasionally the warning you get will be telling you "you just got hit, you're screwed." With Laser that is reversed, at least 90% of the time, the warning will mean that you just got hit and are going to get a ticket with occasionally the warning being early enough for you to avoid a ticket.

If you live in a laser only environment, then a laser jammer is probably what you need. The one that I seem mentioned most often is the Blinder Xtreme series
http://www.radarbusters.com/products/blinder/default.asp

It gives you a warning that you just got hit. The theory is that when the cop first tries to hit you with laser, you hear the warning, slow down, and then turn off the jammer and give the cop a good reading after you've slowed down and turned the jammer off.

I've done some reading, and apparently, sometimes, especially certain cars will take a couple of tries before the cop gets a good reading with laser. I'm guessing that something like a 911 or my miata is exactly that kind of car.

Agreed, the arrows and especially the bogey counter have saved me a couple of times when a regular detector without wouldn't have.

Hmm... how did you determine it was a Laser that got you? I don't drive through Danville much, but the only time my V1 ever alerts to laser is with a newer LED brake light in front of me. I see plenty of Ka band all over the Bay Area though.

Detectors are just tools. You'll never be able to ignore your surroundings and just zoom around waiting for your detector to protect you. You have to use the detector as an addition to your vigilance. The V1 is the most informative tool, IMO. No other detector can provide the information the V1 can.

P.S. I'm a firm believer that a front license plate will increase your radar cross section by an enormous amount, reducing your effective detector range significantly. I've run without one for years with no issues.

The officer told me he used laser, plus I've seen them standing next to the road aiming with a unit that clearly has a scope on it. Where I got nailed was as close to a speed trap as you'll ever see. Two lanes in each direction as you head south out of Danville on San Ramon Valley Blvd posted for 30mph. It's natural to go 40-50 there.

I would expect laser to become more prevalent as time goes on. I agree with you on the info that only a V1 can provide. For me, I just slow down for a viable threat regardless of how many or from where. I will be adding the laser shifter that integrates into the 8500. V1 can't provide that; you have to get a separate system.

FYI- not having a front license plate is now a moving violation, not a fix-it ticket anymore in CA.

I picked up the Escort 8500 today at Best Buy since it was readily available. They wanted $40.00 more the the blue display. The guy said the onlt difference was the color. Why that's $40 more is beyond me.

I can't wait to experience my first hit so it'll be justified :)