Time for a new radar detector.
 

Since I no longer live in VA, where RD's are banned, I don't need stealth anymore. I have an Escort S2 Solo cordless and an X50/8500 in blue display. I'm eBay'ing them off and am leaning toward the newest Escort 9500 or a Valentine V1. I know Valentine is a little more popular with the road warriors. But IIRC, the 9500 does as well in testing. Bonus for me that my vehicles are already hardwired with Escort remote displays too. What to get and why?

Ebay link?

go with the v-1, because of the arrows and the upgrade capability.

Do those arrows really matter that much? I mean, when I get a hit that I know is not a false alarm, I don't care where it came from. I slow down until I've ID'ed the source.

Also, my 8500 got fried on my motorcycle in a torrential downpour last summer. Escort replaced it for $80 when they said they couldn't repair it. They have a trade-in program, but it's not as cost-effective as how I'm doing it, since their prices aren't as good as I can find elsewhere.

i like to know if they are in front of me or behind me. instantly.

Another enthusiastic vote for the V1. I am on my 2nd one (1st one lasted 12 years).

I hate driving anywhere without it. My biggest complaint is switching it between my 2 cars, or to my wife's car if we are taking a family trip somewhere. I would love to have 2 -- or even 3 -- V1s. 1 for each car. But I can't justify the expense.

I LOVE the arrows. It is very helpful to get a quick assessment of the "threat".

Based on what I have read about the competition, I wouldn't consider buying anything else.

My 2 cents.

I would love to buy a V1 but unless someone sells me one cheap or gives me one im gunna have to wait as im looking at nikon digital slrs at the moment.

Does anyone know if the Valentine will work with Escort's remote displays? The plugs are both telephone jacks. I really don't want to mess with the wiring I did in my 993. I ran it into the sunroof switch and that was a project.

It's not just the arrows, (which are great), it's the extra antennae pointing rearward and the triagulation between it and the front one. When I'm out on the road at night in a rainstorm, or just really dark, I want to know exactly where the trooper is. I want to know when I'm past him, if there is another one ahead (or behind), how many separate sources, etc...

You cannot touch a V-1 w/ concealed display right in your gauges/line of sight. Read the independent tests, like these guys:

http://www.guysoflidar.com/

My 8500 also has a rear view antennae. I don't need to be stealthy anymore, so I'm not gonna bother mounting a display inside my gauges. I just want to know for sure that the V1 will save me sooner and more often than my Escort, which paid for itself several times this past weekend while driving the 993 to the Grand Canyon and back.

Read the tests and make your own decision.

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forgot to mention the counter.
the v-1 will count up to eight sources. very handy should you encounter a patrolman smart enough to hide somewhere that has a false signal that you would ignore, because you know that it is always there [alarms or electronic door opener, etc.].
the valentine will inform you of other signals hiding in the area.

I'd whole heartedly vote V1, but if you've got remote displays wired for the escort stuff, then it shouldn't be a problem to go with an Escort. This reminds me of the camaro/mustang or Canon/Nikon arguments. If people can argue about which is better, without it being obvious to everyone which is the winner, then that means that both are probably pretty good.

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I guess the Passport made intuitive sense to me, because it also counts sources, measures signal strength, tells me what frequency the radar is ... and it does all of this without requiring me to take my eyes off the road. The way that it beeps tells you everything you need to know.

The more important question is that of range, sensitivity, and false detects. The reports can tell you those details, I can only provide anecdotal evidence, like the time I caught a ping from a cop several miles ahead in hilly wooded terrain who was only lighting up cars that he thought might be speeding. There wasn't anything like a direct line of sight, and I have no idea how my radar detector caught that, but it sure was cool.

Good luck cutting through the hype to find truth.

Dan

My V1 has paid for itself...

If your car is wired for Belescort, get a STi.

+1

I've been using a Uniden GPS-RD. I have 2 and have been slowly making one out of them...

So I am in need of a new one as well. The thing I like about the GPS-RD is that the GPS gives me a simple and very visable heads up speed read-out. It is more accurate than the car speedos.

Anyway, it also had a feature where you can record "positions" as traps.

Escort has gone a step further with this concept and created downloadable positions for redlight cameras, etc, to warn you that you are in a "trap".

I'm considering one of these:

http://www.escortradar.com/9500ix.htm

http://www.escortradar.com/images/passport-9500ix.jpg

PASSPORT 9500ix

It is probably not as good a radar detector as the V1, but the redlight/speed trap feature may more than make up for it.

I read a ton of reviews last night. The consensus seems to be that the V1 has slightly more range and thus warning time than the 9500i, but that the V1 gives off so many falses that it eventually desensitizes you and you begin to ignore them. Falses really nag the hell out of me and the 9500i will program and store them, so you don't hear it again when you drive by a known X band source. I really don't care about the arrows at all. I was pleasantly surprised to learn, however, that my X50/8500 is still rated as one of the best and, indeed, it continues to save me money on a regular basis. So maybe I will stick with what I have for a while.

Kaefer, the Bel STi seems to be overkill outside of VA. I don't need to run in stealth mode and I don't care if the cops here know I'm running a detector. It mattered to me in VA, where the Bel STi's invisibility to the SPECTRE would be nice. BTW, I've also read that the Bel 940i is the exact thing as the 9500i, but $100 cheaper. Anyone know if that's true?

I don't even know what brand my two detectors are other than they were about $50 each many years ago at BestBuy. Most of my speeding takes place on the rural portion of my drive to work and they use plain ole radar which my detector picks up very nicely. If I traveled major highways more often than I do, I guess I would want to upgrade.

I disconnected the X band on my V1.

directions on V1 site.

rick first and foremost, we are leaving for happy hunting grounds williams friday at 10am be there or be square. this would be a muy excellante chance to test whichever "DAR - DAR" unit you buy. us vs. az-dps.

our trek will include az-dps along i-17 and i-40. then back down thru chino valley/prescott. us vs countie mounties. always fun pushing the envelope with a "DAR-DAR" detector.

mind you we will be lugging toys and ice chests (PLURAL) FULL OF BEER and of course.........LOTS OF GUNS! since scouting includes shooting primary as well as backup hunting rifles, as well as younger spawns new marlin1895xlr w/leupold 3x9 vari-x and qd mts, this ought to be giggles of the highest order vaporizing rocks at distance and possibly the very unlucky varmints that cross our paths.

but for a simple" DAR-DAR" test close to your humble abode...........just take a cruise thru district IV mcso cop shop here in lil ol cave creek(home of the cave) and sunny carefree. i can promise you MORE "DAR-DARS"(radar) going off in your ear than you can swing a dead cat!

first you have simple mindless "X" band on the goofy ass waste of taxpayer money "DAR-DAR" trailers thru out both towns. great for checking speedo calibration and nothing else. i sure as hell dont slow down for them......ever! love blowing thru them and making them light up "SLOW DOWN"!

next you have the ancient "K" band dar-dar on the old cruisers and ferd bronco cop units. dead giveaway and you literally have all the time in the world to slow down. these run constant and are easy to react to.

the trick is the newer cop units that have "KA" dar-dar. these units only go off when car approaches them. kind of instant on/off. these you literally have to jam the binders , throw out the anchors, and deploy (2) simpson drag chutes or you will be nailed big time.

i run this dumbass gauntlet every freeking day to and from work, they move all over both towns about a 1000 times a shift trying to nail people. 10 mph over the limit yer OTAY with "KA" dar-dar. 20mph over the limit you are toast........plain and simple. unless of course you are a superhero with superhero powers and can react faster than a electronic beam.

the lazer beams are pretty much the same as a "DEATH RAY!" only way you can react is if beam is placed on some other unlucky sap in front of you and even then you better deploy simpson chutes, both anchors , and both feet on the binders.

my next toy will be a jammer. available from company in scottsdale airpark. fergot name. but as mentioned here before i will not deploy it if running alone. only when surrounded by other cars. when cops "DAR-DAR" states yer going 1 BAZZILLION MPH or 0MPH its a dead giveaway to cop yer speeding and then he will clock you on tried and true speedometer. but it does add another layer of protection.

call me if ya can make it friday thru sunday up in williams. bring yer phishing pole also............trouts at kaibab lake. BIG FREEKING TROUTS!

Thanks Charles. My radar detector got a good workout on the drive to Williams and back this past weekend. And it paid for itself a few more times on that drive. I took the 993 and stayed in Williams Sat. night.

I don't think I can make this trip. My M4 upper is out for repair, my .30-06 is not sighted in and I don't have time to get to Ben Avery to do it before Fri., I don't have an AZ hunting license yet and the wife won't like me being gone. I do have to use up some vacation days before Xmas though. I'm thinking of taking the bike to Moab for a long weekend in October.

Only if you have the V-1 set on "all bogeys" mode, which is worthless near urban areas. I don't really use mine in town, but if I did I would have it on "Logic 2", which filters-out (eliminates) all X and regular K band signals. (I think).

You need to research the V-1 a little more, for the sensitivity tests you read, did they have them all set-up w/ all filters disengaged? I think the Lidar guys test them more than one way, ie. filters on/off, etc... :cool:

I don't get any more false alarms with my V-1 than my friend gets with his 8500. In fact, I think I get slightly fewer. I am very happy with the V-1, and would buy it again over any Escort. The bogey counter and direction arrows are a lot more useful than I had expected.

If I had a newer Porsche with more openings in front, I would look into a laser jammer.
I can generally see a radar speed trap before they paint me, but the laser guns with magnification and a much tighter beam have me at a disadvantage, especially at night.

I've yet to get a ticket with my 8500. Yes the direction arrows would be nice, but I just drive the speed limit until the signal drops off. Also the V1 is butt ugly.

arrows are well worth it

was going down the road - saw the trooper with a person pulled over - arrows went from front to back and right as I was about to roll back onto the gas I saw the V1 was now report radar from the front. i kept the speed down and came around the corner and there where two more troopers waiting

the arrows saved me

I just ran 1000 miles over the weekend with my 996 with a seven year old Beltronics 980 and other than the fact that the audio is dead so I have to keep the readout almost dead ahead so I can see it in my peripheral vision (which works well), the unit worked GREAT. I picked up KA band radar from from a LONG way away and always knew its signal strength. It saved me at least a few times. I'm looking to pick up another Bel unit soon.

I absolutely swear by my V1. It's amazing and has paid for itself many times over already. It's so good I even take it with me on out-of-town trips for use in rental cars, etc. The arrows are excellent.

I belong to the Order of the Arrows

I should switch off the X-band as well around here. I've never had an X-band contact be real. At least not here in the urbanized SoCal areas. It does yield a lot of false alarms even on logic mode. Same with K band to some extent.

By contrast, virtually ALL Ka contacts are real. Pay attention to those.

YMMV by area. I did get a "real" X-band contact somewhere - I think either Colorado or Florida last year.

Years ago I saw a Porsche in a parking lot with two detectors, connected together by some sort of high-quality rubber-band-like thingie. A V1 was attached to the windshield with the suction mount & another (one of the Escort products -- I forget which one) was attached to the bottom of the V1.

I have always understood that detectors typically give off a weak radar signal. If that is true, I would think that each detector would set off the other one.

If they would work, both a V1 & 9500ix would be the way to go. What do others think? Would that work?

Two detectors side by side will reduce effectiveness of both. However, what you saw may have been some other kind of jamming device, though I thought folks usually hid those in their front grilles.