Radar Detectors
 

what is the best? I see them from 50 bucks to 400 bucks. what do you use and why
thanks

i think there is post regarding this exact topic. search under....damn i cant remember, i think it started because someone got a ticket. i believe the verdict was the Valentine model

Radar detector ain't going to help you on Highway 16, I got nailed 10 years ago coming out of Bummertown with instant on. WSP officer laughed at me & my Escort. I gave the effin thing away after that, they're a false security. Common sense is the best detector.

here's the link : http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=140119&highlight=the+on ly+radar+detector+worth

I have an Escort Passport that I have been happy with. It is simple to operate and the range has been good enough to keep me out of trouble, although I rarely drive over 100 here in the states, and then, only for a moment or two. I like to get to the speed limit (+10 or 20) very quickly, but rarely go extremely fast for extended periods. Unlike a lot of idiots I see, I never speed in neighborhoods or near schools or where pedestrians are present. That is not a risk I am prepared to take. The Passport is small, portable, and easy to swap from car to car (I only have one Pasport and several cars). My advice is that whatever detector you purchase, buy the newest model the company offers. It is like an arms race between radars and detectors...one that is a few years old will do fine against Barney and Andy, but will not protect you as well against an enemy equipped with modern weapons. Also, remember that even with a detector, you are risking a ticket every time you speed because of "instant on" radar and law enforcement cars or aircraft pacing you. So if you can't afford the penalty...don't speed....or at least not badly enough that the penalty is more severe than you can handle. From my research..Valentine, BEL and Escort top-of-the-line units are all quite capable...none are infallible.

Get a V1.

WSP hit me a few times on I-5. [ I always follow bear bait]. They would be parked down wind from the intersection on/off ramp during commuter traffic.. I never saw that act in any other state. I always thought that might cause accidents.

Calif HP are dignified with their clocking. They will wave an index finger at you if your only slightly speeding, like "bad bad boy".
and if there is more than one car involved in slightly speeding they will raise one finger for no. 1, raise 2 fingers for no. 2, and 3 for no. 3.. that's a class act..

Ohio is the speed trap capital of the country, IMO

What about those remote versions from excort?

They're quite pricey but my understanding is that any glass that the radar detector needs to read through reduces it's range. Not to mention there's nothing obviously visible for the 5-0 to see.

Need some imput before I think about spending the $600

:)

Adam

I have a BEL that my kids bought me for my birthday about 5 years ago. The only tickets that I have gotten since are when I was driving my wife's Volvo (without detector). Got two tickets in three days. One before my daughter's wedding, and one after.

My detector has saved my butt more than a dozen times. But you need to be going close enough to the speed limit to be able to stomp on the brake when it sounds the alarm, and then duck into traffic. If you're the lonely car on the road, you're toast.

I only speed on the highway, never in the city. But you need to understand the idiosyncracies of your unit. I am sure that they are all different.

I would look at:

http://www.radartest.com/

larry

although I praise the V-1..

the high end BEL was very popular with the big rig truckers awhile ago, when it was legal for them.

Getting a V1 to avoid tickets is like buying a Rolex to tell time.

I have owned several Bels over the years and they all have performed well.

They are also one of the best units around and reasonably priced.

I have a Valentine as well and I use it all the time and in fact don't travel without it . It has saved me from many many tickets on my bike which I am always driving too fast. It's a pricey unit but I have no regrets and would buy another one.

The K40 is the best out there. They have countermeasures for laser and radar, and the mount is invisible (integrated into your OEM dash) in the car, for those states that frown on such things. They guarantee you won't get a ticket...if you do, they'll *pay* it. http://www.k40.com

I have two Passport 8500's. They work flawlessly, and can be found for about $299.

I've never had any issues with range or reception.

I have two Valentines and a old Passport, and they all work just fine. I've had radar detectors since the original Fuzzbuster, in the mid-'70s, and they have saved me literally tens of thousands of dollars in tickets and higher insurance premiums. To say they are a waste of time is ludicrous. They're a waste of time if you don't know how to use them, that's all. If you're speeding alone or are the first car in traffic, yes, you'll get nailed, especially if it's a major highway or interstate, where they'll be using instant-on. The key is to always let somebody else go ahead of you by a quarter-mile or more, set off the radar and let your detector read the spillage. But on back roads and two-lanes, where the local cops cruise around with the radar on all the time (they know the percentage of cars with radar detectors in local traffic is very small), I've been warned countless times that somebody was coming or had set up a trap over the hill. Bottom line, I wouldn't be without a radar detector, and the more you pay, the longer its range and more useful its features.

Stephan

I've been thinking about putting Passport SRX or SR7 in the wifes care so I can steal her Bell 950.
So to re ask Adams question above... anyone used the new Passport/Escort built ins?

Yeah that k40 looks sweet too!

Need info on the stealth systems!

Adam

Have only owned one--a Valentine V 1. Happened to be a gift from my 18 yr old son (is he telling me something?). Like many things, one never knows the number of "saves" one has over the course of time--I never thought it would be of particular use given my driving style (10 - 15 mph above S L, generally keeping pace with traffic) I was wrong, I don't hit the road without it. See F S Wilkinson post three back--I believe it to be right on target. Steve L

Sorry guys but the V1 is the only way to go. If you don't have the arrows, you don't know where to look. If you don't have the counter with the arrows, you don't know that one signal is from a garage on the side of the road, but the other is from a trooper coming up from behind.

I do. If you have something else... All you get (as the ad says) is BEEP. Beep what?! So.. eventually you get tired of slamming on the brakes all the time, get desensitized, and then get busted.

I don't understand why anyone would use anything less. Did you just not TRY the V1? Frankly for me, it's the V1 or nuthin!

My wife and I will often say "The Valentine never lies!" after the many times it has saved us.

A friend of mine (A very high end car audio shop) here in Boulder disassembles the V1 and does a stealth install in your dashboard with the components. I think there are pics in the photo gallery: http://www.kustomkaraudio.com

V1, don't leave home without it

The V1 seems to work the best in this geographic area. But nothing is going to save you from the WSP aircraft and them radioing your pace to a group of cruisers ahead. I've found that speeding is best on the stretches of highway that are known for not having speedtrap locations and simple common sense of sighting front and back for known law enforcement type vehicles parked, following behind or driving ahead.

I disagree concidering that I do not take the time to LOOK at my radar detector before taking action and the fact that the V1 is not the only way to go.

I treat my radar detector an acoustic and not an optical warning device so I could never justify paying an additional $300 for some arrows, a counter and upgradable firmware. I have much better hardware to spend the addional money on.

When it comes to sensitivity and false signal rejection the V1 is no better than the other top of the line detectors out there.

As I stated before just as you don't need a rolex to tell time you also don't need a V1 to avoid tickets.

Really? Just a couple of weeks ago, I was driving past a known emitter--a BMW dealership with some kind of microwave burglar system that I pass frequently--and I ignored it, as usual. Then I realized the Valentine's arrow was pointing ahead (and blinking, which means "_this_ is the stronger threat") with the numeral 2 (two threats being received) in the display, and the BMW dealer was behind me. There was a cop half a mile up Route 9W. If I hadn't had the arrows, I wouldn't have figured it out in time. Saved me a ticket. Thank you, Mike Valentine. As the ad says, quoting Car and Driver, "Once you live with the arrows, you'll wonder how you ever managed without them."

Stephan

Why do you drive a Porsche then? You can get where you need to go in a Beetle. There's a reason why Rolex is at the top of it's field. You get what you pay for. I'm surprised that a P-car driver would cut corners on anything for his passion.

Not all porsche owners are the kind of people who pay $1000+ for a watch or spend other extravegant amounts on simple devices when there are reasonable alternatives available.

I will leave the bling bling and $500 coffee makers for people that have that kind of money to burn.

Hell, I bought my 930 for less money than I could have bought a corvette for so I guess that just another case of me being cheap, practical and getting what I pay for. :rolleyes:

The thing I like about my Bel is that it has different tones for different radar types and signal strengths.

I don't have to look at it to determine if its the door opener, alarm system or a cop at a trap.

True of the Valentine as well, besides which you get to select one of three levels of warning. It'll audibly call out everything, some stuff or just the most dangerous.

Stephan

THis is not an accurate comparison. Yes a Rolex and a Timex both tell time well enough for 99.99% of the people. But it's an inaccurate comparison because the features of the V1 truley distinguish it from all others. Sort of like the difference between a pocket knife and a swiss army knife. Yes, you can open your wine bottle on the battlefield with a pen-knife, or like the Swiss (I guess) you can use the corkscrew and clean the Brie out of your teeth with the toothpick. :D

By your prior reasoning you should be driving a 1985 Honda Civic. It will do the same basic job as the 930.

Now I typically don't get that passionate about things on this board. However HP, with all due respect, I don't think you've used one enough to develop a true appreciation. Here is why I say that...

1) Audio alerts of signal type tell you very little, other than somewhere, there is some sort of signal. Why? Did you know that reflected X band from an auto-door opener can trigger K-band in a detector? On all of them? If you can't see that it's off to the side, you don't realy know what it is. The V1 can tell you.

2) If there is a cop coming up behind you in medium traffic, his radar is often obscured and shows weaker than normal. Without a rearward facing arrow, you don't know where to concentrate your scanning effort.

3) I have several areas on my regular drive that false (Both on the hi-end Bell in the truck, and on the Valentine...) However some days there is also a speed trap... Without the # of signals, you just never know what's there.

What it boils down to in my mind is really how earnestly you want to "play the game". Personally I consider it somewhat of a sport... I do not take the game of "cops and robbers" or more approprately "revenue enhancers and concious protestors" lightly. Speed traps are an affront to reason as is the 55MPH speed limit. I choose to play the game and want the best tools at my disposal. (But never complain or grouse if/when ticketed) The V1, Laser jammer, and Bear Tracker Highway Patrol alert are all installed.

Will a $100 detector tell you when a cop is near? yes. Will it tell you how many, where they are, etc? No...

So if a road user chooses to walk around the fringes of "the game", and not take it seriously, then you buy the $100 detector. If OTOH you are serious about not getting caught, and have been mentored on the "art of speeding", you buy the V1.

I do not intend to sound anything other than passionate and convinced about this... "You payz yer money, you takes yer chances"

Hey Steve,

so i'm north of LA on I-5 going south twords lala land. There is no serious towns or cities to my left or right.. so now I get a low Ka signal and the arrow points ahead.. OK, must be the CHP up ahead.. but I'm in a hill and dip section and the low signal is constant from ahead.. it's reading a constant low beep as I travel another mile which confuses me.. Screw it, better safe than sorry. I detune and get inside a pack of cars in the middle lane..

Bingo.. the CHP was parked in front of a broken down truck in the right shoulder and banging cars from behind as they pass him. I was getting low reflected signals from the rear of cars a mile, at least, back. The arrow saved my ass.

Your Shopping Ctr thread is a routine hiding place for the PD to get radar detector guys without arrows because the non arrow guys figure it's routine Shopping Ctr signals.

different strokes for different folks

Good statement showing what many folks don't know about a Rolex or a Valentine.

OH, and WSP planes often are using radar themselves. If you are alert you'll get buzzed while they are hitting someone else and get a chance to slow down.

Saved me last year heading north on I5 LaConner tulip trip.

I rest my case, HP, if you would pay a paltry $1000 for a Rolex, then you really don't get it.

Hey rdane,

is the plane following parallel to the interstate ?

they must be low to use radar, I think

this sounds like another chapter of Mad Mag's Spy vs Spy

Ron,

Typically they use the timer method...

You'll sometimes see a big white stripe perpendicular to the road you're traveling on... Usually 3 lines in succession several hundred feet apart. The are a set distance. The 3rd line gives double verification.

The user is the most important variable with any detector.

If you know how to use the instrument, it will save you over and over again. A better instrument will help a wiser user.

I've used lousy detectors (very carefully) nearly as effectively as good units.

No unit will save you from tickets. Driver intervention after the unit alarms (and knowing when to slow down) is the only thing that saves you from tickets.

Damn, I should have known I would send the rolex and v1 croud into a tizzy by either debating performance or misquoting prices. :rolleyes:

Lord knows we are just low class slobs if we don't know the exact market value of a status symbol watch or dare to question the effectiveness of the most expensive radar detector when its unique features touted do not overly impress us.

I've got a grand, if you have a rolex.;) ;) ;)

hello,

It's very true, whether an arrow lights up or not, you ARE going to slow down, and only for a minute. For the record, I keep my Passport on the Bogey Counter setting. No arrows, but shows if there is more than one signal clocking you, as well as which type of radar is being used, and strength to boot. VERY easy radar to use. I also like the built in Voltmeter, which is always displayed on my unit when the alarm is not active.

regardsw,

Detectors won't help any if the cop is using a stop watch, telephone poles and binoculars - happened to colleague of mine out in eastern New Mexico.:( Jim

OK, eleven hunderd.;) ;) ;)

Might be nice to know where the cop is hiding, but frankly, I don't care. If I get an alarm, I slow down. Plenty of alarm-free miles to drive fast.