Jrock

Wanna know everyones experience with radar and laser detectors. I thinki i'm gonna pick one up in the next couple of weeks...The 8 is just to smooth, does 90 like its standin still.... so i figure i would rather pay into a radar detector than a speeding ticket. anyway What do you guys have what works/what doesn't...should i get a detector or jammer. Let me know it would be great help

cLLcLe

I have the Passport Escort 8500 X50. I've been driving for nearly two years and I haven't had a ticket yet.
I've also heard that the Valentine One works very well.

Glyphon

i've been driving for 13 years, no radar detectors and no tickets. *knock on wood*

now, that said, depending on where you live, they might be illegal. and don't bother with laser detectors. they are worthless. the laser doesn't increase in size very much, even distances over a mile. and with the places that most mount aren't even where the cops are aiming at, so there is a chance it won't even go off. and really with laser detectors, they pretty much just tell you when you've been busted, if they even go off at all.

best thing you can do is, learn where the cops sit, always pay attention to the road around you and ahead of you. of course you could always try not speeding too, but i'm sure that's just crazy talk :p

fredw1

The battle for the top spot always seems to be the Escort Passport 8500 and the Valentine One. I have the Escort, and have been happy with it, although I tend to drive the speed limit most of the time and don't hook it up.

guy321

just get anything that costs over $300 bucks.

truemagellen

you MUST get a laser jammer in addition to a detector

but Glyphon is right...the best deterence is using common sense and looking out especially since there is little you can do about instant-on radar unless your hear a blip from a distance

khtm

I have the Bel Pro RX65 and it works great so far.

http://radartest.com/article.asp?articleid=9090

Shamblerock

I have the opposite view: Get a whistler for $100 max. since if they use Laser you are dead anyway as explained earlier. A radar detector will help when the cop is shooting at others and they bounce off and you are lucky to get some of the signal or they are sitting at the side of the road with it on all the time.

If it doesn't work, you only lose $100 which is better that 300-400. Currently you can use it in all the states except Virgina and Washington DC. Radar jammers are illegal because you are not allowed to interefere with radio signals or some crap like that. You can actually go to jail if you use a jammer.

truemagellen

that is because the Bel Pro RX65 is virtually identical to the Escort 8500 (except the Bel has voice prompts)

Bel bought out Escort a few years ago...so technology wise they are the same...you can really see it in their laser jamming units which look and run almost identically :D

truemagellen

you are referring to radar jammer only correct?

as laser jammers ARE legal

guy321

More expensive models typically offer slightly longer range detection ( a few seconds can be a big difference)

They tend to be less intrusive. I'd rather not have something that beeps every time it passes someone with a pacemaker.

THey give more information. Some tell how many sources (good for when cops hide where there are known radar sources). SOme tell direction, etc..

truemagellen

oh BTW DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM ROCKY MOUNTAIN RADAR, that is all (these models include the Phantom/Scorpian/and other pieces o crap)

khtm

Yep, I knew that I'm thinking of getting a jammer soon...

truemagellen

looks like the new blinder is king of the hill...I'm thinking about getting one in the next two months :D to compliment my escort 8500


as for those who don't want to spend much but get a lot check this review out!:



BEL Express 795 ($99.99)

Although its case looks very similar to the upscale Vector 895’s, at less than half the price, obviously there have been a few compromises made to keep the price so low.

Visual alerts are handled by a row of differently colored icons, for example, rather than the pricier text display of the upscale piece. In principle they’re no less effective, there’s just less of that bling factor.

But in this instance, all three radar band ID icons are yellow, making it impossible to tell at a quick glance what frequency of radar you’re encountering. Small point maybe, but that’s crucial information to us. In this model, only the audio band ID will tip you off. Fortunately, it’s adequately distinctive.

Features are minimalist: City mode, three-step display brightness, four red LEDs for signal strength and a big, easily reached mute button right in front, exactly where it belongs.

Okay, so how’d we rate the performance of this budget BEL? In a word: spectacular. X- and K-band range exceeded 28,000 feet, nearly equal to BEL’s high-end Vector 995 and Pro RX65 models. Ka-band average for the three frequencies was 27,362 feet, again very close to the big boys.

To put these numbers into perspective, the two competing Whistlers, the SRT-30 and SRT-35, while very close on X and K band, were literally miles behind the BEL on Ka band.

On that widely used and very lethal radar band, the BEL Express 795 was in a class by itself, weighing in with nearly triple the range of the competing Whistlers. On the road, this is precisely what’s needed to keep you out of the long arms of the law.

Bottom line: Best-in-class overall performance--by an order of magnitude--and way beyond what we’d expect for the price. A steal at 99 bucks.

5stars!

truemagellen

anyone want to go in on this together...review of jammers...very new...RX-8 is specifically addressed :D for part one of the test look here (free): http://www.radartest.com/article.asp?articleID=8502

then for part two (indepth) it is $10 usd

https://radartest.com/eshop/10Expand...uctCode=100541

Shamblerock

Yes the more expensive models have a longer range. However, cops only set them to 1/4 mile (legally I think) so that you are in sight. So if you are all by yourself on the road, unless he's eating a donut, your done. For $89 at best buy I got a whistler 1773 that tells you what kind of radar both in terms of visual and audio, how strong the signal is, provides safety messages where broadcasted, keep awake feature and to boot it didn't go off very often in the city and when it did I saw an abondoned car on the side of the highway or a cop. Use it as a reminder/helper to slow down when it goes off and its worth the $100. Don't use it to prevent getting caught because you will be sadly mistaken.

Ajax

Sorry, but whether or not you are visible has nothing to do with anything.
The point of a radar detector is to detect radar before it's too late. The most sensitive detector will do that job best.

If the user can set the range of the radar gun (which would be possible by adjusting the amplitude of the waves to a point), that means they can get a reading at that range but the wave will still continue to travel and bounce until it runs out of energy which is significantly further than you'd expect depending on the wavelength.

The wider the band, the shorter the range will be so KA (ultra wideband) will have a much shorter range than K (wideband) and X (narrow band). They do this to get more accurate readings as the frequency of the waves is much higher therefore the wavelength much shorter.

So don't be fooled, those high end detectors do have a purpose! They WILL pick up signals generally earlier than most of their less sensitive counterparts. The V1 and escort 8500 are both insanely sensitive.

You just decide what you're looking for and base the price of the detector on that. I personally own a valentine one and believe me, it's worth the 400 you invest in it.

Ajax

Shamblerock

Ajax, I hope you are right. But when they are using laser and/or pulse and/or POP, you have no reaction time. IMHO if you catch a signat 2 miles away or 1.5 miles away, you are going to slow down in either case anyway. So I just thought it wasn't worth it to pay 4X the price of a decent radar to get that extra warning from sucha great distance. Furthermore they also state that new technologies are constantly coming out to trap the driver without them knowing and the detectors we buy quickly go out of date and have to be replaced regularly in order to be current. I am no expert in this but that is what I recall from a detailed article on this topic before I bought.

Ajax

The current escort and v1 both support POP. Laser will always screw you.
It won't be worth it much longer, you're right on that one. At least with the V1, you get an upgrade policy rather than spending 300-400 more everytime a new feature is available.

Shamblerock

I like the upgrade policy. That's a nice feature, but for how long after you buy!

RX-8 friend

The V1 update policy is pretty much a no time limit deal. The only downside is the longer you wait to update, the more it will cost. But you get a completely new set of accessories when you update it (and a new detector).

I love my V1, and it's paid for itself several times over. I like the directional arrows (very useful to know exactly WHAT the detector is seeing). The display of the number of signals detected is also useful, and I also like the ability to turn off each band separately. Around here, X band has made my V1 become a "door detector" - most of the automatic door openers use X band microwave, and police radar doesn't any more. So I can just turn off that band.

Radar detectors work best if mounted as high as possible - I clip mine to the passenger visor near the centre of the car. Route the cable either behind the visor or in the headliner and up the "A" piller. The cord is a giveaway that you have a detector, and police get very attentive to you if they know you have one.

The only time a detector will not help you is if the police are using instant on radar, and there is no other traffic. You will get no warning in this case, so beware!

StealthTL

iTrader: (1)

Gotta agree with Mr. Friend - the ability to turn off x-band is what seperates the good from the trash.
X band is also very sensitive to FM signals, commonly used to trigger certain traffic systems.
If you need to detect Walmarts, then any detector will do!
My Bel x50 stays nice and quiet until the cruiser appears on the horizon, trolling for suckers, then it goes off, big time......priceless! :D

S

Check the sig..

Shamblerock

I have that option with the $89 Whistler as well. Its a great option. But the option that really impresses me is the one he mentioned that it points to where the radar is originating from.

RedSheDevil

I bought the high end Bel, cuz I traded my old one in and got $80 back. I still wish I'd sucked it up and bought the V1. Especially with the upgrades. I have yet to meet someone who doesn't rave about their Valentine.

truemagellen

hey stealth you have the blinder jammers? I had been interested in Bel/Escorts laser jamming system but after several reviews of the new blinder system and a lower pricing scheme I'm almost ready to bite...

especially since those with a laser jammer are the only ones who are truly protected

please tell me more about your experience with it, thanks!