Radar Detector
4th Gear Member
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,209
From:
RE: Radar Detector
ORIGINAL: Vernon Tull
I have owned and used several over the last twenty years: Escort/Passport, Bel, Cobra, Whistler, Uniden, and Sensoro. In the 1980s, Cobra and Uniden were very good detectors, but now they are bargain models with only average capabilities. Bel detectors are decent nowdays.
As others have said, Passport and Valentine are truly the best if you're willing to spend the money, but please understand a painful lesson I've learned over and over -- no detector, no matter how expensive, is truly and consistently effective against instant-on radar that the state troopers use.
All the brands I've owned would detect police radar just fine under optimal conditions, but mostly a radar detector will justsuddenly go into full alert andinform you that you are about to get a ticket when the trooper or patrolman has just hit you with instant-on from a short distance. Cops are getting worse and worse about waiting until a Mustang is rightin the danger zone andshooting the car with instant-on. Almost nothing you can do about it. A state trooper told me once that if he sees that you have a detector,you get an automatic ticket -- even in states where a detector is legal. I argued with his ethics, but you know how it is to argue or reason with cops. He said a radar detector shows "criminal intent."
After several run-ins with troopers, I've learned not to be fooled into a false sense of security from a detector, no matter how expensive it is. Even the most expensive models that claim to detect "micro pulses" of police instant-on radar really don't live up to the claim in my experience. It's all mainly marketing.
I have owned and used several over the last twenty years: Escort/Passport, Bel, Cobra, Whistler, Uniden, and Sensoro. In the 1980s, Cobra and Uniden were very good detectors, but now they are bargain models with only average capabilities. Bel detectors are decent nowdays.
As others have said, Passport and Valentine are truly the best if you're willing to spend the money, but please understand a painful lesson I've learned over and over -- no detector, no matter how expensive, is truly and consistently effective against instant-on radar that the state troopers use.
All the brands I've owned would detect police radar just fine under optimal conditions, but mostly a radar detector will justsuddenly go into full alert andinform you that you are about to get a ticket when the trooper or patrolman has just hit you with instant-on from a short distance. Cops are getting worse and worse about waiting until a Mustang is rightin the danger zone andshooting the car with instant-on. Almost nothing you can do about it. A state trooper told me once that if he sees that you have a detector,you get an automatic ticket -- even in states where a detector is legal. I argued with his ethics, but you know how it is to argue or reason with cops. He said a radar detector shows "criminal intent."
After several run-ins with troopers, I've learned not to be fooled into a false sense of security from a detector, no matter how expensive it is. Even the most expensive models that claim to detect "micro pulses" of police instant-on radar really don't live up to the claim in my experience. It's all mainly marketing.
And, a radar detector's not going to stop the planes that fly above you and gauge your speed based upon landmarks (this is a common practice throughout the deserts of California, with Victorville having the worst rep for speed traps), nor is it going to stop the old Mark I eyeball of the cop. If you do a flyby at 100 mph, REGARDLESS of whether or not the cop's got his/her radar/lidar on, they can pretty much tell you're speeding. Expect a ticket!
4th Gear Member
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,473
From:
RE: Radar Detector
All the brands I've owned would detect police radar just fine under optimal conditions, but mostly a radar detector will justsuddenly go into full alert andinform you that you are about to get a ticket when the trooper or patrolman has just hit you with instant-on from a short distance. Cops are getting worse and worse about waiting until a Mustang is rightin the danger zone andshooting the car with instant-on. Almost nothing you can do about it.
A state trooper told me once that if he sees that you have a detector,you get an automatic ticket -- even in states where a detector is legal
2nd Gear Member
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 286
From:
RE: Radar Detector
beltronics/escort(same chip inside) andvalentine are the way to go.
But yes, as posted above, radar detectors are just a tool to aid you in not getting cought and shouldnt be relied upon. Dont ever loose your natural sence and always be on the look out for cops. Check your rear view mirror at every stop light, look around the corners, dips in the road, a random car parked on the opposite side of the road, with no store for it to be parked at, overpasses and bridges. your #1 chance of not getting pulled over is you being Aware of your Enviornment when i first got my radar I found myself always going 5-10 over untill the damn thing beeped, but a lot of cops have adapted since radar dectors are so popular. I see more and more using laser, which the dector does nothing for (in a reasonable ammt of time) which is why u need to be aware of your enviornment. Think of it like a back up for when u fail to see a cop and he happens to have just left his radar gun on cause hes lazy. Around here, each of these cops think there damn navy seals, hiding there car behind buildings lasering people and what not, which your dector does nothing for.
To make a long post short, Radar detectors are nice, and i love my beltronics, but remember its just a tool to aid u in finding them, not a mess around till it beeps kinda thing.
RL Story:
I was following a friend one sunny afternoon and we needed to go straight while i was in a lane that was ending or turns right, so he signaled me 2 cut ahead and I did. Well a cop saw this and thought i cut my friend off. So he turned around and just followed me about 5-7 cars back. (i had my car for about 5 days at the time) Well my friend decides to tell me to gun it at the light since im the 1st one there, and me being stupid did a mild launch from about 1500ish rpms, enough for a little tire squeal and chirped the hell out of 2nd, let off right at the speed limit, but got a ticket for careless driving cause the cop witnessed it 5 cars back. My radar was on the whole time and was useless for that cause i wasent paying attention. (if your wondering, i had the ticket reduced in court to tire squeal, which was like 190 but no points)
But yes, as posted above, radar detectors are just a tool to aid you in not getting cought and shouldnt be relied upon. Dont ever loose your natural sence and always be on the look out for cops. Check your rear view mirror at every stop light, look around the corners, dips in the road, a random car parked on the opposite side of the road, with no store for it to be parked at, overpasses and bridges. your #1 chance of not getting pulled over is you being Aware of your Enviornment when i first got my radar I found myself always going 5-10 over untill the damn thing beeped, but a lot of cops have adapted since radar dectors are so popular. I see more and more using laser, which the dector does nothing for (in a reasonable ammt of time) which is why u need to be aware of your enviornment. Think of it like a back up for when u fail to see a cop and he happens to have just left his radar gun on cause hes lazy. Around here, each of these cops think there damn navy seals, hiding there car behind buildings lasering people and what not, which your dector does nothing for.
To make a long post short, Radar detectors are nice, and i love my beltronics, but remember its just a tool to aid u in finding them, not a mess around till it beeps kinda thing.
RL Story:
I was following a friend one sunny afternoon and we needed to go straight while i was in a lane that was ending or turns right, so he signaled me 2 cut ahead and I did. Well a cop saw this and thought i cut my friend off. So he turned around and just followed me about 5-7 cars back. (i had my car for about 5 days at the time) Well my friend decides to tell me to gun it at the light since im the 1st one there, and me being stupid did a mild launch from about 1500ish rpms, enough for a little tire squeal and chirped the hell out of 2nd, let off right at the speed limit, but got a ticket for careless driving cause the cop witnessed it 5 cars back. My radar was on the whole time and was useless for that cause i wasent paying attention. (if your wondering, i had the ticket reduced in court to tire squeal, which was like 190 but no points)
1st Gear Member
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 134
From:
RE: Radar Detector
I would also add that radar detectors are notoriously fragile and can develop odd electronicproblems quickly, and radar detector companies are equally notorious for wiggling out of warranty work on the units. Bel and Escort do anything they can to deny warranty claims. They always tell me that there's some mitigating circumstance and that they will have to charge $59.00 to repair my unit that is still in the warranty period.
Perhaps it's the heat inside a car interior that prematurely causes detector problems . . . I'm not really sure.
Perhaps it's the heat inside a car interior that prematurely causes detector problems . . . I'm not really sure.
3rd Gear Member
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 989
From:
RE: Radar Detector
This looks interesting... Anyone know how/where it would be installed in the dash? Is it any good?
ORIGINAL: lldsandsll
http://ecost.com/detail.aspx?edp=35444980
completely hidden, $273. there is also one for under 200 but i dont think it picks up laser.
ORIGINAL: brendend
you can go get a radar built into your car. i dont know how much they are but im sure its expencive.
you can go get a radar built into your car. i dont know how much they are but im sure its expencive.
completely hidden, $273. there is also one for under 200 but i dont think it picks up laser.
3rd Gear Member
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 685
From: Chicago (South Loop)
RE: Radar Detector
guys -
when it comes to radar detectors, as long as it works, it doesn't matter how cheap or expensive it is. i have a lower end cobra model i bought brand new for like $40, and yeah it doesn't have a 10-mile range like valentine or passport, and the range is about 50% of those radar detectors, but you REALLY don't need to know about a cop that's more than 1-2 miles away from you. in fact, my friends with those detectors are ALWAYS slowing down because those things go off constantly because a cop is 8 miles away. who cares, especially in the city? mine actually does FAR less false alerts, and only alerts me when there is real danger. i mean there IS such a thing as too sensitive...i dont care about a cop 10 miles away, and i dont want to be warned...i only care about cops i may encounter.
but the bottom line is NO radar detector works 100%...at best, it reduces your chances of a ticket by 25% when used properly...you just gotta use common sense. and if you're doing 140mph on the freeway, don't expect a detector to save you...instant-on or laser will nail your ***. so be careful.
my advice: go with the cheapest model that works (avoid rocky mountain radar detectors, they DONT WORK AT ALL).
when it comes to radar detectors, as long as it works, it doesn't matter how cheap or expensive it is. i have a lower end cobra model i bought brand new for like $40, and yeah it doesn't have a 10-mile range like valentine or passport, and the range is about 50% of those radar detectors, but you REALLY don't need to know about a cop that's more than 1-2 miles away from you. in fact, my friends with those detectors are ALWAYS slowing down because those things go off constantly because a cop is 8 miles away. who cares, especially in the city? mine actually does FAR less false alerts, and only alerts me when there is real danger. i mean there IS such a thing as too sensitive...i dont care about a cop 10 miles away, and i dont want to be warned...i only care about cops i may encounter.
but the bottom line is NO radar detector works 100%...at best, it reduces your chances of a ticket by 25% when used properly...you just gotta use common sense. and if you're doing 140mph on the freeway, don't expect a detector to save you...instant-on or laser will nail your ***. so be careful.
my advice: go with the cheapest model that works (avoid rocky mountain radar detectors, they DONT WORK AT ALL).
2nd Gear Member
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 194
From:
RE: Radar Detector
For the guy who asked if you can buy a radar dector that runs on batteries...yes you can! I have one. I just got the Sensoro Silver Bullet Rx7500M its a compact wireless radar/laser detector and it has been saving me since i got it...it runs on 2AA batteries but if your going on a long cruise you can still pop a plug into the dash. You just stick it on the windshield so if you get pulled over there is an easy release that pops the dector off but leaves the brackets on....take about 1 sec to put on and off. and i take mine off very day at work so it wont get hot in the sun. It also has different modes for filtering out false alarms like when you pass by a walmart or something...i love it and it wasnt that expensive at all...