It's true that radar detectors work well nowadays, but there are definitely a few that work a LOT better than others.

Thanks for mentioning instant on. I had forgotten about that (deploying for a year will do that to you). It's important to recognize what this mode "looks like" on your detector. It'll look like a signal that goes from nothing to near or full signal strength, which usually drops off rather quickly. Your only saving grace is if you detect a LEO using this on another driver.

As for bands, I still encounter K band frequently, though Ka band is the most used today (except in Ohio and New Jersey, they still use a LOT of X band). A nice thing about Ka band is you'll never find an automatic door using Ka, so it's most likely a LEO (sometimes traffic monitoring devices). The traffic monitoring part is another reason why I like Escort more than Valentine.

One more thing,

Active Radar Jammers are illegal in all states.
Passive radar jammers don't work.
Radar detectors are only illegal in Virginia, Washington D.C., and all military installations.
Laser jammers are legal in all states except: California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Washington DC, and recently added to this list is Texas.

 

There's a detector made just for you, the Escort 9500IX "learns" where the false signals are, making it the quietest detector out there. Where I live it only goes off when I'm getting an actual radar hit from a LEO.

 

god damnit tx now? grrrr when i moved back to houston i was gonna buy one

 

Yeah that JUST happened. You can still purchase a laser jammer as they're technically an "expensive parking sensor". They have that mode, anyway. That's how they're sold in Australia and Europe (where they're all illegal).

 

Well it looks like the OP has most of all the info he needs, but being a young guy and also having the "age/race profiling" thing used on me before I can say that the Valentine is a smart buy. The directional arrows are pretty nice, and the bogey counter is pretty foolproof.

Courteousness it really important, but it only works some of the time. Believe it or not, there are azzhole cops out there, who LOOK for people like me/you. And the radar becomes a necessity to keep the "extra" attention we receive from getting us in trouble lol.

I don't speed but every day I get hit with the Ka band on the way to class/work (depending on the day) it usually picks up the radar before I ever even get in range of the officers line of sight. They have to see me to hit me.

Maybe the no gps feature is a downfall, I don't know. But as soon as that patent is up I am sure valentine will be all over it. Might as well go with one of the suggested here, but I will say, that the cops can always shut down the radar/laser and just say "I eye-balled it boy." And you will be out of luck, unfortunately.

Good luck, and remember all of this is just my humble opinion/experience.

 

best setup money can buy right here:
blinder m47 x-treme (front)
blinder m27 x-treme (rear)
valentine one
cheetah c50
v1 blend mount

 

You are my new god.

 

god damn. that is awesome. what does the cheetah c50 do?

 

The cheetah is a Speed/Redlight camera "detector". It has a GPS receiver and a database.

I don't think that's quite the "best" setup. Laser Interceptor has been reviewed time and time again as way better than the Blinder. The Blinder is a definite second place though. Escort Redline is Spectre immune (V1 is not) and has better range than the V1 as well, with a spec display and multiple signal strengths displayed available. As for "money can buy", why not spring for a hard installed system like the 9500CI or the STiR Plus (both also Spectre immune).

Now I'm not saying that isn't a killer setup (which it is) or that I'm not extremely jealous (which I am), I would just do things differently myself.

 

the V1 does have signal strength readout. thats how im able to tell false bogeys from real ones