Which Radar Detector?

Well two hundred I don't know. But for 400, You can buy a valentine one. Which is the best radar detector out there. Beleive this thing can detect a cop from couple mile's away. I love this thing.
 
BEL 955 is $200



Vector Series Radar Detectors & Laser Detectors - Beltronics USA



Bel is owned by Escort, who of course makes one of the best detectors on the planet. I own an Escort now and my first detector was a nice Bel. Both have been very good to me and I have no problem recommending them to anyone. I bought my wife a cheapy beater $100 Bel for her car and for no more than it is, it's still pretty accurate, although build quality is lower on that model. For their price, Bels always rate pretty highly, if not at the top, of most mid-priced detector tests.
 
I wasted so much money on crap detectors. The valentine 1 is much more effective because of the arrors that show you the direction of the radar. You can look in 4 directions or 1. I like 1.
 
yakky said:
The valentine 1 is much more effective because of the arrors that show you the direction of the radar. You can look in 4 directions or 1. I like 1.
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True that, I love my V1, but did hurt my wallet a bit...:)
 
I'd also want a Valentine One. We have an Escort 9500 in the family which is now just paper weight. I had a cheap, Cobra dectector that lasted longer than the Escort. Plus, because the Cobra was purchased from Costco, I got my money back. Luckily, the Escort didn't belong to me otherwise I would have been really pissed paying more than $300 for a brand new item only for it to break down a little after a year of use.
 
+1 for the V1. I had 4 true detections where I was doing at least 20 over. The detector is paid for :D



Just a tip, you cannot get this thing for cheaper than their website. Even ebay sellers don't sell it for less.
 
Don't waste your money on a detector that costs only $200 . Save your money until you have the $400 to buy the Valentine 1. It's the best of the best in my opinion.
 
Just like everyone else is saying, Unless you get a V1 you are wasting your money. if you try to get a 200 dollar detector you will get a ticket and end up paying the same in fines that a V1 costs. Save up a little longer a get a real radar detector. My V1 paid for itself in avoided tickets in less than a year.
 
Escort user for over 17 years. No tickets. I guess this brand works for me. Then again at my age I realize that no detector will really protect you if you are Z06 speeding.

The distant a detector can reach is very dependent on the terrain. El Cheapo will see miles in the desert. Besides most enforcement will just wait until you are right up on them before exposing themselves. They are not stupid. :bat



Save your money and use it to buy some track time. :woot:
 
I've got a Bel Vector 995 that works excellent. I can't remember how much I paid for it but I do know if works quite well!!
 
have to agree with the V1. saved me a few times and i sold it on ebay for about 25 less than i paid for it after two years of ownership.
 
blkZ28Conv said:
Escort user for over 17 years. No tickets. I guess this brand works for me. Then again at my age I realize that no detector will really protect you if you are Z06 speeding.

The distant a detector can reach is very dependent on the terrain. El Cheapo will see miles in the desert. Besides most enforcement will just wait until you are right up on them before exposing themselves. They are not stupid. :bat



Save your money and use it to buy some track time. :woot:
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Honestly, this doesnt answer your question (OP), but this is veeery wise advice, qualified wisdom if you ask me. Seriously, most law enforcers are wise to radar, and for 400 hundred bucks you can get an attorney to get the infraction dropped, 10 over or less. Don't speed on the street, but go 200 mph if you want on the track.



Im sure this is just what you wanted to hear, but Z28's post is on the money.:idea
 
yakky said:
I wasted so much money on crap detectors. The valentine 1 is much more effective because of the arrors that show you the direction of the radar. You can look in 4 directions or 1. I like 1.
Click to expand...



The arrows do not show the direction of the radar. they theoretically show the radar's position. As radar bounces of buildings, cars, trees, street signs, the arrows are worthless in town. The V1 does not have 4-way arrows. It has front, rear and one arrow for both left AND right.



I own two Escrort 8500 x50s and I bought them after borrowing a V1 andusing it for two solid months. I found the arrows to be unreliable. Besides, if I get a Ka alert, I get on the ABS. I do not want to waste even a millisecond glancing at arrows.



If you trust the arrows, you will get nailed in town. Besides radar waves bouncing off everything in sight, when the V1 gives you the SIDES arrow, you will still be searching left-right-left-right..... and looking in two directions.



I know the theory is that a radar hit from the side is harmless because the speed reading (at ninety degrees) will be zero, bute if the cop is close enough to see you (like on a side street) and you ignore the SIDES arrow, nothing stops the officer from writing a speeding ticket based on his observation.



With all that said, Google "Radar Roy". Roy is a retired cop and certified rasdar instructor who now sells radar detectors. Give him a call or check out his website for a realistic recommendation for a detector in your price range.
 
STG said:
The arrows do not show the direction of the radar. they theoretically show the radar's position. As radar bounces of buildings, cars, trees, street signs, the arrows are worthless in town. The V1 does not have 4-way arrows. It has front, rear and one arrow for both left AND right.



I own two Escrort 8500 x50s and I bought them after borrowing a V1 andusing it for two solid months. I found the arrows to be unreliable. Besides, if I get a Ka alert, I get on the ABS. I do not want to waste even a millisecond glancing at arrows.



If you trust the arrows, you will get nailed in town. Besides radar waves bouncing off everything in sight, when the V1 gives you the SIDES arrow, you will still be searching left-right-left-right..... and looking in two directions.



I know the theory is that a radar hit from the side is harmless because the speed reading (at ninety degrees) will be zero, bute if the cop is close enough to see you (like on a side street) and you ignore the SIDES arrow, nothing stops the officer from writing a speeding ticket based on his observation.



With all that said, Google "Radar Roy". Roy is a retired cop and certified rasdar instructor who now sells radar detectors. Give him a call or check out his website for a realistic recommendation for a detector in your price range.
Click to expand...

Radar roy wants to sell you a radar detector, which is why he doesn't recommend the V1. He wants to recommend something he can sell you right out of his store so HE makes money. He wouldn't make money if he recommended the Valentine.

Arrows aside, I also like to know exactly how many signals I'm getting hit by, something only the V1's bogey counter can do. And I like the heavy duty Magnesium casing more than the plastic casing of the 200 dollar detectors. Plus its nice to know if they ever change the V1 I won't have to buy a new one, just update mine.
 
I have been on the fence about getting an RD for months now; even bought the hardwiring cable for the V1, but....I am just not convinced that RDs stand much of a chance against today's detection tech. Laser is king now and too many precints are replacing all their radar gear with lidar. The fact is: If there is a laser pointed straight at you, no RD in the world will save you. The chances of getting deflected laser readings off other cars on the road are fairly slim since most operators are trained-enough to shoot them at targets a lot closer than a mile (distance at which the beam expands to the size of about one lane), so even a deflected beam would likely be too thin for an RD to pick up.



So I just don't know; $400 is a nice chunk of change for any product that TODAY, only slightly improves one's chances of being saved than it did even 5 years ago when lidar was a lot less prevalent among LEOs. Will I be better off with an RD than without one? Absolutely. But these days, the price, no matter how low, just doesn't justify the meagerly-improved chances of a successful escape. It is the truth that I (being a marketing professional) know no RD manufacturer would ever want a consumer to know.
 
I have a Escrort 8500 x50s and was wondering if you can send them in to get re calibrated....I use to pick radar up at a good distance..now it seems like it has a shorter warnng..it may just be the radar itself..but just wanted to get it checked out....



Any one ever send thiers in to get checked



Al
 
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