[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Radar Detectors: recommendations? (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 7/27/2004 1:00:41 PM EDT
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I'm a little pissed right now. Just got back from court for a speeding ticket. Suffice it to say, I got screwed. Cop gave me a ticket for passing someone on a 2-lane road when the other guy didn't want to let me back in. Besides blowing up the county building, I figure the best form of revenge would be to never let them get me again. Any recommendations for a good radar detector? Preferably one of those that guarantee results. Thanks (and no thanks to the man in uniform who collected part of his quota off my hard-earned paycheck.) |
These are without a doubt the best 'Radar Locator" made!  You will not be disappointed as I have not been.  You will know where every radar signal is at all times. BigDozer66 |
Did you fight it in court? Why wouldn't the judge listen? Don't get me wrong - I don't know you at all, and for all know, you got royally screwed by some cop with a bad attitude who needed to fill a quota. BUT, usually with a lot of these stories, it turns out that it's usually a little more complicated than just a cop being unreasonable or unfair. |
Sometimes the Judges just don't listen. I got a ticket for passing a car once. He was doing 30 in a 45. When I tried to pass, he sped up with me- wouldn't let me back in. I was in my old Audi, so I punched it and passed him anyway. Turned out it was an undercover Cop. That cost me a couple hundred dollars. Didn't matter what I told the Judge - in that county, you were guilty. Period. |
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Certain states are notorious for letting their locals run amok with radar guns, I don't speed (intentionally) but just to avoid getting shanghaied by one of the two-bit town yokels who use radar for the sole revenue source, I use the radar detector. To get an idea of just how many |
| I used to have a radar detector on at all times driving, I didn't really drive all that much faster back then, and I got a crap load of speeding tickets. Yes I had good detectors, Val and Bel, I even had one of those radar/laser jamming devices. About four years ago I stopped using them completely, I haven't had a speeding ticket since. The best use I ever found for that stuff was after I had quit using them, I was talking with a coworker who was about to buy a good detector and jammer, I sold him my V1 and jammer for about $250, took the money and bought a SAR1. The SAR1 I love, the tickets I don't even miss. |
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Oops. Your correct. Sorry about that. "There are no federal laws restricting the use of laser jammers. However, some states may regulate their use. The use of laser jammers is prohibited and/or restricted in California, Minnesota, Oklahoma and Utah. Check your local laws before using the laser "shifting" feature of the Passport SRX" |
| There is no such thing as guaranteed results. I've got two tickets in the 3 months following getting my Valentine. I still consider it the best out there but if the cop is pacing you from behind or coming towards you and nails you with instant on you are screwed regardless of all the technology you have. |
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On edit, I stopped looking too soon. .www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=5&t=249188 Valentine is the best. Flat out |
| If you want THE best then check out the K40. K40 Radar Detector They will pay for your ticket should you get one. Little pricy though, you should be able to talk the price down, there is a good markup on this product. |
The K40 wasn't in their 2002 test.  Bel 980 Cobra XR-1050 Escort Passport 8500 Uniden LRD 987 Valentine One Whistler 1780 www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=4&article_id=1999 The Valentine is second to none.  <---had his since 1994 but I should send it in for the upgrade program, which by the way is a sweet deal. Mine is 9 years old (shipped to me 6/15/95) , I paid $399 for it and I can upgrade to a brand new current spec off the shelf unit with all the accessories that they ship with for $279. |
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I have a K40 and it works great, but like ALL radar detectors you are screwed when the instant on features are used, or if you are the only car traveling on a section of road. Get pulled over with any radar detector on board will increase your chances of getting a ticket. The only way to avoid tickets is not to speed, at least here in OK where jammers are illegal. |
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What's the hurry for all of you - not necessarily the original poster - that are spending all this money on radar detectors? (granted I don't know how expensive they are, but all the technology sure sounds pricey). ... I also wanted to add that the ONE time I got a speeding ticket in all the time I've lived in the U.S., I was going 20 mph above the speed limit - which is UNUSUALLY fast for me - and they got me by clocking me from an airplane (by the markers painted on the road). A fancy expensive radar detector is not going to protect you against a stopwatch!! |
9 over will get you ticketed here. Sometimes you do not know you are speeding, and with the little bastard on your dash chirping, you pay more attention to your speedo. Goddamn WSP thinks that if you watch your speedo closely enough, you dont need to watch the road to be safe. |
9 over will get you ticketed on the freakin' highway!?!? That sucks - I'm never coming to visit YOU
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Get the Valentine. Anyone who says their "x" make radar detector has served them well is probably telling the truth. However, a Valentine would have served them better. Get the Valentine. There is nothing better in terms of a detector. In terms of a laser jammer, by my research there appears to be indeed some good products out there. Check out this thread www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=5&t=254318 for a wee bit more of information. I have yet to see an objective evaluation on laser jammers yet. I'd like to see Car and Driver do one as in my opinion they perform the best tests on radar detectors, and this would probably spill over into the jammer evaluation. |
On the Interrstate no less. With almost no traffic! Friggins state motorcycle cops must move at least 5 tickets an hour. |
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I got a speeding ticket in 1987. Radar detector recomendation: Start saving now for your next ticket, or seriously re-evaluate your driving techniques. Forgot to add, here is the typical scenario: The guy you passed was going 50 in a 45, yet you still passed. Press hard, there are four copies. |
The problem is CERTAIN STATES like to use radar as a revenue stream rather than LE tool and permit both their state troopers & local LE to run *questionable* speed traps. THIS SITE is perhaps the best example of why innocent motorists need to arm themselves with every tool available to prevent getting bogus tickets. As for laser jammers, the Lidateks seem to get good reviews, haven't tried one personally. Watch the BMW & Audi forums for group buys on the Lidatek Speedtraps by state |
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Escort Passport 8500 Plenty of performance and save $100. Some places rate it higher than the V1, others the V1 higher. From what I can see it's a tossup. The V1 is bulky and ugly, but very good performace-wise. I could have bought either. I chose the 8500. I have not been disappointed. A coworker has a V1, but jsut bought a 8500 to replace it based on his research. I don't think I would have done that if I already had one or the other. |
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I bought a Escort Passport 8500 X50 and it is by far the best I have ever owned. It is a little expensive, but well worth it. The first time I used it, it started beeping on K band a little then slowly, I mean slowly increased intensity until finally after a good 1/2 - 3/4 mile I saw the Sherriff's car driving on the other side of the highway. It is very sensitive and fully programable and is definitely wrth reading up on. Check out the link for more info. Just my $.02 http://www.radarbusters.com/resources/images/products/escort/x-50_blue.gif www.escortradar.com/x50.htm |
The only difference between the two that I have seen is just the bogey counter and direction arrows that is on my Valentine. When the detector goes BEEP I like to know where the radar threat is coming from to determine if I need to slow down or not. As for being bulky, it's really not that big. I just rode in with it on my motorcycle this morning and had no problems with it blocking my view, getting in the way, or falling off the windshield. As for ugly, I've grown to like the look and feel of it. |
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I have 15% Titanium metalized window tint on my side windows and rear windshield (OK exempts LEO's from the tint laws in this state) and VALENTINE ONE says that metalized window tint will mess-up the directional capability of their unit. Does anyone have experience with VALENTINE ONE and heavy window tint? (I know this doesn't sound like a very good question coming from a LEO, but I don't work traffic and I'm close to retirement. Also, OHP doesn't like us much and they sure as hell don't cut us any slack  )
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Some years ago a car accessory store DID have a guarantee: if you bought one of their high-end detectors and still got a speeding ticket while using it, they'd pay for the ticket. One catch -- they'd only do that if the ticket was for going no more than 10 over the limit. Shoot. How about I just not go 20 over the limit to begin with and NOT bother with the detector? Works just as well. |
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Quoted: I have 15% Titanium metalized window tint on my side windows and rear windshield (OK exempts LEO's from the tint laws in this state) and VALENTINE ONE says that metalized window tint will mess-up the directional capability of their unit. Does anyone have experience with VALENTINE ONE and heavy window tint? quote] Window tints will degrade the performance of ANY laser detector, as tints reduce light transmission, and of course the laser is light albeit in a different spectrum than the visual range. metallic tints can also degrade radar transmission. The composition of certain types of glass affects transmission. These factors affect all detectors basically equally. The difference is in the sensitivity of the detector, and whether the detector is sensitive enough to pick up the residual signal or not. Valentine 1 shares this data so that people understand the limitations. Aside from being up front, their product is best built and has the best performance. I just wish it was cheaper, but charging what they do is a right they've earned by making the best product. |
Be careful whose tests you rely on. One proponent of *anything but Valentine* is an "expert" (but has no engineering degree) who was turned down for consulting by Mike Valentine (who most certainly does know his engineering)... since then this guy (who might as well be the Michael Moore of the radar detector world) consistently does "reviews" where the Valentine gets crushed by others (who just happen to have used this fellow as a consultant... surprise, surprise. Go to any site where enthusiasts who drive high end cars fast congregate, and the overwhelming majority will swear by the Valentine 1. And beware of sites proclaiming to be "objective" who make their bucks from selling books and the like. Especially when they are run by a guy whose "expert" qualifications consist of training a few people on radar guns. (The C&D test is the closest thing out there to a genuinely objective test) The Passports are not junk, but they are not better than a V1 |
| I still think the best bet is to use your head. I've passed cops several times doing 10 over and don't get pulled over. On some roads, 10 over is just pushing it too much. For all the horror stories of WSP I've driven side by side with cruisers doing 10 over on I405 and SR 520. The only time I have been pulled over was because I was a dumbass and was doing 54 in a 25. Now, the speed limit is kind of outrageous for this road, 25 is wayy too low but still I shouldn't have been speeding that much. And, if I did have a radar detector it wouldn't have worked because there was a motorcycle cop hiding who clocked me right as I came into his view. That was about 4 years ago. When I had my motorcycle I routinely did up to 120mph on certain roads and I guess I got lucky, but I think the important thing is not to push it everywhere you go and leave the speed demon stuff to places where you're unlikely to find cops. |