hey guys~~ just had some questions regarding radar detectors
with my TL i'm going to be doing a LOT of highway driving so one of them radar detectors should be "pleasant" (got 2 speeding tickets in the past 2 months)
anyways my buddy was saying valentine one's are really good but the price is a little too high for me -_-;;
anyone have any suggestions in regards to a good radar detector with a decent price range?? thanx..

 

I have the Valentine One and I love it. However I hear that the Escort 8500 x50 is just as good but cheaper. Check it out. I think it retails for $300. Other options are the Bel RX65 (which might be even cheaper).

 

Agreed. I have the Escort X50. My ex-boss runs a Ferarri 348 Challenge car with a V1. He swears by it and we go back and forth, but I think if you get either of these it is worth the money. Forget about spending less. Why try to save $50 - $100 when your first ticket would be more than that?

Don’t make the mistake. Drop the money for a good radar detector if you decide to go that route, just know what you are doing with it. It doesn’t give you a license to drive like an as@hole. If you are the fastest car on the road you will get pulled over. Just remember there are lasers and instant on out there. If you are running with one of the above detectors and it goes off like a Christmas tree for a half second and then goes away, slow down, smokey is likely about to pop you next.

I suggest you buy one and live with it for a while. With some experience and restraint, you can avoid costly tickets and get to work more quickly.

Also, don’t even think about available “jammers.” Any quick Internet search will show you that they are all smoke – no protection at all.

 

If you can't buy the best, (whichever that one is)...why buy one?
As with bullet proof vests and parachutes; would you buy less than the best?
I always felt it was the same idea for radar defectors.
I've been partial to Escorts thru the years.

If you get another ticket because you saved $100 on the defector, what's the real cost of the fine, points and insurance to you?

DJ Kaz
www.kaz1dj.com

 

I have an Escort and it is the best radar detector i have ever owned (5th one)
From all the comarisons V1 and Escort are almost neck and neck.... i don't think you will go wrong with either.

 

 

Thanks a lot for the advice~~
I don't really intend on going fast.. but when you're going 110km/h and the speed limit is 100km/h and i get pulled over, that's when i want a radar detector -_-;;
(actually happened)
anyways i'll look into it thanx~~^^;

 

A few thoughts from a V1 user (when I am not in Virginia)--the thing is great, but you still have to use common sense, especially if you are not running in traffic and there are few other cars around to keep the instant-on radar on the air (so to speak). So watch out in the usual places, such as overpasses. Also, while I've never gotten stopped for speeding since I got my V1 (pause to knock on wooden desk), there are a few things to remember if you DO get pulled over or if it looks like you're going to. If a cop pulls out, IMMEDIATELY hide the detector under your seat, and also close the cover to where the power outlet is (an empty power plug or lighter plug is a tip-off) and clean the suction cup marks off the windshield. If the cop can tell that you have a detector, you will not have any chance at a warning, period.

 

Radar detectors are not illegal everywhere, as far as I know if that's why you're telling him to hide it.

Anyway, I have the Escort 8500, and the only time I was pulled over since was with laser, which is unavoidable unless you have a jammer, which is illegal everywhere I believe.

I hear the Valentines are the best, but if you are only travelling a little over the limit, any Radar detector should give you ample warning to slow down a bit. I can't see what's so special about the Valentines to justify the extra $50. Not a big amount, but my Escort has never failed to alert me to a trap in the past year I've had it. How much better can the Valentine be if the Escort is 100%?

Just my opinion

 

I realize that, but the point is that if the cop sees the detector, you ARE going to get a ticket if he's clocked you or paced you. Simple as that--no warnings if you have a detector (and why should there be?). Likewise, if the suction cup marks are there, then he knows you have it and are hiding it; if the lighter plug is empty, then it's a pretty good sign, but less tell-tale. Point being--why give the cop any more reason to nail you than you have to? Odds are that if you are driving a TL and you get stopped, the cop will give you a ticket because he's mad that you drive a nicer car than he does, but why not do what you can to try to find a way to avoid the ticket if possible?

The place that is the biggest problem is Quebec, where it is illegal even to POSSESS a detector. When I go up there I pull off at the last rest area on I-87 and hide it in my luggage, given that the LAST thing I want is a hassle at the border. (For someone coming from within Canada it ought to be less of an issue.)

 

Active radar jammers are illegal, passive radar jammers don't work (for anyone but the people selling them). I don't think laser jammers are illegal, (yet) search for the blinder m-20. Odd but only a few states make detectors illegal. P.S. anybody want a start a i almost got nailed but was saved by my detector thread?

 

Oops followup: LaserJammers are illegal in MN, UT, OK, NB, CA, VA, and Wash. DC

 

I highly recommend the V1.
I do admit I never used the Escort but my freind has an Escort 8500 (I think that's the model) and he's gotten 2 tickets. Now he has a V1.
I've been using the V1 since 1999 and (KNOCK ON WOOD) no tickets. I use all the time when I travel long distances.
I have done multiple cross country trips, from Los Angeles to NYC and always with the V1 and never had any problems what so ever. I always had good warning distances, it tells me where the signal is coming from, how many, etc. Trust me, I speed and that warning really helps.
Another great thing is that you can get the V1 software upgraded.
Long story short....I highly recommend the V1.
Any questions, PM me.

 

Go with the V1. I have used a V1 for 5 years....tried the passport 8500 X50 for several months then sold it. Currently I am running the V1 with the passport ZR3 laser jammer.....I will never own a car without either....assuming they are not made illegal

 

the ZR3 Laser Jammer how well does that work? is it effective? how many tickets have u gotten? how well do u know how it works?

 

Why exactly do you need to know where the radar is? The left or the right, etc? You're going to slow down regardless correct? I've always had good warning distance with my Escort as well. Laser and instant-on you are caught no matter what. (unless you catch the signal bouncing off another car up ahead)

I almost want to get the V1 because I like to have the best when it comes to certain things, but I need to justify it. Especially since I already have the Escort. I'm trying to allow myself to be convinced, it just hasn't been working.

 

my girlfriend recently baught me the Cobra XRS-9400...is it one that i could depend on wen on the hway?????

 

The reason why you would want to know the direction is that, according to V1, radar signatures coming from the side are more likely to be a false positive so you may choose to ignore them. Also, the V1 will tell you the number of radar sources it is finding (the Escort 8500 X50 does not). I once talked to a cop who told me that he drives around with his radar detector, and places where it gets set off, by say an automatic door, he will set up a speed trap there because everyone expects their detector to go off there and ignores it.

BOTTOM LINE difference between Escort 8500 and V1:

For X, K, and Ka, as well as Laser, both are very good. Different articles may give either one the edge in this, but they are both acceptable

The V1 has some extra functionality with the direction and number of sources displayed, but it costs like $100 more. If that is important to you, go for it. For me I thought it was not.

There is one final difference too. The V1 is unable to detect POP radar. This is rare and somewhat controversial right now. The Escort 8500 does have the functionality to detect this, however on the V1 website, they claim that POP tickets would never stand up in court anyway – so who knows about this issue.

 

Thanks Dr. Kill!!!

 

NFLBlitze1 - I have zero tickets since I have had the radar jammers (just installed it last night - LOL). Just kidding...actaully, It has saved me from 3 definite tickets. I was actaully able to test it with a friend of mine who was actually running a speed trap at the momemt. Active jammers are very effective, and many independent test prove that. The only negative would be if the you were hit with laser w/i 150 feet or so, most laser guns will penetrate the jamming at close distances....though it is highly unlikely (99%) that an officer would wait that long to paint your vehicle. Hope that helps....for the price of $299 it's not bad for extra insurance

 

One time on I-59 in Georgia I think I was doing a bit over 70 mph when a cop started tailing me from behind blasting instant-on every once in a while--guess he saw the out-of-state plates and thought I'd be an easy target--but since the V1 was warning me that he was behind, I made sure not to hit the brakes (that's a dead giveaway that you're speeding) and gradually slowed to 68 mph (speed limit is 70) and set the cruise there. You'd think he'd have figured out that I knew he was there, but he kept following me almost to the Alabama state line, blasting the instant-on every 20-30 seconds. (By this point I could pick him out back there in the rearview.) The point about hitting your brakes is that you're giving the cop a reason to focus on your car, even if he hasn't gotten a good reading on your speed. Remember that there are ways other than radar to clock someone! If you don't know he's back there and he turns off the radar gun, you may well get a ticket if he decides to pace you when you speed back up.

The other nice thing about the radar arrows and the bogey counter is somewhat of what Dr. Kill notes. If you pass a known false spot every day and get a reading of 3 radar sources, then one day you get 4 sources, you know something fishy is going on. The other thing is that the old story about "multi-car" speed traps is entirely true, I've encountered precisely those on occasion, and the V1 is great for those. When you approach the first cop, it reads "2" and shows "ahead." Pass the first cop, it reads "2" and shows "ahead" AND "behind." Go over the hill and there's the second cop. I encountered one of these on I-40 in North Carolina once. The arrows were the key to knowing what was there.

 

No.

Active jammers are effective, but they are very illegal - felony if you get caught.

Also. While there are active jammers available on the black market for X band, and K band, there is no jammer currently available to defeat Ka radar - and last I heard Ka is used more than 40% of the time across the US (and this percentage is growing because Ka is the most effective of the three)

As previously mentioned, laser jammers are available and some models seem to be effective.

Passive jammers are completely ineffective.
http://www.radar-detectors.com/suppo...ct-tests/6.asp
I remember reading on one of their previous articles that they actually took one of these passive jammers apart and there was nothing inside except circuitry to make the lights blink. Not only did their tests reveal that the jammers didn’t prevent detection, because of their antenna, they actually increased the radar detection range of the test car!

 

Yes I agree with your thoughts on Radar Jamming...and I would never go there nor recommend that some install since "Radar Jamming" is illegal in all 50.

You did mention a passive lasar jammers - which do not work....

but you did not mention....Active Laser Jammers (Passport ZR3, Bliner, Bel K40) that do work and are legal in most states.