Best Radar detector/ What kind do you have?

[J Kinkaid]

Valentine the best radar dectector ever made . It has easily paid for itself

 

[David Drummond]

I have an older Cobra that talks, but it's useless against radar these days 90% of the time. The only reason I still keep it in there is because it has a built in digital compass and the emergency vehicle alert feature for fire, ems etc.

 

[Mark Blue]

I own two Escort 8500 X50s. One blue (wife's) and one red (mine). I must be the odd ball here because I use mine every day and haven't had a ticket since 1994. In 1995 I bought my first detector which was Whistler. Whenever my detector says there's a 'K' or 'Ka' band in the vicinity I slow down and more often than not I will see a cop somewhere up the road. 'X' bands are almost always false alarms. Everyone is right about a laser signal. You don't have much time to react, if any. Even still, if you manage your speeding to no more than 10 miles an hour over the speed limit, you can usually jam on the brakes and get down to the speed limit in a hurry, but not always.

Anyhow, I'd recommend an Escort if you want safe and reliable detection. Since I signed the dotted line in 1995 I have never looked back and certainly never regretted the money I've spent. Last but not least, keep your eyes peeled on the road just as if you don't have a radar detector, just in case you see smokey bear up ahead and he has instant on or laser. If you do this you'll probably wind up just like me - ticket free and a happy camper!

 

[Paul Stofer]

Valentine 1

 

[Mikey Gribble]

It is a waste of money IF you don't get a high end radar detector. I just bought a Cobra this year and managed to get three tickets over the last four months. A cheaper radar detector just gives a false sense of security. I got two tickets when the cop did that turn on and turn off radar. The other one I got was because I forgot to turn my radar detector on.
I plan on buying a Valentine before next chase season. I think you are golden with one of those even if the cop is doing that instant on radar because some of the Valentines have a 12 mile range. My Cobra only had a one mile range. I wouldn't worry about laser. I have only gotten hit with that once and it was in the city from a motorcycle cop(they make laser jammers too if you're interested). If you have a 12 mile range, odds are there is going to be another car some where in the 12 mile area ahead of you that is going to get hit with radar and warn you. I have heard great things about Escorts too, but I personally would go with Valentine.

 

[Mark Sefried]

I have a Beltronics Vector 995 and it has saved me many times while driving. I paid $230 for it 1.5 years ago and it has easily payed for itself. I strongly suggest getting one of the following because anything else is more or less worthless. A Cb radio is also very handy while on the interstate just tune to channel 19. The valentine 1 and the whistlers are are half way decent at picking up lidar (laser) however the valentine 1 is the best. However, most of the time if you get a laser alert your screwed anyway as you have about 3 seconds or so to slow down. For those on a tight budget that want a really good detector I would go with the whistler xtr-690 ($170) as it has a digital compass and is built on the same platform as a whistler pro 78. A good place to buy the whistler xtr-690 is the link below as the place that sells it is an authorized dealer.

http://www.radarbusters.com/radar-d...detectors/products.cfm?action=view&key=DBL006

Valentine 1 ($420)
Beltronics X65 ($330)
Escort 8500 x50 ($300)
Beltronics V995 ($240)
Beltronics Vector 955 ($180)
Whistler pro 78 ($180)
Whistler xtr-690 ($170)

 

[Robert Rohloff]

I will most often give people a break on their speed unless it is really outrageous such as over 20 mph in a zone. Radar detector is good for full citation. The newest radar I have can monitor front/back at same time with different readouts. Instant on and fastest reading you do not even have to be the closest vehicle to me. Since most states the radar supports the visual estimate an officer does not need to pace or radar you. We are certified by the courts in visual speed.

I rarely would use that as the only basis for citation but will always have visual est and then radar conformation. We played with a escort when the new radars came in. If the officer leaves the radar on you will get enough warning if they wait until they see your a speeder then your caught. It will also depend on what speed the officer is stopping at. Such as 10 over, I will usually work 15 and above and there is so much of that there are days it will take 20 over. Keep in mind that departments are starting to use more unmarked units for traffic and may just pace you after you blow by and then hit the radar. The stalker radar I have can monitor 4 lanes of traffic in away or approaching at the same time when stationary. Moving I can run front away/closing or rear away/closing at the same time.

Lidar the same thing the officer waits for the speeding vehicle and sights it in and lasers the vehicle. The officer will have to have a clear line of sight for these such as a bridge. Save your money..... do not over do the speed....

 

[Caleb Lawrence]

You guys are sneaky.

 

[Mikey Gribble]

If cops are shooting radar and just turning it on to hit cars on a sparsely populated highway, then won't your radar detector pick it up when the cop hits a car that is a mile or two ahead of you on the highway.

 

[John Diel]

Michael,

Just like a flashlight, there is always some scatter in the radar beam. The cone widens the further you get away. Just like every other radar in the world, it CAN be detected much further out than what the return would be to the sender. So, yes, you could get a warning before you see the police car.

Like Robert said, there is a procedure most departments use though. The first is the visual estimate. It's surprisingly accurate within 5 mph or so of the radar readout after you've done it a while. In most cases, though, all the radar needs is 30 seconds or so (usually less though) and a good clear tone on the audio and your busted. Obviously I haven't used the newest radar on the market so I'm going to take a leap here and assume that advances in technology have helped in the traffic radar arena too.

Now imagine your running down the highway. You get a flicker on your detector and it goes out. Not a real strong signal. Ok, a little further and you get another flicker. Now your in a valley behind a hill. Over the top of the hill you go and your detector blasts in your ear. Dude, Too late, you're busted! It's that fast. Remember, there are plaenty of things out there that will produce false positives on detectors and they don't have the advantage of having a doppler tone to discriminate. A detector is simply a receiver.

Caleb: You better believe these guys are sneaky! You don't know the half of it! BTW: I got busted myself outside Enid by OHP. I had just come off of OK 74 and got up to speed, set my Cruise Cotrol and saw the lights in my rear view mirror. I never saw him. He was a nice guy though and we both got a chuckle out of it, he took a look at my GRLevel3, gave me a warning and I was off again.

 

[Brandon Sullivan]

I do have a radar detector. But seldom have it on.. As someone mentioned above, radars are good for a full citation.. I think many officials think of it as " you dont need a radar if you dont plan to speed"

But for my choice it is a Valentine 1. Or anything that does Lidar. As it is becoming more common.

 

[Earl Faubion]

Radar detector is good for full citation.

That's the way it was during my police days. One of my habits when out to lunch, doing a report, enroute to a call or otherwise occupied and not in the hunt, was to aim my radar at the nearest interstate or expressway and let 'er rip. There's no telling how many thousands of radar detector equipped speeders thought they'd been "saved" when in fact they'd just been slowed down by an unattended radar while I was busy doing something else.

On the other hand, when truly on the hunt, my radar would be silent for long periods of time. Only when I'd already visually identified a sure fire speeder would I hit the transmit switch and get a reading before the speeder had time to react. I still liked it when they hit their brakes though because it made it easier to pull them over whereas the regular speeder might still have no clue I was anywhere near (I worked mostly nights) until I'd chased them down and lit them up. Fully thirty percent or more of all speeders I caught on the interstates or other high speed highways were using detectors, and that included the vaunted Valentine. Even had a few try to sell me their detectors cheap.

Radar spelled backwards is radar, it'll get you coming or going. I always found it easier to write someone a ticket than to have to tell their next of kin they were taking a dirt nap.

 

[Mikey Gribble]

Even if you just got a hint of a signal from up the road a few miles with a Valentine, that would be enough to get me to slow down. I do get a lot of false alarms on my Cobra in the city, but on the highway there is nothing to set it off and I take every little beep seriously. I have never had a problem with not getting early warning on a highway that had quite a few cars on it, even with my Cobra which only has a 1-3 mile range. With a Valentine it is more like a 12 mile range. IMO if you take every signal on your detector seriously on the highway (which you should if you're speeding) then I think you are golden with a high end detector so long as you aren't on a highway with no other cars ahead of you (to give you the early warning). I have also heard that the high end detectors give a lot less false alarms than the cheaper detectors. I don't even speed around town though, so false alarms aren't an issue. I can only think of maybe one or two false alarms that I have gotten on the highway.
I don't know much about the laser/lidar, but I think you are pretty much screwed on that deal. I have only gotten hit once with it from a city cop. I don't think there are too many lidars in use because they are kind of a pain in the ass to use, so I wouldn't even worry about it. If you are worried about lidar you can pick yourself up a jammer here http://www.007radardetectors.com/blinder_m20.htm