radar detector's value

2144 Views 28 Replies 18 Participants Last post by taj786, Sep 16, 2006

bowlofturtle

Discussion Starter · Jul 21, 2004

OK now i was thinking about getting a radar detector but i'm not pretty adware of whats out there. I rather get a radar jammer. What are some of the options a mid-range detector should be?

Would these serve that much of a purpose really? does it detect if the radar is right on you or if its in your area. I need someone to explain this whole idea to me.

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Piddy

· #2 · Jul 21, 2004

If you plan on getting a radar detector.... don't waste your money on a cheap one. Plan on spending a few hundred dollars. The Valentine One and K40 are pretty good ones. If you want a jammer.... K40 makes one for about $2,000 plus installation. Also.... K40 will pay your speeding tickets for a year

grapefury

· #3 · Jul 21, 2004

^ i agree. the cheap ones don't do crap. Valentine is one of the best. about $400

bowlofturtle

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jul 22, 2004

K40 they will pay for your speeding tickets but they wont play to get it off your record will they ?

whats so great about the valentine ones ?

Ostornadoe

· #5 · Jul 22, 2004

The reason the valentine and k40's are so expensive are they pick up the radar signal at a much further distance than the cheap ones. You still have to watch out for Lasers though, because I doubt even valentine's pick them up unless they're pointed in your direction, but I may be wrong about this.Of course you have to keep in mind that cops can get you for other things other than speeding

bowlofturtle

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jul 22, 2004

well i understand that its more sensative to the cops radar and yea nothing protects you 100%. $400 is a little too much money for one. I might just not get one at all. I only need it because i find myself going 80's on 55 highways. which isn't fast its like 5 more then flow of traffic but i'm just scared. Well besides the fact of speeding cops can't get me for anything else. Not like i'm lane changing crazy or anything or cutting people off. i'm just a little heavy on the gas.

My question is on the V1's does it give you like a 5 second warning to slow down before the radar actually hits your car ?

Ostornadoe

· #7 · Jul 22, 2004

It depends on how fast you're going, obviously it'll signal less early the faster you are going, and it depends on the direction the radar is pointed, and if there are any obstacles in the way, like buildings, trees, etc. I have a whistler radar detector that I got a good deal on, and on open highways it picks up radars that are pointed my way a very long way away, i'm guessing roughly half a mile to a mile? If you speed more than 10-15 mph over the limit constantly, a radar detector is worth it. One or two tickets will take you up near the price of a good radar detector.

grapefury

· #8 · Jul 22, 2004

yea even though they may pay for your ticket, they don't pay your insurance premiums when they go up.

there's no denying it, the best way is to not speed. ill admit i find myself speeding at times, that's why I constantly look around, and slow down at these special areas on the highway.

bowlofturtle

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jul 22, 2004

yea as i was saying paying for the ticket is the easy part. they dont covoc insurance preimums and they dont cover the damage thats done on your record. Its very important for me because i'm trying to get into a dealership program after i'm done with my ASE training and they are really uptight about the speeding and everything.

whistler radars eh ?

everyone else recommend some that are roughly 150$ or so

Ostornadoe

· #10 · Jul 22, 2004

Beltronics Vector 965 Radar Detector: roughly $200

Whistler DE-3400 Radar Detector: Roughly $140

Whistler DE-1793 Radar Detector: Roughly $160

Sensoro Traveller II Radar Detector: Roughly $150

Beltronics BEL 946 Radar Detector: Roughly $140

Whistler DE-1770 Radar Detector: Roughly $100

Escort Passport 7500 Radar Detector: Roughly $160

Whistler Pro-73 Radar Detector: Roughly $150

I would suggest looking for one of these at a decent price, or look for a mid priced detector from a reliable detector maker, such as Escort, Whistler, Beltronics Sensoro, or maybe a more expensive Cobra. Hopefully this helps you out and let me know what you decide to go with and how far away you pick up cops.... If you get one. Thanks.

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Tex97

· #11 · Jul 22, 2004

I was out a couple of weeks ago in the same boat as you were in. I was looking for something in the 180 range and couldn't find what I wanted.

I ended up getting an Escort Passport 8500 for $368 which included a 2 year replacement plan from Best Buy(It's 300 for the detector itself without tax).

The way I see it is this:
-I would rather spend a lot of money now to save time and money later on down the road with courts and insurance and whatnot.
-I wasn't about to spend $100 extra for some arrows on the Valentine. If you do some research, the 8500 is rated right up there and sometimes better than the Valentine by many reputable publications.

RedruM

· #12 · Jul 22, 2004

jus get yourself a granade launcher and everytime a cop pops the cherries on U .. jus blast him

NO more cop, no stopping hence no TICKET

Piddy

· #13 · Jul 22, 2004

Don't get whislers.... i have one in my Supra... it sucks.

MenaceSQL

· #14 · Jul 22, 2004

I have an Escort Passport 8500. It has kept me trouble-free for several years now. :thumbup:

As for radar jamming, the products out there that supposedly do this is are either bull (the Rocky Mountain products) or they don't work on the newer radar technology. I haven't heard of any current gizmos marketed as "radar jammers" that actually jam all radar. BTW, jamming radar is a federal crime too IIRC.

These "We'll pay your ticket" gimmicks usually have some sort of fine print that say that they'll only pay your ticket off if you were speeding less than 10mph over the limit. If you go 10mph or more over the speed limit, then you're on your own.

Radar detectors do not give any advance notice that you're going to be hit with radar. The detector only alerts you when it has detected the radar already. The further you are away from the radar source, the more time you will have to lower your speed.

Beware of instant-on radar as the officer can wait till the last second and then pull the trigger. The radar detector will pick up nothing while the radar gun is on instant-on mode until the officer presses the trigger. Older radar guns require the radar gun to be on at all times to get a reading so a detector will detect the transmission of the older radar guns ahead of time.

Funny thing happened to me the other night. I was driving home from work with my bro on a small highway at 4:00am and get tagged with instant-on radar. I wasn't driving that fast at all (I dunno how fast I was actually going as my speedo is broken) but I still slowed down and a couple seconds later I see the dark patrol car parked in the median. A Dodge Ram comes behind me and then passes me on the other lane and drives away. Next thing you know I see a set of Crown Vic lights in my rear view mirror. The Crown Vic then flies and follows the Ram and pulls it over. I just drive by and say thanks to the 8500 and me and my bro just laugh it off. We drove for several minutes then strobe lights come on behind me. I was like "WTF"??? I pull over and first thing the officer does when he approached my truck is shine his flashlight at my dash and looks at the radar detector. I guess he just wanted closure to see if I had a radar detector when I suddenly slowed down when he tried to tag me earlier. After he got his closure, he just said some kinda bull saying for me to watch my driving as I was all over the lane and he just went back to his patrol car and drove away. :lol:

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personman

· #15 · Jul 22, 2004

I have one of the cheap wal-mart whistlers ($30 on sale I think, dad bought it so i'm not sure) - it's saved me from a couple tickets. Just know what you can and cant do. If you want to go really fast then get something more expensive. I usually drive 10-15 over, sometimes up to 25 if I'm in a pinch, never a ticket with my whistler. Just have to jump on the breaks immediatly when it lights up, as I'm not sure about the range.

bowlofturtle

Discussion Starter · #16 · Aug 28, 2004

just wanted to bring back this thread and see if anyone had more information to put on this subject. i have about 180$ to spend on the radar but i'm still iffy. I was leaning towards teh escort ones.

is there a consumer review on radars?

Sportivo Concepts

· #17 · Aug 28, 2004

There is alot of good radar dectors out there, but when you go to get one make sure that it covers all the bands. Escort is a pretty good one, whoever said Whistler sucks... you had to buy a cheap one, I have never had any problems with mines which i had since 96.

As for Radar Jammers, that is a big no-no, as in "Felony" no-no, laser jammers however are still legal in all 50 states. So unless you want to get hailed off to jail or get your licencse yanked quicker "George Bush can say Saddam has weapons of mass destruction" don't even think about it.

Toysrme

· #18 · Aug 29, 2004

Radar jammers are legal to have in msot states, but you need an FCC liscene to operate on those frequencies. Yes, laser jammers are legal.

I've seen some independant testing on the high end laser jammers. I couldn't get enough information to see if they would work well or not. One run of tests you see the guns spweing error codes or beeping. The next the guns nail the cars ect.

I say grab a detector, but be careful. Never know when someone will use VASCAR, or someone pissed cause you just past them calls highway patrol and they pace you from along way away...

bowlofturtle

Discussion Starter · #19 · Aug 29, 2004 (Edited)

thats what i was thinking. i'm still iffy on the one i was getting. I'm looking all over the place for a consumer report guide on those. i remember i saw one. somewhere.

i mean i'm not using it for the point of telling me to slow down. but more of a point for security sometime i'm going 10+ over the limit and it should give me an idea to slow down. but for the most part i'm only +5 on the limit.

what are some of the newer bands that i should look to get ? i heard something about POP and thats about all.

jhbhatia

· #20 · Aug 30, 2004

I had a BEL 830, then a 970 currently ona a BEL 880; they all have been good to me. Any detector is not full proof. You always have to learn to drive carefully...ie. slow down when you can't see the road (hills, curves) and stuff like that..and if it beeps, then something's in the area. I know a friends who bought his detector and then ignored the feedback..and then complained that cheap detecorts don't work. Mind you BEL 880 wasn't cheap it was $150 when i got it.....from what i've read valentine 1 and escort 8500 are the 'current' best in the market with 8500 being better than v1 currently.

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