Radar detectors

[Bryan_Rivera]

I know the passport top of the line model is the best but does anyone recommend any other less expensive models that do a good job??

[TK-421]

Originally Posted by Bryan_Rivera

I know the Valentine One is the best but does anyone recommend any other less expensive models that do a good job??

*fixed

[Bryan_Rivera]

Originally Posted by TK-421

*fixed

I meant the passport 9500x

[TK-421]

The V1 is the best you can buy. I've had experience with both and know people who have switched from the Passport to the V1, even though it's been around for a bit.

[Venom]

Redline is on par with the V1.
They each have their own strengths and weaknesses.

Escort Redline is my weapon of choice. Totally worth the $500. But, take this with a grain of salt because if you dont know enough about what the cops in your area use then it's absolutely useless because it's an extremely sensitive detector. It's advantage is turning off the bands that you know you dont need to deal with. I run with Ka and Laser on and sometimes K.
As far as detectors go, you get what you pay for. If you need to worry about RDDs, then the Redline is full stealth too.

[evo119]

Originally Posted by Venom

Redline is on par with the V1.
They each have their own strengths and weaknesses.

Escort Redline is my weapon of choice. Totally worth the $500. But, take this with a grain of salt because if you dont know enough about what the cops in your area use then it's absolutely useless because it's an extremely sensitive detector. It's advantage is turning off the bands that you know you dont need to deal with. I run with Ka and Laser on and sometimes K.
As far as detectors go, you get what you pay for. If you need to worry about RDDs, then the Redline is full stealth too.

+1 if you know what your local police use then you can avoid false alarms. In CA, it's predominately Ka band so i turn off X and K band.

Saved me from tons of tickets on road trips with the exception of one. In Oregon, middle of the night, only car on the freeway my laser warning went off and i was already too close. Saw him and before he even pulled out i was already stopping on the side. lol

[thecadman99]

I run a Redline as well- HAVE TO in my state of Va. Great detector. I normally run "Auto No X". Still plenty of town police in my area that run K band, and I actually went past an old police car in a KY construction zone that was running X band-
Good thing I was on normal "highway" mode.

[thecadman99]

I hear the new Beltronics STI Magnum is very similar to the Redline, and a little less expensive.

[upstatedoc]

In Florida the cops use evrything, X K Ka and laser. The V1 is the best all around dash mounted RD for $400 IMO. Also the belt tonics STi-R plus is king of the hill in installed detectors but pricey at $1200.

[flyinb501]

Passport 8500 X50 can't be beat for the price. Love mine.

[Jdub679]

I also use a Passport 8500 X50. Works great.

[UAxDEATH(NYC)]

what about k40?

[DARK_M3]

Arrows. Period.

[.b0link]

Hey guys, I've been living abroad for three years now but am moving to San Diego by the end of the year.

Before I left the states I had recently purchased a V1, but honestly felt that with Laser/Lidar that the detector was becoming pretty ineffective, especially after one east coast road trip down 95 where i got hit with laser on 4 or 5 occasions.

Are they still really that relevant? And are they running a lot of laser/lidar down in SoCal?

[Crypty]

I have a Passport 8500 x50 which I got on ebay about 4 years ago for under 150. Have had great success with it. Never been pulled over for speeding. Many times it has alerted me to hiding cops with plenty of room to slow down.

Back then, in my research the 8500 X50 and the V1 were the detectors to have. The V1 was a bit too expensive. People speak very highly of the V1 and its forward-back arrow indicators. To me this doesn't seem useful. Whether the signal is coming from front or rear is irrelevant, you had better slow down.

A nice feature of the 8500 X50, absent on the V1 is the ability to alert and display(along with strength meter) multiple different signals from other, or the same bands. i.e. you could detect a Ka, 2 Xs and a K all at the same time. Very useful as in my area K is almost always a false, Ka always a cop and X is a toss up.

[HotIce]

Once you go V1, and experience the arrows, everything else second grade.

[HotIce]

Originally Posted by .b0link

Hey guys, I've been living abroad for three years now but am moving to San Diego by the end of the year.

Before I left the states I had recently purchased a V1, but honestly felt that with Laser/Lidar that the detector was becoming pretty ineffective, especially after one east coast road trip down 95 where i got hit with laser on 4 or 5 occasions.

Are they still really that relevant? And are they running a lot of laser/lidar down in SoCal?

There's no running away from a Laser signal. By the time a detector picks up a laser signal that's hitting you, you're screwed, the cop already has your speed. Laser is highly accurate and highly effective.

[.b0link]

Originally Posted by Rated ///M

There's no running away from a Laser signal. By the time a detector picks up a laser signal that's hitting you, you're screwed, the cop already has your speed. Laser is highly accurate and highly effective.

I know all of this, hence why I was asking if having a detector is at all worth it, or if Laser/Lidar is still rare enough and K/KA bands are still the majority of radar....

[sohcpunk]

I think if you're looking for a simple setup. The 8500 X50 can be had for fairly cheap. Arrow's don't mean shit. If it goes off, just slow down. I think the signal strength is more important as it can tell you if u need to slow down gradually (low signal) or slam on the brakes (high signal but make sure to look at your rear view mirror).

Since laser jammers are illegal in my state. The only other defense you have is using Veil on your front plates and headlights. That way, when you detect a laser alert, the cop won't be able to receive an accurate reading for a couple seconds until your car is closer. That mean you will have enough time to slow down when you hear the laser alert.

[gerbs]

V1 all day.

Literally hundreds of tickets avoided, and I've had the same unit for almost 10 years. (sent in twice for upgrades)

[.b0link]

Originally Posted by gerbs

V1 all day.

Literally hundreds of tickets avoided, and I've had the same unit for almost 10 years. (sent in twice for upgrades)

Had a V1. Once the novelty wore off of the arrow deal, and the bragging rights of owning a Valentine, I realized that the unit was way too chatty and that 90% (guesstimate) of all alarms were false.

I knew enough to determine on the fly if they were false or not, but the fact remains there are other units out there much better at filtering false alarms.

[STIHLBOLTS]

If you need to worry about RDDs

What is a RDD? Sorry if this something I should know, my last dectector was a cobra $100 unit almost 10 years ago. I didn't have the M then. Funny thing is I have only gotten one ticket in it and that's because I had the tunes up so loud and the windows down I never heard the fuzz buster go off. My bad.

Wife asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I mentioned the Escort system with the Iphone application, at $550 its a little pricey. What do you guys think about it?

Regards