Off topic Radar/Laser dectors
05-24-2009, 06:08 PM
#2
There are many good detectors out there. The top three are usually the Valentine V1, Escort 9500, and Beltronics STI, but depending on your budget a good detector can be had for much less. If you have a large budget there is also the remote mount 9500ci, but thats about $1600.
05-24-2009, 06:46 PM
#3
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: South Jersey
Posts: 1,329
05-24-2009, 07:15 PM
#5
My friend has the Escort S2 Cordless and well, we've managed to avoid allot of pullovers when we tear up I-70 in KS, I think they run at about 350, and that's about the price range you're gonna pay for any good radar detector.
05-24-2009, 11:31 PM
#7
works fine and can be had for very cheap. I bought mine for $110 on craigslist. Be aware that they have MAJOR laser falsing problems though...i just have mine disabled cause it started falsing all of the time.
05-25-2009, 01:30 AM
#8
05-25-2009, 09:49 PM
#11
Newbie - Just Registered
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: South Jersey
Posts: 12
if you have the money, get a valentine 1. my friend had one and it was awesome. It actually detected the police cars even when they're not using the radars. They have a pretty wide range of detection. and tells where the police car is. So far, the valentine 1 didnt ever lie or mess up whenever it detects something. i think its like $400-$500 something like that. pretty pricey. 
So far everyone talkin about the escort 8500, ive heard some good reviews about it. plus my friend has one. its ok and does the job.
i have a cobra XRS 9630 radar detector. Its aint too bad, does the job. just do some research thats all. and look at reviews.
So far everyone talkin about the escort 8500, ive heard some good reviews about it. plus my friend has one. its ok and does the job.
i have a cobra XRS 9630 radar detector. Its aint too bad, does the job. just do some research thats all. and look at reviews.
05-28-2009, 09:27 AM
#14
I have had 2 generations of the 8500 (8500 and 8500x50). I swear by it. At one point I considered switching to the V1, and borrowed a friends for a bit. The only advantage I saw in it was that it has TWO separate antennas. This is what allows it to tell direction. Any other model only allows for one antenna (even if it has two sensors). The experience I had with the V1 was that it called tooooooo many false detections... and it is HUGE in actual size.
The most recent addition to the Escort line is the 9500. It has GPS built in to learn when there is a false detection and eliminate it (i.e. certain automatic doors trigger the unit).
There is an ongoing battle for who is "best," but IMHO, anyone of the top 3 mentioned earlier will work just fine. And if you are going to get one, it is worth the extra money to get one of the best.
The most recent addition to the Escort line is the 9500. It has GPS built in to learn when there is a false detection and eliminate it (i.e. certain automatic doors trigger the unit).
There is an ongoing battle for who is "best," but IMHO, anyone of the top 3 mentioned earlier will work just fine. And if you are going to get one, it is worth the extra money to get one of the best.
05-28-2009, 11:01 AM
#15
Member
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 105
as a installer of car audio and electronics. i like the K40 calibre ,its completely wireless . all u have is three connections to power and ground. the rest is wireless/bluetooth u mount front rear and diffuser platers and theres a little unit for the cabin. its quiite expensive but very nice.
05-28-2009, 03:33 PM
#16
I have the 8500 but you need to get the 8500 x50. The circuitry in the 8500 is wacked. Everytime I hit the horn, the laser warning goes off. The detector is good though.
I also have the V1. Excellent detector.
There are many threads regarding what detector is better. Do a Search. Its all about preference. I've even heard the $50 ones work too. But everyone has their opinion.
Do a search and you'll be reading for hours on this topic.
A-
I also have the V1. Excellent detector.
There are many threads regarding what detector is better. Do a Search. Its all about preference. I've even heard the $50 ones work too. But everyone has their opinion.
Do a search and you'll be reading for hours on this topic.
A-
06-08-2009, 05:52 PM
#18
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 996
I've had a 8500 X50 for about 5 years and it's been a good detector. I did have an issue with the detector cutting in and out and laser going off every time I went WOT. I was well outside the warranty period but called Escort to see what I could do. I was very pleased with their customer service, they have a flat $60 (IIRC as long as the mother board hasn't been under water) repair charge and include return shipping. They also repaired my broken smart cord and gave me extra suction cups. I'd go back with Escort again just for their customer service.
06-08-2009, 08:18 PM
#19
I've had a 8500 X50 for about 5 years and it's been a good detector. I did have an issue with the detector cutting in and out and laser going off every time I went WOT. I was well outside the warranty period but called Escort to see what I could do. I was very pleased with their customer service, they have a flat $60 (IIRC as long as the mother board hasn't been under water) repair charge and include return shipping. They also repaired my broken smart cord and gave me extra suction cups. I'd go back with Escort again just for their customer service.
06-08-2009, 10:55 PM
#20
if you have the money, get a valentine 1. my friend had one and it was awesome. It actually detected the police cars even when they're not using the radars. They have a pretty wide range of detection. and tells where the police car is. So far, the valentine 1 didnt ever lie or mess up whenever it detects something. i think its like $400-$500 something like that. pretty pricey.
I'm going to call BS on the detecting police cars even when they are not using radars. Just impossible. A Radar detector needs a Radar signal to go off.
I have a V1, and it's saved me more times than I can count. The direction arrows help a lot too. I got a used one with a concealed display for 300 and it was a good deal, so I jumped on it. Depends on your budget though.
06-10-2009, 08:34 AM
#21
if you have the money, get a valentine 1. my friend had one and it was awesome. It actually detected the police cars even when they're not using the radars. They have a pretty wide range of detection. and tells where the police car is. So far, the valentine 1 didnt ever lie or mess up whenever it detects something. i think its like $400-$500 something like that. pretty pricey.
So far everyone talkin about the escort 8500, ive heard some good reviews about it. plus my friend has one. its ok and does the job.
i have a cobra XRS 9630 radar detector. Its aint too bad, does the job. just do some research thats all. and look at reviews.
So far everyone talkin about the escort 8500, ive heard some good reviews about it. plus my friend has one. its ok and does the job.
i have a cobra XRS 9630 radar detector. Its aint too bad, does the job. just do some research thats all. and look at reviews.
I'm going to call BS on the detecting police cars even when they are not using radars. Just impossible. A Radar detector needs a Radar signal to go off.
I have a V1, and it's saved me more times than I can count. The direction arrows help a lot too. I got a used one with a concealed display for 300 and it was a good deal, so I jumped on it. Depends on your budget though.
I have a V1, and it's saved me more times than I can count. The direction arrows help a lot too. I got a used one with a concealed display for 300 and it was a good deal, so I jumped on it. Depends on your budget though.
I also use the V1 and it's great. I used to use a bunch of BELs but now that I have the V1 I'm going to stick with it. The Arrows + Bogey count are extremely helpful.
For those complaining about a lot of false signals, what MODE do you have it on? Automatic FULL filter, Moderate filter, or unfiltered? That makes a BIG difference...
06-10-2009, 04:24 PM
#22
It's always funny reading these threads. Bad information always comes into play. As the above poster mentioned, go to http://www.radardetector.net/forums/. That forum is the end all be all for information about any radar, laser, etc. devices on the market. There is no single detector that is best for everyone. The V1 is the most sensitive detector across a majority of the radar bands. It's one shortfall is on 35.5 ka. It's still great on this frequency, but not the best. The V1 no matter how it's programmed is chatty as hell in cities and crowded suburbs that have a lot of auto door openers. The Escort 9500ix is a great detector. It's claim to fame is it's gps functionality. It is the quietest detector available and it eliminates a majority of false alarms. It has great detection range across the board. It can even best the V1 in some straight away tests, but it's downfall is it's off axis detection. If you live in the country with windy roads, the off axis detection becomes important very quickly. Next you have the Bel STi. It is completely undetectable by any radar detector detector and will remain so. It leaks next to nothing. It has great forward facing radar detection across all bands and it has very good off axis detection. It's great on 35.5ka. I was actually a beta tester for Bel's new audio rampup firmware upgrade. The new firmware does a great job at filtering out dual x and dual k band signals in autoscan mode. If the signals are too far apart or too strong the STi will light up like a xmas tree. Whoever did the algorithms for the STi deserves a medal. It's fairly quiet around town. It's major downfall is it's horrible laser detection. The 9500ix has decent laser detection. Nobody beats the V1 on laser detection. The V1 is also a Infiniti vehicle detector as the laser guidance on Infiniti's set it off every time :-) For cheaper detectors the Bel vector series are all nice. They all have the same detection, but come with different features at different price points. The newest Whistler pro78se is a great budget detector. Lastly the 8500 x50 is the worst of this bunch, but it's still a decent detector. A few years back the x50 was great. They have since changed the antenna design and it's not nearly as sensitive, but again it's still very good.
Do not trust anything you read on radartest.com. Craig Peterson is completely biased towards Bel and Escort since he does consulting work for them. He also sabotaged The Guys of Lidar's annual radar test last year by placing a radar source on their testing location. You can read about that on http://forums.maxima.org/audio-elect...uysoflidar.com which is by far the best testing site to read. Completely unbiased!
Do not trust anything you read on radartest.com. Craig Peterson is completely biased towards Bel and Escort since he does consulting work for them. He also sabotaged The Guys of Lidar's annual radar test last year by placing a radar source on their testing location. You can read about that on http://forums.maxima.org/audio-elect...uysoflidar.com which is by far the best testing site to read. Completely unbiased!
Last edited by Virus; 07-07-2009 at 08:25 AM.
06-22-2009, 04:46 PM
#23
Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 19
after i got popped with VASCAR rolling through SC, i threw the detector out the window (after the cop was out of sight....didn't want a littering fine too)...
staying under 10 over seems to be the only that i could not get a ticket
staying under 10 over seems to be the only that i could not get a ticket
06-22-2009, 04:54 PM
#24
V1, RX65 are the best windshield mounts, and the Bel STi Driver is also one of the best. I did a bunch of research before I bought mine and the RX65 was in my price range so I got that. The 8500 X50 is not as good as the RX65 from the research I did.
06-27-2009, 11:38 AM
#28
Currently, I believe, Escort is selling refurbed 8500 (not X50) for $150. I'd go with one of those if I were you. The only drawback is that they may be slightly less sensitive than the X50s and cannot detect POP (which I have turned off on my X50 anyway).
07-07-2009, 08:34 AM
#29
Just read my post above. I personally wouldn't get the current X50. Escort changed the horn and the new horn isn't as sensitive as the old. In the range you are looking for I would look towards the Whistler Pro 78SE. It is in the $200 range and well worth the price. The Bel Vector 955 is in the $160-165 range and has the same antenna and sensitivity as the 995. The only difference is features. The Vector 955 is a very good detector. Stay away from all Cobras and Rocky Mountain Radar units. They are complete junk.
09-28-2011, 05:32 PM
#31
Junior Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Austin,Tx
Posts: 21
if you have the money, get a valentine 1. my friend had one and it was awesome. It actually detected the police cars even when they're not using the radars. They have a pretty wide range of detection. and tells where the police car is. So far, the valentine 1 didnt ever lie or mess up whenever it detects something. i think its like $400-$500 something like that. pretty pricey.
I always recommend the V1 due to a number of factors including prior test results and the company itself. They are all serialized and maintain records on the owner. If it's ever stolen and sent in for repairs, good chance you'll get it back. I send mine in every 4-5 years for a check up... they do it for free except for the cost of return shipping.
To me, all the other detectors are disposable.
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