Radar Detectors

[rifleman]

I need some help picking out a fairly good one for xmas, any suggestions?

Thanks

[Shaft]

Valentine One.

If I were to go out and buy a radar detector today I'd get a V1. Everything else is just s grocery store detector.

Supposedely some of the higher end Bel units have been found to exceed the abilities on the V-1.
Check out some of the Car & Driver archives.

[Flamebo]

http://www.k40.com/K40Radar/LaserDefuser.htm

http://www.valentine1.com/

I use both...

[DRAGONSLAYER]

I never could trust one. I always got pulled over more with one than without one. A cb radio may be your best bet...since truckers ALWAYS keep up w/ the police. Yes, I'm a truck diver and depend on my cb, also, the radar detectors are illegal in commercial vehicles, per the DOT.

[Temo Vryce]

My suggestion would be to get one that makes noise and has a light that you can turn off. Turn off the light and the cops will have a harder time finding the Radar. Good luck to you.

[bornl33t]

I love truckers. I load trucks for a living. They are the kewlest drivers on the road. ever see a truck flash his lights at another truck? It's so they know they are clear to merge or something else like that. we only have about 2 drivers taht are absolute ideots. Always in a bad mood. As soon as I find me a decent car I'll be adding in a CB just to listen in....
cudos of you're job and watch out for them deer... we should be seing alot of them now

[Army]

Biggest bummer about radar detectors is; whenever it tells you that radar is being used nearby, you are already in the detection zone

[PyRo]

What do you mean you are already in the detection zone? Ive seen them work from a mile or 2 away.

[sajohnston]

ESCORT

I have an Escort 8500 and highly recommend it. It and the Valentine 1 are each other's only competition. Neither is cheap, but both are top of the line. Escort is made by Cincinnati Microwave, they have been at the forefront of detectors for almost 2 decades. I even use it here in Korea, the big thing here is low-light cameras that snap a picture of your tag and they mail you a ticket. They are widespread and use X-band radar to detect your speed.

The posts about a radar being useless are about half true:

-If you are driving way over the limit (greater than 10mph) chances are you are going to stick out like a sore thumb.

-The more traffic you are in, the harder it is for the officer to tell WHO is speeding (except laser, he has direct line of sight with his "spot". Bottom line is that there is safety in numbers, and stay towards the right lane to blend in.

-A good detector can give you warning before you enter the prime detection zone, especially under highway conditions.

If you are not looking to spend $300 or so on a detector (Escort/Valentine 1) There are some Cobras and Whistlers that are decent for the $. I suggest hitting a large retailer (Best Buy, Circuit City, etc.) to see several side-by-side and compare.

Hope this helps.

[rifleman]

Thanks guys!

[sajohnston]

a couple of more thoughts

Just beware that Virginia and a couple of other areas PROHIBIT radar detectors. They actually have radar detector-detectors, if they even catch you operating one, they confiscate it and give you a fat ticket to boot. Some of the higher end detectors actually sense the detector-detectors and shut down to help prevent this, but it is a gamble.

Also the "turning the light off" idea is only going to keep people behind you (especially at night) from seeing you have a detector and trying to tailgate you for protection.

[MagMan5446]

It's gonna suck when they come out with detector dtector detectors

[NikeMann]

i use a cobra and it has vg-2 (radar detector detector) protection. mine can sense 9 bands (3 laser), although the only ones used by cops in my are are K and Ka. X is often used by security systems in stores. i tend to notice that when i drive through town. i have to say, my radar detector has saved me several times. even going 25 over, it saved me. sure by the time that you detect radars your in the "zone", but usually a cop wont bother with you if your that far away. they cant get a good enough reading that far away. your best bet is not to speed. sure i dont follow my own advice, but my 99 cougar hates being slow.