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I really need to get police radar detector since I speed all the time. I have been putting it off for long time but looks like now police are everywhere. I really need to figure out to spot them instead of relying on my eyes.
Anyhow, so what are best police radar detectors out there?
The best radar detector I have found is the "slow down and do the speed limit" model. It works most of the time.
The second best is the Valentine 1. There's another model by, I think either Bell or Escort that gets good remarks.
Yes cops need to generate revenue for the city in this tough economy, and also for the p.d. donut fund.
However some cops now use instant on radar. Meaning the radar comes on at the last second, and your detector will only tell you that you might as well start slowing down because you're about to be pulled over.
I have a Valentine 1 and love it. It will cost you around $400 though.
As DN said above, it won't save you all of the time. You have to learn how to use it as a tool. Don't go crazy over the speed limit when no one is in front of you and you can't see far ahead (hills, curves, etc). A lot of cops are lazy and will leave their guns on all the time, which will usually give you ample time to slow down before you even see them. But the smarter cops do the instant on and there isn't much you can do.
My V1 has picked up laser quite a few times but there is always a couple cars between me and the cop. For a cop to use laser he can't be moving, so it's not used as much as KA and K band, which is a bonus.
When I travel to Kansas, my V1 will pick them up miles ahead on the flat areas. It's a tool and makes road trips a tad more fun and interesting.
If you get a fuzz buster, spend the $10 in parts and 30 minutes in time to hard wire it to you car.
A radar detector won't help much these days, with the majority of police switching to LIDAR-based speed detection. It's simply too difficult to pick up.
Valentine is undisputedly the best. There is one other decent one as mentioned. The rest are junk and not worth buying.
OUr Valentine picks up dozens of police cars using radar, it clearly works for at least most police cars. I once got nailed with instant on where there was no one in front of me. Usually you pick up instant on when they clock someone in front of you.
It has never picked up a laser gun. Not sure if it woudl do any good against laser. By the time it tells you, I think they have you. It is not like radar where you will pick them up clocking other people. However I have heard that laser is insanely expensive and almost no one uses it. So far, I have yet to pick up a laser alert, so perhaps this is true.
The thing that bugs me about Valentine is you pay $400 for the unit, and they give you ten cent suction cups to put it on your windshield. The viso clip does not work because it points the unit down. I guess I will have to find some kind of hard mount for it.
The "other" detector is the Passport 9500. It also gets top ratings, like the V1. The V1 may have a slight edge in detection but is lacking some features the 9500 has. Those are the top two, and all others pale in comparison. One ticket avoided will pay for either of them, so don't go cheap.
What others have said is mostly true. You need to learn how to use it. Keep in mind that it's not the radar gun pointed at you that it's trying to detect. It's looking for the radar being flashed at cars ahead of you, giving you time to slow down.
I prefer hard wiring and a permanent mount as well. My 9500 is attached to the rear view mirror mounting arm and wired to the fuse box. It's tucked up tightly against the mirror and most people never notice it when they're in the car, unless it goes off.
Yes. Passport 9500. That one has GPS which is nice. Helps eliminate known false alarms (I just rely on my memory for that). It lacked some features of the Valentine (possibly indication of the direction, or side and rear detection, or maybe the number of radar signals) I cannot remember what it was, but it caused me to choose Valentine. I think that they cost about the same, one was a little bit more expensive. You can save a little bit, but not much, by buying a used one on E-bay. Sometimes they actually sell for more than you can buy them on the Valentine website. Seemed to be better bargains on the used Passport VF 9500s. They do not seem to sell used for new prices like Valentine does. Not sure why. Both are supposed to be really good (and everything else is junk). Really an issue of preferences for options.
There is also a really fancy built in detector that is supposed to be really good. I do not remember the brand. It costs $4000 and purportedly blocks or disrupts laser (disrupting radar is illegal). Everyone that I know who has one of those ended up with electrical problems and ended up getting it removed. That detector will also pay for your ticket or tickets (probably subject to two dozen limitations).
Has anyone ever picked up a laser speed gun, or been ticketed based on one? I asked a local policman about them and he laughed and said that no one can afford them.
Just learn where you can and cant speed is probably your best bet. You should never speed in residential areas. You dont speed in busy traffic on the freeway. But go ahead and speed at 2am on a straight highway or an empty urban street in the city (not near houses) etc.. Radar Detectors are becoming more and more useless with the new systems Police departments use now. Also another downfall with Radar detectors is if a cop see's you have one there is not getting out of the ticket. You can bet that officer will write you for your exact speed and anything else you did wrong.
If you speed all the time you should know where it is safe to speed and where there are not so many cops doing speed enforcement or where the cops are not strict.
Yes. Passport 9500. That one has GPS which is nice. Helps eliminate known false alarms (I just rely on my memory for that). It lacked some features of the Valentine (possibly indication of the direction, or side and rear detection, or maybe the number of radar signals) I cannot remember what it was, but it caused me to choose Valentine. I think that they cost about the same, one was a little bit more expensive. You can save a little bit, but not much, by buying a used one on E-bay. Sometimes they actually sell for more than you can buy them on the Valentine website. Seemed to be better bargains on the used Passport VF 9500s. They do not seem to sell used for new prices like Valentine does. Not sure why. Both are supposed to be really good (and everything else is junk). Really an issue of preferences for options.
There is also a really fancy built in detector that is supposed to be really good. I do not remember the brand. It costs $4000 and purportedly blocks or disrupts laser (disrupting radar is illegal). Everyone that I know who has one of those ended up with electrical problems and ended up getting it removed. That detector will also pay for your ticket or tickets (probably subject to two dozen limitations).
Has anyone ever picked up a laser speed gun, or been ticketed based on one? I asked a local policman about them and he laughed and said that no one can afford them.
The 9500 doesn't have the directional arrows the V1 does. The V1 can be updated via software, but I don't think the 9500 can. I get offers several times a year to trade mine in, but it's not worth it to me.
Since the V1 is only sold by Valentine, there's no reason for anyone to sell used ones for much less. Look at any price protected products and you'll a similar effect. Selling one for more than retail is surprising, though.
If you get the Passport L7 and the ZR4 laser shifter, professionally installed, they could get up to a couple thousand $$$$. I've heard of something more in the price range you're talking about being installed in a Ferrari, but don't remember what it is.
I can't see why there would be any electrical problems with an installed radar setup. The only connections made to the car are for power; everything else goes between the various components. That's as simple as it can get. Then again, an installer friend of mine told me that "not all butchers cut meat".
I was ticketed a few years ago on radar in SC. When I got back to NC, I called an SC attorney, paid him $250, and the ticket went away. Years ago, when I was a screwup, I got several radar tickets.
I do remember a company saying they'd pay the tickets. it was one of the everyday radar detector companies, but I don't remember who it was. I'd rather they pay the additional insurance premium!
"The 9500 doesn't have the directional arrows the V1 does."
That is what "lacked" means. Some miscommunication here. We are saying the exact same thing. That is one of the reaons that I chose the VI over the 9500.
" The V1 can be updated via software, but I don't think the 9500 can. I get offers several times a year to trade mine in, but it's not worth it to me."
Dont they charge for the updates? That annoys me, especially when they try to sell you an update immediately after you buy somethings and the update copyright pre-dates your purchase. Why was it not included. At the price of these things, all updates should be included. THat is why I will never buy a Garmin again. Mine needs updated maps that cost over $100 for the update. The GPS in my phone is automatically updated regularly at no added cost.
"Since the V1 is only sold by Valentine, there's no reason for anyone to sell used ones for much less. Look at any price protected products and you'll a similar effect. Selling one for more than retail is surprising, though."
I could not find a reason for that. Some of the bids were $50 higher than the price on the Valentine website. I was thinking I shoudl buy and handful of V1s and sell them on E-bay.
"I can't see why there would be any electrical problems with an installed radar setup. The only connections made to the car ae for power; everything else goes between the various components. That's as simple as it can get. Then again, an installer friend of mine told me that "not all butchers cut meat".
I have no idea what systems they tap into. It is all built in and out of site. However three different friends who had this system all had electrical problems and all had the thing removed. My current boss has one too. He had some problems and got them fixed. He still has the system.
"I was ticketed a few years ago on radar in SC. When I got back to NC, I called an SC attorney, paid him $250, and the ticket went away. Years ago, when I was a screwup, I got several radar tickets."
Do you mean laser? Radar is common, but laser seems to be non-existent. I have gotten about a dozen tickets based on radar, but never once on Laser. I have never had my detector pick up laser.
"I do remember a company saying they'd pay the tickets. it was one of the everyday radar detector companies, but I don't remember who it was. I'd rather they pay the additional insurance premium!"
Those "guarantees" never turn out to be worth squat anyway. If they really did pay off, they would not offer them. In California you can go to traffic school once every eighteen months or two years and the ticket does not go on your record. Of course the insurance companies probably assume that if a ticket goes on your record, it is a second ticket and price premiums accordingly. I am not sure, I was always able to traffic school away all the tickets that I got in Ca.
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