Radar Detectors

[01Y87]

What do I need to know when shopping for a radar detector? Will it alert me to a police radar gun clocking my speed? Are the police able to block the detectors, or do some detectors not work with all radar? Will the police know that I'm using one? I live in Wisconsin, I don't think detectors are illegal here but what if I drive to a place that they are illegal - how would they ever know?

[raroZ28]

I don't think any detectors are illegal. I had a radio shack detector. kaa band would go off, and sure enough a second later I'd see a cop. It was cool. It had other bands that would go off as well. Like it would go off, then a minute later an ambulance would fly by.

Scramblers are illegal, but I'm pretty sure you have the right to an "emergency vehicle" detector.

[RangerBob]

http://www.radarbusters.com/support/...tector-1/6.asp

http://www.bestradardetectors.net/Ra..._FAQ_a/112.htm

[LS1 TA]

They are cool out on the highway, but in town you're rolling the dice. Police, atleast where I live, are wise to the fact people have radar detectors. The sit in thier hiding spots and wait until they think you are speeding, then flip on thier radar. I don't even use one anymore because of this, you'll be cruising along with a quite detector, then all of a sudden it pegs out and by then its too late.

[Joe 1320]

They are cool out on the highway, but in town you're rolling the dice. Police, atleast where I live, are wise to the fact people have radar detectors. The sit in thier hiding spots and wait until they think you are speeding, then flip on thier radar. I don't even use one anymore because of this, you'll be cruising along with a quite detector, then all of a sudden it pegs out and by then its too late.

Yep. Instant on radar will bite ya. Same goes for laser, they can pick you off from a considerable distance and by the time you get a warning, you've already been clocked.

Oh.... those radar detector tests that were posted are so biased it's not even funny. Those tests are published by the same folks that sell them. How's that for UNBIASED testing?

If you want a dectector, get a Valentine 1. It's the bomb. It's not sold by clearing houses, only the manufacturer.

http://www.valentine1.com/

[RangerBob]

http://www.radartest.com/

[Joe 1320]

I guess the best has been bested.

[Jeff_in_Atl]

Like I said in another thread, Beltronics has been making radar detectors for over 20 years. I've had a couple of them. I would put my Bell Express made in 1986 up against anything today. It is hand tuned from the factory and has 117 db of gain on X band. I don't think anything is that good today. (It has an oversized horn in it)

[FroSSty]

The problem is that by the time you hear your radar detector going off, you have already been zapped. So it will never be 100% accurate. My boss made this little device that would make radar detectors go off. He always kept it in his truck so when he saw someone speeding by he would just press the button and watch them jab their brakes. A lot of semi drivers do this for kicks too.

[Black97]

A State Trooper got me with Laser. As said by the time the detector alarms, they already got you. Then of course if they catch you with the detector in the car they are a lot less nice about your "crime".

I managed to rip mine off and place it under the seat and ended up with a warning!

Even with a detector you have to keep your eyes open. Depending where you drive, you still have some "friendly's" out there that still leave the gun in the car on at all times.

[01Y87]

well, what if the cop is aiming the radar at another car like in front of you or next to you and flips it on at the last minute - then you'd get a warning the detector would pick it up before he aims at you, right? Theoretically that would give you time to slow down. Only if you were the only car would you get zapped first I think,

[Joe 1320]

well, what if the cop is aiming the radar at another car like in front of you or next to you and flips it on at the last minute - then you'd get a warning the detector would pick it up before he aims at you, right? Theoretically that would give you time to slow down. Only if you were the only car would you get zapped first I think,

Since my ex-father in law's business was calibrating and testing Florida Law Enforcement radar and laser units, here's what I learned from him.

While Johnny Law is zapping another car in front of you, the extra signal is picked up by your detector and signals an alarm. The problem gets really dicey when the officer is just sitting there with the unit in an idle mode. Once he visually observes a car that could be speeding, he takes aim and pulls the trigger. Only then does the radar/laser unit sends out a pulse that a detector picks up. So unless he takes aim at someone ahead of you first, you'll get nothing until it's too late.... once the radar sends out a pulse, he gets an instant reading. Usually he will pull the trigger twice to get comparitive readings so if you are really fast on the brakes you may get lucky and just get a lower speeding fine. That's the whole theory of how a radar detector is supposed to work. You have to pray that someone in front of you is speeding so that they get clocked first. Also, pray you aren't right behind them as the officer can pull you over too citing that he measured both vehicle's speed. The ideal situation is that somone a half mile ahead of you gets clocked, you pick up the stray signal and slow down in time.

[Christopherrr]

I have a Valentine1, and by far is the best I've used. I put my friends X50 it's always more accurate and faster to detect radar.

Now, I've read that Bel has created something better than the V1 but once you live with the arrows, you can't do without them.

Detectors are easy...they just pickup the radar when the cop zaps cars ahead of you. The detector picks up the signal and warns you. As you get closer, the stronger the warning. The V1 tells you the direction, the band and how strong it is separately. All detectors have the adavantages and disadvantages, but to me, the V1 just surpasses them all. Plus the build quality is excellent.

Other traps like Laser, Instant-On, Lidar are only detected when you're hit...you can't do much with those.

[xxRillixx]

This looks pretty cool... but i still have ?'s...

Passport 9500


Even with instant on, your pretty safe in medium to high volume traffic. Chances are, there is going to be someone (within 2 miles) ahead of you that will get zapped. Especially on the freeway. So many people drive a little over that they would get tagged (ticket or not) and you would pick it up before you got there. But then again, your taking a 'chance'. Now, if your the only one on the road... your going to be the one getting tagged.

With laser, your just SOL.

The most important thing to remember is it detects Radar... not police. HUGE difference, a cop could just be sitting there and not even get you on radar, but pull you over. So you have to pay just as much attention with or without a radar detector.

What i usually do is 'bait' people. If i see someone I KNOW is speeding, i will keep them just in visual distance w/ my radar on... and that way i can speed, but let somone else to get tagged. It hasnt actually ever saved me... but ive never gotten a ticket doing it either.

[Wild Willy]

Valentine1 for sure- Mike Valentine is the engineer that built the original Escort, back in the 70's that was light-years ahead of everything else available yet- the Whistlers and Fuzz-busters.

I have owned a couple of the old escorts, a Passport, a Whistler, currently have an older BEL, and a Valentine1- the Valentine can be sent back for upgrades whenevery they become available, so it can be kept up-to-date without having to buy a new one. The arrows are nice, too- espcially when a cop is sneaking up from behind, and you start getting a weak signal from behind that slowly is increasing.

Car and Driver periodically tests radar detectors (and jammers, though they are illegal) and the Valentine seems to always win. Maybe not the most sensitive, but anything more than a couple miles is more than you need- It has the best way of communicating the information about what and where-

10-4 on finding the "bird dog" to beat the bushes in front of you- hang back and see what he finds- you will know it when he gets lit up. Just one more tool to keep you informed about what is going on around you on the highway- lets you know when someopne is out there writing tickets- not all cops are there to do speed enforcement