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trust in radar detectors

9

98TredSVT

Veteran CEG'er
Joined
Apr 26, 2007
Messages
540
Location
Plainfield, IL
I've had a cheapo radar detector before, and I got rid of it because at the time it was in a blazer, and I didn't even speed much. Lately I find myself speeding 10 over the limit or more, just going with the pace of traffic. With my record I can't get another ticket for 2 years. I'm thinking of getting the Escort Passport 8500 X5. It's supposed to be better than the valentine one and you can get it for around $150 off of ebay used, they are around $300 new. Just wanted to get people's opinions on radars. I would trust one for speeding reasonably, but does anybody trust them for speeding beyond 10-20mph over the speed limit? Also, do the radars detect the police only when they shoot their radar gun or just when its on in there car(which is most of the time?)
 
I'm pretty sure it has to be on and "shooting" or else there is nothing fo rit to detect. Check out rocky mountain radar. They have a detector with a scrambler built in and some kind of ticket payment guarantee as well
 
I have an Escort 8500 X50 and barely ever use it because too many cops in Ohio use laser.. it doesn't pick up laser until the cop has already nailed you :mad:

But when I use it in small towns in Ohio or anywhere else it actually works pretty good :shrug:
 
Doesn't it pick up the laser when a cop lasers another car? Wouldn't that mean you just can't speed when there are not many cars around you?
 
*raises hand*

why not just... go the speed limit?

Not that I am trying to sound condescending, but if you literally cant get a speeding ticket for two more years, would you rather drive over the speed limit and have an almost definite risk of getting pulled over, driving a RED sports sedan, or would you rather drive the speed limit and get to keep your license?

The answer here seems pretty obvious. A lot of people here know that I have a lot of points on my licence, one ticket of which has recently dropped off of my record, yeah I was dumb to be speeding, and I have found that breaking the speed limit is a rare occasion now, usually if I find myself doing it, its because I wasnt using my cruise and traffic around me was moving at the same rate, which is why I find cruise control to be very useful. I have a Stupidly heavy lead foot, so I can relate, and just by thinking about it I find it really easy to keep the car down to the right speed.
 
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I drive about 30 miles in traffic, on 45mph city roads, not on the highway, I couldn't use the cruise control. Really, the car just drives much better at 50+ than 45. The engine is lugging a bit at 45mph in 5th gear, atleast when there is a slight incline.
 
AliasJerk said:
. I have a Stupidly heavy lead foot, so I can relate
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you have a zetec, you aren't gunna be breaking too many speed limits. :laugh: not to mention living in a2/ypsi the roads are just moto-x courses.


as far as a radar detector goes, i do not personally have experience, but i've heard nothing but praise about the V1's and the arrows have saved people from tickets every time. I know that when i have the money to get a radar i plan on getting a V1.
 
The Five-Oh! said:
as far as a radar detector goes, i do not personally have experience, but i've heard nothing but praise about the V1's and the arrows have saved people from tickets every time. I know that when i have the money to get a radar i plan on getting a V1.
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I have been very happy with mine. It has picked up signal easily 1 mile or so away and around corners on the highway.

once it started as a Ka signal and as I got close it turn into K and sure enough around the next corner a state trooper had someone pulled over. I was a good distance away when it first started going off.

another time in town I got a signal from around a 90 degree corner about 3 tenth of a mile up the road. the cop was about half way up the street also.

the arrows are very helpful and the unit being able to detect and display more then one signal is very helpfull also.

One highway I travel has a X band signal from traffic control on a bridge the crosses over the highway and I have seen state troopers hide under the bridge and around the next corner.


The one thing I don't like about the V1 is the new Q45 or waht ever it is sets of the laser detector as they pass
 
AliasJerk said:
*raises hand*

why not just... go the speed limit?
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I dont think anyone drives the speed limit. I mean, everyone goes faster than the posted 65 mph or 70 mph on the highway. People roll with the flow.

I have a V1 and neither my brother or I have gotten a ticket in the 4 years weve had it. Ive picked up stuff from over a mile away.
 
I agree that the Valentine is a stout piece of hardware. Mike Valentine worked for Cincinatti Microwave years ago, the company that designed the original Escort and Passport radar receivers in the late Seventies and early Eighties.

However, it's a shiny dime. For what it's worth, I run a Cobra that talks in a female voice. Though not as sensitive as the V1, it's been very good, and I like it a lot. I find the voice alert to be extremely user friendly, as it reduces the need to look at the unit itself. Also, the price is attractive -- maybe $125 new.

Short laser story -- When I still had April, the opal frost Taurus SHO, I was running down the New Jersey Turnpike at about 80. It's well known that the Jersey State Police are some of the most fascist enforcers around, so when the Cobra started screaming after it had picked up a laser pulse, I thought my goose might be cooked. The cop was sitting up on an overpass, gunning down into very sparse early morning traffic.

As I was braking, a minivan came tear assin' by me at 85 or higher, got jammed up behind an 18-wheeler, and the cop, by then on the highway with us, made the pinch. To drive home his message, he ran right up the van's rear echelon, tailgating unsafely. April, my girl, and I got off scot free.
 
AliasJerk said:
*raises hand*

why not just... go the speed limit?
Click to expand...

Honestly, I drive slower when I'm using a radar detector, and is one of the reasons I try to always use one. It keeps you aware of whats going on around you, and prevents surprises. how many times have you been cruising along on the freeway, and had all the retards in front of you slam on thier brakes when they see a cop car on the side of the road? This happens even when the said retards aren't even speeding too. I like knowing ahead of time that this is going to happen. I tend to really only go about 5-10 over on freeways, which is generally not enough to even get you noticed most of the time.

98TredSVT said:
Doesn't it pick up the laser when a cop lasers another car? Wouldn't that mean you just can't speed when there are not many cars around you?
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Laser doesn't scatter well compared to radar, which means there are far far far less stray signals for the detector to pick up. If you pick up a laser signal, they are very very close. Fwiw, I did get popped with Laser once while using my V1, I had enough time to get slowed down too, but ironically, I didn't think I was speeding until I looked down and it was too late. But, I knew very clearly I had been busted, and I actually pulled into the parking lot where the cop was already sitting without him even pulling all the way out, and he went extremely easy on me with the ticket.

BrApple said:
The one thing I don't like about the V1 is the new Q45 or waht ever it is sets of the laser detector as they pass
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Yeah, bunch of cars do it, several of the GM SUV's do too. The problem is, any good laser detector is going to do it, because the some of the light wavelengths being transmitted from certain LED taillights is the same wavelength used by the laser speed guns.
 
yeah I have noticed that I will sometimes get a false signal with the V1 and with the arrows I find out its the car I am passing, most likely using a cheap detector
 
The Five-Oh! said:
it may also be caused by the vehicles that use radar to detect the proximity of cars ahead. I think it's volvo that uses a system like this.
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Some Mercedes do as well. However, these would be radar signals, and not laser like we were talking about.

BrApple said:
yeah I have noticed that I will sometimes get a false signal with the V1 and with the arrows I find out its the car I am passing, most likely using a cheap detector
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Yeah, this happens a lot, and the latest V1 software will actually identify a "Junk" detector nearby with a "J" on the display.
 
I used to have a cobra and it was decent at predicting but I wouldn't rely on it. I can't speak for the fancier units but I find myself better off if I just go without. With the radar detector you almost feel safer speeding (at least a little bit) and then you tend to do it more. I just watch my speeds and try to stay with the flow of traffic. Seems like when you do get pulled over (whether its speeding or not) I don't think they like to see radar detectors. That's arguable though I suppose.
 
Rara said:
Yeah, this happens a lot, and the latest V1 software will actually identify a "Junk" detector nearby with a "J" on the display.
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nice, I do know that mine needs an upgrade, it only has pop1, got it used this past march
 
they are about $400 new from the V1 site, ebay varies, however when/if i get one i plan to buy one new, that way i am sure that it is mine, it will be up to date, granted these are all update-able regardless of how old the unit is, and that there is no chance that it may be stolen.
 
98TredSVT said:
How much are people paying for there V1s, used or new, they are a lot more than the 8500 x5....
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In the neighborhood of $400 for new. Too rich for my blood. :)

For what it's worth, no detector should be relied upon completely -- there's no substitute for common sense. With that in mind, I find that a less expensive detector sniffs out most all threats that would come into play. If you're going like a bat out of hell and come across a "bear taking pictures" or a "Kojak with a Kodak," however you want to put it in CB / Cannonball Run lingo, you're likely toast whether or not you're equipped, and that includes the high buck devices. :cool:
 
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