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I was walking through best buy and I saw radar detectors. the guy there that was supposed to help out didn't know what he was talking about so I decided to ask you guys. Is there a radar detector that'll detect a cop... i mean... emergency vehicle without the radar gun hitting your car? I know the Cobra is a good choice. but which cobra? How do I know that the radar detector will pick up a radar over a hill? I would get false alarms than none at all... Thanks for any help.
Steve
Steven. L. Benthal Jr.
98 Mystique: Meshed Grille & Pioneer Sound System
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Valentine One is the detector that always comes out the best in the radar detector tests. Even the Motor Trend test showed it to have the best ability to identify that you were in an area of radar activity. Motor Trend didn't rate it the highest though because they thought it was too expensive.
Jim Johnson
98 SVT
03 Escape Limited
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Valentine One usually comes out on top, followed closely by Passport, then Beltronics. One thing to note is that Beltronics now owns Passport. Beltronics usually are the best value. Don't get a cheapy, because if you get false alarms, you won't trust it, then it's useless.
Henry
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Originally posted by hanknum:
One thing to note is that Beltronics now owns Passport.
 Im just tryin to be clear here, are you saying beltronics now owns escort (makers of the passport radar detectors) or beltronics now own passport (as a model) and escort is free to develop another radar detector. In other words escort makes passort radar detectors, so what is it they now own?
what ever the case maybe, i guess it now makes sense why the escort 8500 has dropped in price suddenly, without any signs of a successor.
and thats why i bought the beltronics 985, because it was the best bang for your buck, coming in 3rd to the valentine one and passport 8500. And i am happy with it.
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to answer your question, to my knowledge there is nothing that will detect an emergency vehicle; just the radar they emit. I have V1 and love it.
Jim Hahn
1996 T-Red Contour SE Reborn 4/6/04
3.0L swap and Arizona Dyno Chip Turbo Kit
364 whp, 410 wtq @ 4,700 rpm
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Originally posted by beyondloadedSE:
to answer your question, to my knowledge there is nothing that will detect an emergency vehicle; just the radar they emit. I have V1 and love it.
ditto. You wont be dissappointed with a V1.
Please for the love of god dont' buy a cheapy, nothing I hate more than my V1 actually detecting a cheap radar detector that actually EMITS radar... from some dude in a minivan or a truck.
Once had a truck behind me in a traffic jam, his cheap radar detector that I could see on his dash was making my V1 go almost full signal.
I wrote up a how-to install a V1 in your contour as well: http://www.frankensteincs.com/contour
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one thing to keep in mind is that no radar detector is perfect.
they'll increase your chances of detecting the cops, but that
doesn't mean you'll always get them.
if they find a perfect spot behind a curve/hill/bridge, you can be
busted or if they use instant on at night, you can be busted
no matter what detector you have.
(both happened to me and I have a V1)
all that said, a good detector is very useful, just you should
know what to expect.
I'd say a good detector might half the number of your tickets,
but it won't eliminate them completely.
on the other hand (in my experience) cops tend to be more stern
if they see that you have one. practice stashing it under the seat
in 0.1 seconds
T.
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Originally posted by Steve Benthal Jr.:
I was walking through best buy and I saw radar detectors. the guy there that was supposed to help out didn't know what he was talking about so I decided to ask you guys. Is there a radar detector that'll detect a cop... i mean... emergency vehicle without the radar gun hitting your car? I know the Cobra is a good choice. but which cobra? How do I know that the radar detector will pick up a radar over a hill? I would get false alarms than none at all... Thanks for any help.
Steve
The thing you have to remember is that a radar detector does exactly what it's name implies: it detects radar, not cops. I can't tell you how many times i've passed a cop and had someone in the back say "Why didnt ur radar pick him up?"
I agree, if u are going to get one, get a good one like the valentine 1 or the escort passport 8500. If you waste your money on some $50 one from best buy, it will probly pick up the radar signal after you see the cop yourself, rendering it completly useless.
98 SVT
#1652 of 6535
My SVT
"If everything seems to be going well, you obviously don't know what the hell is going on."
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I have the passport 8500 and I absolutely love it. Like the V1( I think) you can program out the X band in city mode. My old cobra had X band going off constantly!! Its nice to have , and has saved me numerous times. I also swear the 8500 has picked up cops from over a mile away, and not on a straightaway, its crazy. I LOVE IT!!!!
98 silver CSVT (EO) TOTALLED
99 Honda Prelude 5 spd....much to come!!!!
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How much is a really good Radar cost?
99 Contour SE
-Front oval mesh grille
-tinted windows
Future:
Custom exhaust
CTA intake.
thats pretty much it
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