radar dectector for under $75
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I wouldn't recommend buying one if you're only going to spend $75. If you get caught with one, you can probably forget your chances of talking your way out of the ticket. You tend to get what you pay for in terms of radar detectors.
Of course everything I just said goes out the window if you can find a "new" used one.
Of course everything I just said goes out the window if you can find a "new" used one.
I abhor the absurd, artificially low speed limits we have in this country, so I've done extensive research on the subject of radar/laser detection/jamming and successful speeding. Like Benjamming said, you get what you pay for with radar detectors.
I used the $300 Escort Passport 8500 from 2001 until this summer, when I upgraded to an 8500 X50. I strongly recommend either one, especially the X50, as it is capable of detecting police radar in POP mode. Anything cheap is just a waste of money in my opinion.
Remember that radar protection is worthless without laser protection. By the time your detector alerts you of the presence of laser, the cop already has your speed and is getting ready to pull you over.
I've had the Escort ZR-3 Laser Shifter (jammer) installed since 2002. It cost $600 installed, but has saved me six times that I can recall when I was hit by laser (and then spotted the officer who was targeting me) while going more than 10 mph over the speed limit. I figure that it's saved me money by now! (Laser jammers are illegal in California, and several other states)
Check out these websites:
State by state traffic laws, this will help you know whether you can legally arm yourself with a laser jammer, or any other nuances in your particular state's traffic laws
Speedzones, very good radar detector testers
National Motorists Association
Fantastic tips on speeding
Radartest.com
I used the $300 Escort Passport 8500 from 2001 until this summer, when I upgraded to an 8500 X50. I strongly recommend either one, especially the X50, as it is capable of detecting police radar in POP mode. Anything cheap is just a waste of money in my opinion.
Remember that radar protection is worthless without laser protection. By the time your detector alerts you of the presence of laser, the cop already has your speed and is getting ready to pull you over.
I've had the Escort ZR-3 Laser Shifter (jammer) installed since 2002. It cost $600 installed, but has saved me six times that I can recall when I was hit by laser (and then spotted the officer who was targeting me) while going more than 10 mph over the speed limit. I figure that it's saved me money by now! (Laser jammers are illegal in California, and several other states)
Check out these websites:
State by state traffic laws, this will help you know whether you can legally arm yourself with a laser jammer, or any other nuances in your particular state's traffic laws
Speedzones, very good radar detector testers
National Motorists Association
Fantastic tips on speeding
Radartest.com
Don't waste your money on a cheap new one...you are going to get what you pay for! Try to find a good used one...like an Escort 8500 or the like. I have an 8500 that I am soon going to replace with an 8500 X50...that 8500 has saved me many times. Valentine One and some other units (Bell) are rated well. To get a good new one you are going to pay around $300. Check out some of the websites like Radar Test, or go to Escorts website and you can link from there.
Thats Bel with one "L", not two.
Bel is nice, but needing an expensive model is bunk. Detecting radar is like detecting a flashlight at night.
The trick is top be able to distinguish the porch lights you drive by from the flashlights aimed at you.
Cheap radar detectors give so many false alarms that most people start ignoring them. I know, I've had two of them.
I have seen a Valentine working. There is no comparison between it and the cheap ones.
I have given up too. Might try 7 or 8 over. That is what I was doing when a state cop blasted by me and stopped the guy in front of me barely doing much more than I was. My feeling it was irresponsible forthe cop to blast by me the way he did. What if I would have made an unsignaled left turn or simply drifted left a little? This was on a 2 lane road in a double nickel zone. I think the criminal was a Chrysler with 3 middle aged people in it.
One more note. A good reason to let aggressive turkeys get around you is that they are more likely to have the roadside chat than you if you do. This isn't the only time I have seen somebody that passed me get stopped.
[ December 09, 2004, 02:32 PM: Message edited by: labman ]
One more note. A good reason to let aggressive turkeys get around you is that they are more likely to have the roadside chat than you if you do. This isn't the only time I have seen somebody that passed me get stopped.
[ December 09, 2004, 02:32 PM: Message edited by: labman ]
I spend most of my first nine years in the Marines in the aviation electronic warfare community. While the settings and the stakes are very different, you need a device that gives you good information, not just information which you're left to sort out yourself (too late by the time you do). In the air, we'd need to know, right now whether that signal represented a radar guiding a missile inbound, whether it was merely attempting to track, or if it was just blindly radiating. In your car, you need to know right now whether to slow down, but the cheap detector will tell you the same thing when it "sees" a grocery store's door opener, a security system, another cheap detector, or a police radar. Not very useful, as its user will desensitize from all the false positives.
Tweeker, instant on radars just require the use of sound anti-ticket driving tactics. My favorite is to drive at a moderate speed, and wait for a red Corvette (or other similar bait) to appear in my rearview mirror. After he passes, I gradually accel until I settle in at about a quarter mile on his "six." With appropriate attention to my own "six," this is highly effective. The 'vette guy ends up serving as my "point man" tripping all the radar traps well ahead of me and giving me plenty of warning. Then, despite the use of I/O radar, I get all the warning I need.
Now, if you're cruising across the vast emptyness of Texas in the middle of the night, you're on your own. Been there, been spanked there. . .
I have one, it has paid for itself ten times over.
JHZR2
Staff member
I agree with labman and tweeker... Set it a little bit above, conditions permitting and go your merry way.
I hate when people complain about how terribly low speed limits are, then get the el cheapo special tires, get their cars serviced at pep boys, and drive too fast. Guess what, this isnt the autobann... People do pass on the inside without getting ticketed, people dont move right when going slow, there are bad potholes, etc., etc. If youre doing more than about 75 MPH, youre a hazard, IMO, and I feel no sorrow if you crash, just dont crash into me. When I see you coming, I move to the side so I can watch you blow out and flip (yep Ive seen that before), or skid sideways going down the road (seen that too), or a tire overheat (seen that one), or people up in front jam on their brakes for whatever reason, and youre going too fast and cause a pileup (My beautiful MB was destroyed by a joker doing this).
Be responsible, be courteous, drive to maximize fuel economy (a.k.a. be patriotic
), and be safe. I dont mind if police are pulling over speeders. I keep with traffic, keep it just under 75 on a 65 mph road, never get pulled over, know my limits, slow when the weather gets bad, and laugh when aggressive/fast drivers get pulled over. Let the towns make $$$ off of their idiocy.
Theres nothing wrong with driving fast. There is something wrong with driving too fast. Driving fast, 65+ is OK, IMO, driving too fast, so a detector, etc is necessary is another thing, and quite ridiculous. Maybe there is good reason in an area where cops will pull you for doing 2 over the limit; thats ridiculous, IMO, but most people arent actually in these situations, most buy a detedtor so they can do 85 or higher on a highway, which to me is just plain dumb.
JMH
I hate when people complain about how terribly low speed limits are, then get the el cheapo special tires, get their cars serviced at pep boys, and drive too fast. Guess what, this isnt the autobann... People do pass on the inside without getting ticketed, people dont move right when going slow, there are bad potholes, etc., etc. If youre doing more than about 75 MPH, youre a hazard, IMO, and I feel no sorrow if you crash, just dont crash into me. When I see you coming, I move to the side so I can watch you blow out and flip (yep Ive seen that before), or skid sideways going down the road (seen that too), or a tire overheat (seen that one), or people up in front jam on their brakes for whatever reason, and youre going too fast and cause a pileup (My beautiful MB was destroyed by a joker doing this).
Be responsible, be courteous, drive to maximize fuel economy (a.k.a. be patriotic
Theres nothing wrong with driving fast. There is something wrong with driving too fast. Driving fast, 65+ is OK, IMO, driving too fast, so a detector, etc is necessary is another thing, and quite ridiculous. Maybe there is good reason in an area where cops will pull you for doing 2 over the limit; thats ridiculous, IMO, but most people arent actually in these situations, most buy a detedtor so they can do 85 or higher on a highway, which to me is just plain dumb.
JMH
i used a nice bel for a few years, but when i noticed the police (all branches) were using more instant-on radar, i gave it up.
if i was alone on the road, then i would generally get no warning prior. if there was someone ahead of me "testing" the officer then i was alright.
now i just set the cruise at about 9 over the posted limit (on the highway or interstate) and go. there are times i wick it up a bit, but that's normally daylight and good conditions.
if i was alone on the road, then i would generally get no warning prior. if there was someone ahead of me "testing" the officer then i was alright.
now i just set the cruise at about 9 over the posted limit (on the highway or interstate) and go. there are times i wick it up a bit, but that's normally daylight and good conditions.
Alas, along I-10 where I do most of my driving, and in the wide open spaces out west, you are a hazard if you're doing anything less than 75 on the interstate.
Funny that this topic came up when it did. I've been using my "'vette bait' driving tactic (as descibed in my previous post in this thread) for many years. Coming home along I-10 last night was no different. About half way along, my previous bait had exited, so I was hovering just under 80, when along came another perfect example -- a burgundy Suburban, blacked out windows, dual video screens playing in the back , doing between 85 and 90. He blew by me and several others, then stayed in the left lane (of three), as he intended to continue zorching along at warp speed. Just as I started to pick it up some, my detector went off full blast, and the non-descript Mustang several cars ahead of me morphed into a strobelight christmas tree. Busted!!! (him, not me. . .)
The Vette bait method works even better if you are driving a Vette
I agree!!quote:
Originally posted by uconn1150:
Honestly, if it's not a PASSPORT or a VALENTINE, THEN someone is just wasting money and getting a false sense of security.
You might want to check this test out. 23 detectors tested under $150, but you have to pay for the pdf file. It's probably money well spent for getting best bang for buck.
http://www.radartest.com/megatest/index.html
I think some of the cheaper detectors will work fine in most situations, but the Valentine 1 bogey counter is very useful in situations where multiple targets are around. 75 bucks probably won't get a decent detector, but $150 might get closer to the performance of some of the more expensive units.
I've only had two detectors my whole life-- the first being the original Passport with the titanium case, and the Valentine 1 which I've had for over 10 years (came out around 1992). Down south here K band seems most prevalent, and I've never been clocked with laser and Ka band only a few times. I could get by with the old Passport 98% of the time if I never had upgraded to the Valentine. So depending on where you live, you'll have to choose a dectector for it's strong points on what radar/laser you might encounter.
http://www.radartest.com/megatest/index.html
I think some of the cheaper detectors will work fine in most situations, but the Valentine 1 bogey counter is very useful in situations where multiple targets are around. 75 bucks probably won't get a decent detector, but $150 might get closer to the performance of some of the more expensive units.
I've only had two detectors my whole life-- the first being the original Passport with the titanium case, and the Valentine 1 which I've had for over 10 years (came out around 1992). Down south here K band seems most prevalent, and I've never been clocked with laser and Ka band only a few times. I could get by with the old Passport 98% of the time if I never had upgraded to the Valentine. So depending on where you live, you'll have to choose a dectector for it's strong points on what radar/laser you might encounter.
Sorry to bring a thread back from the dead but I wanted to add my 2 cents.
I picked up a 8500 X50 and this thing has been a savior in some situations....I'm not talking about doing 90 in a 65....more like doing 45-50 in a zone marked 40. Local police are notorious for their traffic enforcement.
If you are going to be in the market for a detector, spend the extar for a good one...one non-ticket will more than make up for the cost
I picked up a 8500 X50 and this thing has been a savior in some situations....I'm not talking about doing 90 in a 65....more like doing 45-50 in a zone marked 40. Local police are notorious for their traffic enforcement.
If you are going to be in the market for a detector, spend the extar for a good one...one non-ticket will more than make up for the cost
radar detectors are easy enough to find good ones that give early warning of a radar gun. the problem is with laser. there is no known effective laser early warning system. all that the latest and greatest laser detectors can manage to do is alert you to the laser beam AFTER it is pointed at you and the cop already has youre indicated speed. by the time youre foot hits the brake petal, youre already cought.
how do i know this? my sisters friend is a cop and i asked her about this one night at a bar a couple months ago. she told me there is no laser detector which is effective at early warning of a laser up ahead.
also, it is illegal to buy, sell, or use any jamming devices, like radar or laser jammers. you need a super special and hich buck liscence for this, and the fcc doesnt give that liscence out to anyone. i believe you need to be a member of the military or something.
you look on the bottom of any electronics device, including radar detectors, and it says that this device must not emit any interference of other devices and this device must accept any interference including the kind which may cause undesired operation. (or something to that effect).
if you want to know if laser is being used in youre area, just ask a cop. there is no law against asking for this info, and the worst the cop could do is say he doesnt know.
how do i know this? my sisters friend is a cop and i asked her about this one night at a bar a couple months ago. she told me there is no laser detector which is effective at early warning of a laser up ahead.
also, it is illegal to buy, sell, or use any jamming devices, like radar or laser jammers. you need a super special and hich buck liscence for this, and the fcc doesnt give that liscence out to anyone. i believe you need to be a member of the military or something.
you look on the bottom of any electronics device, including radar detectors, and it says that this device must not emit any interference of other devices and this device must accept any interference including the kind which may cause undesired operation. (or something to that effect).
if you want to know if laser is being used in youre area, just ask a cop. there is no law against asking for this info, and the worst the cop could do is say he doesnt know.
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