Radar detectors

[shadowsports]

Bel RX-65 here. Have been using a radar countermeasures over 25 yrs. Swear by them. Stay away from the cheap stuff.

 

Best Radar: Bel, Escort, Valentine 1

Best Anti Laser: Laser Interceptor, Blinder

[TSiWRX]

any good in-dash mountable units, where sensors can be placed in the headlights or corners of the vehicle? I'd love to be able to get rid of the ash tray and mount in a good dash kit.

 

This is going to cost you - there's no way around it.

 

If you can get by with "OK" active LASER jamming performance or if you do not desire active LASER jamming at all, then, the Bel/Escort products can be your top choices. Let your budget as well as your need for LASER protection guide you as to whether you should choose the 9500ci or STi-R+, or if you can make-do with either the 8500ci or the Qi45, or even the old SR7 (this last one possibly even as a second-hand take-off, for even more savings).

 

If your area heavily uses LIDAR, and you need active LASER jamming versus specific threats that do not mesh well with the performance profile of the Escort/Bel jammer, you'll need to suck it up and pay up-front for the Laser Interceptor, used as a supplement to your Bel/Escort remote-mounted setup - otherwise, you'll be playing the odds (which is not necessarily impossible, but definitely places you behind the gun, so to speak, with one ticket potentially having the effect to easily exceed the steep initial investment into a top-tier active jammer, especially when you consider secondary costs [i.e. increased insurance premiums, etc.]). The only good thing about this is that you can effectively choose to skip the Escort/Bel LIDAR-jamming components altogether, saving yourself a few hundred bucks, to be funneled-into the Laser Interceptor purchase.

[up_on1]

I have an Escort Passport 8500 X50 and I'm thinking about getting a vertical bracket for it.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV2GLKfe-aY]Escort X50 Vertical vs Horizontal Head to Head Shootout - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIPa6rduehU]Vertical Mount Radar Detector Bracket - YouTube[/ame]

[mwiener2]

So if there is minimal to no downside to this, why doesn't Escort change the antenna direction?

[2005legacy2.5i]

So if there is minimal to no downside to this, why doesn't Escort change the antenna direction?

 

I've been wondering the same thing...

[JDM SpecB]

Beltronics Sti Driver

 

End of story

[2005legacy2.5i]

Beltronics Sti Driver

 

End of story

 

What makes you say that?

[ssbtech]

Probably because it has "sti" in the name

[maniaxzero]

I had the red escort 8500 x50 a few years back. I got a ticket because of it. I was going 70 on a 55 on rt 20 in upstate new york, rushing to get some chinese food before it closes at night. I was going uphill, by the time I got to the top of the hill, I see a set of crown vic headlights from the opposite direction, then the x50 immediately went from dead silence to max beep. I poped off the accelerator but it was too late, the cop car already popped a U-turn to pull me over.

 

Bottomline is radar detectors do not work on hills and I feel that it's a false sense of security so I sold it right after I got that ticket. I was 20 years old then, five years later I still havent gotten a single speeding ticket since. Nowadays, I just follow the flow of traffic or if no traffic to follow, I do no more than 10mph over the speed limit.

[ssbtech]

I had the red escort 8500 x50 a few years back. I got a ticket because of it. I was going 70 on a 55

 

No, I think you got a ticket because you were doing 70 in a 55, not the radar detector

[TSiWRX]

Bottomline is radar detectors do not work on hills and I feel that it's a false sense of security so I sold it right after I got that ticket.

 

RADAR is line-of-sight, so, yes, on the other side of a hill, you're essentially in a "blind spot." But depending on the environment, you may well receive differing levels of "spill/reflections" that can allow your detector to pick it up to alert, at least at some level.

 

Nevertheless, given the way you portrayed your encounter - that you visually ID'ed the enforcement vehicle prior to hearing your detector alert - it is also very possible that he toasted you with a hit of "Instant On." As its name suggests, the reading he got on you was near-instantaneous (as fast as, if not faster, than with LIDAR). To-date, even the most "responsive" (alerts as soon as it detects RADAR) detector is able to detect a police RADAR device that is not actively transmitting, and this is the advantage of properly utilizing "Instant On" devices or techniques.

 

This is not a fault of the detector. Rather, it is a fault of your usage of the detector as a tool/instrument. Please understand that I'm not saying this to be harsh - rather, it is the realities of the situation.

 

You should have recognized that the hill presented a problem for detection (as well as your own sightlines), and slowed-to-PSL/reasonable prior to cresting. Also, given your time-of-travel, if you were the only vehicle on-road at the time of the encounter, that should have also forced you to back off a little: one of the cardinal rules of detector usage is to always have a bird-dog/rabbit, so that even an enforcer using "Instant On" techniques may hopefully be detected as he triggers a hit on the preceding vehicle(s).

 

A detector can only do so much. You have to both stay within its functional bounds as well as remember to match its strengths and weaknesses against the specific threats you may encounter, in order to win.

 

 

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@ up_on1 and mweiner2 -

 

Note that both of those tests occur overseas. That's your first clue.

 

Now, read the comments. Both authors of the videos are well-known enthusiasts, and they both do know what they're talking about.

 

The reason the "vertical" setup works well for them, in these specific videos, is because they are demonstrating them specifically against some rather unique threats. Versus the majority of what you will see here in North America, the standard horn orientation works better.

 

Horn design is a very important component of a RADAR detector's performance. So like mweiner2 asked, if it's that much better, with minimal consequences, why would Escort not have done so in the first place? and why wouldn't more North American enthusiast not mount their detectors in this manner, or otherwise customize their setup to-match? Those questions pretty much answer themselves.

[infidel]

My V1 catches signals over hills and around corners alllll day. Ftw

[TSiWRX]

^ Virtually any good detector can and should.

 

This is why maniaxzero's scenario more likely reflects that of an "Instant On" encounter, with the enforcer utilizing good technique, to insure both that he is seen only at the last moment, by potential targets, as well as to hopefully squelch any spill that may alert drivers further up-road, when he targets any one specific vehicle in his "kill-zone."

[JDM SpecB]

What makes you say that?

 

had a few top of line and this performs best for me

[TSiWRX]

^ You may simply have a "hotter" unit.

 

There's tremendous production-line individual-unit-to-individual-unit variations, ones that can cause "your" STi versus "my" STi versus "his" STi to literally differ, in each of the specific frequencies that, together, constitute a certain "band," to vary by upwards of 3 dB, as tested in a true laboratory setting (look up Mike B.'s lab test of several of one of the past years' GOL test units - this is something that's well-known in the speed-detection-countermeasures enthusiast circles).

 

In the real-world, what determines performance can often be related to either this unique-detector variance, or, alternatively, be attributed to the fact that the driver's choice of detector either better or worse meets the specific threat profile in his most traveled areas.

 

These differences are very, very subtle, and you can either pick-and-choose your detector to try to gain an advantage, through in-depth research of your purchase (and then hope, when the detector is in your car and used in the way you're using it, that it happens to not be somehow less sensitive in the specific frequencies that you need protection from, most), or, you can just do it like JDM SpecB does - by first-hand trial-and-error.

 

In all reality, there is no one detector that's absolutely better or worse than another. Once you get to the top-dog set, they each carry sufficient performance that, as long as the user properly employs the device and remember to compensate for its known weaknesses, they should never have *any* problems. In this way, it's all about choosing the right tool for the right job.

[2005legacy2.5i]

had a few top of line and this performs best for me

 

I haven't had an sti, but I've had an 8500 x50 and now I have a V1 which I prefer because of the arrows I know it sounds like a gimmick but they are helpful but the x50 had a better filter for false alerts...

[TSiWRX]

^ The "Arrows" really aren't a gimmick at all - they're one of the most useful features on the V1, and is among the top reasons why many dedicated enthusiasts who run multiple-detector setups choose to also incorporate a V1 in their arsenal.

 

I don't know what your budget is, 2005legacy2.5i, but see if you can't either get your hands on either a no-longer-produced (but still supported) SpeedCheetah GPS Mirror (if you prefer the "safety mirror," which I do) or one of the stand-alone GPS-based SpeedCheetah units, and interface your V1 with their "Detector Interface."

 

That will enable GPS-based road-speed-set (your setting) filtering of your audible alerts - i.e. you can set the Cheetah unit to suppress audible alerts on your V1, when you're below your set speed threshold.

 

The filtering still won't be as rigorous as with the AI of modern Escort/Bel units (which, if you can believe it, only gets better, as you move up the price chain - the x50 isn't bad, but it's shockingly primitive, when compared against what Escort/Bel has to offer, now ), but it'll make your daily-drive a bit more noise-free, particularly if you choose to stay under your pre-set speed.

[JimyJoeBob]

used a "rabbit" last week on my trip up 95 to maine, NH statey behind a bridge support got them right in front of me. my detector never even went off. i also have a cheap one that i have had for about 5 years now. want to upgrade soon

[up_on1]

Jimmy Joe Bob, there's a new Escort Passport 8500 X50. Escort says there is 40% performance improvement with their new 8500 X50. If you want I'll sell you my 8500 X50 for $130.

[JimyJoeBob]

thanks but i have to wait for now, in the middle of a job search so need to get that figured out before making any more expenses for the car

[TSiWRX]

used a "rabbit" last week on my trip up 95 to maine, NH statey behind a bridge support got them right in front of me. my detector never even went off. i also have a cheap one that i have had for about 5 years now. want to upgrade soon

 

JJB, do the NH State Police use LASER? If so, it's very possible that your unit simply did not pick up the scatter. There are very few in-cabin stand-alone detectors that are truly capable of decent LASER protection, so don't feel bad.

 

Similarly, if the NH State Police are allowed to use visual estimation or VASCAR, those are methods which will not cause any device to alert.

 

Finally, it's also well possible that an "Instant On" burst, practiced as the "Quick Trigger" technique, can be so short in duration that it causes the detector to simply miss it upon its "sweep." This is a problem that even many high-end detectors (Escort/Bel units, in-particular) are susceptible to (and is exclusive of POP detection, which is something else altogether).

 

In the end, don't automatically assume that because you have a lower-priced detector, that that is the absolute cause of your detector "not alerting."

 

Find out exactly what the threats you face are using, in terms of both their hardware as well as techniques. Even the "best" detector or a more expensive detector, when facing off against threats that it is weaker against, simply will not do well.

 

 

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Jimmy Joe Bob, there's a new Escort Passport 8500 X50. Escort says there is 40% performance improvement with their new 8500 X50. If you want I'll sell you my 8500 X50 for $130.

 

How is that "40% performance improvement" quantitated?

 

Has it been independently verified?

[JimyJoeBob]

thanks for the info, I'm not totally sure what they use since i dont usually travel up there, i was just going up there for a little vaca time. i usually travel on the same highway and know all the spots they like to sit in and such to better my awareness. my detector has never failed me, i did get caught once with an "instant-on" detection, it went off for a second once i saw him standing outside the car with the gun. luckily i got a warning.

[up_on1]

How is that "40% performance improvement" quantitated?

 

Has it been independently verified?

That's what I want to know too. I haven't read any tests with it yet.

[TSiWRX]

^ That's the trick, ain't it.

 

I'd wait until it has been independently verified, before you make the jump. There's numerous ways in which a manufacturer can claim such an improvement, without it actually manifest in the real-world.

 

Unless you've got the money to spend, without consequence, and desire the new aesthetics, I'd wait.

 

 

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thanks for the info, I'm not totally sure what they use since i dont usually travel up there, i was just going up there for a little vaca time. i usually travel on the same highway and know all the spots they like to sit in and such to better my awareness. my detector has never failed me, i did get caught once with an "instant-on" detection, it went off for a second once i saw him standing outside the car with the gun. luckily i got a warning.

 

Ah!

 

If that's the case, then there's not really even a need - just like you said - for you to update/upgrade. Just use more caution in your out-of-area travels, and you should be fine.

 

Even with "the best" detector, the significantly different threat profile that comes from unfamiliar roads and different enforcement methods demands that the end-user be on high alert, more so than anything else.

[JimyJoeBob]

ya that's y I'm content with what i have for now. but i want to thank you since almost everything I know thus far about radar detectors and related areas I have learned from you and your links. I appreciate the information you provide