[jeffreyli86]

Hey all,
I wish to purchase a radar detector and I've had 2 choices put forward to me at similar prices and I don't know how to decide...

First of all is the Whistler 1740. It is offered at $125 and the price is not negotiable. The other one is Beltronics 936, at $100 there is room for further negotiation on the price..

Now, I am aware of the Beltronics RX65 however since I don't need the KU band (I'm situated in HK), I don't really see the need as the RX65 is noticeably more expensive than my other choices.

I would like to know the choices you people would make in this situation. Any reviews on the detectors mentioned are welcome.

Any input is greatly appreciated,
Thanks,
Jeff

 

[BackRoll23]

I'm not familiar with either, but I've heard good things about the Valentine.

 

[X_C240]

The Bel rx65 is one of the top three radars around. The other 2 is the Escort 8500 x50 and the valentine 1. They all are good. The cheapest one out of them is the bel. I personally have the bel and love it! If you want more info go to this site. He's an X cop that is into the radar business. He is the best and most honest. Send him a message and tell him victor sent you. Here is the site http://www.radarbusters.com

 

[ajm0623]

don't know anything about them ,,, however -- make sure whatever you buy will work with whatever windscreen/ windshield you have (i.e., specifically on late model benzos) as some have a coating on them that won't allow radar detectors, toll pass machines, etc to work. something to do with the coating in the windscreen that prohibits the radar and toll collector machines to properly transmit their signals. it's a problem.

backroll23 ,,, who or what the hell are you beating on in your identification panel???

 

[CowtownBallin]

ajm0623 - 3/16/2005 1:27 PM

backroll23 ,,, who or what the hell are you beating on in your identification panel???

I think it's a clip of the movie Office Space.

 

[ajm0623]

riiiiightttt ,,, i guess i didn't get the memmmmooooo!

 

[dragonrpc]

I went with the Escort solo II (The new cordless) It is ranked just below the Escort 8500, and similar to the Valentine 1, or Bell X50. all of these devices are in the $300+ range, I decided the convience of no cord (or having to hardwire)

So far I have been happy with it, a few false alerts usually around heavy construction areas, I think they pick up the 2-way FRS signals from job sites. It has clearly worked at other times, going crazy and then passing a CHP of to the side or coming the other way...

 

[CQRT]

In the articles (I hesitate to call them "studies") the Escort 8500 and Valentine seem to rank right up at the top of the lists and the new X50 technology I think makes their performance about equal. Bel seems like a good name, is a bit more reasonably priced - -but I have no direct experience with it.

I have the Escort - - had 3 other Escorts previously and thought they were pretty good- even when I was a cop working freeway and pulling people over . .

Here in Scottsdale, they use a great deal of "photo-radar"- stationary either vehicle or pole mounted - - -you get your picture (front and rear) and a bill for $135 in the mail . . .

My Escort has paid for itself a couple of times over !

Regards

 

[Mark08859]

The Valentine One has won every contest in which it has been entered in Car & Driver's almost yearly comparison of radar detectors. And it ususally wins big. The downside is that it is expensive. Delay your purchase, save your pennies and get the Valentine.

 

[itzezbeinme]

I don't know much about radar's however, a cop that has gotten me wasn't using radar. He was using a lazer in which it detected my speed, and it is able to go through one car to look at the car right next to it.
I don't know to a full extent if it's true or not but I know he wasn't using radar.

 

[Jamison]

dont waste your money on cheap crap detectors. they dont work. Save up and buy an escort x50 or a velentine. I have the x50 and its great. Just remember, radar detectors are not always fullproof. the best defense is knowing the roads and knowing where the police hang. Stay alert too. A radar detector is useless in some situations. Such as when a cop sits on top of a bridge scanning traffic under him. your detector most likely will not go off. happened to me thank god i was only going like 8mph over.

 

[Mark08859]

itzezbeinme - 3/17/2005 1:02 PM

I don't know much about radar's however, a cop that has gotten me wasn't using radar. He was using a lazer in which it detected my speed, and it is able to go through one car to look at the car right next to it.
I don't know to a full extent if it's true or not but I know he wasn't using radar.

Laser and instant-on radar have one thing in common, if it is aimed at you, no radar/laser detector in the world can protect you. For those types of equipment, you have to hope that the cop "reads" someone in front of you which gives your detector a chance to spot it and give warning.

Lasers do not go through one car to read another. They reflect off metal to give a reading back to the operator. They are usually aimed at license plates. C&D has shown that driving with your headlights on at full power will reduce the effectiveness on lasers. However, driving around all day with your high beams on will also get you unneeded attention.

Other methods are detection are your basic speedometer pace, photo radar (usually found at intersections), and vascar. This last measures the time it takes your vehicle to travel between two points. Too fast and you get a ticket. Detectors are pretty useless against these methods.

 

[BackRoll23]

And the winner is Cowtown Ballin. Its a scene from Office Space. Don't forget your TPS reports.

 

[bruce kendall]

the message from xc240 is right on. go to the website and let all the rest have their say. escort bought bell. bell rx65 picks them all up. happy speeding .

 

[snakoiler]

The Valentine doesnt have POP radar detection and their customer service doesnt acknowledge it. The escort and bell do, the "next" Valentine One "claims" to have this issue resolved according to customer service. Its also a big brick on your dash. Buy the escort

 

[DieSilberBenz]

All of these detectors are probably overpriced but as in much of life, ya gets whats ya pays for. Buying a cheap detector IMO is like buying cheap shoes or a cheap helmet. I just retired my ticket-blocking 15-yr old Passport for a new 8500 Passport X50(w/the blue display) and am mucho impressed. I hardwired it into my 320 at the fuse panel to the left of the dash, concealed the wire behind the left post trim, and it's parked to the right of my mirror, shooting through the dot grid (or whatever that small section of w/s trim is called) and it works great.
Back to the price: considering it's a purchase you won't be repeating soon - in my case more than 15 years - if you divide the $300ish cost of a good buster by x years, it's cheap-cheap-cheap.

 

[mjhawkins2346]

I too have a 15 year old Passport. I expect to get an 8500 in the near future.

The Valentine is too big, and has been resting on their laurels just a little too long IMHO.

Don't save money getting a cheaper unit. There is a difference. You know the difference in cars -- if you drive a Benz. There's a difference here too. Car and Driver and other mag's have all rated the Escort at the top in sensitivity, low false positives and success with X, Y as well as laser. If you just care about X and Y bands you can get an older Passport and beat all to pieces the newer units...

Good luck.

 

[DieSilberBenz]

I'm underlining what was said here 'bout the Valentine which is it's BIG. My X50 fits above the mirror, but almost doesn't. Yeah, you could mount the Valentine on the w/s somewhere, but the higher you can park your detector, the better for radar pickup-ability, which is what I like about the stealthy location of my Passport. There's no way the Valentine will squeeze above the mirror - at least in the W210 - and part of the game is making your detector hard for Mr. Smokey to spot as he swoops up behind you. With the Valentine's positioning limitations, you might just as well have a flashing arrow above your car, like those Verizon bars, saying "detector on board".

 

[lnkprksoldier]

hmm im new on detectors... do they just search for like a certain radius of any police/highway patrol vehicle? if so.. how large is the radius... i may be getting one of these cuz whenever im on the freeway im constantly looking around to see if there are any cops. can you give me the basics of a detector?? and if a cop sees you with one.. what will they do

 

[DieSilberBenz]

lnkprksoldier - 3/24/2005 12:03 PM

hmm im new on detectors... do they just search for like a certain radius of any police/highway patrol vehicle? if so.. how large is the radius... i may be getting one of these cuz whenever im on the freeway im constantly looking around to see if there are any cops. can you give me the basics of a detector?? and if a cop sees you with one.. what will they do

Detectors read the transmission sent from a cop's radar gun. Many things affect how close you get to the cop before your detector warns you: terrain, make of detector, how much power the cop is using (some turn the transmission signal down just enough to give you a warning at the last second = ticket), and so on. There are a bunch of sites online to give you info on how they work.
As to what will a cop do: In Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Canada, your detector is illegal and can be confiscated. I'm sure other parts of the world have similar laws. Some detectors are difficult or impossible for a cop's equipment to "see" so that's what you want to buy. To all cops everywhere, a detector indicates you want to speed and get away with it. I've always set mine up where it's as stealthy as it can be...my early Passport unlike the X50 did not have a display you could dim (bad!) so I covered the display with tape that had a very thin slit to allow me to see it but difficult to spot by someone in another car.