I know some of you have them, and I know there are posts recommending V1 or Passport.

What do you guys recommend and where did you get them? Any place local, or order them online?

 

I have a crappy old Cobra detector from Best Buy that I got many, many years ago, and it's saved me plenty of times. I've gotten a ticket with it ONCE, and that was because I was bumping too hard to hear it and didn't see it going off.

You're right, though, everyone will say V1 or Passport. I'm considering moving up to a Passport just because I want a new toy.

 

I have owned a lot of different detectors;

A few Bel express units;
-906-925-935-,

And some higher end stuff;
Vector 985, RX-65, X50 rev 5, SRX, V1, and two stand-alone ZR3’s on two different cars.)


The "best detector" for you will depend on what kind of driving you do and how much you want to spend.

HWY driving=V1

A lot of city=9500i

If you drive where detectors are illegal: Bel sti

If you have deep pockets and want your detector to protect you from laser, and not just let you know that you are about to get a laser ticket.; 9500ci or old school (but still available new)SRX .

 

I've got the Passport 9500i...I love it. Best part is being able to store the location/signal of known false alarms (or those signs on the side of the street that show your speed). I had previous detectors, and would end up ignoring them b/c there was so many false alarms...

only downside is the $$

 

That's actually what I was looking at as I tend to do the same thing, too many falsies. My initial concern was that police would start to hide in these false alert zones, but from what I've read, the detector differentiates between the different signals, and will still alert positively to a different signal other than the one that's been blocked.

EDIT:

I just did some more research, and it looks like the feature isn't really working as it's supposed to. It's apparently locking out too much of the frequency range, and not alerting positively when it should be when there's a locked out frequency. So, it's performing exactly as my initial suspicions led me to believe.

Have you noticed this?

 

Just bought an passport 8500 x50 or whatever it's called. I didn't think the 9500i was really worth it. I don't really use it around town, just when I'm cruising on the highway tho.

 

Got a Passport 8500 x50 complete with case, original box, everything and will sell for $225.00. (Bought from Escort and includes shipping,no tax). I also bought the 9500i, which I will use.

 

$250 brand new from Amazon.

 

Sounds like a good deal $250 plus tax and shipping. Cheaper than from Escort.

 

Thanks for the responses. Yeah, I had a close call today, I was coming up 148 south of 8th. In that straight stretch with the blueberry farm / park. The cop was parked scanning right at the starbucks up the street. So my reaction was to pull into the starbucks parking lot, didn't think he would pull me over if I pulled in where he was. It worked, no ticket. So at that moment I decided it was best to invest into something.

(Also met a guy there with a Nismo 2 kit, told him he should visit the forum).

 

Haha I didn't know I am not the only one doing stuff like that!

Btw I read someone mentioning detectors that hide you from radars. They would be radar jammers, which I believe are illegal. No?

 

Passive jammers just don't work, and it's a federal felony to use an active radar jammer. Laser jammer legality varies by state, and there aren't currently any laws prohibiting them in WA.

You may be thinking of VG2 and Spectre, which are radar detector detectors. Most modern radar detectors are going to provide cloaking from VG2 and Spectre devices.

 

ive had a valentine 1 and a passport in the same car... on oppisite sides of the windshield during a road trip from minnesota to montana... and the valentine picked up signals like 5 seconds before the passport... (if the passport caught it at all)

 

But, were they signals worth having picked up? Did you experience positive alerts with the V1 that the Passport didn't alert on at all?

 

I snagged a blue 8500 X50 with case and stuff for $225 off ebay, it's come in pretty handy and is generally regarded well by the industry.

 

bah, i've never trusted radar detectors...

 

That's the other one that I was considering. How do you like it?

 

yes... the V1 picked up a cop entering the fwy once... and one that was creeping up behind me once right after i had ... well i was at 110 for about an hour and needed gas... i got off to fill up as the v1 was going off and i looked down while crossing the overpass and a cop blew by with his lights on and slammed on the brakes ....i think he was sleeping or something and didnt see me get off the hwy

 

I'm satisfied. Aside from the lack of GPS, it's full-featured enough to get it customized to how I like it in terms of display and individual band sensitivity. We all know the favorite places that the cops have on our commuting routes, but getting advance warning when you're still a mile away is priceless. It was definitely unnerving the first few times a traffic plane zeroed in on me, and it also confirmed my suspicion that cops drive with their radar on. www.guysoflidar.com viewed it pretty positively too.

I also picked up a mount with a Z emblem on it and wired it to my mirror, and it looks pretty clean.

 

I've those before, but haven't been able to find them recently.