Anyone know of any good radar detectors that are good but won't put a hole in your pocket?

Never seen the value of a radar detector. All they do is beep and make noise. Don't haul ass and you wouldn't have to worry about cops. ( assuming that's what the use is for )

The best investment you will make.....depending on where you live..some cops pull you over for a 5-10mph over posted speed..

Anyone know of any good radar detectors that are good but won't put a hole in your pocket?

I would google "radar detector reviews" and there are several sites that will give you what you need. My other car has a Valentine One and I wish I had it in my Accord. I am not a "speeder", but it keeps me in check especially when I am not using cruise. In my area, I am being watched by county, town, state, and fed. park rangers who would all be more than happy to give you a citation. In FL, they actually enacted a law to prevent ticketing for less than 5 mph.

Anyone know of any good radar detectors that are good but won't put a hole in your pocket?

To answer your question, Beltronics Pro RX65 Radar Detector. However, no radar detector is perfect and you can spend more for a Valentine, but the bottom line, if they use Laser or aircraft, just take the ticket. :paranoid:

To answer your question, Beltronics Pro RX65 Radar Detector. However, no radar detector is perfect and you can spend more for a Valentine, but the bottom line, if they use Laser or aircraft, just take the ticket. :paranoid:

On the aircraft and laser, you are so correct!!:notworthy

In FL, they actually enacted a law to prevent ticketing for less than 5 mph.


I doubt that very much....

http://www.flsenate.gov/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0316/SEC183.HTM&Title=->2007->Ch0316->Section%20183#0316.183

Yes I stand corrected. It is done in a round-about way. 318.18 Amount of civil penalties
There is no penalty for exceeding the posted speed by 5 mph. You can only get a warning.

My Valentine 1 more than paid for itself in number of tickets it saved me. Having a radar detector does not mean you can speed and blow by traffic though. If a cop uses instant on method of finding your speed you're still screwed, the detector will simply tell you he'll be behind you soon with his lights flashing.

There have been too many instances to count where I was going about 80mph and the V1 starts chirping consistently and gaining signal strength. I slow down only to see a car blow by me. Seconds later I see that same car on the side of the road receiving a ticket, or at least a warning if it was a hot girl flirting her way out of the ticket.

Never seen the value of a radar detector. All they do is beep and make noise. Don't haul ass and you wouldn't have to worry about cops. ( assuming that's what the use is for )

Going 57~60 in a 45mph highway with no traffic is not hauling ass, but it'll get you a ticket nonetheless. There are places where the speed limit is unreasonably just so cops can collect some funds for the city.

Another good thing about the detector, cops cannot give you a ticket (unless you're driving 120 or something outrageous and get a reckless driving charge) if they don't hit you with the radar gun to find your speed. If you don't know if he knows your speed though he can put a random number on the ticket and you wouldn't know if that really was how fast you were going.

Moved to Audio & Electronics...............

I have the beltronics GX65 and i would recommend it.

beltronics v940. $150 saved me plenty of times.im looking to get the valentine 1 though because i want the count and arrows which point to the direction of the radar

Escort Passport 8500 X50, works for me!!! :thmsup:

I have an Escort Solo that works great. Love the cordless operation.

They're pretty much useless since almost all departments in the US have laser or pop-based systems now. All they'll be good for is telling you to pull over.

I'd recommend keeping your money and putting it in something else. I haven't used one since the mid to late nineties and so far so good. Just drive smart and you should be fine. There's also talk of municipalities wanting to install automated units with cameras so it might be a moot point soon.

And just to clarify—I grew up in a house where those things paid the bills. My father worked for Cincinnati Microwave as an Engineer/Project Manager and we always had access to test units. CMI is the originator of the Escort and Passport brands and held all the important patents/innovations in that field. They went bankrupt in 97 due to mismanagement and a bunch of their employees bought the patents and formed Escort Inc. Mike Valentine (Valentine One) got his start at CMI. So my statement isn't just based on personal preference, but on reality and good insider info from those who know. ;)

If you're set on getting one, go ahead and spend the money on a good unit. Escort/Passport/ValetineOne and some of the Belltronics (some are junk, some aren't.) At least those with good quality ones and the people with detector detectors won't be bothered by you or bother you.

Radar detectors also detect laser too, so I am sure you know that as well. Not all departments use laser. In CA, they use radar on the freeways and most of them are not laser.

The highway patrol use radar on my commute to work on the freeway. I work north of Los Angeles, so there is very light traffic in each direction. Even though I only drive 5-10 MPH over the speed limit, I want to know if there is a cop out there hitting the lanes, just so I can let off the gas and cruise by. They are always in the same place too, on a slight downhill grade hoping to catch people creeping up in speed without realizing it. Next time, I will try to look at the detector to see which band is being detected. I drive into the sun in both directions, so I only go by sound since it is not easy to see the radar display with sunglasses and the sun in my face.

I browsed Escort's site. Check out this handy accessory:
http://www.escortradar.com/smartmirror.php

I browsed Escort's site. Check out this handy accessory:
http://www.escortradar.com/smartmirror.php

That's pretty cool.

If nothing else, hopefully people won't try to use the stylus to make entries/selections while driving! However sadly I think some morons will still try and likely will cause accidents while doing so ........ :paranoid:

That's pretty cool.

If nothing else, hopefully people won't try to use the stylus to make entries/selections while driving! However sadly I think some morons will still try and likely will cause accidents while doing so ........ :paranoid:

Like those people that still talk on the phone and drive. Even handsfree is a major distraction. The law in CA did absolutely nothing to reduce cell phone use, or increase handsfree use.

Like those people that still talk on the phone and drive. Even handsfree is a major distraction. The law in CA did absolutely nothing to reduce cell phone use, or increase handsfree use.

They really need to place ads on TV's showing the effects of talking while driving, including with handsfree kit. People talking and driving are no better than DUI drivers. Even worse, many teens are now texting while driving...

To answer your question, Beltronics Pro RX65 Radar Detector. However, no radar detector is perfect and you can spend more for a Valentine, but the bottom line, if they use Laser or aircraft, just take the ticket. :paranoid:

i see signs talking about speed enforced by aircraft all over the place around DC, what does that even mean though? i disregard it.

and btw i'm using the x50 and it works great. it has definitely saved me more in fines than what i paid for it :wave:

I have an Beltronic Vector 995 works great.
I got it after I read several reviews online and from different sites who are supposedly professionals and ex sheriffs and it was the best one for under 300 dollars. You can get it online for like 230 after shipping and handling and it does a great job for me. Especially one time I was on the highway and it detected a cop running radar from behind me and this was at night time so I would of definitely been screwed

The Escort 8500 x50 is what I'm trying to get to replace my Bel RX65.

Radar detectors also detect laser too, so I am sure you know that as well. Not all departments use laser. In CA, they use radar on the freeways and most of them are not laser.

That's surprising that CA isn't fully switched. The last I heard (5 or 6 years ago) there was a high concentration of laser in the US. I don't remember the exact number, but something like greater than 60%. I would have expected it to be much higher than that now based on the trend then. It pretty much exploded in a 3 year period.

The issue with Laser detection is once it goes off, you're pegged majority of the time. Watch the guys shoot laser and you'll see what I mean--there's a reason why they aim them life a rifle. Laser has a very small target area even at large distances and almost no "bounce". By small I mean a couple inches at distances out to 1/4 mile. The reason radar is easy to catch is it "bounces" all over the place. Lasers very rarely do so, which means if it sounds an alert chances are you just took a direct hit. A lot of people even get stopped and never had a warning sound from their detector. The only good defense is a jammer, which is illegal in some places and still not fool-proof.

I don't have anything against the good detectors (I hate those cheap ones that leak like a sieve.) I just don't see a value vs. benefit anymore. If you do, then by all means go for it. But a lot of people are falsely lead to believe that these are miracle devices.

Best case in point: What happened to the "we'll pay your ticket guarantee" that CMI (Escort) made famous. They won't do that now and there's a good reason for it.

i see signs talking about speed enforced by aircraft all over the place around DC, what does that even mean though? i disregard it.
That means they're using landmarks (set measured distance) and a timer to calculate your speed. Usually you'll see lines painted on the road surface but they've been known to use other means as well (overpass to overpass, etc.) Definitely a problem on decent days and even nights. Bad weather usually limits this and they more active in the Summer months than in the Winter ones from what I hear. That probably has something to do with the dangers of operating small craft increasing drastically in inclement weather.

Next to impossible to beat since it's very unlikely you'll even know they're there, especially since they use data recorders and video to back it up. A bit down the road you'll see blue lights in your mirror. Very popular in the south. Mississippi and Alabama are two states that use this heavily. There's at least three areas on I-55 between Jackson, MS and Hammond, LA and quite a few on I-59 south of Meridian, MS until the LA state line. Georgia has a few places on I-75 south of Macon. There's at least one area in TN, but I can't remember if it was on I-75 or I-65. I think I even saw one section on I-65 north if Indianapolis one about 40 miles south of I-94/Gary, IN (about 6 years ago.)

Usually they're using small prop planes, but I've heard of helicopters also being employed. Somewhere was investigating a UAV type -- I think that was written up in Wired News or one of the auto mags (C&D/Motortrend.)

Used to be a big problem that I had to contend with on my trips from LA to KY/Cincy. Now I fly--its usually cheaper and a heck of a lot faster. I had a good map of their locations, but it's been 2 years since I drove it and I'm sure things have changed drastically. One stretch of about 40-50 miles had lines almost constantly, so you never knew which they might use.

That means they're using landmarks (set measured distance) and a timer to calculate your speed. Usually you'll see lines painted on the road surface but they've been known to use other means as well (overpass to overpass, etc.) Definitely a problem on decent days and even nights. Bad weather usually limits this and they more active in the Summer months than in the Winter ones from what I hear. That probably has something to do with the dangers of operating small craft increasing drastically in inclement weather.

Next to impossible to beat since it's very unlikely you'll even know they're there, especially since they use data recorders and video to back it up. A bit down the road you'll see blue lights in your mirror. Very popular in the south. Mississippi and Alabama are two states that use this heavily. There's at least three areas on I-55 between Jackson, MS and Hammond, LA and quite a few on I-59 south of Meridian, MS until the LA state line. Georgia has a few places on I-75 south of Macon. There's at least one area in TN, but I can't remember if it was on I-75 or I-65. I think I even saw one section on I-65 north if Indianapolis one about 40 miles south of I-94/Gary, IN (about 6 years ago.)

Usually they're using small prop planes, but I've heard of helicopters also being employed. Somewhere was investigating a UAV type -- I think that was written up in Wired News or one of the auto mags (C&D/Motortrend.)

Used to be a big problem that I had to contend with on my trips from LA to KY/Cincy. Now I fly--its usually cheaper and a heck of a lot faster. I had a good map of their locations, but it's been 2 years since I drove it and I'm sure things have changed drastically. One stretch of about 40-50 miles had lines almost constantly, so you never knew which they might use.

yeah i see what you're saying, however i'm not sure it's effectiveness because the road they are monitoring is heavily used and 4 lanes wide. how could they pinpoint the vehicle that is flying when there are other cars hitting those sensors at the same time?

My two cents, Escort 8500 very nice peace of equipment.

And yes was nailed by a speed trap on the NJ Parkway coming back from wildwood, Troop was on a overpass while three troops stood just beyond it to hand out the tickets, When your Escort Flashes "Laser Laser" suddenly with a screaming ear piercing blare.. then you know its time to pullover.

case and point, try to note all speed trap areas on daily drives. you are defenseless against a laser gun that is on only momentarily.

happy motoring....

My two cents, Escort 8500 very nice peace of equipment.

And yes was nailed by a speed trap on the NJ Parkway coming back from wildwood, Troop was on a overpass while three troops stood just beyond it to hand out the tickets, When your Escort Flashes "Laser Laser" suddenly with a screaming ear piercing blare.. then you know its time to pullover.

case and point, try to note all speed trap areas on daily drives. you are defenseless against a laser gun that is on only momentarily.

happy motoring....

damn...unlucky my friend. i have the x50 too and i've lucky never been hit with the laser trap. i've seen some "traps" where cops hide out in the dark with their lights off shooting radar on 295 but never anything like what you described. yeah cops are nasty going to the shore, same thing what they do on the AC expressway :thumbsdow