Radar Detector

cprtrainer · Postby **cprtrainer** » Thu Jan 01, 2009 9:14

I am looking for a radar detector and have absolutely no idea what I need to look for. Any tips or recommendations? I have a lead on an Escort 8500 but have been told by a friend that it is old tech and there are better ones out there. I just need something for daily driving and the occasional long road trip at a high velocity

.

I am looking to spend less than $200.

Thanks!

Colombia28 · Postby **Colombia28** » Fri Jan 02, 2009 9:14

I had an 8500 X50 before i got my V1 and it worked flawlessly. Do not buy cheap just to save some money, its not worth it. IMO if you don't get a V1 get an Escort 8500 or newer equivalent. I had a Cobra once upon a time and it was the most worthless piece of black plastic in history. As far as RD's go, you really do get what you pay for.

The 8500 X50 is a great RD. It has good range, clear warnings that don't leave you guessing, and it has a smart false alarm system. Its easy to change settings to suite your needs and when i had it, it always gave me plenty of warning and never once left me unsatisfied. Greek8 (Jimmy) now has it, and i'm pretty sure he loves it. I don't know that i agree that its old technology per say. It may be on the market for a while now, but it still works very well. It is probably your best choice for the price range.

If you have the money, and are willing to spend it, the Valentine V1 is hands down the best IMO. But the 8500 is definitely right behind it from my experience with both.

Good luck!

MazdaTom · Postby **MazdaTom** » Fri Jan 02, 2009 9:14

I have an 8500 X50. It's nice. I have got a ticket with it, but the KS state trooper was hiding behind a hill and a bush with his radar off until I was right on top of him. Plus my wheels and tires screwed up my speedometer- so when the cruise was set at 75 in a 70, I was actually doing 80.

Rich · Postby **Rich** » Fri Jan 02, 2009 9:14

I have the Valentine V1. One thing I can say about it is that it picks up Laser way better than my buddies Escort. Sure, a laser warning is probably a ticket warning, but in the off chance that you get shot two or three times for a more accurate reading, it does give you a bit of time to slow down. This has happened to me on more than on occasion. I also find the sensitivity of the V1 to be much higher. It can read K and Ka bands from 2-3 miles away.

Like Tom, I do have a ticket with my V1. The cop was on top of a hill, pointing his radar downwards. The radar wave was bouncing off the road into the air, so I had no way of receiving it until I was right under the gun.

bmwzoom · Postby **bmwzoom** » Fri Jan 02, 2009 9:14

I have only had a V1, and I wouldn't get anything else. You really get what you pay for. Sorry, I don't have any experience with any other brand. Good luck!

iani1.1 · Postby **iani1.1** » Fri Jan 02, 2009 9:14

+1 on the V1. was great til it got stolen, im never getting gas on federal again

zoomzoom6 · Postby **zoomzoom6** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 9:14

If you're willing to save a little more I just got the Escort 9500i and can't say any bad things about it. The cheapest place to get it is through Escort themselves. Every other place I checked was selling it for about $100+ more. I just got back from a road trip to Vegas for New Years and it saved me multiple times. Especially around blind corners and through the hills and mountains of Utah.

Sure you don't get the luxery of the arrows like you do on the Valentine V1 but the Escort 9500i has a lot more features. You can mark speed traps that are common in your area with a touch of a button. It'll beep everytime you go through there to give you a warning to watch out. Definately worth the extra money in my opinion.

MazdaTom · Postby **MazdaTom** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 9:14

Personally I think the V1 arrows are gimicky. Do you really need to know where the threat is coming from or are you just going to immediately slow down when you hear the alarm go off?

firestoned · Postby **firestoned** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 9:14

MazdaTom wrote:Personally I think the V1 arrows are gimicky. Do you really need to know where the threat is coming from or are you just going to immediately slow down when you hear the alarm go off?

somehow, I have gotten used to those arrows, they are definitely an advantage... I wouldnt use a radar without them now, I would feel clueless..The whole satisfaction of spotting the cop who has the radar is more assuring, I think, and knowing which direction to look helps. Im sure others would agree

+1 on the V1

MazdaTom · Postby **MazdaTom** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 9:14

But do you hear the alarm, look at the detector, recognize which arrow is illuminated, look out the window in that direction, find the cop, asses his location relative to yours and determine if he can easily follow you and if so THEN slow down? Or do you hear the alarm, slow down, look at the detector and then find him? I do the same thing.

firestoned · Postby **firestoned** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 9:14

Im saying its easier to find him when you know where to look. Without the arrows, you dont know which mirror to look into until you spot him.. I do the same as you, yes...but I do it smarter and faster... all because of the arrows.

zoomzoom6 · Postby **zoomzoom6** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 9:14

firestoned wrote:Im saying its easier to find him when you know where to look. Without the arrows, you dont know which mirror to look into until you spot him.. I do the same as you, yes...but I do it smarter and faster... all because of the arrows.

I had a buddy with the V1 and it did nothing but go off all the f-ing time. We'd be driving through a commercial place with lots of stores and the thing would go nuts. So are you constantly looking at the detector even when it's going off for no apparent reason every 5 seconds? That would get old real quick. It's still easy to tell what direction, or where the cop is depending on the signal strength of the signal coming in on the Escorts. Plus, some of the newest Escorts have a TrueLock feature that blocks out all that crap that you get in the city that the V1 is sure to pick up.

Colombia28 · Postby **Colombia28** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 9:14

MazdaTom wrote:Personally I think the V1 arrows are gimicky. Do you really need to know where the threat is coming from or are you just going to immediately slow down when you hear the alarm go off?

I disagree. The arrows are very useful imo. And yes i begin to slow down when i get a Ka alert, but if its beside me or behind me i stop slowing down and continue on my way. This way i'm not going slow for a long period of time because i'm worried the threat is still waiting up ahead.

zoomzoom6 wrote:I had a buddy with the V1 and it did nothing but go off all the f-ing time. We'd be driving through a commercial place with lots of stores and the thing would go nuts. So are you constantly looking at the detector even when it's going off for no apparent reason every 5 seconds? That would get old real quick. It's still easy to tell what direction, or where the cop is depending on the signal strength of the signal coming in on the Escorts. Plus, some of the newest Escorts have a TrueLock feature that blocks out all that crap that you get in the city that the V1 is sure to pick up.

Mine is silent until it need to warn me of a ligitimate threat. The V1 may pick up "crap" but that is beacaue it has the advantage of letting you know all that is out there. It can track many many targets at once. Heres a good example:

So the first day i had it, i drove to work and the building i work at has multiple K band auto doors. So the V1 picked up 5 seperate K band radar sources, then as i got closer to the end of the parking lot near the highway it picked up a cop shooting Ka on the highway. It prioritized the threats and put the Ka source as my #1 threat and muted the remaining K sources and auidably warned and flashed the arrow in the directiong the Ka was coming from.
And if thats not a convincing enough story for you, it once traked 3 seperate Ka sources that were ahead of me; a speed trap. It didn't just warn me of Ka and thats it, it told me that not only was there one Ka threat, there were multiple. Had i still been using my 8500, i would have passed the first cop who was a decoy to get people to go back to speeding after passing him, and i would have went back to speeding, but because the V1 told me there were still two Ka threats awaiting me i stayed at the speed limit while everyone else went flying past and got nabed. Thats solid enough for me.

MazdaTom · Postby **MazdaTom** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 9:14

My 8500 x50 can track multiple threats as well when it's set in the "expert" display mode. When I get a threat, it displays what type and the signal strength. If there are multiple threats, I get signal strength graphs for each of them. I think 3 is the most I've ever seen at once- 1 Ka and 2 K but I haven't come across a lot of speed traps mixed in with other sources.

zoomzoom6 · Postby **zoomzoom6** » Sat Jan 03, 2009 9:14

MazdaTom wrote:My 8500 x50 can track multiple threats as well when it's set in the "expert" display mode. When I get a threat, it displays what type and the signal strength. If there are multiple threats, I get signal strength graphs for each of them. I think 3 is the most I've ever seen at once- 1 Ka and 2 K but I haven't come across a lot of speed traps mixed in with other sources.

+1 for the expert display setting

Radar Detector

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