Radar Detectors

[JDMFantasy2k]

Hey i was wondering how many of you use radar detectors and what types you have. I need to get one because the cops around here have been rediculous, and i speed without even realizing it (seriously). Also how much did you pay for it, special features and whatnot. Actually we could make a good sticky out of this.

[IALuder]

i just bought a Cobra off ebay. should be here tommorow. i paid 57 bucks for it off ebay. ill let you know more about it when its installed in my car.

[Rob]

I use this........and it was worth every penny.......

[CD5Passion]

from what I've heard one of the better ones is a Beltronics and any models Vector 945 and up but thats roughly around $150. my boss said his works awesome, gets a warning a good mile+ from a cop, he said it saved his ass numerous times.
actually thought abotu buying one but I'm now officialy out of spendable cash

[JDMFantasy2k]

just found a neat site, radarbusters.com the site is run by a retired cop who tests the newest radar models. The escort 8500 did amazing but i don't have that kind of cash, but they have some other stuff there that's pretty nice.

[Rob]

Originally posted by JDMFantasy2k
The escort 8500 did amazing but i don't have that kind of cash,

I'm telling you man...yes the 8500 is a little pricey @ $300.00 but it has gotten me out of about 1,000 + tickets (I speed alot). The best it has done on the highway was picked up a cop approx. 3.5 miles ahead of me.......

[ebpda9]

i have some cheap ass whistler and it does the job. i don't get warnedtoo far away but i had it once pick up a ka signal from 3 miles away.

[GT40FIED]

Here's the thing with Radar detectors...they're only reliable if they're expensive. That Escort is simply insane...in how well it works and in price. The Valentine units are great too. You just to make sure you get one that can jam radars too since the "instant on" guns are so hard to detect unless you're in traffic...which would hopefully mean you aren't speeding anyway. I remember seeing a unit that was wired in through front and rear liscence plate frames on a car that could jam a radar gun from like a mile away. I'm kicking myself for not remembering the name. That's what I'd get if I were gonna use anything.

[a96710]

I have a Beltronics I got from work...I think it's a Vector 985. It retailed $300 but I got cost on it which at the time was like $210 or something.

[Daviso27]

Beltronics is the way to go..I believe beltronics makes some of the speed radars that the HP uses. On the other hand, Escort Solo and the passport 8500 are the shittznitz...They have a new model out the 8500 x2 or something like that...Think about it...Speeding tickets in florida go $175 and then $5-$10 for every mile over the speed limit...If you take your average speed...when speeding, calculate it, then compare the ticket price to how much the beat radar cost... youl will se why they are so pricey...The other alternative is never stop...If they try to pull you over just keep driving to where you need to go, get out of the car and go inside...Who knows? they might think your crazy and let you go.

[JDMFantasy2k]

well that's the thing i don't speed a lot i mean usually 70-75 on the highway, and i really don't need a detector that will tell me 3.5 miles in advance unless i'm doing like 120 and covering 2 miles a minute. SO my friend and i went up to best buy and found a realy nice cobra, i think it's the 9400, it was actually on sale for 100, from like 120ish. Says a friend of his has it and liked it. So i bought it and i hard wired it in, so when i turn the car on it comes on auto, neato.

[CD5Passion]

Originally posted by Daviso27
Beltronics is the way to go..I believe beltronics makes some of the speed radars that the HP uses. On the other hand, Escort Solo and the passport 8500 are the shittznitz...They have a new model out the 8500 x2 or something like that...Think about it...Speeding tickets in florida go $175 and then $5-$10 for every mile over the speed limit...If you take your average speed...when speeding, calculate it, then compare the ticket price to how much the beat radar cost... youl will se why they are so pricey...The other alternative is never stop...If they try to pull you over just keep driving to where you need to go, get out of the car and go inside...Who knows? they might think your crazy and let you go.

or rip your ass out of the car and send you to jail when you could've jsut gotten a fine...

or rip your ass out of the car and send you to jail when you could've jsut gotten a fine...

LOL. That would suck.

[VR4_Craver]

Ill tell you guys a story about my detector.

I was heading back from indy from a pool tourny down there. On the way back I was driving about 70-75 on 31N. It starts beeping like a mother as I topped a hill. And i saw a cop pass me on the other side 31S. Then i watched another unmarked car pull a u turn and proceed to fly up to pul me over. The cop makes me sit in HIS car ( thought I was getting arrested) And his words to me were

cop:"Whats wrong you radar detector didnt pick me up"
me:"Yea, I saw another cop pass me and i thought that was his signal"
cop: "I'll show you something" (Thought he was gonna shoot me)

He pulls down his radar and said "Who made you detector"
me:" Cobra" I said meekly feeling sick
cop:" Well what a coincidence! They made my radar. I dont think that they made your detecotr better than my radar"

needless to say i got a ticket An i learned that you have to buy a high priced name for good reliable "protection"

[drdingo21]

Originally posted by GT40FIED
Here's the thing with Radar detectors...they're only reliable if they're expensive. That Escort is simply insane...in how well it works and in price. The Valentine units are great too. You just to make sure you get one that can jam radars too since the "instant on" guns are so hard to detect unless you're in traffic...which would hopefully mean you aren't speeding anyway. I remember seeing a unit that was wired in through front and rear liscence plate frames on a car that could jam a radar gun from like a mile away. I'm kicking myself for not remembering the name. That's what I'd get if I were gonna use anything.

No jammers work. I know about the one your talking about and have read time and time again that it doesn't work. (taken from radar test)

For those seeking more protection than a detector can deliver, there's a veritable smorgasbord of gadgets claiming they can cloak your car with an impenetrable electronic shield. Some promise protection from radar, others from lasers; some claim they can defeat both. Another group promises protection from photo radar, the stealthy camera-radar system used in fewer than 20 U.S. cities.

Passive jammers claim to jam radar by receiving the inbound microwave beam, mixing with it some white noise, then reflecting the altered signal back to the radar, so confusing it that no speed is displayed. Active jammers transmit a signal designed to make the radar disregard its own return signal, placing it in an endless loop as it continuously tries to acquire a speed. Not surprisingly, active jammers are illegal to operate.
Passive jammers transmit nothing and are perfectly legal. Passive jammers were invented by Mike Churchman, proprietor of Rocky Mountain Radar. We first tested Churchman's magic boxes in 1993 and have since tested all his products, including the best-selling Phazer ($200) , claimed to jam radar and laser and Phantom ($350), claimed capable of both detecting and jamming lasers and radar.

In reaction to past stories we've written for Automobile Magazine, the BMW Roundel, Mercedes Star, AutoTronics and Car Audio & Electronics, among others, the resourceful Churchman quickly renamed these same boxes--the new appellations include Illusion, Shadow, Eclipse, Patriot and Avenger among others--and continued doing business without missing a beat. He's also produced several private-label versions with names like Barrier-RDR and Barrier-LSR.

Except for the Phantom, which contains rudimentary radar-detection circuitry, each is essentially an empty box with a 12-volt power cord, a cheap cast-plastic waveguide assembly, one or two front-mounted LEDs, a basic power-supply circuit and a button or two. Press the button and an LED lights up, accompanied by a tinny bird whistle. ("Our patented 'FM Chirp', " company salesmen proudly proclaim.) We've tested these products a dozen times against every front-line police radar gun and laser, finding all of them utterly worthless.

Interestingly, while we were riding with Texas Highway Patrol trooper Mack Wallace near Houston recently, he stopped a Dodge minivan with Colorado plates. On the dash was a spanking new Phantom jammer. The van pilot was told he'd been speeding. "Impossible," said the agitated driver, "my Phantom jammed your radar."

"Didn't seem to be doing much jamming when you came by me," deadpanned the trooper. "I got you at 69 mph in a 55 mph zone. Maybe you should take it back for a refund."

On another occasion, for a film production we had borrowed a Gatso photo radar unit, complete with marked Ford Explorer police vehicle, and were operating it next to busy six-lane I-225 near Denver. On the rear of the radar van we had mounted a giant speed display. During a break, we noticed a new Monte Carlo pass by several times, a time-consuming maneuver since it entailed a six-mile round trip between freeway exits. Then the Chevy pulled in next to us and the passenger window slid down. "I jammed your radar," the twenty-something driver said gleefully.

And how, I asked, had this been accomplished?

"With this," he said, pointing to a Phantom jammer on the dash. "I came past you three times and the sign didn't show my speed until I was right on top of the radar."

"The radar's supposed to work that way," I told him. "Target speed isn't read until the vehicle is within 50 feet."

No way, he insisted. The jammer saved him. And it worked equally well against lasers.

Whatever. Then I had an idea. "Tell you what," I told him. "We've got a new Kustom ProLaser II and an LTI Marksman. Why don't you back up about 700 feet on the shoulder and when you're ready, flash your lights and drive toward us. We'll try to get you on the lasers."

He loved the idea and backed slowly away from us. When he was in position I handed the LTI laser to an assistant and hefted the ProLaser myself. When the pleased Phantom owner flashed his lights and started rolling, we both aimed and fired. Each laser displayed a target speed before he'd gone 30 feet. On impulse I snatched up a Kustom HR-12 hand-held radar when he'd closed to about 500 feet, pulling the trigger to lock in his 35 mph target speed. When he pulled alongside, we showed him all three readouts.

"This can't be," he said. "I just paid $350 for this jammer--and it's so good they'll pay for any tickets I get."

His concern was understandable. The allure of a gadget guaranteed to make you invisible to police radar and lasers is undeniable. And nobody enjoys learning that they've been conned. But despite the fact that Rocky Mountain Radar's wares now appear in reputable mail-order catalogs, complete with promises of ticket refunds, they simply don't work. Our suggestion: save your money.

Another passive jammer is the Mirage 2001, aka The Watchful Eye, priced variously from $150 to $250. When we prepared to test one in 1995, shortly after its national debut, company exec John Turner insisted that we position the radar at least 3,000 feet away before driving toward it in the jammer-equipped target car. Forget it, we told him. Typical radar target range in the real world is more like 700 feet. Turner left in a huff with his jammer.

After purchasing a Mirage/Watchful Eye anonymously, we discovered why Turner was so insistent on the vast separation between target vehicle and radar: this jammer actually increased the distance at which our three radar units could begin clocking the target vehicle. This is a function of its large antenna. We found that at ranges beyond the radars' typical operational maximum--about 1,400 feet on average--the jammer's big antenna reflected enough extra energy to pump up radar range by up to 500 feet. Try explaining that to the arresting officer.

One jammer that works--sort of--is the Phantom RCD ($600). Originally labeled the Stealth VRCD, it was designed by David Sullivan, a Silicon Valley microwave engineer of exceptional talent. The Stealth employs four powerful Gunn oscillators--the same gadgets that generate a radar gun's microwave signal--to produce a strong jamming signal. It does so after it detects the police radar and deciphers its exact center frequency. Then it broadcasts a return signal which the radar accepts as its own. But target speed varies so wildly that the radar dismisses it as noise and continues trying to lock on. So engaged, it refuses to display a target speed.

When we were first to test a prototype Stealth VRCD in 1993 we found it capable of some amazing feats. On one occasion it made a barn-sized Kenworth cab-over tractor disappear from five of our seven radars even at point-blank range. But its performance was spotty--sometimes it refused to jam anything at all--and we found that bumpy roads tended to set it off accidentally, leading to flat-spotted tires and ragged nerves while the driver searched anxiously for lurking police cars.

Another significant drawback: only X- and K band are covered. The prohibitive cost and extra bulk imposed by adding Ka-band components dissuaded inventor Sullivan from attempting a triband unit. At the time it probably seemed a worthwhile compromise. But the roads are becoming littered with Ka-band radar these days.

Worse, when the current generation of police radar with Digital Signal Processing began appearing in 1993, we learned that their lightning-fast signal processing will easily outwit the Phantom RCD's much slower, analog circuitry. And since DSP radar is rapidly replacing older units, driving today with a Stealth can be risky indeed.

Ive had an 8500 for about 2 years, and have not got a speeding ticket nor have i been pulled over for speeding. The 8500 gives more than enough warning. I just recently installed the smart cord and it looks clean. You can't even see my dector and I installed the mute button in my dash.

[GT40FIED]

^ That honestly wouldn't suprise me...but that review looks like it's over 10 years old. The article I saw couldn't have been more than a year ago. A jammer that worked would be invaluable...but a good ole fashion detector that works would also be nice. Too bad I haven't got the money for either.

[drdingo21]

Yea, that isn't the jammer you spoke about. Those are just a couple jammers that they tested. There is also a dector that they tested that is installed in the lincens plates lik eyou mention, and i remeber them saying its not that great and there is no way to tell if its on and working.

[ChrisCantSkate]

i just dont drive like a dick and havnt gottena ticket in 3 years. i dunno... therse a time and place to speed, and when you find it you know it and never get caught. honestly people who swerve through traffic and speed in rush hour piss me off.

those passports are one of the best on the market right now...i got a "okay" whisler which saved my ass many times