Radar Detector

[Hausse 0]

Hey everybody

I was just trying to decide if I should get a radar detector.
I checked a few out and I think I would go with a Whistler Pro 78. Is it worth the money? I don't really speed but I drive regularly 15 over with the crowd. Do you think they are worth it?
I'm a young driver and if I get a ticket my insurance would skyrocket...

So any advice on which to buy and if they are worth it?

[dannydan 5]

Nah.... I wouldnt get one at all! I would CONTINUE to LEARN and drive "by the seat of your pants"....

Sometimes the LEOs and or some states will ISSUE you a ticket for having them in your vehicle if you did get pulled over!!

Think about it like this (re; seat of yr pants, probably showing my age here but WTF), in high school we couldnt use calculators till our jr year.... I know i know its all different now, but my point is I would NOT have used my BRAIN if I could have used an "adding machine" early in my schooling... I see so many kids at the registers that cannot figure change UNLESS that digi display tells them wat the change is.... Its a real shame actually!

CONTINUE to drive with the flow, follow your INSTINCTS on the road, keep yr eyes AHEAD of you, allow PLENTY of room for the UNEXPECTED and spend that radar detec money on something MORE relevant such as a 3, 8 year driver safety cert as a present for yr Mom, inurence agent, YOURSELF, BOOZE....., Or maybe..... JUMP TICKETS!

Most of the time "gadgets" do more harm than good and just get in the way of our lives!!!

God SPEED and much peace!

:DD

ps, I had two of those things in the past, I actually recd more speeding tix with it than I did w/o it!! So I really am speaking from exp...

[ryoder 1,590]

There are two categories of radar detectors;
This is the first category:

http://www.valentine1.com/

The other category is all the rest. Don't believe me; Go check out the annual reviews some of the car magazines run, and look how they compare to the competition. The founder of this company used to be the principle engineer at "Escort" back when Escort was head & shoulders above the others.

As far as being "worth it", back when I was a "partier", my radar detector saved my ass BIG TIME one night. If it hadn't warned me, I would have been caught in a speed trap, and if I had been pulled over, it would have cost me THOUSANDS in fines, legal fees, and increased insurance premiums over the next few years. The $400 I spent on the detector was one of the best investments I ever made.

That said, read up on laser detection. It is very difficult for any detector to see it in time to warn you far enough in advance to enable you to react quick enough to avoid the ticket. My last speeding ticket was this situation. The cop shot me just as I came over the crest of a hill, so I got the alert at the same time he got his reading.

Also, any time you are running down the highway with no cars ahead of you, you are a sitting duck for instant-on radar or laser. A detector depends on getting scatter from the cars ahead in order to give you a usable advance warning. So with no traffic ahead of you, it can only help guard against radars that transmit continuously.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[Gawain 0]

Quote

There are two categories of radar detectors;
This is the first category:

http://www.valentine1.com/

The other category is all the rest.

What he said.

So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh
Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright
'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life
Make light!

[dannydan 5]

yeah I will agree, but anyway!! I heard this like 10 years ago, that the inventor of the RADAR GUN also invented the DETECTOR!!! What a freaking racket that man/wo~man has... if true! :DD

[warpedskydiver 0]

build yourself a powerful multi-band jammer, and watch the cops have fun!

Hey maybe you can get a ECM pod from DRMO!!!

[normiss 851]

barely....very barely.
Some reviews rate the Escort 8500 series as the better unit and the company seems to back the product better. It's a little less than the V1 too.
I like the included options with the 8500 much better too. The ability to run everything from the head of the power adapter at night is awesome.. and no one outside the car can see it...so it eliminates somebidy riding your tail because you have a good radar detector. Given price and value, included options, I'll take the Escort.
I've even beaten LIDAR with it.

Radar test

[Hausse 0]

Thanks for all the advice. I agree that the Valentines are probably the best but I can't afford that. That's why I was going with the Whistler Pro 78 because it's just $150 and gets pretty good ratings.
I don't think I need something very fancy since I never do more than 20 over and that just when there are a bunch of people going that fast. It really is just to make sure that I'm not the unlucky guy of the group who gets pulled over.
The reason I think about getting one is just as an insurance. I can't afford paying $300 on a traffic ticket and a higher car insurance.
Do you think it's worth buying something in the middle class or would you rather go with nothing at all?

Edited to add: Aren't multi band jammers illegal?

[ryoder 1,590]

Quote

The ability to run everything from the head of the power adapter at night is awesome.. and no one outside the car can see it...so it eliminates somebidy riding your tail because you have a good radar detector.

That is a $40 accessory for the V1.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[ryoder 1,590]

Quote

Edited to add: Aren't multi band jammers illegal?

It is a violation of FCC rules to transmit w/o a license on any frequency that is classified as licensed. The common traffic radar bands are:

X band 7-12.5 GHz
Ku band 12-18 GHz
K band 18-27 GHz
Ka band 27-40 GHz

If you have an Amateur Radio license, (depending on which grade it is), you can transmit on these ranges:

10-10.5 GHz
24-24.25 GHz

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[Hausse 0]

So basically you could legally block X and K?

But that ain't really helping. I'm not gonna get a license.

[ryoder 1,590]

Quote

So basically you could legally block X and K?

But that ain't really helping. I'm not gonna get a license.

Possibly. You don't get the whole band, so you would need to do some research to see the the radar units are operating entirely within that range.

Here is a link about jamming and absorbing tactics. (Beware this is a manufacturer who wants to sell you stuff):

http://www.laserveil.com/radar/jammers/

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[Hausse 0]

Hm I think I'd rather go with a normal radar detector. That should be good enough for me.

So who has one and actually uses it? Would you get another one? If you'd get another one would you go with a more expensive one?

[auburnguy 0]

For all bands of radar detection the current king is the bel rx-65 pro. Laser detectors are useless because the beam of light that is shot from the gun is extremely narrow, there isnt going to be anything for the laser detector to detect until it has been hit and then its too late. If laser is a problem which it is in most urban areas in the US, get a blinder laser jammer, its the best in the world. side note, a cop has to hit you within a 1/4 mile with a laser gun to be able to write you a ticket.
Also, it is not legal to have any sort of active jamming system for radar. Radar jamming systems are sold over the internet but are still illegal. "passive" radar jammers are sold but they do not work, are complete scams.

"If you don't like your job, you don't strike! You just go in every day, and do it really half assed. That's the American way."
- Homer Simpson

[1888 0]

If you get a Vet, especially one of the older Stingrays, radar has a difficult time getting a signal back because of the shape of the Vet and the material of which it is made.

[normiss 851]

urban myth mostly...I think it was the 74 vette that had a radiator at such an angle that the signal was directed up instead of reflecting back horizontally...
Chevy fixed it unfortunately.
It's usually the radiator and engine - fan included - that reflects most of the signal back.

[JohnRich 4]

Quote

I was just trying to decide if I should get a radar detector.
I checked a few out and I think I would go with a Whistler Pro 78. Is it worth the money? I don't really speed but I drive regularly 15 over with the crowd. Do you think they are worth it?

If it saves you from one ticket it will pay for itself. And it will save you from several tickets per year. Do it! I wouldn't go without mine.

[Hausse 0]

Okey I'm fairly sure to get one. I just drive too much (more than 14'000 miles this year) and not always in the speed limits to go without one. I have been lucky several times this year...

Now the most important question: Which one to get? I would like to invest as little as possible and still get one that detects everything reliably. So I'm looking for the one with the best price value amount.

[normiss 851]

depends on where you place that value.
for some, it's the V1, for me it was the Escort....
I know BEL has improved, but I don't trust them for the performance I want. For me it was the V1 or the Escort and I didn't like the reviews of the V1 for the price.
A ticket can easily run near $300 here in FL without an insane speed...so I base the value of the detector on the cost - or possible cost - of a ticket.

[Hausse 0]

I can't afford to spend $400 for a laser detector. I was more thinking about something in the $150 range. That's is anything good available for that kind of money?

That's actually how I found the Wisthler Pro 78. Has anybody ever used one? It gets pretty good reviews.

[ryoder 1,590]

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I can't afford to spend $400 for a laser detector. I was more thinking about something in the $150 range. That's is anything good available for that kind of money?

That's actually how I found the Wisthler Pro 78. Has anybody ever used one? It gets pretty good reviews.

Many times I have tried to take the budget route and not only regretted it, but wound up paying more in the long run when I ended up buying the better product after being dissatisfied with the cheaper one.

As others have pointed out, a detector can pay for its self if you avoid just one ticket. The better a detector performs in the tests, the higher probability it can warn you with enough time to take action.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[TrophyHusband 0]

if most of your driving is highway, a cb is good way to go. truckers will tell you where all of the cops are hiding. the down side is you have to listen to the truckers and not the radio.

"Your scrotum is quite nice" - Skymama
www.kjandmegan.com

[Hausse 0]

Hey thanks for the tip with the cb. I think I'm gonna try that first since my host family has one I can take for free.

Hope it works

[TrophyHusband 0]

it has worked very well for me in the past. the people who do the illegal cross country races rely heavily on them as well.

"Your scrotum is quite nice" - Skymama
www.kjandmegan.com

[AggieDave 6]

If the operator is using the mobile radar unit correctly the only thing the radar detector will do for you is tell you when you should slow down to pull over. Especially since quite a few are using lidars now. No residual for your detector to pickup before being clocked.

The further away from high school I get the closer to the speed limit I drive in my POV. The higher gas costs climb the less I want to open up that V8 small block in my big truck.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."