Radar Detectors
 

Who uses one and which brand did you purchase? I just clunked down a few hundred dead presidents to keep me in the know. Ended up with an Escort 8500 X50. Interested to hear what others use and how well it works.

escort 9500i Love the firmware updates escort i think is the best :)

Valentine One is on the to-get list, currently using a pos cobra that usually gets shut off.

don't you have to send them back to get them upgraded though?

Yep and its not free, its $45. Its also one of the most expensive detectors on the market. Thats the price you pay for owning, IMO, the best on the market. The Escort Redline is supposed to rival the Valentine but lacks the directional indicators found on the Valentine....

I just obey the speed limits...usually...sometimes...ok, maybe I need a radar detector :p

Seriously. Obey the speed limit.

Have had a Valentine One for several years. I only use it on road trips. It is very good. However, many law enforcement agencies are going to lasers. Get hit with one of those and you're done for.

I have the battery powered Escort Solo ... very convenient. Fits in map pocket of my motorcycle tank bag and I can Bluetooth via the earphone jack and a Sena unit to my helmet.

They aren't legal here so something with anti-radar-detector-detector technology is needed if I was going to use one.

I bought an '01 S that came with a hardwired V1. If I were to purchase one, however.....it'd be a V1. I've personally seen the bogey counter save my buddy a ticket (the motorcycle officer was parked beneath a bridge that always gives a false positive, so when we saw the bogey counter hit 2, that was abnormal) and the arrows are another great feature.

Not quite a radar detector, but I use the app Waze. Here in VA, detectors are illegal. In about 8 months using Waze on the highway, I have not passed a cop w/ radar that I did not already know about.

1998 Boxster Base here with an Escort Solo S3 suspended by a BlendMount mounting system from the rear view mirror. Works well, looks good.

Escort 9500i
I like the fact that the GPS feature can store false alarm spots.
Typically, if it goes off.....there is a cop somewhere nearby.

One more vote for the Valentine 1. The fact that I can send it back for a hardware upgrade to the latest protection and the fact that it has those arrows and a bogey counter is why I keep it.

If you use a detector for your commute and you have annoying false readings here and there, another detector with GPS may be your best bet. I battle false alarms by programming the V1 to turn off X band because it's only used in Ohio from what I've read and it's frequently used in automatic doors at Walmart, etc.. I just hope X band hasn't made a comeback!

The new laser technology built into high end cars for adaptive cruise control sets off my V1 now... as this becomes a mainstream feature in automobiles I have no idea what I'm going to do.

And oddly enough, I don't speed in the boxster. However, I tend to push it in the F150 way beyond the speed limit!

Get their latest firmware update, it dramatically reduces the false alarms from adaptive cruise and lane change warning systems. Before that update, I would get inundated with false alerts, and now get none. Their app for the iPhone is pretty slick as well, visually telling you which alerts are real and which ones are something else..

+1 for Waze. It's free, it's legal, and it's quite effective. Long live crowd sourcing! :)

Thanks JFP!!!!

Anytime. I often drive around the DC area, where traffic is always very heavy even late at night, and the false alarms from cruise control and lane assist radars meant you got to listen to the V1 pretty much from Baltimore until Richmond. Now, it rarely makes a peep on the same drive. Major improvement.

The iPhone or Android phone app shows narrow boxes which represent the exact frequencies police radar have to be on (law requires that they are tested and certified to be on those frequencies), so if the arrow appears "outside the box", the signal is not from law enforcement radar. Neat tool.

I've owned an Escort Passport, loved it. Lasted a good amount of time and even saved my butt once from laser. I think I got lucky with that one though.

My car came with a remotely installed radar detector. I haven't a clue about what model. It does go off constantly for the drive systems on other car. I should dig up some info and see it it could be upgraded.

Valentine 1. It's really amazing how it let's you know the instant you've passed Smokey and he's behind you.
Must buy a lot 959's.

My V1 is a must have for small town roads that always seem to send an "escort" to follow me in case I'm longing for some revenue donations.
On the highway I keep at the speed limit and avoid the tail gate.

I've never understood it, how does it work?

Does it give audio cues or are you just supposed to check your phone before taking a drive and hope that the cops don't move around too much?

I've had my Valentine One for 21 years! Never had a ticket. I have to say, though, that Waze is making it obsolete. Just as long as there is enough traffic to generate reliable reports, you're golden. If it's early in the a.m. or late at night though, neither one is reliable. Laser will kill you if you're the only car in sight..... and lack of data on Waze is the same result.

Another vote for Waze!
I use it all the time. Not only does it let you know about police, but also red light cameras, construction, slow moving traffic (traffic jams), stopped cars, etc.

Jake: you use it like any GPS (it is a GPS). A quick glance will let you know what's happening in the general vicinity via small icons. Click on the icons for more details, though that's not usually necessary. ;)

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So basically I can just use it instead of Google maps. And once the route is set up it can be fully hands free. Can you set up audio cues? I have a lightening cord ran right into the rear input of my Becker that plays the phones audio, however due to the positioning and having no mount I can not easily see the screen of the phone while driving.

Regardless I think I will check out the app soon.

[QUOTE=particlewave;461619]Another vote for Waze!
I use it all the time. Not only does it let you know about police, but also red light cameras, construction, slow moving traffic (traffic jams), stopped cars, etc.

Yet another vote for Waze! I have a Nexus 7 installed in the dash. Always have Waze running. It's a life saver driving around Toronto!!

I also use Waze more than I use my radar detector. What makes Waze effective are the individual users who reports road conditions, traffic, police locations etc. it warns you if police or other road information are in a certain location and when it was last reported. If you're in that reported area you're able to confirm or update the information so other Waze users have the latest information. When you first turn on Waze it informs you hw many users are in the area. When I'm on long trips I'll use my radar detector and only use Waze when I feel like doing some spirited driving.

Downfall of Waze is it uses your data plan on your phone.

That, and the fact you can never depend it is 100% accurate all the time. When a good radar detector goes off, it is for a valid and current reason, even if it is just a door opener.

And neither are radar detectors. Waze has been more accurate than any radar detector I've ever used and it will tell you about problems hundreds of miles away if you want, rather than only a few hundred feet. Radar detectors also won't give you traffic reports.

Then again, I'm not one of those types that always drives 5 or 10 over. ;)
I'm more interested in traffic conditions than police, since I'm not constantly breaking the law. :p

I don't know about the rest of you, but my Valentine One has been going nuts the past couple of years. I couldn't figure it out - steady alerts for miles and miles, usually pointing behind me until it would just stop. I finally deduced the culprit - Audis. A6s, 7s, and Q7s seem to be the worst offenders. Their blind-spot detection system sets off the V1, but only when they're in front of you. As soon as you get even with them, it goes silent again.

I've read the BMWs and Mercs do the same, but haven't personally experienced it.

Another V1 anomaly is that Chevy Trailblazers' and GMC Envoy's high-mounted stop lights set off the Valentine's laser alarm if you're close enough.

You are seeing the impact mentioned earlier, namely the combination of false signals from cruise control systems and lane departure warning systems which drive nearly all radar detectors nuts. Fortunately, Valentine Research came out with a firmware update that all but eliminates these false alerts once it is installed.

GM's high mounted brake lights, particularly the ones with LED's, emit light wave lengths that are very similar to the police lasers, which can trigger the laser warning system.

On your Valentine 1, To stop the false reports you can send it in for the updates. I just sent mine in.

the nice thing about escort is they send you firmware updates so you don't have to send anything in. I downloaded waze but around here I doubt a lot of people use it, over in Vancouver it is more popular. With my 9500i I have no problems with blind spot sensors or cruise control, I have picked up laser traps before they could get me ( bounced off other cars first ) My friend is head of the highway traffic enforcement and he always gives me a hard time about radar detectors. I tell him there is only one problem with my radar detector every time I pass a starbucks or tim hortons it goes off like crazy haha

Valentine 1 needs to add wifi direct so you can do the updates in the car connected to the phone or at home.
And some manner or collaboration or accommodation for these apps that display real time information would greatly improve the chances of the V1 staying in cars. The apps will never feature lazer detection without adding hardware to the phone. And the arrows... those who know can't live without it.

One downside to Waze...if you cause an accident and were traveling well above the speed limit, Waze have evidence of your whole guilty file on their servers...which can be "served" a subpoena for the prosecutor or an insurance company's lawyer to get out of paying a claim or proving a claim against you.