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In the market for one. Pretty much narrowed my search down to either a Valentine One (which I see most commonly used) or an Escort Passport Max2. Willing to take other suggestions if there are better ones out there.
So basically which should I get, what is most effective, which works the best, and so on.
Everyone has their own opinion about them. The V1 is tried and true, yet lacking in the looks (still using that old bulky body) and features department that newer models, like the Escort's, have today (such as speed limit display, satellite capability, etc). The V1's stock filtering isn't the best, it can be very noisy, especially if you're in a dense urban environment since it's picking up just about every grocery store's x or k band doors (or even newer cars radar sensors, I always seem to pick up Buicks. Those bands can be turned off, but I would advise against it, some LEOs, while very rare, still use those two bands. Probably the best feature about the V1 is it's upgradability. No matter how old it is, it can still be upgraded to whatever Valentine has integrated into the V1 today for a portion of what it'd cost for you to buy a newer version or another radar detector, so it'll never be out of date compared to it's latest iteration... The max on the other hand has a lot less false positives, and you can turn it off entirely at slow speeds, satellite capability, mobile apps (you need to buy an addon and run more cables to get this feature on the V1 :/), etc.
I was on the fence for a while about the Max2 (or the 360) and the V1, and ended up buying a V1. I read through many of those other forums and settled with the V1. I just need to get around to direct wiring it, just haven't gotten around to it yet, but that cord hanging in my vision is a bit annoying (not a fan of having the cigarette lighter cover open either). Haven't messed with the included direct wire kit yet, but I did try a MirrorTap, which I ended up breaking because the pins were too big.
A lot of people like the Passport Escort 9500ix and others the Valentine 1. It's all preference really cause some detects where the radar is coming from and others just warns you.
I have an older Valentine (which was great), but now I just use Waze. I don't take a lot of long trips, but it has told me about every cop I have passed on the road (and it always gets you there quicker).
I put a mid line Cobra unit in my car (about $300), but I rarely ever use it in town, only on road trips. It picks up every fricken Audi on the road and drives me nuts.
Valentine One. If buying used, get the smaller case version with laser. Check the firmware version to see if you want to have it updated: http://www.valentine1.com/upgrades/
i had 9500ix then upgraded to max 360, both work great when i use it on road trips... note that most of these detector does suck in the city due to lots of interference from garage doors, etc...imo valentine one or escort is your choice they both have good rep... my old 9500ix paid for itself after a few road trips or car cruises...
I have an iRadar made by cobra and I know what you're thinking but there are three reasons why I got it:
1.) the way it looks is sleek and somewhat more OEM-like (not cheaper looking with different lights and buttons)
2.) it can be integrated with your smart phone and has an app (that is super easy to use) where you can turn off certain alarms like when driving in the city. Plus the app is free as well, and the total cost of the radar is ~50-60$.
3.) it works. I can't say really anything bad about for the 3 years I've owned. Other cobra detectors seem to be sub par but I would get mine again in heartbeat
I have an iRadar made by cobra and I know what you're thinking but there are three reasons why I got it:
1.) the way it looks is sleek and somewhat more OEM-like (not cheaper looking with different lights and buttons)
2.) it can be integrated with your smart phone and has an app (that is super easy to use) where you can turn off certain alarms like when driving in the city. Plus the app is free as well, and the total cost of the radar is ~50-60$.
3.) it works. I can't say really anything bad about for the 3 years I've owned. Other cobra detectors seem to be sub par but I would get mine again in heartbeat
Haven't really heard of this. I'll look more into it. Thanks!
I did so much research before I bought mine and ended up going with the Redline from Escort. I did find that after a few months of owning it there were some scenarios where I saw a police officer aim their speed gun at me and the radar detector didn't make a sound. After a few of those occurrences, I sold the thing. Here is the advice I gave to a friend of mine when he asked me what radar detector to get:
If you're gonna do it, you might as well do it right. I attached below a picture of my old setup in my Altima with the Fastrack toll tag in its case on the left and the radar on the right. I put it above the rearview mirror with a metal mount with 3M adhesive. Link is below. I looked it up back before installing it and you can put it behind the dots around your rearview mirror as high as you can and it won't affect functionality. In this position you couldn't see it at all from the outside. I pulled power from the rearview mirror with a cord meant for that and it was pretty self-explanitory ie. ground-black, positive-red.
For actual comparisons in the form of charts and range etc and the frequencies used locally etc, go to www.radartest.com
Here's some stuff I found to help you decide on what to get.
Mount:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Permanent-Windshield-Mount-For-Beltronics-Escort-Radar-Detectors-REDLINE-STI-/181166963669?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a2e647bd5
Rearview mirror power cable:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mirror-Wire-Power-Cord-for-Escort-Radar-Detectors-With-Inline-Fuse-RJ11-/111615406779?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19fccbf2bb
If you go with the type of setup I had I would think about getting the 9500ix since it is better for the city since it has GPS and can warn you about speed cams
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Escort-Passport-9500ix-Blue-Radar-Detector-/271897650893?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f4e5ce6cd
The one I had would be the best option for road trips on long open highways. If you paired it with a SmartCord then you'd have a pretty beast setup too.
I'd look into it more but it works via bluetooth and an app on your iPhone and compliments a radar detector by adding GPS to it. So for example you could get the one I had and have the best range on the market and with the cord you would also have GPS. Pretty sweet combo I think but I don't know too much about the cord.
Bell/Escort are practically the same thing. They use the same cords and have such similar features and technology that they have to be owned by the same parent company. The difference is the release cycles. Radar detector releases alternate between the two brands so one year Beltronics has the newest one and the next year a new Escort comes out.
"They have NOT completely eliminated radar, but more and more areas are starting to use laser for dedicated speed enforcement and radar only for rolling "convenient" speeding tickets.
If you're seeing laser prevalent in your area, you do need to consider laser countermeasures in addition to your radarcountermeasures. But no matter how much laser is used, you cannot replace your radar detector with a laser jammer altogether."
11-21-16, 10:47 AM
What Radar Detector and why?
