What Radar Detecter Do You Use?

[Frogdog1]

I'm using an old Valentine One. It may be old but it still works superbly.

I decided to just leave it in my new s650 given how easy it is to "get carried away" in the car. Besides that, my car is "radar red" and through the years, I have discovered that red cars definitely do attract radar hits more than non-red cars. My unit has saved me an amount of money and points that I wouldn't even begin to estimate.

Another thing I've learned is that my eyes are as good a radar detector as anything else. Just have to remember to use them to spot them hiding "in the bushes".

Who else uses what?

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[Wiley Marmot]

I had an original Valentine 1 too. Died years ago and I didn't replace it. "If" I were to buy another RD it would likely be a current gen V1.

 

[LouG]

I've used V1's since '95, currently have 2 Gen 2's.
The Gen 1's were good, but were getting behind in range on Ka band compred to other brands.
But the Gen 2 is a knock out. There's no way Mk 1 eyeballs can detect bursts of instant on radar at 5 kms. I always get an alert before the cop is visible if his radar is transmitting. The best was the 5km alert around three sweepers.
Having said that there is no defence if you're first in line and a cop tags you, you're done before you can react.
I'm sure the detectors have paid for themselves several times over.
I also use the JBV1 app. This acts as a remote display and controller for the detector and also incorporates crowd sourced alerts (Waze), speed, redlight, ALPR cam databases and a ton of other stuff. It's a phenominal combination if you are a bit heavy footed.

 

[Kitulu]

Waze

 

[Alan Applegate]

The only question I have... Why you think you need one?

 

[Paul's stable]

The only question I have... Why you think you need one?

Because those sneaky tax collector are hiding everywhere. I have a Uniden R8 if memory serves me right

 

[somckinney]

Escort with camera built in.

 

[Frogdog1]

Waze is good too, I agree.

 

[steveo1960]

Started out decades ago with the first Escort detector. The one with the big yellow lamp. Had some nice Bel over the years. Settled on a V1 a decade ago. It was simply the best. My latest is a V1 Gen2. I use V1 Companion on an iPhone but have also used JBV1 as well. Both are very nice. I also run Waze as well. A detector is not a replacement for stupidity. If you are the only car on the road, don't speed. I find the detector is most useful in 1 horse towns where the speed limit keeps changing. The top tier detectors are all good and you cannot go wrong with any of them. Don't cheap out on this !!

 

[LouG]

The only question I have... Why you think you need one?

Me? Because I drive at a speed that I consider safe. The Police may have a different opinion. I use detectors to avoid that discussion.
And, the Government once considered that I had sufficient judgement and ability that I could drive at whatever speed I saw fit to do my job.

 

[Frogdog1]

Keeping someone in front of you that's doing your speed or maybe a little more is a good thing. They're called "front doors". Yeah, stupidity is stupid.

 

[MAT1955]

If alone, best unit you can afford and WAZE. If possible find a pack and run with the pack and stay in the middle. Remember - the reindeer at the front gets shot and the one at the back gets eaten - stay in the middle.

 

[Yamazuki]

Used a pair of V1, gen 1's (One for each vehicle I had) until the gen 2's were released.
Now have 3 V1, gen 2's, still one for each vehicle I own.

Sometimes I almost think the gen 2 is too good though. Just the other night I picked up one of the local Sheriffs Deputies at 7.5 miles. I was beginning to think it was a false but soon enough found him sitting in an approach along side the highway.

Not much population in my normal stomping grounds so it's not beneficial, but whenever I head out of town Waze is up on the center screen as well.

And just my $0.02, but having a radar detector doesn't necessarily mean that one is a habitual speeder or unsafe driver. For me it's more about situational awareness. The tax collectors can pull you over for a lot of different things, not just speed. Knowing when one of them is close at hand simply helps me monitor my P's and Q's a little more closely!

 

[goodlettjr]

The only question I have... Why you think you need one?

In case of an emergency, I can find a police officer running their radar.

 

[Alan Applegate]

There are a few things to remember about civilian radar detectors, and that's sensitivity. Although some manufacturers list the sensitivity, few laymen understand what the figures really means. By nature, civilian radar detectors are broad-band, while the radar transmitters are very narrow, and spread across frequency bands assigned to them. As a result, they alarm on other transmitters (like automatic door openers, etc.) located within the same frequency bands. Some brands incorporate 'filtering' which is supposed to help, and to some degree they do help prevent false alarms. This said, we're talking about average old radar systems used by most police departments. But know this:

Late model police-style radar systems, made within the last 3 or 4 years (albeit expensive), use stutter timing, doppler, and frequency agile technology making almost all civilian radar detectors blind. Further, the FCC rules and regulations only rate the output of a radar detector's oscillator, which is indeed low in level. Newer police radar units, however, can 'hear' these oscillators and avoid them by changing their transmit frequency. In short, by the time a civilian radar detector can actually alarm, it is too late and you're nailed. Just hope the local law enforcement agency doesn't have the latest technology on their side!

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