Speed Detectors

[kboy79]

I just received a xmas present, a speed detector b/c of me and my wife's speeding tickets. It's a cobra ESD 8200. Got me wondering, what kind of detectors do you use and do you recommend it?

[Tampa G35 Sedan 6MT]

I need to get a good one... That might be the answer for me

[kboy79]

Hahahah...let's go get one together man. What the heck is going on w/ the Bucs anyway!!???

[Tampa G35 Sedan 6MT]

Im in the hospital waiting on my aunt to have a baby... the entire family is here and Im on the Mac Book Pro cruising Nico.... But they need to get their $hit together fast!

[cheapazz]

Do I smell a group buy coming on????

[zozoka1212]

I read it somewhere one of the company came out with a new POI. What tells you where the speed traps are and speed cameras installed. Hold down I just remembered they had youtube video to show.

Search... search.......search...

Here you go.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4CbsFnNZyU

LOL what's next?

zozo

[kboy79]

Zozo,

Did you hear the part when the cops go "we give them 10mph over"? So is this a myth or not? I heard most cops will give the drivers a 10mph over limit, but some people say no. I guess technically the cop can give you a ticket for even a 1mph over depending on the mood...

[zozoka1212]

Yeah I heard it. To be honest I use it too. It depends from the cop. They usually leave 10 mph.

Not sure if this divice works or not. Just like the cop said if that makes people slow down than so be it.

zozo

[smockers83]

They'll give you 7 MPH because radar guns used to be or still are only that accurate. Laser is down to 1 MPH or less. So, they could pull you over for 1 MPH, but 7 over is where they start itching to pull you over and 10 is when they will be pulling you over.

It also depends on the type of road you're on. If its a well traveled road, I'll only do 5 over (I essentially drive 5 over all the time). If it's the freeway or a highway with less traffic and not a whole lot of civilization around, 10 over all the time. Every time I've broken those rules, I've gotten pulled over when there's a cop around, which fortunately is only twice and one ticket in the past six years.

[tollboothwilley]

The speed traps on hwy's give you 10mph. At 11 you are hosed. They have these in AZ on the 101 loop. The company that started these and leases them out to governments is located in Scottsdale. Photo tickets are expensive. Almost twice as much money because you have to pay a fee to the company in Scottsdale who owns the equipment. I say we start a movement to eliminate this crap!! haha

It'd be nice to have navigation integrate with radar/laser detectors. It'd also be nice if they could detect cop cars, not just radar/laser signals.

[tollboothwilley]

It all depends on the cop..I've had cops give them for 10, 7, 5...

It really depends on who pulls you over and their mood. Anytime that my wife has been in the car when I get pulled over I have only received a warning.

[apro06g35]

As far as radar detectors i have always had good luck with my passport escort 8500.. Almost never misses a cop taking radar i have had it sense radar up to 2 miles away on the highway.. honestly it has saved me hundreds in tickets! I have heard the new passport 9500i is the best technology out there and i hopefully will be upgrading soon : ) hope this helps

[johnparkyourcar]

from what i understand, i thought radar detectors were becoming obsolete since cops use laser instead of radar... i dunno enough about detectors to have a say but thats just what i heard. i also hear only good stuff about the V1...

[tollboothwilley]

the V1 is amazing

but you're right. A lot of cops are using laser, much more accurate and almost instantaneous. I had a laser scrambler.. but those are illegal. Wish you could get away with them!

[Kendahl]

Laser jammers are legal in most states. They are prohibited in Nebraska, where I live, but it's one of the few exceptions. Escort sells a complete system called the 9500. I have heard that the price tag, not including installation, is about $2k. If that sounds expensive, consider the cost of a 20 over ticket and subsequent increases in insurance premiums. Part of the technique of using the system is to immediately get your speed down and then turn off the jammer so that the cop gets a reading. That way, he doesn't realize he has been jammed.

Radar jammers are illegal everywhere. It's a Federal Communications Commission regulation. Of course, the cop has to realize he is being jammed, catch the specific person responsible and turn him over to the feds for trial. A speeding conviction is a slam dunk by comparison. It's very hard to buy a radar jammer since the FCC prohibits even selling them. Sometimes, the FCC's rules work in favor of drivers. At one time, Iowa planted obsolete radar guns along the interstate to mislead detector users. The FCC made them stop.

[bentrod]

I had the Escort 8500 for over 12 years and it saved me $1000's of dollars over the years. Not too long ago after many years of faithful service the laser detector started singing whenever it felt like it. I mailed it back to Escort who gave me an $80 credit and bought the new 9500iX. Great technology and the best there is for K and X band. However, by the time your laser detector goes off, you're already porked! A lot of cops are now using the lidar laser and I'm seriously thinking about installing the Escort laser jammer.

[motobman]

I use a three year old Rocky Mountain Radar Detector (K, X, KA, Laser - Jammer). Just got my G, so have not used it in there, but has saved me many times up in Phoenix. I may buy a new one, this one is getting old.

Brett

[tollboothwilley]

Laser Scramblers are illegal here in Utah...

[Dancop]

My friend I have been using radar for 29 years now, and now I teach the use and function of radar at the police academy, and let me assure you that for all that time the radar devices have been accurate. The only time the accuracy falls off is when the radar device is shooting a target at a greater angle. At then it shows the target speed to be slower than the vehicle actually is traveling (so good for the speeder).Also in Virginia a radar detector is illegal to have inside the vehicle within reach of any person, even if its not in operation.

One more thing, when a police officer is holding the beam, radar detectors cannot sense its presence. Then when a vehicle appears to be speeding the beam is released and instantly the target speed is displayed. So, using this technique when the radar detector beeps, its just telling you your about to get a ticket.

Hope this helps.Dan

[bentrod]

You are 100% correct about releasing the beam, however, relative to X and K bands, the majority of the officers get itchy trigger fingers and can't help themselves by shooting almost all of the cars that pass by. That's when a good detector picks up the K-band. As I said before, when it comes to LIDAR, if your detector goes off, write the check!

[Dancop]

Your right, I very seldom use the "hold button."Some of the others have spoken about how much an officer allows over the speed. The sign says speed "limit" emphasis given to limit. By law a person can receive a ticket for doing one mile over, but ive never seen that done. Its officer discretion as to what he/she allows, and alot of factors go into that decision.

[EZcheese15]

Your right, I very seldom use the "hold button."Some of the others have spoken about how much an officer allows over the speed. The sign says speed "limit" emphasis given to limit. By law a person can receive a ticket for doing one mile over, but ive never seen that done. Its officer discretion as to what he/she allows, and alot of factors go into that decision.

Wow, it's nice to actually have somebody who knows what they are talking about respond for a change to a thread

Anyway, I was going to say the same thing you just did, that a cop can give you a ticket for 1mph over if he/she wants. That's the point of the speed limit. If they couldn't legally give you a ticket until 10 over, the speed limit would be 10 mph higher. The limit is the limit. And I actually have heard of one of my relatives getting a ticket once for 1 over. And I got threatened by a cop to get a ticket for 36 in a 35...but that's a whole different story.

A good radar detector works pretty well. I have a V1, which is one of the best on the market. There are others that some people argue are as good or better, but really it's just personal preference on features. A high end radar detector does work great for Radar, but not laser. Radar sends a much broader signal, so therefore you can pick up a lot easier. A Laser signal only spreads about 4 feet over a 100 yards, so essentially when it hits you, you are more than likely the intended target of the gun user. You can pick up reflected laser on occasion before the gun is aimed at you, but it's very rare. Definitely not something you can rely on.

Lots of radar users use instant-on, which is what Dancop was referring to. Like he said, you aren't going to pick up the presence of a gun unless it is sending out a radar signal (which is how radar works, by bouncing the waves off the target and calculating how quickly the signal is returned back to the gun over 2 different wave crests, much like a fish finder on a boat). However, a good radar detector that has a better range can pick up the radar signal from further away than what a cop can see. So you may be able to pick up radar when the cop uses instant-on on another car a half mile in front of you. Again, its not something I would rely on.

I actually think my radar detector has caused me to speed less. It serves more as an awareness signal for me, reminding me how many times a cop is out there clocking me. It makes me want to drive slower just knowing how many times I get hit by radar or laser when not thinking about it. It's a nice device to have, but these days you can't really rely on one to keep you from getting tickets unless you simply just don't speed.

[infg35coupe]

Escort Passport 9500ix is the best one the market have to be careful where you buy cuz if purchased from auction websites like ebay the warranty will be invalid.

[kmckis1029]

Valentine 1 FTW

The awareness you get with a detector is what i really love... especially the directional feature only the V1 has. Like some one said, i do speed less now knowing how much my car is clocked. but at the same time i can have a little more confidence if i have a little fun on that back road.

i was late to work last week and rushing going 70 in a 55 zone of i75 highway... the v1 caught Ka radar of the cop clocking around the corner... saved me a ticket... the same thing happened once this week except it actually caught lazer off the car in front of me... i know i didnt get clocked.. cause i was doing 70 in the 55 again, thats a sure ticket. So my V1 has paid for it self already. (i just keep it at 60-65mph now if i go that route to work, that lazer V1 warning was pure luck)

[EZcheese15]

Once you go V1, you never go back.

I've had a V1 for about 11 or 12 years now, and it still works great and is still one of the best on the market. Plus, after living with it, I don't see how you could live with a radar detector that doesn't tell you where the signal is coming from.

[370Z/28]

I'm not sure the model number of my Escort, but it is cordless and I love it. The batteries last about a month. I just buy my batteries in bulk at Costco so it isn't really bad at all.

The thing I love the most is that I can mount it right over my rear view mirror. It is kinda hard to get it in there, but it fits. Easy for me to reach and turn off and on, and out of sight from the outside so I don't have to worry about anybody seeing it and breaking into my car. Escort is real good and enexpensive at refurbishing units too. I have had that done once. I have had that detector for a loooong time.

I haven't had a speeding ticket since 1977.

[kmckis1029]

the original maker of the excort makes the v1

i wonder why he decided to branch off

[pfarmer]

I'm not sure the model number of my Escort, but it is cordless and I love it. The batteries last about a month. I just buy my batteries in bulk at Costco so it isn't really bad at all.

The thing I love the most is that I can mount it right over my rear view mirror. It is kinda hard to get it in there, but it fits. Easy for me to reach and turn off and on, and out of sight from the outside so I don't have to worry about anybody seeing it and breaking into my car. Escort is real good and enexpensive at refurbishing units too. I have had that done once. I have had that detector for a loooong time.

I haven't had a speeding ticket since 1977.

I use the Solo. I find it seems to work well however I would probably go with one of the slightly more expensive corded versions in the future such as the Passport 9500. I would then go with the stealth cord attached to the mirror for power.

I use rechargeable batteries which last for about 3 weeks. One problem I do find is that when it runs low on batteries regardless of type it tends to just simply quit without much of a warning. Also it is not loud enough if you are playing any sort of music at higher levels.

Perry

[xjaywalker]

I just got my G and 2 weeks later got nailed by a cop with Lidar! 70 in a 60 not too bad.

I did some research and Escort has a new model called the 9500ci, which is suppose to be the best for both radar and laser. VERY PRICY. ~$1600.

I will look into the V1.

[infg35coupe]

you can get the 9500ix for 499.99 the 9500ix is the hardwired version that has to be installed so you pay 1600 than you got to pay someone to install it unless your good enough to do it yourself.