blown 87

The V1 is ok on the interstates, but IMHO sucks in a urban setting due to the constant false alarms.

Escort has a 30 trial period if you by direct from them, you can send it back and get a refund if you are not happy.

polecat702

Thanks blown 87, I know here in nevada RD's are not allowed in comercial vehicles, don't know about personal vehicles. I have to figure out if it has to be hidden, or would I be able to move it from one car to the other. I do like the 30 day trial. Thanks, Joe

jcorenman

+1, even on urban interstates there are numerous false alarms.

The V1 is very sensitive and the front/rear detection is a great help in the wide open spaces, where you want to know if a car a mile ahead is getting tagged by instant-on radar.

The high-end Escort has built-in GPS and will automatically suppress false-alerts that show up in the same location. I haven't used one but this sounds very attractive for folks who routinely traverse the same highways.

If laser is an issue then the only thing that will work is a jammer (if legal in your state).

We always drive a reasonable and prudent speed with consideration for the weather, traffic, road condition, sight-lines, etc. Sometimes this is not consistent with numbers that get posted alongside the road. In our recent trip to OCIC and back our V1 allowed us to avoid at least a half-dozen conversations on that topic with folks who might have had differing opinions. Most were continuous K or Ka-band, easy to spot. A couple were instant-on Ka band that initially chirped a long ways off when a car ahead was checked.

One was instant-on Ka band with no warning, in west Texas the state patrol came over a rise on a divided highway and waited until we were clearly in his sights-- no traffic on our side, he was in a stack of cars on his side. (Called the court today, deferred disposition is available which is good news).
And Sue got pulled over in eastern WA, detector never chirped-- she was clocked by airplane along with many others (six WSP cars working the trap). The good news is that the trooper was apparently a car nut, and after a bunch of questions about the car and where we had been and why, let us go with a promise to pay attention to that silly number on the sign (for a while).

So detectors are not full-proof, but they will help a lot if you believe that reasonable and prudent speeds aren't always the numbers written on the signs.

Cheers, Jim

JoeTaylor

Hi Everyone,

To add to what has been said about radar detectors:

1) Reflexes: Unless you have "cat-like" reflexes, a policeman will have a good shot a getting you with instant-on-radar or laser. The best you can hope for is the cop shoots his device at other cars ahead of you and the detector picks it up early, early.

This is especially true if you are traveling at speed, its very hard to pull a car down from 100+ mph and look casual about it when the detector goes off. My reflexes are shot, haha.

2) Car color: If you are driving a red car, forget a radar detector. You are going to be stopped no matter what you do, speeding or not!

I owned a little red sports car just out of college and I have never had so many speeding tickets in my life in that car. I stick to black or white cars, or in the case of the 928, its silver, blends in well with traffic.

3) Sound: If your $2,000 sterio system with subwoofer is punching out great tunes, can you hear you detector going off? I dont even have a subwoofer and its a problem for me now.

With sounds of the engine and tires plus the sterio playing, the detector can go off and unless I am looking at it, I find sometimes I dont hear it.

So, in some ways, you can have the best radar detector in the world, but the man-machine interface can let you down.

Also, I agree with Jim about local sources microwave noise, every grocery store (microwave door openers) and bank (microwave alarm systems) has the potential to set the unit off, cruising in a populated area.

I was stopped for speeding one time in the backwoods of Georgia 20 years ago, by a young officer who kept track of every radar detector he beat. He wanted to know the make and model of my unit and kept a running list in his car with him.

VTY,
Joe

Stephencs601

I have a permanant mark on my license every time I get pulled over. It says, ex-fed and gets me out every time. Thank goodness for the DOJ.

VehiGAZ

I don't know about the rest of the country, but urban cops don't radar up in these parts. They have actual crimes to keep them busy. I just shut the radar off in urban environments.

You can also shut off the X band warnings on a V1 and the "false" warnings dropp off precipitously.

But I will happily accept more non-cop signal warnings from my V1 for the mile+ range it offers me. At 100 mph, you need a mile of detection range to recognize the threat and slow down enough to avoid getting popped.

blown 87

I have never had a issue with red cars, one ticket in the last 15 years, and these cars stand out a bit.



I agree about the instant on Radar, but Laser is not going to get a reading on my Corvette until I am very close, jammers work.

There are at least 2 guys local here that are running radar jammers, these two guys days are numbered, our local HEAT guys are looking for them and they are going to have a bad day if caught.

All and all, a good radar detector will save you more often than not.

Couple of links.

tests
http://www.guysoflidar.com/

great forum
http://www.radardetector.net/forums/


My list of best RD's

Best to almost best

Escort 9500CI with Laser Interceptor installed
Escort 9500CI stock

Fro highway use, it is a toss up between the V1 and the 9500Ix

Escort is coming out with a new unit (the Redline) that has better detection range for highway use and is aimed at knocking the V1 out of the box, but it does not have the GPS or the laser jammers.

Bottom line is there is no best RD for everybody, just better ones for how some folks drive and WHERE they drive.

I will be getting another 9500CI for the 928 as funds allow and hope to install the Laser Interceptor heads instead of the ZR4 heads.
The GPS is really helpful, lock outs of know false alarms, redlight, speed trap and photo speed trap warnings are worth it to me.

Also very soon the Valentine patent is going to run out on the V1's directional arrows, both the 9500IX and CI have arrows for Redlight cameras and other warnings, I am willing to bet it is just going to happen with one weekly update that the Escorts will have direction arrows like the V1.

Escort/Beltronics holds over 90% of all RD patents right now, if you want GPS it is the only choice.

jcorenman

Looks like Feb 25 2011. The patent# is 5,083,129 which was filed February 25, 1991 and issued January 21, 1992. The term for patents which were filed prior to '95 would be 20 years from the filing date (new rule) or 17 years from the application date (old rule), whichever is longer.

So we've still got a bit of a wait to get both arrows and GPS

blown 87

I thought it was sooner than that, so I am with you on the