jorj7

I got the Escort 8500 X50, but driving smart is the best way to avoid a ticket.

bronto

So this GPS thing is fascinating. Anybody using this?

http://trapster.com

I've loaded it onto my Droid X just now, obviously no opportunity to use it yet.

86'928S MeteorGrey

I saw the title of this post and came in to say ask Andrew... But i see he has already chimed in.... I don't think it gets too much better than his setup.

blown 87

Do not confuse trapster with a GPS based radar detector.

I have never used trapster, but by all accounts, it is only slightly better than useless.

blown 87

AO's is good, with out a doubt, I do think mine would give his a run for the money.

The current top of the line is a set of dual 9500Ci's (minus the ZR4's) and a four head LI setup, VERY expensive, (around 6 grand) but until you get into the custom mega dollar stuff that is about as good as it gets.

Some guys have active and passive units that would blind a F14, but you would not want to get caught with such a system.

auzivision

I disagree... Tapster is slightly worse than useless. I had it on my iPhone and had a tough time getting it to shut up with all its garbage… finally had to uninstall it. It’s possible they have a better following with more accurate data in different geographic regions.

Thanks for the PDF on Roy’s Radar Buying Guide. It pretty much cemented my thoughts not to replace my V1. If I were in the market today for a new detector, I might not select it again and would probably hold off until the V-1 directional pattern wears off to see what hits the market. Even without that, it appears that the GPS aspect might be appealing, but not enough so to replace a perfectly good V1.

Also, if I hadn’t owned multiple detectors over the last 25 years (V1 for about 10) and just bought one today... yes, I would probably be annoyed by false alerts; the “chicken little syndrome”. Growing up so to speak with a radar detector one becomes desensitized to false alerts and just tunes them out.

Now the aspects about Laser jammers is very interesting and I think that will be next on my list. Blinder M-27! Now where is that money tree?

fbarnhill

Well, I just have to chime in here and say the worst ticket I got, I had a top of the line RD. I don't remember what it was, it was a while back. 88 or 89 I think. I had an 86 Alfa Romeo GTV6. I was on my way back to NC from Florida. I95 3:00AM and no one on the road. I thought I would see if it would red line in 5th gear. Well, It did so just fine and I actually took pictures if you can believe it. I was slowing down when the RD went off. Several seconds later there were blue lights everywhere. I got a 95 in a 55. The only thing that kept me out of jail was that I had 150.00 cash in my pocket. I paid the ticket (which ment I plead guilty). I had hoped the officer would put the $$$ in his pocket and forget the matter. However, a couple of weeks later I first got a letter from my state DMV requesting that I turn in my drivers license within the next 7 days. The next day I got one from my insurance company canceling my insurance. A couple of days later I got one from the bank requesting that I pay the balance on the car and my loan was called due to the fact that the car was no longer insured. So, I drove a little 4 cyl dog that cost 300.00 for the next 3 years. So the guys who say just be very careful are the smart ones. The first thing the officer said when he got to the door was 'I saw that dam thing go off on your windshield..., Didn't do you a bit of good did it? Ha Ha Ha!!!'. I wanted to hit him in the mouth but he was correct. I haven't had a RD or a ticket since. That doesn't mean I haven't been over the limit a time or two, I am just very careful when and where... I think they are invaluable in preventing the 45's in a 35 zone. Those cost $$$ here and are just a PIA. When you are in the shark with the windows rolled up, it is hard as heck to do 35....

bronto

So how does a GPS detector tie GPS and and radar together?

blown 87

the cardinal sins of running a radar detector are getting desensitized and getting complacent, and this can and does happen when you drive through area that a RD goes off all the time, you think well it always goes off here and you do not think about it being a LEO.

What a GPS detector does is look at the individual frequency of every radar source it sees, the 9500ix and Ci can look at 6 at the same time.

When it sees the same frequency at the same place three times in a row it locks that frequency out at that location, but only for one source, if it sees two then it will lock two out.
If you drive by again and it does not see the source it will unlock that one.

What you end up with is a radar detector that almost never goes off unless it is a new source of radar which in most cases is a LEO.

It will never lock out Ka band.

That was my problem with the V1, incessant is a good word for how much it went off around here, with the GPS based one it is dead silent on most drives, if it goes off I think and look for a LEO, but I think and look while slowing down.

You also get speed camera warnings and redlight camera warnings.
Does that make any sense?

BTW, I was a V1 fan boy for a long time until I tried a 9500ix, then I went to the 9500Ci and Wow was it better.

Lizard928

I have been considering upgrading my V1 to something like the 9500Ci especially with the new laws around here where is you are caught doing 40kmph over the limit they impound your car and there are massive fees. And it is far far too easy to do that especially on our highways where there is very little traffic.

bronto

Yes it does, in a nutshell the GPS eliminates false positives.

There is a significant contingent in this thread that is in favor of "better driving" as opposed to the use of detectors. Seems like trapster would help with that, alerting you to known traps and cameras when you are driving in unfamiliar locations. Or is the trapster data just garbage?

blown 87

Nobody is saying that better driving is not a good thing, using a good RD along with it is just smart IMHO.

I have never used Trapster, but I hear is is garbage.

One draw back to a GPS detector is that when driving in a new area it is just as chatty as a V1.

blown 87

That is just BS, impound your car for 40 K over, you guys need to vote those ****** out that voted for that.

blown 87

The V1 is still a great detector, just getting old and they really have not done much R&D to move forward.
I have heard that "BellScort" owns over 90 % of the new patents on RD's.

My 9500Ci has arrows to point to redlight cameras and speed traps, I wonder if it will be a $$ upgrade once the patent runs out on the V1.

It does not matter what the Bell and escort fans think or know, for now, the V1 is what is the benchmark that all others are judged against.
Just the way it is for now for most folks.

There are 3 detectors that surpass the V1 in range in most tests, the Bell STI-r (they no longer make it) the Escort Redline and the 9500Ci, but the range difference is not enough to sway me one way or the other.

jeff spahn

I have a V1. Last time I used it was June 28th 2004. Last time I got a ticket, June 28th 2004. Just use common sense and you won't get a ticket, period. Now it is up to you to decide what common sense is. I have driven from Boca Raton, FL to Dubuque, IA, averaged, moving average of 79 mph for the whole trip. No radar detector, do it twice per year. 90-100 through the mountains wide open freeways, speed limit through populated areas. Learn to recognize subtle changes in things, "that car looks a little different, I think I'll slow down". "Why is that guy slowing". It is all situational awareness.