The Deputy

My 84 has a small radar detector mounted in the ashtray, while the sensor for the unit is mounted on the vertical grill and hard wired to the unit inside. It's been on there since the previous owner bought the car, in 1991. I was wondering if the thing was worth having...or has technology left it behind?

I do not particularly care for the sender being mounted where it's at and although I do not smoke or need an ashtray...I don't care for its location inside either. But, if it works…maybe I should leave it well enough alone.

So, not knowing much about radar detectors...is this unit worth using or should I just ****can the whole thing? If it worth keeping, I will relocate the sending unit and drive the car hell-bent-for-election and see what happens.

Thank you, in advance for any info.

Brian.

Randy V

What make and model is the RD?

The Deputy

I'm not sure...all you can see is the face of the unit...with all of its colorful lights...it is mounted low into the ashtray and it would have to be removed to answer that. I just figured it was probably obsolete, being so old and all.

Maybe not? Maybe I should just wire it back up and see what happens.

XS29L9B

There is no RADAR detector from the 80s, 90s, or anything older than the past few years is probably better as a wheel chock vs. anything else.

That said, I used a V1 from 92 until I got a Redline from Escort. My only regret? Not taking advantage of Escort's trade-in plan and pocketing the $40 towards the Redline which has proven to be a much better unit. Anyone want to buy a wheel chock?

jcorenman

Post a pic??

There are all sorts of opinions on RD's and other countermeasures, none of them are perfect but I won't travel very far without. The problem is that posted speed limits are generally set below safe/reasonable/prudent driving speeds, when 80% of the traffic is cruising above the PSL you know something is wrong.

gcthree

Get yourself a BelTronics 'STI Driver'. It is a fully shielded unit that emits no signal, and is undetectable. As a law-abiding citizen living in Virginia, where these devices are illegal, I would never once consider the use of this undetectable unit to alert myself to the presence of radar and the possibility of a summons. From an independent report, I've heard that it absolutely works.

Gunmetal

Thankfully in Western Australia radar detectors and active laser jammers are perfectly legal, I just fitted a Whistler pro and love it, active jammers come soon 📷🚔🚨

911user

Escort 9500 works for me, paid for it self many times over.
Gunmetal, we have very similar looking 928,s

JEC_31

The 86.0 I owned had the ashtray & grille unit, which was an expensive dealer installed option listed on the window sticker. It was brilliant at detecting Walgreens, Target, and Meijer stores (their auto-opening doors use similiar frequencies, perhaps?) but not so good at warning about LEOs.

- - -

Most police departments use laser for serious revenue accumulation nowadays, but 4-way radar is still built into patrol vehicles.

928NOOBIE

Hilarious..the 928 I bought also had a K40 installed..has a grille sensor as well...looks cool but don't really know how well it works...it appears to chirp randomly and I can't figure out what the city / more / less buttons really do...someone thought enough of it to drop some serious bucks..I hear those things are over a grand to get put in...

The Deputy

Thank you, for the info. Maybe I'll just hook it back up and see if it works properly.

Brian.

GeorgeM

I'll vouch for that independent report, Bob.

One independent test I'm familiar with had an 8 car caravan, led by a car with a non shielded RD, travelling at the speed limit. A trooper drove up from behind, passing the caravan in the left lane with his VG-2. He singled out the guy in front and pulled him over for having his RD. One car in the middle of the group had a BelTronics RD on the whole time, and was passed up.

Congrats, Steve on your re-acquisition. Well done.