radar detectors

[olds350]

with Estebans ticket listed in the "what did you do today" thread, made me start to wonder about radar detectors myself. I know the Valentine 1 is always popular and it can be remotely mounted.

I'm finding I have a bit of a heavy foot when I'm dealing with the knuckleheads around me. Would be nice to have a warning.

Recommendations?

[Esteban]

[swunder]

I've given up the detector, actually have an Escort 8500 in its case in my trunk. Got tired of hitting the mute button and never seeing a cop.

Waze warnings, brake lights ahead and not speeding around corners have been enough.

Maybe if I can find a way to integrate it professionally, but they just look terrible on the dash.

[JimD]

I don't use a radar detector. On trips I set my cruise on 7mph over (real speed, not silly BMW speedometer speed) and try to avoid getting pissed at other drivers. I have looked at them, however. I like Radar Roy (google him) and his website. He tests different detectors. The big debate seems to be Valentine versus Escort. Valentine's big claim to fame is the directional arrow to tell you where the trooper is. Escort claims to give fewer false alarms. There are systems you can integrate to make them much less obvious.

[NVHoo]

Most tests show Valentine and escort to be the best. One might be better than the other but both will alert you about radar far before the cop sees you. I have the valentine. False alarms are always an issue, particularly with the now ubiquitous radars built into cars for front and side monitoring. The new models of Valentine and Escort virtually eliminate car-based false alarms. Some models have the ability to map and store fixed false alarm sources, like a door opener at a particular corner, so once it is noted it won't bother you again. IMO a radar detector without directional arrows is worthless in assessing whether the alert is real, and if so, where it is located. I only go significantly above the speed limit and use my detector on 1 hour+ trips out of town or group drives out of town. Once I leave Vegas, there are few sources of false alarms on the open road in the southwest.

[JimD]

One review I saw said you could add an app for the Valentine 1 to reduce the false alarms. That reviewer preferred the Valentine 1 and seemed to have found ways to reduce it's limitations.

[swunder]

Are the cops still using bands the detectors sense? What about laser being instant?

I remember reading like..... 10 years ago when I bought the escort that Jersey was one of the last states to use some old radar band that detectors were useful for. Most of the country was on laser/something else that was not easily detected.

If that was true 10 years ago I figure they are really useless in some areas by now.

[tock172]

I have a V1 hardwired in all of my cars. I wouldn't trade it for anything out there. It has paid for itself in the form of avoided tickets more times than I can count. I send it in for update every several years and do not drive without it. On longer drives I use Waze on my phone in addition to the V1, but there's no substitute. Cops still use radar all over the place, I have my unit programmed to give me almost no false alarms, and I can usually pick up K or Ka over 5 miles out from a speed trap.

[1and1]

I'll post the same thing here I did in the "What did you do..." thread, with the addendum that radar detector technology has changed quite a bit over the last few years. What ever you do, do not buy a used anything- V1, Escort whatever. Even new V1's are ready for a major overhaul to incorporate new tech. This is why Uniden rocked the detector world when it released the R3/R1.

Originally Posted by 1and1

I've been running the Uniden R1 for months now, couldn't be happier- detection range is disturbingly good, and has the feature set to deal with the complex mix of tech in the new england area. I like that they issue firmware updates to add & refine features. R1 is an R3 without GPS- a feature I don't really need in my area.

Where I am it not what you would consider a complex area- nothing here but Ka, so I've just outright disabled X & K bands. Push of a button turns em back on if I travel.

If you are a fan of arrows (I don't care, but lots of folks swear by em) the R1/R3's will be getting a bigger brother later this year, the R7
https://www.vortexradar.com/2019/01/...3-with-arrows/

[N54Yankee]

Bought a V1 years ago and since have turned it mute and hardly look at it anymore. So many false signals bells and whistles it's like a pinball machine gone amok. As Jim, thanks, mentioned I'll update it and take it from there.

[1and1]

And just to toss this out there in a "make no mistake about it" sort of way, even tho it's already pretty clear., and for anybody reading this thread now or in the near future...

These days, if you're expecting to get a radar detector, regardless of cost, and just get by with the old school City/Highway settings, save your money. A basic understanding of what technologies are used by law enforcement in your area is almost a requirement to properly select the best options to maintain your sanity- Having the ability to select segments to scan, or even outright disable, certain frequencies is the difference between an annoying chirp monster you quickly learn to ignore or a well behaved, quiet until something /real/ needs to be brought to your attention type of device.

Spend time on forums like RDForum.org reading both nationwide and local details, like:
https://www.rdforum.org/index.php?threads/58040/
And learning to understand what/how that impacts you specifically is time well spent. Equally worthwhile is reading how-to style configuration guides for several different RD's to learn what options are available, and eventually which has the options that fit your needs, will help you make that final, and not particularly inexpensive, decision.

I trust that we are all smart enough to recognize that if a website plastered with V1 ads, or Uniden ads, or Escort ads, is saying that the V1, or Uniden, or Escort is the best thing ever since sliced bread, that the whole site is just a giant advertisement.

Find a site that speaks highly of all the major brands- but is quick to point out the shortcomings of each. All the good brands are good for well earned reasons, but they all have their own particular problems too. You need all the details- not the glossy literature.

Also know that "the best RD ever made" this week probably won't be next week- nature of modern tech! It's not just the RD's, but the radar industry and law enforcement's use of the tools, that we have to adapt to.

So, learn what's used in your environment, both home and places you may travel to frequently, and learn the abilities of your best RD options, and pick the best you can of the current products to protect you.

And yeah, it's more than enough to make us all wistfully remember the simple City/Highway days...

[1and1]

So, segmentation- This is from a guide for setting the options on the Uniden R3/R1-

K Wide / Narrow

This gives you the option to slightly narrow the range of frequencies that the detectors scans for on K band, potentially cutting out some false alerts. For example, Honda/Acura BSM’s often transmit between 24.198-24.206ish so K Narrow will help filter out some, but not all of them.

Police officers are allowed to transmit throughout the entire range that K Wide covers so if K band is actively used in your area, it’s best to run with K Wide.

K Wide: (default) 24.050 – 24.250 GHz
K Narrow: 24.080 – 24.200 GHz

Ka Wide / Narrow / Segmentation

Alert to all the entire Ka band spectrum or only the Ka frequencies where police generally operate on.

Ka Wide: 33.4 GHz – 36.0 GHz
Ka Narrow: (default) 33.8 +/- 100 MHz, 34.7 +/- 120 MHz, 35.5 +/- 100 MHz
Ka Segmentation:
Ka 1: 33.399 – 33.705
Ka 2: 33.705 – 33.903 (MPH radar guns at 33.8)
Ka 3: 33.903 – 34.191
Ka 4: 34.191 – 34.587 (Stalkers that drift low)
Ka 5: 34.587 – 34.803 (Stalker radar guns at 34.7)
Ka 6: 34.803 – 35.163 (Stalkers that drift high)
Ka 7: 35.163 – 35.379
Ka 8: 35.379 35.613 (Kustom and Decatur radar guns at 35.5)
Ka 9: 35.613 – 35.829
Ka 10: 35.829 – 36.001

Ka Narrow is generally recommended for both ease of use and maximum performance (test here). Originally we were told that the detector is always scanning in Ka Wide and Ka Narrow adjusts only what frequencies the detector alerts to, not what it actually scans for. It turns out it does scan for a narrower range of frequencies which is why we see improved performance.

In general, Ka Narrow is fine for most of the US and Ka Wide is recommended if you encounter out of tune guns such as if you drive in New York.

Note: We’ve found that the 34.7 sweep actually scans up to 34.850 in Ka Narrow, possibly even higher.

Now if you want complete control over the Ka Segments, as of firmware 1.31, we now have 10 individual segments to choose from, just like other manufacturers offer.

[MAMSport]

From a personal experience standpoint, I've owned Escorts forever including 9500i, 8500i, 7500. The 9500i was providing too many highway false alarms, so it was time to try to find a newer unit with better anti-falsing traits. Costco had the newer ix at a special price, and the literature talked about having programming to limit falses caused by auto safety systems (lane departure warning, blind spot warnings, active cruise, whatever). To me, in Massachusetts, it was a bit better at sorting out the false alarms, but it still caused too many falses.

I wanted other information and found the Radar Roy site. Called and talked about my preferences with Mike, a great resource. Apparently, V1s still detect EVERYTHING unless you have the additional 'live' app linked to it. I ended up with a Uniden DFR9, a very new unit. Mike had warned me of a weakness with the product, a fragile power cord, but as I have a hardwire from another manufacturer (and Mike told me it would power up the Uniden quite adequately), I'm not too concerned about this aspect.

Once I started to use it, I noticed it performed much better at sorting out non-LEO radar sources but not perfect. It still tells me about store door openers/alarms in the 'advanced' operation mode, but it also allows storage of up to 200 locations if you want to silence the unit at stationary sources (mute memory) as it has GPS built into it. Still, I did get some falses on the highway, so I called Mike to discuss this. He suggested reducing the K band sensitivity (there are reductions in sensitivity, 20% increments, for X and K, maybe Ka, too) to the 80% setting. Almost no falses due to on-board electronics now, and plenty of range to detect real sources (but, I'm not running around at 'arrest me now' speeds, maybe 85 in 60-65 zones).

There is one other issue that bothers me. The manual says there is an ambient light detector, and if the display brightness is set for 'auto', it knows whether to use the setting for 'bright' or 'dark', automatically adjusting the display brightness during the day or at night (if such settings are selected). This flat our doesn't work. I've tried to follow the instructions a number of times, called Uniden to ask (was told to reset the settings, then try again - didn't work, either). While they have provided the process for warranty repair, I'm not in a hurry to do this yet. I just manually change the brightness as desired. Not difficult, but should be automatic.

The interesting thing is that the RadarRoy site has taken Uniden off their 'recommended' list (at least partly due to unit malfunctions/failures, many of which seem to be power cord related). So far, I'm happy with the unit's performance and would even consider another for another car.

Last thought. V1 has a '30-day trial period'. In my case, I tried a unit way back when (literally decades ago), found it went off near anything and everything, and returned it. Simple case of 'crying wolf'. Now, I am not permitted the opportunity to test a newer version with the option of returning it without a significant 'fee'. Now that I know why (you MUST use it with a 'live' app to avoid excessive falses), I'm glad I did my research.

BTW, Radenso seems to have some pretty good radar detectors with good anti-falsing tech. There must be other sites than RadarRoy, but it's a good resource.

[tock172]

Regarding false alarms, I've got my V1 dialed in so that it emits hardly any noise unless there's an actual warning. Yes, there are a few triggers from more modern vehicles, but otherwise I've got it dialed in quite nicely. Granted I live in San Diego where the norm is Ka or Laser. When I leave the state I enable K. I know a few different law enforcement entities in AZ still use the older K.

[Happy Jose]

I have a Beltronics RX65 which works just fine. They are cheap at around a $100. With it I always know when the cops are around. They like to hide in the bushes around 35 MPH zones. I also have the best BMW radar mount, a BlendMount!

[Divbetic]

Like stated above, I think the best detector really depends on what's used by your local and state law enforcement. I live in Norcal where K and X bands aren't used at all, so I've disabled those completely. I've also had my Ka segmented just for CHP, PCSO (Placer County) and SCSO (Sacramento County) for over a year and I have yet to get a single false. From what I understand, because I have the other bands turned off, I get better/quicker detection on the bands that I still have enabled.

[Gangplank]

Seems X is a rare dinosaur these days. Lots of info out there on tuning in radar depending on where you live.

[Matticus91]

Originally Posted by olds350

with Estebans ticket listed in the "what did you do today" thread, made me start to wonder about radar detectors myself. I know the Valentine 1 is always popular and it can be remotely mounted.

I'm finding I have a bit of a heavy foot when I'm dealing with the knuckleheads around me. Would be nice to have a warning.

Recommendations?

Originally Posted by Esteban

Originally Posted by swunder

I've given up the detector, actually have an Escort 8500 in its case in my trunk. Got tired of hitting the mute button and never seeing a cop.

Waze warnings, brake lights ahead and not speeding around corners have been enough.

Maybe if I can find a way to integrate it professionally, but they just look terrible on the dash.

Originally Posted by N54Yankee

Bought a V1 years ago and since have turned it mute and hardly look at it anymore. So many false signals bells and whistles it's like a pinball machine gone amok. As Jim, thanks, mentioned I'll update it and take it from there.

You guys need to tune your detectors if you're going to get any use out of them. Honda's, Hyundai's, Acura, Toyota, Nissan, Volvo and a few others send false signals with their blindspot sensors.

There are so many radar systems out there now that you're wasting your time and money getting a detector and not doing this.

With the V1 and YaV1 or JBV1 you can tune out specific frequencies of radar easily. There's YT videos on how to do this. Here's a guide for either Android Devices or iOS Devices.

Since I tuned mine I get almost zero false positives and haven't missed a beat. V1 stays quiet unless there's something to pay attention to.

It's also worth noting that I live near DC and VA, where detectors are illegal. I'm not too frequently driving through there but if I was, I'd switch to one of the stealth options.

I found this video to be a great, non-biased review of some of the best current options that aren't too expensive:

[Droptop986]

Originally Posted by Happy Jose

I have a Beltronics RX65 which works just fine. They are cheap at around a $100. With it I always know when the cops are around. They like to hide in the bushes around 35 MPH zones. I also have the best BMW radar mount, a BlendMount!

I have the rx65 in my 1er and jeep and a v1 in my boxster like them both works well in Florida....unless you are really pushing it the rx65 is great

[doublevanosrc]

Originally Posted by tock172

I have a V1 hardwired in all of my cars. I wouldn't trade it for anything out there. It has paid for itself in the form of avoided tickets more times than I can count.

Ditto.

V1 since 2003 and no tickets. Saved my ass last week now that I think about it.