Radar detectors - with remote antenna/remote mount

Don't skimp on a radar detector!.. when it saves you once, it paid for itself.. not so much in the ticket but the insurance premiums for the next 3 years!

Its hard to find unbias reviews. If you look up one brand name you can find raves about it, then look up another you'll also find raves about it too. Seems too many people are getting paid off and promote their advertisers.

Normally "people" are the best source for reviews.. but this device is so technical, often the general public doesn't have the electronic expertise nor equipment to compare the units.

Once upon a time Valentine was unrivaled.
Seems the challenge is maximum sensitivity without false alarms.

There is intelligence to weed out false alarms and some units like the Escort 9500ix "which I have and am biased towards" listens to every signal and plots the coordinates of those signals and when a given signal is determine to crop up in the same place over and over at the same exact location, it puts it in a blackout list to ignore. The user has the ability to undo this function, or if the signal ceases, the unit will undo it automatically. I prefer to view mine in the mode to see the specific frequency of the radar so as to not get confused with multiple signals and think its the same radar.

The "only" advantage to having an antennea mounted on your bumpers are for laser shots as the officer usuallyl aims at the bumper since thats the part of the car thats the most reflective. Lasers have a very small spread and if you get a signal, he's aiming at you!

However laser shots are rare. As far as regular radar signal, it bounces all inside the car just like any radio frequency and a unit that claims to tell the direction its coming from can be erronius and deceptive due to the signal reflections from inside the car and or cars in front of you while a truck is blocking behind you etc.

All in all, its worth doing research yourself and come to a conclusion.. but don't be cheap.
A cheap radar that constantly going off is one you'll ignore when the real beam hits you!

Mine is very quiet and when It goes off its a cop.. unless I"m in a new area and it hasn't learned the false signals yet.

I do love the peace of mind at night as you never know whos headlights those are in front of you!

Bel, Escort and Valentine are pretty much the big dogs.
If you compare units.. make sure your comparing the latest units of each as there are some pretty significant upgrades.

Some suggested reading:
Valentine One vs. Beltronics vs. Escort - dslreports.com

 

Thanks! It looked like a good product. I'm also glad to see that you were able to mount the detector above the mirror.

 

It would'nt be the first time...

If you notice the readout on the radio, it reads 435 ZOO, which it truly is, Goggle 147.435...... it's the Los Angeles repeater I hang out on.
It's Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, don't forget to wear your helmet!!!
I can't help myself

 

A lot of what you said, I don't understand, sorry like 500-100?
I understand your need, I "need" one for the same or similar reasons, I don't go fast anymore, but do want to know if I'm being watched.
I don't think I can give you specifics anymore than you could, but I used to play with this kind of thing as a kid, many years ago. As I understand it surely by now all radar detectors are superheterodyne (sp?) I think that means they are signal generators too and the incoming frequency is combined with the frequency the device produces. I am sure the older, cheaper devices "leaked" so there must be some RF shielding on the better one to prevent"leakage" This explains that better than I can Do-It-Yourself Detector Testing...
And I guess more specifically this [ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superheterodyne_receiver]Superheterodyne receiver - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]
Now , I'm no EE, don't pretend to be, just used to like to play with stuff like your doing.

 

Enjoy playing with it , I mean that honestly, but if you want a real detector I think you need a V1 or something similar. Years ago, I mounted a remote radar detector in the front bumper of a Miata. Worked well there as underneath the thin rubber bumper was expanded polyurethane, so you could cut out a perfect mount for the antenna, but didn't perform well as compared to a "good" detector.
FWIW, Cincinatti Microwave used to be the parent company for the Escort and later Passport detectors. I think the guy that makes V1 detectors was up high in that company, I think Escort detectors aren't what they used to be, I bought one upon returning from Germany and was un-impressed anyway, but that was around 97, I think.

 

I was looking around for a V1 and the factory web site sells them for $399 and most everyone else for $499. Whats up with that?

Is there a difference in what the retailer and the manufacturer are selling?

Just curious.

 

If anyone finds data showing the V1 to be better than the current escort 9500iX, I would be curious to know... I'm not to proud to change camps if the soup is better.

But Escort has really stepped up to the plate the last several years...

My wife runs the 8500-X50, and I had the 9500 and recently took advantage of an upgrade program to run the 9500ix with autolearn intelligence protection and they now have one called the "redline" that has separate antennas for each frequency that's later than even the 9500ix but designed more for the open road and does "not" have intelligence to remember speed traps, redlight cameras or false alarms.
The 8500 is very sensitive and a good bargain for the money, but not near as quiet as the 9500ix that remembers and accepts database downloads off escorts servers as well as user inputs to keep redlight cameras etc up to date for the country which is better for local areas.
I hate to sound like a commercial but I'm just telling you what I know... I'm definitely interested in better detectors if there are any... I do enjoy having "the best". The 9500ix is the best seller.

Many of the reports I'm finding are old... even back when the 8500-X50 was the latest, it seemed to beat the V1 and rival the Bel.. but I'm sure there have been upgrades in all models so I'm not sure whats the cats meow now.

I would be interested if someone finds some credible reviews or comparisons that are of a late date concerning these models.

Here is a good link for the Escort review:
http://www.corvettepartsreview.com/escort-9500-ix-radar-detector/25/

I do see good reviews about the Valentine..
http://www.amazon.com/die-neuste-Europaversion-V1-8%1APOP2-Valentine/product-reviews/B000U89KGW/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

Some red flags I "don't" like:

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To end I will not longer bore you and put this final review that reflects my understanding of where we are at:

 

Your right, the ones I mentioned are not remote.. I think they use the SR-7 for thier remote unit.

Passport SR7 - Radar Detectors | Laser Detectors | Radar & Laser Experts ESCORT Radar

I"m not a believer in remote mounted units unless its for laser... the other signals bounce so crazy all over the place, I see no benefit.

If I wanted the ultimate remote protection for laser, I would get the laser shifter....
Laser Shifter ZR4 - Radar Detectors | Laser Detectors | Radar & Laser Experts ESCORT Radar

 

Hey rrolf,

Around here one can let the car coast down to 20 mph at the top of the hill, and still be under 30 down the other side. Learn to lay off the gas well before the the crest. Learn the downhill speed increases, and subtract those from hill bottom speed limit to get your target cresting speed.

 

It's more than getting away with speeding. I have gotten one ticket in many years, and that was because I wasn't paying attention, didn't know I was speeding. If I had the detector in the car, it would have made me pay attention to the speed and saved me the ticket.

Sorry didn't know you were an EE, my ignorance still sees problems like signal loss due to distance from the antenna horn etc maybe?
If you have luck with it, post some pictures, sounds like a fun project and you certainly haven't "wasted" much money even if it doesn't work.

 

I recall that the V1 wants to be mounted "high" so that its rear detector works as well as its front detector. I have no experience with a remote detector, but I have found the rear radar detector useful.

In my A4, the V1 is mounted on the right end of the driver visor, with power snaking from a 12V source through the hole for the visor attachment, then through the visor organizer to the unit. I've thought about trying for a mount that makes the visor easier to use, but with the Prius V on order, that priority has plummeted.

A note about laser: the county cops like to set them up right at county boundaries, not always in locations that are safe from the traffic turbulence they cause. Unless they light you up while focusing on another vehicle, the best a laser detector can do is tell you "You just got a ticket"--has technology improved? One laser ticket, but oncoming drivers' flashing alerted me to another trap, before which I slowed WAY DOWN and waved at the roadside guy until he waved back ;->.

 

There is some wisdom in mounting for laser on the Front and rear bumpers "if" you really fear that in your area. Where i live, I rarely see lasers at work and when I do, I still seem to pick them up.
The laser shifter is a form of a jammer and combined with regular radar detection would be the ultimate but due to the price and hassle of install, I don't see the point honestly.... I too have never gotten a ticket with my escort except once when I was blowing out my car and was at 90mph and came around a corner in the Columbia Gorge and he hit me with an instant on... he still only locked on at 80mph.

Regular radar is blasting everywhere inside a car when your hit, I don't see the point of an antennae on the rear view verses on a regular window mount.
Whats more key is the quality and sensitivity of the unit combined with proper rejection and intelligence.

Making a detector sensitive is the easy part.. as even the cheap ones do that quite well, but being sensitive yet not going off all the time with false alarms desensitizing the driver is the greater challenge.

It took me a long time to finally get a detector that doesn't cry wolf, I don't want to go back.

I do like the idea of arrows showing which direction the signal is coming from but since signal bounces from everywhere inside a car, it can be deceptive and very distracting.... especially if the signal is false in the first place and I'm trying to carry on a conversation or listen to my tunes.

 

Actually they aim at your front plate first if you have one, then other areas with less success. and the same for the back plates. For a real "Mr.Wizard" science experiment take you laser pointer, c'mon I know you ALL have at least 1, or 2. Do ths trick at night for most dramatic resuts. Aim at the body of the car, move to the Bumper, NOW hit the Plate. WOW Wth!!! Notice how much better a reflection you get off the plate! The plate is coated with super reflecting paint. Its the spot thats going to give the strongest return to the receiver! If you scroll back to my first post in this thread, you will see I mounted my laser detectors behind my plates in the plastic frame holder. I also punched a 5/8 hole in the plate that just happens to line up with the detector lens!!! Burbank uses LASER, I heard it first, then saw the motor bike. I happened to be under the limit at the time, but it verified the system works. I love my Bel 975 Seperates!!! For $350 or so, it works just fine!!

 

Yep. I've been a Valentine One user since 1998. It's good stuff! (FWIW, I did send mine back for a warranty repair once. There was no hassle, and of course, no charge.)

If you're out in the very open highway w/nothing around, one can pickup their (usually Ka band, and sometimes K band) emissions from miles away.

It is very easy to get used to where known false alarms are from automatic doors and other sources with ANY radar detector. I had a cheapy Uniden one for awhile before that. Just drive a regular route and when one starts picking up K or Ka that was never there before, esp. one that builds up slowly in strength, watch out!

I've gotten real laser detections before. Luckily, I was either not speeding or was not going much over the limit.

Since my V1 is so old, it's looking real beat up and the lens/cover for the rear antenna is cracked in half. I've been thinking of sending it in for an upgrade to the current much smaller and improved version.