Stereo & Electronics - Need help with choosing radar detector!

I'm looking to buy a radar detector. I want something that will do well in town. Also how much should I spend on a good one? Is there any stores that sell a good product or do I need to get one online?

just save and but a V1(valitine one) you wont go back

I don't have one but ll my friends swear on escort, look to spend a few bens and i think there is a sponsor on here that sells them

valentine 1 is the way to go.
:D

escort 9500 or valentine 1 will be the best bet

I got a cobra. Its nothing special but unless your doing a 100MPH everywhere you go and street racing every weekend then this one will do you just fine. I got mine for $125 for Best Buy

heres a list of the best ones.
1. valentine 1
2. escort 9500
3. whistler pro 78

it all just depends on how much you want to spend and what features you want.
the whistler pro 78 is a mid level radar detector which is good and better than a cobra.

the escort 9500 i believe has a gps built in so that you can program spots where they have red light cameras etc.

and the v1 is the most sensitive best all around detector, and has the arrows :)

another vote for valentine 1.... expensive, but i've had it 5 years and no problems with it!

I can vouch for the Whistler Pro 78...
I picked it up for about $130 on amazon. I read some reviews before I made my purchase and on a scale of 1 - 10 Valentine 1 got mostly 10's and the Whistler Pro 78 got mostly 9's. Keep in mind that the Cobra 9930, Whistler 78 and Pro 78 were the ONLY detectors in this review that were under $299!

Just comes down to whether you want to spend 400 for the top of the line or 150 for one that is not quite as good.

Heres the link -- http://www.007radardetectors.com/tests.htm

I got a cobra. Its nothing special but unless your doing a 100MPH everywhere you go and street racing every weekend then this one will do you just fine. I got mine for $125 for Best Buy

i got 13 speeding tickets and a drag racing ticket in 9 months with a cobra.

$750 for drag racing ticket + 13x$125 for the speed tickets.

trust me the V1 is the best one. never got pulled over with it. sorry i F***ing hate cobra. but to each there own.

Another vote for the Valentine 1.

I have a Valentine 1. I hardwired it in my car and have the hidden display as well, just need a good spot to mount it. I love my V1. I got my V1 on ebay brand new with the hidden display for $420. Best investment. I used my friends 9500i for a couple of weeks and didn't like it nearly as much as mine.

Just my $.02

Nothing beats the $399 Valentine One in radar and laser detection in the under $500 radar detector category.

http://guysoflidar.com/august-2007/radar-detector-test.html

http://www.laserveil.com/laser-detector-performance/

http://www.laserveil.com/laser-detectors/tests-reviews-comparisons/charts-by-radar-detector/

http://www.laserveil.com/laser-detectors/tests-reviews-comparisons/charts-by-police-laser-gun/

http://www.laserveil.com/laser-detectors/tests-reviews-comparisons/tables-by-radar-detector/

http://www.laserveil.com/laser-detectors/tests-reviews-comparisons/tables-by-police-laser-gun/

I have a Valentine 1. I hardwired it in my car and have the hidden display as well, just need a good spot to mount it. I love my V1. I got my V1 on ebay brand new with the hidden display for $420. Best investment. I used my friends 9500i for a couple of weeks and didn't like it nearly as much as mine.

Just my $.02

i put my concealed display inside the gauge cluster :D

Id vote for escort/beltronics........ I may be a little biased. These companies (one is a subsidiary) have the most patents. The V1 just so happens to have really good marketing and everyone believes they are the best without first hand experience. I have been selling/using various detectors for over 7 years.

I started off with an escort unit, I was very happy with it, until someone decided they would like it more than I. I then bought a cobra, which I hated after a few months due to the high level of false alerts. In the end I purchased a Beltronics, because in my area, it gave me the best of both worlds. It has great range, the ability to disable any band, minimal false alerts, and Lidar jamming features which are becoming more and more common in California.

The V1's arrows are a nice gimmick, but I know I need to slow down once I hear the Ka band go off , whether its coming up behind me or in front of me.

almost 4 years ago i purchased an escort solo s2. it can be wired or run off a pair of AA batteries. love the performance and never regretted buying it! i have picked up speed traps as far as 3-4 miles away and around hills and through wooded areas, works awesome!

i chose this model since it can run off batteries it makes it super easy to transfer to a buddies car in seconds.

the only speeding ticket i have had since buying it was one of the few days i was late for work and in a hurry and forgot to turn it on!

just save and but a V1(valitine one) you wont go back

One more vote for V1

I have bought numerious radar's except a V1. They all seem to go bad after 2+ years

My next one WILL be a V1. After reviewing their site and it's "upgradeability" im sold.

big cash up front but worth it in the long run.

I own both an 8500 X50 and the V1 and I say the V1 hands down. Arrows help...fact. People without a V1 ALWAYS state that they'll just slow down when their detector goes off. If my arrows show left/right or behind me, I'm not slowing down.

Also, you can always send in your V1 to be updated. Can you do that with any other?......no
Like I mentioned, I have an 8500 X50 and all they sent me in the mail was saying to send it in and save like $20(ish) for the new 9500, no thanks.

~ Craig

V1. DO NOT get a Cobra. They are useless. In fact, they are BAD to have - why? They give you false confidence.

Also, DO NOT listen to people here who say "I got xx tickets with yy product." That is not even a LITTLE useful. It means nothing.

The V1's arrows are a nice gimmick, but I know I need to slow down once I hear the Ka band go off , whether its coming up behind me or in front of me.

Everyone who has never owned a Valentine One will tell you that the arrows are a gimmick. The Valentine One is the only radar detector with a front and rear radar antenna with arrows to actually locate radar because it is patented. The word gimmick comes to mind when I think of the way Bel and Escort advertise their detectors as having "360 degree protection" when they don't have a rear radar antenna or arrows to detect and locate radar like the V1. Bels and Escort rely on radar bouncing into the front radar antenna so that it can detect radar from behind which is not reliable. The last rear radar detection test that was done by an independent source showed the Valentine One beating Bel and Escort by over 2 miles in rear Ka band radar detection. Maybe you don't like to actually know where a cop is or when you pass a radar source but most people do.

almost 4 years ago i purchased an escort solo s2. it can be wired or run off a pair of AA batteries. love the performance and never regretted buying it! i have picked up speed traps as far as 3-4 miles away and around hills and through wooded areas, works awesome!

i chose this model since it can run off batteries it makes it super easy to transfer to a buddies car in seconds.

the only speeding ticket i have had since buying it was one of the few days i was late for work and in a hurry and forgot to turn it on!

You must have gotten lucky with your Escort Solo S2 because all battery operated detectors are weak compared to quality corded models because they are sleeping 85% of the time to conserve batteries. They have very little chance of detecting radar from a great distance, instant-on radar, radar over a hill, radar around a curve, POP radar, etc. Look how poorly a brand new Escort Solo S2 performed at the latest unbiased independent radar detector test. It was as bad as a Cobra at detecting Ka band radar.

Check out the results of the instant-on radar test where the target vehicle with the detectors was positioned at a stationary point approximately 1 mile away from the radar vehicle, with some terrain in between. Each detector was hit three times with instant-on bursts lasting approximately 2 second each. The Escort Solo S2 did not alert at all but the crappy Cobra alerted 2 out of 3 times. By comparison, all four versions of the Valentine One alerted 12 out of 12 times.

http://guysoflidar.com/august-2007/radar-detector-test.html


This is why battery operated detectors suck:

http://valentine1.com/cordless/

i just ordered a whisper pro 78. Its supposed to be the best radar for under $150 and has sensitivity close to the v1. Search it on google alot of reviews about it out there.

i put my concealed display inside the gauge cluster :D

You got any pics of this? I would love to install in but just don't konw...
Thanks

RaDaRkInG... In the interest of openess, honesty, and unbiased discussion, would you care to tell us who you are? I'm guessing that you work for Valentine Research or are a paid shill for them. You have posted 11 times in a year and a half and every post has been a plug for V1. No other contribution whatsoever.

I think the members reading your posts should know if they are from a paid endorser (or employee).

I have the Passport 9500i, very accurate detection and very long range, well worth the money imo. The GPS is a pretty damn cool feature too.

do you have red light cameras in town??? Then get the 9500Ix passport. It knows and is updateable of all red light camera areas, Guess what those get expensive also. as well as it does speed zones and speed traps all by GPS. if you know where a cop sits everyday, and you pass him and he is doing instant on all the time, or just pulling the trigger you can save the spot by GPS and it will remind you next time.

Yea its a lil expensive, But hey all this little shit adds up.

I think Tadarking Searches EVERY board looking for any threads about radar.

The 9500's GPS is a nice feature, but I'd prefer the better detection of the V1.