If you got the cash don't get a detector, get a scrambler :bigthumbsup Of course if you go the speed limit all the time like you are supposed to you don't need one...:yelwacko:

IMO.....Im gonna say no! Here's why.... I have had my share of speeding tickets in my life time. More than likely a street named after me from my donations.

I have found that radars only make you drive faster because you think you will know when the cops around. There is NO radar that can tell you if a cop is around and don't have the radar on. When he flips the power on to radar you.....it's too late your busted!

Just my opinion.

Radars are good for night time use on highways. You will get the occasion alert from him checking others and sort of gives you a warning that something is around, its dark you can't see them.

Radars makes you laxed in your awareness when speeding because you are not looking for the cop. You trust your radar detector......Busted!!:hihi:

Cimag said:

Or they're just worthless against the new radar and laser guns?
I've been searching around and found all kinds of opinions about it, but in case I decide to buy one it seems like it's better to spend a little more in one of the best detectors.

Click to expand...

i have a cobra detector, i use it allt he time but like said above its not going to pick anythign up if the radar is off, i do alot of driving at night on the highway and sometimes you just kinda go a little faster then you should be, no ones out there but a few trucks, and that thing has saved me a few times, i wouldnet spend big money on one tho, i bought the 70 dollar cobra from wal mart, the valintine one and the others are way to expensive

Are radar detectors even any use in areas that have a radar every mile (for traffic monitoring/google maps). I'm starting to see these on some city roads now too, not just freeways. I would think it would be going off every mile or so detecting these and be pretty useless.

I mean, in theory the city governments could be auto-ticketing with camera/radars if they really want to.

I have the cobra radar that my cousin gave me when he became a cop. I don't speed that much but it is useful for detecting when the police have set up a speed trap because you know a head of time to watch out. But do not think that just because you have a radar you can do 20+ over the speed limit and get away with it all the time.:nono:

Been there! Got caught on a camera ticket too. lol
I'm sure someone has riddin on Reese Blvd. before. lmao:hihi:

Bottom line is that radars don't really help now a days and for the record I own a cobra radar too. I don't even use it unless taking a road trip at least 2 hrs away.

Doppler said:

I mean, in theory the city governments could be auto-ticketing with camera/radars if they really want to.

Click to expand...

Escort recently added the ability to filter out those pesky traffic speed monitors in their 8500 X50 detector. I got mine updated and its useful again. The differeence between a cheap detector and an expensive one like the Valentine or an Escort has more to do with false alarms. The more you spend, the fewer false alarms you get. I run mine in Frequency counter mode. Knowing the frequency in use helps me to determine if its the same RADAR source or a new one. very useful to me.

On another note, mine has saved my wallet many times. One of my more interesting accounts is when I was rolling East bound on the I-10 towards Phoenix East of Quartzite. The limit there is 75 but I am following a Chrysler 300 at about 10 over. My detector alerts aproaching a hill crest and I fall back. The Chrysler plods along leaving me behind. 20 seconds later as I crest the Hill, I see the DPS cruiser accelerating along the left shoulder behind that Chrysler. The Chrysler was stopped. I was not. Save.
I don't rely on the detector by itself to save me. Not being a complete dumb ass has. Which means, do not use the Detector as a license to speed by any amount and anywhere it pleases you. Many places the best strategy is to follow the speed limit or nearly so.

Doppler said:

Are radar detectors even any use in areas that have a radar every mile (for traffic monitoring/google maps). I'm starting to see these on some city roads now too, not just freeways. I would think it would be going off every mile or so detecting these and be pretty useless.

I mean, in theory the city governments could be auto-ticketing with camera/radars if they really want to.

Click to expand...

Best Idea !

bigkzilla said:

If you got the cash don't get a detector, get a scrambler :bigthumbsup

Click to expand...

I really like to use the android app "Trapster". It uses crowd sourcing to find common speed trap locations and if anyone runs into a live police trap they report it to the server.

This helped me on my long road trip down 81 in my civic. I was able to watch my speed when I saw a danger zone was approaching. I passed several known locations that had a cop sitting there.

I bet this coupled with a radar detector of some sort would be a pretty good defense against traps.

In case people don't know,they're illegal in Virginia.

I have downloaded a list of red light/speed cameras on my current GPS. I was wondering if it is possible to upload those lists onto the navigation system? I drove to Phoenix few months ago, and man, they have those cameras everywhere and I was glad to have the "ding ding" warning sound telling me there was one coming my way. Only works for fixed ones, of course.

If you come to Quebec on vacation, don't use them either they're Illegal here. I don't know for the rest of canada.

I have used the Valentine every since it came out I am sure it saved me many times. I bought a new Passport with GPS for the Mustang seems to be working pretty well. I rather have one than not have one.

No, they are not worth the money. By the time they go off, you are caught. Don't waste your money.

Yea, I've heard good things about the 9500ix. GPS marks known speed traps and cameras, and you can upload them from an online database. Weeds out false positives too. See someone get nailed, you can mark the spot and it will warn you next time.

Since the switch from the Valentine, have you noticed a reduction in false positives?

908ssp said:

I have used the Valentine every since it came out I am sure it saved me many times. I bought a new Passport with GPS for the Mustang seems to be working pretty well. I rather have one than not have one.

Click to expand...

I haven't had it that long. It takes I think three exposures in a particular spot for it to decide that a boogie is a false positive. I am just glad at this point that it is detecting the same targets that the Valentine did. I have had radar detectors in my cars since the original Fuzzbuster. This 9500i tells you your speed when the detector first goes off too. Plus it talks to you telling you what band it is detecting and that it has a GPS lock. Like R2-D2 hangin on my windshield.:rollgrin:

RoyBatty said:

Yea, I've heard good things about the 9500ix. GPS marks known speed traps and cameras, and you can upload them from an online database. Weeds out false positives too. See someone get nailed, you can mark the spot and it will warn you next time.

Since the switch from the Valentine, have you noticed a reduction in false positives?

Click to expand...

Several portable GPS units allow you to upload lists of known photo enforcement spots usually Red light and speed cams. Then alert if you are in the area. That coupled with a smart phone with trapster running on it would work wonders without a radar detector at all. Be nice for truckers or those living in places which prohibit the reception of radio waves.

mattr12 said:

I have downloaded a list of red light/speed cameras on my current GPS. I was wondering if it is possible to upload those lists onto the navigation system? I drove to Phoenix few months ago, and man, they have those cameras everywhere and I was glad to have the "ding ding" warning sound telling me there was one coming my way. Only works for fixed ones, of course.

Click to expand...

Get a good one and buy how ever many hard wire kits u need (one per car) and use the one detector in whatever car you ride that day. U will still have a lighter for whatever else and the wiring is cheap.

One point is that if the radar goes off u are busted but if he is shooting some one in front of u it goes off too. Id take the chance and buy one. It gives u better odds.

Been using a Valentine the past 15 years or so. It works fine as an early warning device (when the cop is sitting there with his radar on way up the road, or is intermittently turning it on/off on the cars ahead) and I like the directional arrows, maybe some other brands have this feature also. Use it long enough and you can tell the difference between a false signal and a real one, I just turn the sound down during false signals or in heavy traffic. It is expensive but I think it is worth it, especially in a 400+ hp sportscar.