Radar/Laser Jammers/Detectors for your Car (1 Viewer)

[Dentist]

I know this is a state by state thing - I live in Missouri

Anyone have a radar/laser detector/jammer and can report on its effectiveness or lack thereof?

Any recommendations on a make/model?

I don't know anything about these electronics but am curious.

This seems really cheap, but is getting great reviews:

http://www.amazon.com/Whistler-XTR-140-Rad...5963&sr=8-1

 

[SierraKiloBravo]

I know this is a state by state thing - I live in MissouriAnyone have a radar detector/jammer and can report on its effectiveness or lack thereof?Any recommendations on a make/model?

Illegal in California. However, cops are lying dirtbags, so I recommend doing what you have to do to protect yourself.

 

[Dentist]

I know this is a state by state thing - I live in MissouriAnyone have a radar detector/jammer and can report on its effectiveness or lack thereof?Any recommendations on a make/model?

Illegal in California. However, cops are lying dirtbags, so I recommend doing what you have to do to protect yourself.

I don't know anything about these products, and I don't live in California.Any recommendations?

 

[Great Grinchy Trick]

The notion of a radar jammer for a vehicle is a joke. No chance they can transmit enough energy to be effective. Radar detectors on the other hand are very valuable, depending on the kind of driving you do (highway, city, country etc). I used this site when I bought mine.

 

[Dentist]

The notion of a radar jammer for a vehicle is a joke. No chance they can transmit enough energy to be effective. Radar detectors on the other hand are very valuable, depending on the kind of driving you do (highway, city, country etc). I used this site when I bought mine.

I agree that detection is probably a lot more plausible than jamming.Also.. what are most police using, radar or laser?

do you need both?

My drive to work is really short, and i would never use it on that drive.. i don't speed in that 7 min. drive.

But I take a lot of trips to a lake which is about a 3 hour drive on some really open highway.. and sometimes I really hammer it.

 

[Dentist]

bump

 

[Dentist]

bump for day/weekday crowd

 

[johnnycakes]

All I can tell you is I have had two speeding tickets in my life... both times I was using a radar detector.

 

[Getinthemix]

I have a Valentine One and love it. It tells you the direction the radar/laser is coming from, so that you have an idea of the source. Also extremely accurate and gives excellent advance warning. They are expensive, but well worth the extra money, IMO

 

[DynOmite]

I have a Valentine One and love it. It tells you the direction the radar/laser is coming from, so that you have an idea of the source. Also extremely accurate and gives excellent advance warning. They are expensive, but well worth the extra money, IMO

Seconded.

 

[AhrnCityPahnder]

Some basic info:

Mainly 4 bands these things will help you with:

X band -- worthless, 99.9% of the hits you get are false positive, and only backwater podunk popo's use this anymore. Get a RD where you can disable notifications for this band

K Band -- Some cops still use. Some false positives here for door sensors and things like that.

Ka Band -- Lots of cops use. Rarely get false readings on this. If you get this warning, SLOW DOWN.

Laser -- It will tell you when your car is being shot/targetted. Kind of worthless, because at that point, it's too late. I occasionally get false positives from this from intersections with camera based tickets (it may actually have a laser there and it's not a false positive, I don't know.)

I did all my homework a couple years ago, and there were three that were heads and shoulders above the rest (assuming you're not getting into either Jamming, or GPS based models that "learn" to ignore false positives and can be programmed with know speed trap areas)

Valentine 1

Escort 8500 x50

Beltronics rx65

The Escort is a couple hundred bucks cheaper than the other 2 (I got mine for about $275). I love it and It's saved my ### multiple times.

Also, get ready for preachy slow drivers on this board to be angry with you.

 

[AhrnCityPahnder]

The notion of a radar jammer for a vehicle is a joke. No chance they can transmit enough energy to be effective. Radar detectors on the other hand are very valuable, depending on the kind of driving you do (highway, city, country etc). I used this site when I bought mine.

I agree that detection is probably a lot more plausible than jamming.Also.. what are most police using, radar or laser?

do you need both?

My drive to work is really short, and i would never use it on that drive.. i don't speed in that 7 min. drive.

But I take a lot of trips to a lake which is about a 3 hour drive on some really open highway.. and sometimes I really hammer it.

In my experience driving around the SE and up the Eastern US, highway cops are 50% Laser, 50% Ka band.

 

[Dentist]

Some basic info:Mainly 4 bands these things will help you with:X band -- worthless, 99.9% of the hits you get are false positive, and only backwater podunk popo's use this anymore. Get a RD where you can disable notifications for this bandK Band -- Some cops still use. Some false positives here for door sensors and things like that.Ka Band -- Lots of cops use. Rarely get false readings on this. If you get this warning, SLOW DOWN.Laser -- It will tell you when your car is being shot/targetted. Kind of worthless, because at that point, it's too late. I occasionally get false positives from this from intersections with camera based tickets (it may actually have a laser there and it's not a false positive, I don't know.) I did all my homework a couple years ago, and there were three that were heads and shoulders above the rest (assuming you're not getting into either Jamming, or GPS based models that "learn" to ignore false positives and can be programmed with know speed trap areas)Valentine 1Escort 8500 x50Beltronics rx65The Escort is a couple hundred bucks cheaper than the other 2 (I got mine for about $275). I love it and It's saved my ### multiple times. Also, get ready for preachy slow drivers on this board to be angry with you.

 

[Dentist]

this one?

http://www.amazon.com/Escort-Passport-8500...6938&sr=8-1

 

[Adebisi]

Don't bother. Not that I drive slow, but I've found that the best way to avoid tickets while speeding is to just stay alert. Hit the gas when it's wide open; take it down a peg or two when you spot likely hiding spots. Even if you're not familiar with the lay of the land, this usually isn't too difficult - the challenge is maintaining that alertness over the entire course of your 3 hour drive. But I'd rather rely on what I can see in front of me than assume that a radar detector is going to work.

 

[AhrnCityPahnder]

this one?

http://www.amazon.com/Escort-Passport-8500...6938&sr=8-1

yep, thats the exact one I have.

 

[Penguin]

I have the Escort 8500 X50 and love it. I've had it two years and it replaced another Escort I had for about 10 years. I drive 40k+ highway miles a year between New Jersey & New York City and have not gotten a speeding ticket in that time (almost 500,000 miles at excessive speed.)

 

[SHIZNITTTT]

good stuff

 

[Ditkaless Wonders]

They are excellent at telling you that you have just had a reading of your speed taken.

 

[SHIZNITTTT]

anyone else have any other opinions before I purchase a valentine one?

 

[SHIZNITTTT]

bump for daytime crowd

 

[Major]

anyone else have any other opinions before I purchase a valentine one?

I've been doing some research on these and the Valentine One seems to be top of class. I used to have a great Bel 10+ years ago but probably opting for the Valentine this time around.

 

[Ignoramus]

The V1 and the Passport 9500ix are pretty much the two most recommended on the corvetteguys forums, with the V1 having the edge. Mine already had the Calibre K40 built in, which makes for a very clean look (two little blue LEDs are the only thing visible). If it weren't already installed I doubt I'd spend the money to do it, though.

 

[flyingsushi]

The Valentine model seems to be fairly popular here. What about the Escort Redline model?

 

[SHIZNITTTT]

Anyone buy one of these lately. I bought a Valentine 1 last time, and while pricey is very very good. Wonder if anything new is out that one the FBG guys recommend. TIA

 

[Otis]

I used to have a Valentine One, and also one of the fancy Jammer ones (I forget the model, but pricey) when I owned fast cars. Don't have one now but have been tempted to get. My understanding is that the jammers were "illegal" but that detectors are fine. The trouble with detectors is that sometimes by the time you're hit, he's already got his reading on the gun. That's too late. Jammer supposedly avoided that problem.

 

[Otis]

Any updates on what's best here? On a sort-of whim, the wife and I decided to trade in our 2009 Audi Q5 for something a little bit bigger. I always wanted a BMW X5, and it's bigger, and we splurged and get a lease on a 2013 X5 5.0i (twin-turbo V8, and puts out ... gasp... 400 horsepower).

Car comes in within 3-5 weeks, and since this is the first really fast car I'll have had in many years, I was thinking I ought to get a detector, if nothing else to avoid the NJ troopers on I95 when we head down to see the in-laws.

Is Valentine One still the top choice here? Any jammers/other items people use? I'm in NY/NJ area, so I suppose I should consider what's legal here vs. not legal.

 

[Dentist]

Any updates on what's best here? On a sort-of whim, the wife and I decided to trade in our 2009 Audi Q5 for something a little bit bigger. I always wanted a BMW X5, and it's bigger, and we splurged and get a lease on a 2013 X5 5.0i (twin-turbo V8, and puts out ... gasp... 400 horsepower).

Car comes in within 3-5 weeks, and since this is the first really fast car I'll have had in many years, I was thinking I ought to get a detector, if nothing else to avoid the NJ troopers on I95 when we head down to see the in-laws.

Is Valentine One still the top choice here? Any jammers/other items people use? I'm in NY/NJ area, so I suppose I should consider what's legal here vs. not legal.

is this a bragging about a fat new beamer post in disguise?effin' 1% ers.

i thought you were going to invest money and save money so you could quit, not add more debt so you have to keep grinding

 

[Otis]

Good info in this thread. Based on what I'm reading here and on the BMW forums, it seems like the best options are:

Valentine One

Escort Passport 9500ix

Escort Red line

Bel GX 65

Supposedly good for different things.

This thread over at BMW is pretty helpful, though repeats a lot of what we have in here already: http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=604837

Still shuked as to what I should get. I also saw something in that thread about license plate frames that "scatter" laser or something? Anyone know anything more about this? I'm assuming this isn't one of those built in jammer things, but instead just diffuses or deflects laser, which is the one thing for which detection is worthless (because once you detect it, it's too late -- means he's generally got a bead on you).

Any other info ?

 

[Otis]

Any updates on what's best here? On a sort-of whim, the wife and I decided to trade in our 2009 Audi Q5 for something a little bit bigger. I always wanted a BMW X5, and it's bigger, and we splurged and get a lease on a 2013 X5 5.0i (twin-turbo V8, and puts out ... gasp... 400 horsepower).

Car comes in within 3-5 weeks, and since this is the first really fast car I'll have had in many years, I was thinking I ought to get a detector, if nothing else to avoid the NJ troopers on I95 when we head down to see the in-laws.

Is Valentine One still the top choice here? Any jammers/other items people use? I'm in NY/NJ area, so I suppose I should consider what's legal here vs. not legal.

is this a bragging about a fat new beamer post in disguise?effin' 1% ers.

i thought you were going to invest money and save money so you could quit, not add more debt so you have to keep grinding

You bet your ### it is.It's a lease, and only ends up being about 25% more per month from what our prior car payments were, so not a huge departure. Relative to the epic size of our debts, it's peanuts.

Besides, you only live once. And I wouldn't be Otis if I went 75% and drove the speed limit. :I'mbackbaby:

 

[SHIZNITTTT]

Valentine One is the correct answer for you radar detector needs.

 

[Ned]

Don't bother. Not that I drive slow, but I've found that the best way to avoid tickets while speeding is to just stay alert. Hit the gas when it's wide open; take it down a peg or two when you spot likely hiding spots. Even if you're not familiar with the lay of the land, this usually isn't too difficult - the challenge is maintaining that alertness over the entire course of your 3 hour drive. But I'd rather rely on what I can see in front of me than assume that a radar detector is going to work.

They are excellent at telling you that you have just had a reading of your speed taken.

My one and only speeding ticket was because I became complacent and trusted the stupid radar detector too much.Just keep your eyes peeled and do like Adebesi said. Looking ahead and watching brake lights helps too.

 

[Dentist]

You bet your ### it is.It's a lease, and only ends up being about 25% more per month from what our prior car payments were, so not a huge departure. Relative to the epic size of our debts, it's peanuts. Besides, you only live once. And I wouldn't be Otis if I went 75% and drove the speed limit. :I'mbackbaby:

GLLof all the luxury purchases in the world.... i get big homes, nice clothes, fine wines, boats, high end vacationsBut I'll never fully understand luxury cars especially ones with ridiculous amounts of horsepower. Congrats... you just bought yourself something that to use the full range of its engines abilities you have to do something illegal.Now, i get that the car looks cool, rides nice, probably has a lot of technology and other crap.... But the high end Camry probably does the same thing.If you 10X'd my salary a luxury car would be at the very bottom of the list of stuff i bought.... even though a vehicle at least represents something you'll use every day compared to my boat which sits idle 320 days of the year.

 

[Johnny Rock]

Someone got laid last night. Congrats on the new ride.

 

[AhrnCityPahnder]

I also saw something in that thread about license plate frames that "scatter" laser or something? Anyone know anything more about this?

All snake oil. don't bother. Mythbusters did an episode that included these.

 

[The Z Machine]

I recently saw an MD statie car parked in a grocery store lot one night. I was checking it out and the (lady) statie walked up and I asked her about the modules mounted to the back of the car, "are those lasers, or radars". She wouldn't tell me. Said, "Sorry, I can't let all the secrets out."

I was also mildly intoxicated at the time, but I wasn't behind the wheel.

 

[culdeus]

You bet your ### it is.It's a lease, and only ends up being about 25% more per month from what our prior car payments were, so not a huge departure. Relative to the epic size of our debts, it's peanuts. Besides, you only live once. And I wouldn't be Otis if I went 75% and drove the speed limit. :I'mbackbaby:

GLLof all the luxury purchases in the world.... i get big homes, nice clothes, fine wines, boats, high end vacationsBut I'll never fully understand luxury cars especially ones with ridiculous amounts of horsepower. Congrats... you just bought yourself something that to use the full range of its engines abilities you have to do something illegal.Now, i get that the car looks cool, rides nice, probably has a lot of technology and other crap.... But the high end Camry probably does the same thing.If you 10X'd my salary a luxury car would be at the very bottom of the list of stuff i bought.... even though a vehicle at least represents something you'll use every day compared to my boat which sits idle 320 days of the year.

Camry can top out over 30,000. And that's not even for hybrid. I'd rather have a more base 3-series than a camry all day.

 

[Otis]

You bet your ### it is.It's a lease, and only ends up being about 25% more per month from what our prior car payments were, so not a huge departure. Relative to the epic size of our debts, it's peanuts. Besides, you only live once. And I wouldn't be Otis if I went 75% and drove the speed limit. :I'mbackbaby:

GLLof all the luxury purchases in the world.... i get big homes, nice clothes, fine wines, boats, high end vacationsBut I'll never fully understand luxury cars especially ones with ridiculous amounts of horsepower. Congrats... you just bought yourself something that to use the full range of its engines abilities you have to do something illegal.Now, i get that the car looks cool, rides nice, probably has a lot of technology and other crap.... But the high end Camry probably does the same thing.If you 10X'd my salary a luxury car would be at the very bottom of the list of stuff i bought.... even though a vehicle at least represents something you'll use every day compared to my boat which sits idle 320 days of the year.

It this the thread where we live really practical and boring lives? I must have misclicked.

 

[Dentist]

You bet your ### it is.It's a lease, and only ends up being about 25% more per month from what our prior car payments were, so not a huge departure. Relative to the epic size of our debts, it's peanuts. Besides, you only live once. And I wouldn't be Otis if I went 75% and drove the speed limit. :I'mbackbaby:

GLLof all the luxury purchases in the world.... i get big homes, nice clothes, fine wines, boats, high end vacationsBut I'll never fully understand luxury cars especially ones with ridiculous amounts of horsepower. Congrats... you just bought yourself something that to use the full range of its engines abilities you have to do something illegal.Now, i get that the car looks cool, rides nice, probably has a lot of technology and other crap.... But the high end Camry probably does the same thing.If you 10X'd my salary a luxury car would be at the very bottom of the list of stuff i bought.... even though a vehicle at least represents something you'll use every day compared to my boat which sits idle 320 days of the year.

Camry can top out over 30,000. And that's not even for hybrid. I'd rather have a more base 3-series than a camry all day.

fine a ford focus then.or maybe something practical like an explorer that can actually haul some stuff

 

[Otis]

Dentist sounding a lot like my mom in here.

 

[marshall88]

For those of you worried more about photo radar, red light cameras, and other unmanned forms of tickets given out these days, I've found a way to beat all of those tickets. I changed the ownership of my cars from "marshall88" to an LLC that I own, and the LLC is owned by my trust (which doesn't have my name in it) and changed the address of the vehicle's owner to the statutory agent for the LLC (which is a law firm). Since I've done that, I've seen the flash of a photo radar several times and have never received a ticket in the mail. I guess the company that processes the tickets decides it's not worth their time to try and figure out who the real owner of the car is and decides not to pursue the ticket.

 

[Major]

Valentine One is the correct answer for you radar detector needs.

Still? I left for NYC 12 years ago and didn't have a car for the longest time. Even back then, the V1 was the shark move. Has the technology been updated? I still have mine in storage somewhere. Thinking about upgrading though but is a radar detector even worth it with all the lasers being used?

 

[Ned]

For those of you worried more about photo radar, red light cameras, and other unmanned forms of tickets given out these days, I've found a way to beat all of those tickets. I changed the ownership of my cars from "marshall88" to an LLC that I own, and the LLC is owned by my trust (which doesn't have my name in it) and changed the address of the vehicle's owner to the statutory agent for the LLC (which is a law firm). Since I've done that, I've seen the flash of a photo radar several times and have never received a ticket in the mail. I guess the company that processes the tickets decides it's not worth their time to try and figure out who the real owner of the car is and decides not to pursue the ticket.

Stringer Bell, is that you?

 

[belljr]

If you were going to get a souped-up station wagon you should have got CTS-V

or just got an Subaru, Audi or Volvo and saved some cash

 

[Tickle Monster]

I recently saw an MD statie car parked in a grocery store lot one night. I was checking it out and the (lady) statie walked up and I asked her about the modules mounted to the back of the car, "are those lasers, or radars". She wouldn't tell me. Said, "Sorry, I can't let all the secrets out."

I was also mildly intoxicated at the time, but I wasn't behind the wheel.

If they were something similar to this, then it was a license plate reader.

 

[Dentist]

Dentist sounding a lot like my mom in here.

just calling you out on your flip-flopping.one week - job sucks, need to do whatever i can to get out of the rat race... if only i could get to the point of retirement.next week - oh what the hell i'm rich, just sign me up for the impractical over-priced car so i can look like a big-shot lawyer. it's not just the price of the car, i'm sure your insurance rates go up big on that too.

 

[Fat Nick]

Valentine One is the correct answer for you radar detector needs.

Still? I left for NYC 12 years ago and didn't have a car for the longest time. Even back then, the V1 was the shark move. Has the technology been updated? I still have mine in storage somewhere. Thinking about upgrading though but is a radar detector even worth it with all the lasers being used?

Still. If you have your old V1, you can send it to them and they'll upgrade it. I know they've added increased sensitivity for POP/instant-on radar. I had an old V1 that was acting up. It was like $100 to repair it, or $150 to upgrade it (which would also repair it). I think the upgrade is them essentially giving you a new detector, then using your old one for parts for refurbs or something. This upgrade-ability is what really helps with the cost. It's a lot up front, but it will never cost you that again as you can just upgrade for a small cost if the technology gets markedly better.I live in NY/NJ, and used to live in VA (where detectors are illegal). I used the V1 in VA for 4 years without issue. It's saved me countless times, but I'll echo that it's not a "speeding cure-all." It's a tool that, together with alert driving, and some common sense, can save you from a lot of tickets.

 

[johnnycakes]

Dentist sounding a lot like my mom in here.

just calling you out on your flip-flopping.one week - job sucks, need to do whatever i can to get out of the rat race... if only i could get to the point of retirement.next week - oh what the hell i'm rich, just sign me up for the impractical over-priced car so i can look like a big-shot lawyer. it's not just the price of the car, i'm sure your insurance rates go up big on that too.

Don't you have some teef to floss?

 

[Otis]

Dentist sounding a lot like my mom in here.

just calling you out on your flip-flopping.one week - job sucks, need to do whatever i can to get out of the rat race... if only i could get to the point of retirement.

next week - oh what the hell i'm rich, just sign me up for the impractical over-priced car so i can look like a big-shot lawyer. it's not just the price of the car, i'm sure your insurance rates go up big on that too.

Not sure how you get to thinking this is the reason we got the car. Can't a guy just be into fast cars? I get that it's impractical, Spock, but some of us are into different things.

 

[AhrnCityPahnder]

Dentist sounding a lot like my mom in here.

just calling you out on your flip-flopping.one week - job sucks, need to do whatever i can to get out of the rat race... if only i could get to the point of retirement.next week - oh what the hell i'm rich, just sign me up for the impractical over-priced car so i can look like a big-shot lawyer. it's not just the price of the car, i'm sure your insurance rates go up big on that too.

lol. marriednomarriage.com