Does anyone here use them? Are they still relevant or has technology passed them by? I've been looking at a few professional reviews on various escort models ranging between $300-$400 dollars. They say they now sinc up with Bluetooth and tell you where some of the cops are as people report the locations. I'm going to speed anyway when conditions and location permit so it would be nice to have an effective radar detector if they are worth the expense. Can anyone recommend a good one?

 

My wife bought me a top of the line radar detector a few years back, but I stopped using it last year, mostly because it's worthless in the city. The problem I experienced is that you get alot of "false positives" due to the new radar technologies used today in modern cars for blindspot monitoring, collision avoidance, or automatic cruise control. My radar was constantly going off when driving in the city, to the point I was just ignoring it. Mostly I just use Waze (which is a free app, and what some of the newer radar detectors tap into) and have situational awareness. Now if I'm doing a road trip, or will be out in the country for a fun drive, I might take it along, but for 95% of my driving it wasnt needed.

 

I use Waze but was recently tagged from behind using LASER. Nothing would have helped me. If you're hit with LASER, it's already too late.

 

I'm with Kenny_STang as I used one religously for years and stopped a couple months ago on my daily commute as it became too much of an annoyance constantly beeping. I suppose one of the newer GPS ones which can tag a false positive could be useful, never used one of those. On a longer trip I'll still use it in conjuction with Waze which I find to be far more useful.

 

This is an area I'm quite knowledgeable in.

There are many of the new radar detectors that have traffic filtering that will filter out all the crap.
-Valentine 1's all look the same so make sure when looking for one you are ordering the newest one that filters junk k band.

A few things,
Know what kind of radar they run in your area, different detectors will have different detection rangers for different bands of radar.
A GPS detector will help you with red light cameras but I don't see it as useful.

I have an Uniden DFR6, I like it. A V1 or Redline will have better detection but mine was $220 when I bought it and those are close to $500.

Feel free to shoot me a message if you have any questions.

 

Have a 9500xi and love it. Saved me many times.

 

Valentine 1 times 3 (3 cars). Seems to filter out all the junk. Powered via the OBD2 port it can be set to not alarm if you're driving below a certain threshold like (say) 35 mph.

Front and rear receptors. Laser detector works well but ya still need to be aware of where you are.

-- Chuck

 

V1. 16 years of use. Over 10k in fines saved. Clean driving record. They work. But many buy them, shit their brain off and expect the detector to do things for them. It's a tool, and if used accordingly, worth every nickel.

 

Have four V1's currently and bought my first in 1994. It still works and I have it in the ZR1. The newer ones I've bought in the last few years filter out most of the junk. With a V1 and Waze and decently smart driving, you'll avoid 99% of tickets IMHO.

 

This