Bel 955 settings

[RosL]

Guys/Gals,

I know nothing about radar detectors beside from what i've read on this forum. School me on everything you know about radar detectors... I have the Bel 955.

What mode fits you best? instant on/off?; pop on/off?; x band on/off?; autoscan on/off?

Also, I've read some post/reviews that the laser doesn't really work, is that true? Will i even get notified if a laser is hitting me?

Thanks for all you help.

[rocky2]

I would turn POP off, (there is no Instant on off/on setting for any detector) I would run it in highway mode on the interstate and either Auto/ City in town. And yes you do have a good chance of getting the laser alert with the Bel, if it is mounted lower on the dash. It will not do you much good, just alerting you that you have a ticket unless you have a jammer. So I would mount it high to maximize radar detection range, maybe think about so jammers soon if laser is used in your area.

[supercowpowers]

Well you don't have a location listed but most places don't use X band anymore.

There are three modes in which you can run the detector, City, Autoscan and Highway. In the settings, you can set City mode to either Lo X or No X. I believe that Autoscan uses more sophisticated filtering (such as ignoring two X band signals that are close to the same frequency as they are likely to be a pair of door openers at a shopping center), and City mode simply decreases sensitivity to X band so it requires a stronger signal to alert (in Lo X) or it simply won't alert to X band at all (in No X).

You can't turn off X band on the 955, but you can silence it by setting the City mode to No X and run it in City mode (out of City, Highway, and Autoscan). City mode does not affect sensitivity on K and Ka bands, and you'll no longer get useless alerts from every old X band door opener.

I turned POP off because there are no guns here that use it. Put a location in your profile so others in your are can tell you exactly what to do.

[RosL]

Thanks for all your help guys. I'm currently in Atlanta, GA. Also, the term Bel 955 with S7 antenna" means what? Is there an additional hardware i would need to buy? Thanks again in advance.

RosL

[zr1]

I run a 955 on the bike with the M4 antenna and it works well. In the metro area, I turned off X-band as it isn't used here and keep it on "CityNoX" all the time (of course, the kids asked how the RD knew about the "Nox" from Stargate SG-1 ). When I go for a ride out of town, I'll switch it to either Autoscan or Highway....usually the latter.

As Bell builds these, they have to register the hardware with the FCC, antenna and all. One run of these RDs had the "S7" code on their FCC designator. Later on, Bell switched the antenna design a little and these newer RDs have the M4 code.

Do a search on here and you'll find S7 vs M4 cussed and discussed. The general feeling from our non-scientific observations is that the older S7 is more apt to catch a signal that's off to the side while the M4 seems more focused with what's directly ahead.

I also have a Vector 995 in the car with the S7. In my own observations (non-scientific again), I haven't noticed a difference in performance or falses between the two.

[RosL]

I finally got it together. Thanks for all you help... Quick question to those who replied and viewing this forum...

What's the difference between Highway/HWY/H?

LASER Question:

Also, if the laser warning goes off, is it basically telling me that i have a ticket? or do i have 'x' amount of seconds to react before getting locked on?

Thanks again guys...

[gilberto814]

First I have the same RD. Highway, hwy, h all mean highway mode. You have to options on how the display will show. You can have it say highway or change it to just having an H on the screen.
I have my RD mounted just below my mirror and I get warnings from Laser when I am hit. There is not margin of slow down time with laser. As soon as you are hit within a second the gun has your speed, unless the operator messes up.
I have found that mounting the RD 1/2 way up the windshield to 3/4 is were I have gotten the best signal. All bands I have gotten good ramp up over a mile away on a stright shot and .3 to .5 on curves.
With the POP. I turned mine off because the way the BEL tells you there is instant on(POP) is as soon as you are hit the bar goes to full strength and ramps down as the LEO goes by and shuts it off. Also I almost always run in Highway mode since I live in the country and want the full range on all bands since I drive on mostly long country roads....

Hope this answers some of your questions....

[djrams80]

First I have the same RD. Highway, hwy, h all mean highway mode. You have to options on how the display will show. You can have it say highway or change it to just having an H on the screen.
I have my RD mounted just below my mirror and I get warnings from Laser when I am hit. There is not margin of slow down time with laser. As soon as you are hit within a second the gun has your speed, unless the operator messes up.
I have found that mounting the RD 1/2 way up the windshield to 3/4 is were I have gotten the best signal. All bands I have gotten good ramp up over a mile away on a stright shot and .3 to .5 on curves.
With the POP. I turned mine off because the way the BEL tells you there is instant on(POP) is as soon as you are hit the bar goes to full strength and ramps down as the LEO goes by and shuts it off. Also I almost always run in Highway mode since I live in the country and want the full range on all bands since I drive on mostly long country roads....

Hope this answers some of your questions....

Excellent post! This is a very good example of a new forum member making a positive contribution, as opposed to those that just post to get their post count up!

[zr1]

First I have the same RD. Highway, hwy, h all mean highway mode. You have to options on how the display will show. You can have it say highway or change it to just having an H on the screen.
I have my RD mounted just below my mirror and I get warnings from Laser when I am hit. There is not margin of slow down time with laser. As soon as you are hit within a second the gun has your speed, unless the operator messes up.
I have found that mounting the RD 1/2 way up the windshield to 3/4 is were I have gotten the best signal. All bands I have gotten good ramp up over a mile away on a stright shot and .3 to .5 on curves.
With the POP. I turned mine off because the way the BEL tells you there is instant on(POP) is as soon as you are hit the bar goes to full strength and ramps down as the LEO goes by and shuts it off. Also I almost always run in Highway mode since I live in the country and want the full range on all bands since I drive on mostly long country roads....

Hope this answers some of your questions....

Excellent post! This is a very good example of a new forum member making a positive contribution, as opposed to those that just post to get their post count up!

Good point.

[zr1]

LASER Question:

Also, if the laser warning goes off, is it basically telling me that i have a ticket? or do i have 'x' amount of seconds to react before getting locked on?

If you're on the fast side of things...

0.0 seconds - LEO lights up his LIDAR
0.1-0.2 seconds - your detector signal goes off
0.3 seconds - your speed is already registering on the LEO's LIDAR
1.1 seconds - your brain registers that there's a sound and you should look to see what's going on
1.5 seconds - Brain says, maybe you should slow down
2.2 seconds - you foot starts to move toward the brake pedal
2.5 seconds - you're pressing on the brakes and the car just now starts to slow down
4.5 seconds - your car reaches the posted speed limit

If you have a good laser jammer, then the bold section above won't occur and the following will occur:

5.0 seconds - you reach over and switch off your radar jammer
5.3 seconds - the LEO clocks you at the speed limit
5.5 seconds - LEO thinks nothing of it
7.5 seconds - LEO is targeting some poor schmoe behind you and gives them the ticket instead.