Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 20
  1. #1
    Good Citizen
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    75

    Default Is a detector overkill for me?

    I've always had a radar detector in my car, starting off with one of those cheap 3 LED Whistlers back in the '80s, I then upgraded to a Whistler 1490, which served me faithfully for 10 years, it outlived two of my cars (got the first Whistler back when I had my '92 Dodge Shadow, then upgraded to the 1490, which lasted me through my next two Dodge Neons ('98 and '02)

    I figured it was time for a new detector, as I have a new car ('07 Saturn Ion), and the Whistler is starting to false more often, even when parked in our driveway, facing 50 acres of farmland and the woodlot, I'll get the occasional 1 segment X-band false, unless the deer are running radar, there should be no falses in the driveway

    I've been doing research, and my decision has come down to the immortal decision of Escort Passport 8500-X50 or Valentine One, I'm not going to drag up a topic that has been beaten to death, both are excellent detectors, and each has advantages the other doesn't, ideally, the best solution would be to "Buy Both", but that'd be a rather expensive outlay of cash.....

    So over the weekend, I stopped at my local Tweeter electronics store, and lo and behold, they had an open-box 8500-X50 Red for a decent price, so I bought it, so far I have been very impressed, it's at least twice as sensitive as the old Whistler, and Expert Mode is too cool

    but even after all of that, I *still* want a Valentine One to keep it company, because the arrows are incredibly cool

    here's the thing though, I don't generally speed, at least not deliberately, sure, i've caught myself occasionally at 5-10 miles over tops, and I adjust my speed downward to meet the PSL when I do, I drive a car that isn't exactly known for performance, most of my driving is on windy back roads, where speed traps are a non-event, i've never seen one on the back roads, so if I do encounter radar, it's typically a lone cruiser on the side of the road or driving towards me from the opposite lane, and most of the time, I'm the only car on the road, so if I *DID* encounter POP or Instant On radar, the detector wouldn't be a help anyway , in all honesty, I probably don't *need* a detector, let alone two, it'd be a "waste of money" in my case

    that said, I still *WANT* one, well, two, partly because I'm a computer repair tech (Mac repair) and have a thing for cool gadgets (as all techs do), but mainly because;
    A; I don't trust the police
    B; I know how error-prone speed-monitoring technology can be

    Do I *need* a detector, for my driving habits? no
    Is a detector overkill for me? yes
    Do I still want a V-1? Most Definitely Yes!

    Besides, I cant be the only one out there that goes "radar-hunting", can I?, deliberately driving around (at the speed limit, obviously) trying to find police running radar/LIDAR so I can see how sensitive the detector is?

    Hmm, I may have found a solution to acquiring an "affordable" V-1, turns out that they sell refurbs at V-1, it's about $50 cheaper, and has the full warranty, so, I'll just save up for a couple months and grab a refurb, then i'll have both

  2. #2
    Banned
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    TULSA,OK
    Posts
    486

    Default

    well i say you have to buy your self a v1 and try it out you will like it alot .sell the x50 or keep it as a back up rd :wink:

  3. #3
    Yoda of Radar
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    In front of my computer
    Posts
    10,773

    Default

    Buy it what can you lose? Seriously? Especially if you live where they are legal there is nothing holding you back except some pennies in the bank account.

  4. #4
    Professional
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    SW Washington
    Posts
    1,282

    Default

    I was in the same boat. I bought a V995, and although it is a fine detector, I have a problem for wanting the next step up. Wishing I had spent the extra $100 for the V1. So, one night I ordered a V1 on a whim and have yet to be let down by it! I'm also the same as you, I don't really need a detector because I don't really speed. I have an 4WD Escape that I take to the mountain in the winter and camping in the summer, so it's not exactly a performance vehicle. But I do tend to drift over the PSL from time to time. I would order the V1 and use the 30 day trial, and if you decide you don't want it, send it back for a full refund. But, if you like gadgets as much as I do (it sounds like you do ), you'll end up keeping the V1.

    I got a little off-track, but I think you know what I mean.

  5. #5

    Default

    Hi MacTech,

    Nice first post. Welcome to the forum!

    It sounds like your driving habits are very similar to mine. I too rarely get up to +10 over the PSL. Yet many states now have steep fines for speeding as well as zero tolerance laws. In those states you can get pulled over -- even if you are simply going with the flow of traffic and are merely driving just a couple of miles over the PSL -- and get a ticket with a hefty fine. Do you need a RD for your driving habits? Actually I would say, "Yes." Many radar detectors which are only 5 years old have mediocre performance on Ka band. Indeed, Cobra radar detectors in particular are all but dead when detecting 35.5 Ka band radar. The X50 and V1 are excellent choices.

    The likely reason why your old Whistler was giving weak alerts to X band while in your driveway is that it can't filter out the X band pulses which many cell phones produce. While in your driveway, try completely powering off your cell phone and see if your older Whistler stops producing the weak false X band alert. My cell phone, when powered off and plugged into its charger, produces a weak yet continuous X band signal. I have to be sure that my cell phone is powered on when I charge it in my car or otherwise I will get a continuous false X band alert with either my STi or my 9500i.

  6. #6
    Good Citizen
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    75

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by MEM-TEK
    Hi MacTech,

    Nice first post. Welcome to the forum!

    It sounds like your driving habits are very similar to mine. I too rarely get up to +10 over the PSL. Yet many states now have steep fines for speeding as well as zero tolerance laws. In those states you can get pulled over -- even if you are simply going with the flow of traffic and are merely driving just a couple of miles over the PSL -- and get a ticket with a hefty fine. Do you need a RD for your driving habits? Actually I would say, "Yes." Many radar detectors which are only 5 years old have mediocre performance on Ka band. Indeed, Cobra radar detectors in particular are all but dead when detecting 35.5 Ka band radar. The X50 and V1 are excellent choices.

    The likely reason why your old Whistler was giving weak alerts to X band while in your driveway is that it can't filter out the X band pulses which many cell phones produce. While in your driveway, try completely powering off your cell phone and see if your older Whistler stops producing the weak false X band alert. My cell phone, when powered off and plugged into its charger, produces a weak yet continuous X band signal. I have to be sure that my cell phone is powered on when I charge it in my car or otherwise I will get a continuous false X band alert with either my STi or my 9500i.
    Thanks for the welcome everyone
    MEM-TEK that's interesting about cell phones causing falses, never thought about that, I suppose it could also be interference from my AirPort base station in the house (802.11b 2.4GHz wireless networking device)

    I know it's only a matter of time before I do get a V-1, once I've set my mind on something, I generally follow it through to compl....ooh look, something shiny...what was I saying again....

    French toast, please

    I checked Radar Roy's site, and he doesn't appear to sell V-1's, looks like I'll have to go to the source then

    Heh, I think I'll set up my car as the ADD-Mobile just for laughs once, inside the cockpit I'll have;
    A V-1 (I will be buying one, perhaps in the next month or two)
    a P-8500-X50R
    an iPod Nano Gen 3 black, velcroed to the dash, above the radio, audio piped into the factory stereo
    a Mio DigiWalker 230 GPS
    and my PowerBook G4 1 GHz on the passenger seat, all devices running

    (obviously, the vehicle will be parked, with the parking brake set and just the accesory switch on....)

    <EDIT>
    two things, I just found out the firmware version of this detector, Ver. 5, is that good or bad, from what I've read on the forums here, the V.5 units had slightly better sensitivity than the 6.X versions, that definitely is the case with this one, as I can get a weak 2 dot K alert (Expert Mode) from the grocery store's door opening sensor, about 1/4 mile away, over a slight hill and past an entire parking lot of cars, very impressive, the Whistler emits not a single peep, until I'm a stones throw away

  7. #7

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by MacTech
    ...I checked Radar Roy's site, and he doesn't appear to sell V-1's, looks like I'll have to go to the source then...
    Yep, VR only sells V1s direct.

  8. #8
    Good Citizen
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    75

    Default

    Oh, and I also had firsthand experience as to how pathetic Cobras are....

    I first stopped at my local RatShack on Thursday, and got a Cobra 9485, I had both the Whistler and the Cobra hooked up, the next day, on the drive in to work, the Whistler began alerting to a Ka signal, out of sight, as I took the corner onto the next road, a local cruiser came up the road with his radar on constant on, still no alert from the Cobra, only *AFTER* the cruiser had passed me, in the oppisite direction, did it give two halfhearted "braps" and a voice alert

    pathetic, it was returned that evening

    the Escort is turning out to be a great detector, it's already replaced my Whistler, I was comparing the two last night, driving up the main lane of a local minimall, looking for "Bogeys", the Escort alerted to weak K-Band a good 30 seconds before the whistler, and was able to track the two K-Band door opening sensors on the Best Buy store well before the store came into view

  9. #9
    Professional
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    indoors
    Posts
    1,100

    Default

    MacTech,

    Welcome to the dilemma I've been up against for the past couple of months. I have an X50 already, and it's a great detector. Strong on all bands, good laser pickup, minimal falsing. Problem is, it's about two years old, and I'm ready to upgrade--then the stupidity of "upgrading" hits me when I can get a detector that, thanks to the STi and 9500i, suddenly appears surprisingly affordable, and won't need to be replaced by the shiny new model every couple of years.

    The problem, of course, is that I really don't need a new detector, let alone a $400 V1 (I refuse to buy a refurb). I drive about 75-80, and the speed limit's 65. Fast, yeah, but when you consider that I'm routinely passed as if I were standing still, I'm not really the most attractive target on the road for cops. But the X50 *is* two and a half years old, and it has self-calibrated a couple of times...and the V1's all shiny and stuff.

    So my decision? Let Uncle Sam pay for it. The wife and I are expecting a nice little tax refund this year, and I intend to earmark a chunk of it for the V1 (not a real stretch, as her only plans for it are toys for the puppy--presumably to distract him from the impending neuter). I'm hoping she'll go along with this plan, as her previous stance had been "as soon as you find someone who'll pay you the full price of the new detector for your old one, go right ahead."

  10. #10
    Radar Fanatic
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    North Bay, CA
    Posts
    1,705

    Default

    i wouldn't get it if I were you. Even if money isn't an object for you, it would just be a fun toy to play with for a while, and then you probably would end up using the x50 again just because v1 falses a lot more.

    of course, if you are willing to pay the money for a play toy for a while I guess it would be worth it.

    i live in cali were ka is the only threat on the freeway (that and recently lidar) so I chose the rx65 over the x50. since I don't have to worry about falses I probably should have dished out the extra $100 and got a v1, but I'm not regretting my rx65 at all.

    if falses are what matters to you then a x50 would do better then a v1 imho.

 

 

Similar Threads

  1. Hypothetical OverKill on a budget
    By Cauhauna in forum Laser Interceptor
    Replies: 20
    Last Post: 12-12-2010, 04:27 AM
  2. Is this setup overkill?
    By Chris_731 in forum Laser Jammers - General
    Replies: 26
    Last Post: 11-10-2008, 12:02 AM
  3. Is this overkill for rear protection?
    By anjoem in forum Laser Jammers - General
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: 07-27-2006, 01:23 AM
  4. Camera Overkill in UK
    By StlouisX50 in forum News Stories
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 03-30-2006, 11:50 PM
  5. Overkill?
    By happya$$ in forum Motorcycle Protection
    Replies: 31
    Last Post: 02-01-2006, 07:49 AM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •