Bel X 795 General product FULL review

[AirMoore]

(CLIFF NOTES AT BOTTOM) Since I haven't seen that many reviews on the "'Bel (eXpress 795)" I figured I would take a glance at this radar from first hand experience. (I have seen the review of the 795 vs the 2-Whistlers for the 'under 100bucks shoot-out') I'm sure someone will know the page im talking about and Link it for me -Hopefully- ...and have seen a few people on this website and other forums alike chirp in a comment or two about it. BTW: I decided to put this in the 'general section' because even though its a BelEsc product -I feel it is just a general overview on this product and not a question or comment directed solely for BelEsc owners, and will benefit most anyone whom reads it. (If it needs to be moved I understand).


General Notes:
Only available to my knowledge at "RS" (comes from reading in these forums, and looking for it elsewhere to no avail)
$99.99 or just under $108 w/NYS sales tax
Comes with: Detector (obv), coiled power cord (tele-jack style) suction cups, and a manual.

1st impressions:
EXTREMELY LIGHT (less mass then ur average bar of soap)
Decent aesthetic values
Very few features (only necessities)
Mid-line distinguishing audio tones between bands (x-k-ka)
Very bad band separation 3-yellow (LEDs) making it hard to distinguish band, until you recognize audio alerts.

Actual Unit Performance:
Rather good filter for such a cheap detector when going through the city. (More often then not it filters annoying false alerts before you start ignoring it)
Very easy to use, with minimal features (a true plug and go)
-Sticks and stays upon glass very easy, probably due to weightlessness of detector and smooth car ride combined.
City mode works 'decent' as far as I can tell,mostly for the mute feature, however I don’t use it due to the fact that I said very minimal false alerts...especially for such a cheap RD. There is only 1-city mode BTW.
THE ACTION:
Overall this detector is rather good when it comes to detecting all 3 bands x-k-ka (no laser hits yet phew!!! -as it is NOT my primary RD- its 4th in line so I just used it very little to get a feel for it as a backup- that is its job- ). I pulled her out on this Halloween and to my surprise it got its farthest alert ever.... just over .8mile(s). This occurred over gradually increasing gradient of a hill in the city at 12:30AM after getting SWarsIII (Not a large hill by any means but more a less a little crest in the road that is slowley gained upon). I was sitting at the bottom of the hill at the stop light...and then I start picking up a ka band (1 out of 4 signal) -I thought this odd for a store door...as there was a gas station/dunkin donuts at the bottom right next to me.- My light turns Green....i start my slow decent up to the 'hill' and it pegs 2 out of 4...so im like alright I KNOW* where this guy is targeting people from..... see the hill takes .8miles to crest between two stop lights (from the stop light i was at) and .3 from the way that was oncoming traffic....so cops hunker in on the .5....my side as it slopes for only about .1miles aka MUCH steeper gradient and no way to slowly see what’s on the other side of that .3 mile stretch before the crest. Anywhom I get to where I would normally be able to see them...boom radar hits 3 out of 4 ka band still....and I start wondering wtf, and just as that happens the RD hits 4-4 and pegs that for 4-5seconds until I see an NYS Trooper in one of their 2.5ton wrecking machines...aka SUV coming at me over the other side of the 'hill'. (Detector never lost signal once) and I assume he sat at the red light on the other side of the hill for my .8mile (or a little over) assumption of total distance using cars trip od. for measuring


CLIFFS NOTES -Real life situations-
Normal detection for x-band .4miles country .2-.3city (only got this once or twice from a 'your speed sign'...surprised as most of them are k that ive gone through)

Normal K-band .4-.5miles country .3 city

KA .5miles country .3-.4 city (this thing does have great protection for ka band for the price)

This is all give or take a little depending on various outside influences, but always very reliable to me....face to face with a 2 different cobras one was 150 and one more (beat them both overall).


Pros: $99.99Price, Great reliability (as far as detection goes), Simple to use, coiled cord -which I like-, good filter for price, detection on arguably the hardest band to get Ka is really good.

Cons: Hard to tell x-k-ka bands, very lethargic detector...does not go 'wild' or create any sense of emergency at 3-4 OR 4-4 (right on enforcement) as far as im concerned... Some like it but you do sometimes find yourself disregarding it due to 'laid back alerts' Rear protection fades rather quick, couple hundred yards for radar...not terrible and it will trail 4,3,2,1,no signal it wont just go 4,no signal as you pass....but does drop quick.

OVERALL: I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS to one whom drives smart**** actively checks their mirrors (and scans all surroundings for dangers including ....but not limited to: other cars, MOTORCYCLES!!, LEOs, Animals etc etc) and speeds at 6-8MPH over in a 55 or 65, (everyone should do this active mirror checking and scanning anyways...speeding or not). I would even recommend it for the 8-10MPH over group in a 55 or 65...as a backup for a few days if primary RD goes. Those whom actively speed at 10+ I would recommend you look elsewhere for a detector. I do not believe for under 100bucks it can be beat.

AND as I said before I am not being bias, it beat the cobras hands down -not saying much- as I use it as a back up car detector -4th in line- never actually had to use it for backup...more just for fun. I have not even thought about it for my bike(2000 NINJA ZX-7R) detector...the one I have (Older passport) does just fine by me for the bike, but will be replaced this christmas with a blue x50.

EDIT: The 2nd cobra should have said 100*dollars not 200* it was an old cobra -just 2years maybe- (dont know either model numbers). During testing it is also only fair to note only k,ka band detected (by both detectors), no laser or 'x' band. So it really wasnt an all out complete or 'fair' test, as it did not include x band or laser (only so much pointless driving you can do)...and I have heard that the cobras -new ones- are decent (suprisingly good actually) in recieving laser alerts....so that may have scored a few points for the cobras.

[AirMoore]

The detector was always mounted 'low' in an Eagle Talon, or Toyota Cam.

One more thing I would also like to point out....please excuse all the spelling errors or use of AIM 'language' at it is 12:15am AND am on AIM talking to people....stopping to write sections at a time. ops:


TO explain the whole .8.5.3.1mile thing I will do a bit better here I hope....There is a road in the city with 2 stop lights .8miles apart, and a 'crest of a hill' .3 miles from one stop light .5 from the other. I was at the .5mile part....and the cops normally sit on my side with the slow gradient change and hit the people coming over the fast gradient change, as it is only .3miles to the 'crest of the hill' and the gradient change all takes place within about .1miles (on the .3 mile sign) so its hard to creep up and see over it...one second you cant see anything the next thing you know ur over it.

I do not advise anyone to speed, nor is this -or any RD- foolproof so be prepared and drive safe.

[carlito]

(CLIFF NOTES AT BOTTOM) Since I haven't seen that many reviews on the "'Bel (eXpress 795)" I figured I would take a glance at this radar from first hand experience. (I have seen the review of the 795 vs the 2-Whistlers for the 'under 100bucks shoot-out') I'm sure someone will know the page im talking about and Link it for me -Hopefully- ...and have seen a few people on this website and other forums alike chirp in a comment or two about it. BTW: I decided to put this in the 'general section' because even though its a BelEsc product -I feel it is just a general overview on this product and not a question or comment directed solely for BelEsc owners, and will benefit most anyone whom reads it. (If it needs to be moved I understand).


General Notes:
Only available to my knowledge at "RS" (comes from reading in these forums, and looking for it elsewhere to no avail)
$99.99 or just under $108 w/NYS sales tax
Comes with: Detector (obv), coiled power cord (tele-jack style) suction cups, and a manual.

1st impressions:
EXTREMELY LIGHT (less mass then ur average bar of soap)
Decent aesthetic values
Very few features (only necessities)
Mid-line distinguishing audio tones between bands (x-k-ka)
Very bad band separation 3-yellow (LEDs) making it hard to distinguish band, until you recognize audio alerts.

Actual Unit Performance:
Rather good filter for such a cheap detector when going through the city. (More often then not it filters annoying false alerts before you start ignoring it)
Very easy to use, with minimal features (a true plug and go)
Bracket w/suction cups does not come out far enough so the detector slightly* rests upon windshield glass...not noticeable really, however, you can 'lock it in' further from the glass but then the unit 'sags downward'.... this wont help me much as im not looking from my cars floor to see the LED's, and im not trying to catch radar from over passing aircraft (ok exaggerated that part ha)...but the point still remains.
Sticks and stays upon glass very easy, probably due to weightlessness of detector and smooth car ride combined.
City mode works 'decent' as far as I can tell, however I don’t use it due to the fact that I said very minimal false alerts...especially for such a cheap RD. There is only 1-city mode BTW.
THE ACTION:
Overall this detector is rather good when it comes to detecting all 3 bands x-k-ka (no laser hits yet phew!!! -as it is NOT my primary RD- its 4th in line so I just used it very little to get a feel for it as a backup- that is its job- ). I pulled her out on this Halloween and to my surprise it got its farthest alert ever.... just over .8mile(s). This occurred over gradually increasing gradient of a hill in the city at 12:30AM after getting SWarsIII (Not a large hill by any means but more a less a little crest in the road that is slowley gained upon). I was sitting at the bottom of the hill at the stop light...and then I start picking up a ka band (1 out of 4 signal) -I thought this odd for a store door...as there was a gas station/dunkin donuts at the bottom right next to me.- My light turns Green....i start my slow decent up to the 'hill' and it pegs 2 out of 4...so im like alright I KNOW* where this guy is targeting people from..... see the hill takes .8miles to crest between two stop lights (from the stop light i was at) and .3 from the way that was oncoming traffic....so cops hunker in on the .5....my side as it slopes for only about .1miles aka MUCH steeper gradient and no way to slowly see what’s on the other side of that .3 mile stretch before the crest. Anywhom I get to where I would normally be able to see them...boom radar hits 3 out of 4 ka band still....and I start wondering wtf, and just as that happens the RD hits 4-4 and pegs that for 4-5seconds until I see an NYS Trooper in one of their 2.5ton wrecking machines...aka SUV coming at me over the other side of the 'hill'. (Detector never lost signal once) and I assume he sat at the red light on the other side of the hill for my .8mile (or a little over) assumption of total distance using cars trip od. for measuring


CLIFFS NOTES -Real life situations-
Normal detection for x-band .4miles country .2-.3city (only got this once or twice from a 'your speed sign'...surprised as most of them are k that ive gone through) I DNK

Normal K-band .4-.5miles country .3 city

KA .5miles country .3-.4 city (this thing does have great protection for ka band)

This is all give or take a little depending on various outside influences, but always very reliable to me....face to face with a 2 different cobras one was 150 and one was 200 (beat them both overall).


Pros: $99.99Price, Great reliability (as far as detection goes), Simple to use, coiled cord -which I like-, good filter for price, detection on arguably the hardest band to get Ka is really good.

Cons: Hard to tell x-k-ka bands, very lethargic detector...does not go 'wild' or create any sense of emergency at 3-4 OR 4-4 (right on enforcement) as far as im concerned... Some like it but you do sometimes find yourself disregarding it due to 'laid back alerts' Rear protection fades rather quick, couple hundred yards for radar...not terrible and it will trail 4,3,2,1,no signal it wont just go 4,no signal as you pass....but does drop quick.

OVERALL: I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS to one whom drives smart**** actively checks their mirrors (and scans all surroundings for dangers including ....but not limited to: other cars, MOTORCYCLES!!, LEOs, Animals etc etc) and speeds at 6-8MPH over in a 55 or 65, (everyone should do this active mirror checking and scanning anyways...speeding or not). I would even recommend it for the 8-10MPH over group in a 55 or 65...as a backup for a few days if primary RD goes. Those whom actively speed at 10+ I would recommend you look elsewhere for a detector. I do not believe for under 100bucks it can be beat.

AND as I said before I am not being bias, it beat the cobras hands down -not saying much- as I use it as a back up car detector -4th in line- never actually had to use it for backup...more just for fun. I have not even thought about it for my bike(2000 NINJA ZX-7R) detector...the one I have (Older passport) does just fine by me for the bike, but will be replaced this christmas with a blue x50.

EDIT: The 2nd cobra should have said 100*dollars not 200* it was an old cobra -just 2years maybe- (dotn know either model numbers). During testing it is also only fair to note only k,ka band detected (by both detectors), no laser or 'x' band. So it really wasnt an all out complete or 'fair' test, as it did not include x band or laser (only so much pointless driving you can do)...and I have heard that the cobras -new ones- are decent (suprisingly good actually) in recieving laser alerts....so that may have scored a few points for the cobras.

NICE!!!!!!! :wink:

CARLITO

[AirMoore]

Thanks Carlito, I will sparatically bring in more information or field questions about this detector when I can. As I said before it isnt even in the top 3 list of detectors that I use in my car, so Its hard for me (and I havent really) gathered to much real-life information, but significantly more then what I have already said.

I see also that 'boomerman' has a topic for this and I may also chim in there with my own comments on the detector compared to his results.

[boomerman]

AirMoore, your review you wrote up was excellent.

1st impressions:
EXTREMELY LIGHT (less mass then ur average bar of soap)
Decent aesthetic values
Very few features (only necessities)
Mid-line distinguishing audio tones between bands (x-k-ka)
Very bad band separation 3-yellow (LEDs) making it hard to distinguish band, until you recognize audio alerts.

I could not have said it any better!!!
This thing is so light I had to open it up to make sure there was something in it

As far as the bracket I have not had the problem you are having.
I noticed in the manual it says the unit should contact the glass for proper alignment. I did not have to bend the bracket at all and this is the first unit I have never had to do that with.

I had one k band alert that was real and the Bel took about 2 seconds more than the Whistler PRO did to alert me. The LEO was ahead of me sitting on the side of the interstate clocking people.
The one thing I did notice as I went past the Leo and was driving away from the radar the Bel reported it longer than the Whistler. The bel seems to have a little better rear detection than the Whistler.
I will test this with my radar units to verify it.

I will add my thoughts to this thread and my post as well I want to hear more on your expierences with it as well.