what if someone could build you a custom RD with all your likes, what would you pay?

[Mandingo]

The title says it all. What if a company could build you your own special RD just like you like it with all your special wants.

How much would you be willing to pony up?

[infinitysquared]

The thing is, it's not like there's a great deal of personal preference when it comes to detectors. There are a bunch of good features out there, and people are generally forced to choose between them because there's no detector produced that has all of them.

So, if this hypothetical company were to exist, it would be less in the market of building "customized" detectors and more in the market of building "installed detectors with gps lockout, great range, sensitivity, good ramp-up, and two antennas with arrows."

[Mandingo]

I think that detectors are built to a certain consumer price point and would bet could be improved significantly with the magic word CASH.

[SHOtime2511]

depends:
windshield mount....$450 tops.
remote mount....$750 tops.

Arrows,good ramp-up,GPS lockout,spec meter,band segmentation and RDR. Spectre stealth would be nice also.

[RadarGeek]

Mike Vaentine has already built it for me.

[zr1]

I did this tiny exercise from two directions:

Direction #1: Dollars spent on car
With this view, I came up with...whatever it is...figure $1200-1500 tops...and that's if it's really spankin' cool!

Direction #2: Features I want...price it later
Multi-antennas (perhaps an active phased-array receiver...not unlike that on an Arleigh Burke)
Multi-cpu/dsp
Some very extensive programming and database differences
Central-User-Interface (much different than today..but the 2nd smallest cost probably)
...basically it could locate/triangulate the EM signals, recognize/categorize/file-away the unique signatures and log it to the network. With a few users on the system, the database would likely be able to pick out a patrol car with an out of tune gun and track that officer's shift patterns.
.....however, given that the above doesn't exist in a consumer-ized and even after mass production prices are still likely well above the vehicle itself.

[Windstorm]

Let's see, if they made a version of the 9500ci that addressed everything I don't like about mine (crappy K band, so-so laser shifter, simplistic truelock) I'd be willing to spent 2-3K on it. I'd pay another grand if it could detect the Spectre... and another grand or 2 if it could reliably detect police cars using the other EM I'm sure they radiate.

[h4x0r]

I would pay about $2K for an RD that would use a multi-core CPU and have INSTANT response to I/O, extreme sensitivity (based on M3 antenna), the ability to use either Superwide Ka or USA mode or Euro mode. Also, RDR on/off option, TrueLock, AutoLock, Ku band.

[Leadfut]

OP: you've probably figured out the problem by now. Everyone wants different things. You might be able to make a perfect RD for one or two of the guys who replied to your thread, and you could maybe sell it to them for $2000, but nobody else would want it, and you'd never recoup the R&D cost and the one-time startup costs for molds, PC boards, custom assemblies, etc. So, the major players like Bel, Cobra (eww), etc. have to compromise and offer what they think is the best blend of features vs. price point.