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  1. #1
    Experienced
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Indiana
    Posts
    242

    Default Re-introducing me

    I've been a member here for a long time but have been away for years and years... I was a V-1 user at the time and still would like to have another but mostly what I need a detector for is to help me mind my p's and q's around town. Fortunately our local cops tend to drive around with the radar on so I have a clue to make sure to full-stop or not do 30 in the 20 zone, that kind of thing that results in a stupid but expensive ticket. I just need to be aware if possible that there's a cop nearby; I'm not trying to get away with driving 100mph. I want a detector in each of my 3 vehicles and can't afford to buy something expensive for each so I did some research and did some buying on Ebay and ended up with:

    Escort 8500, evidently a late S7 model, got it for $70 including shipping, mfg date code is 1709. No calibration error messages, looks 90 to 95 out of 100.
    Bel V10, supposedly a store return but only the unit and basic bits, no box or instructions, $129 including shipping. Looks brand new, mfr date code is in 2013, I was able to register it on the Bel site. My understanding is that it's roughly the equivalent of an 8500 x50 or a Bel Pro 200, only with a few slight tweaks to options to be sold at Best Buy.
    Whistler Z-19r, got it for $30 new on Ebay including shipping, probably will be plenty good around town for my purposes in the 4wd truck.

    I've also gotten involved in collecting old radar detectors, actually have bought and spent more than I expected or realized but there's so many nifty ones out there. Just bought a Sanyo Lambda superwide with laser from some guy in Russia; I wish it was in better physical shape but it works. I've got a non-laser version that's new in box but the circuit for the alerts is rather sketchy so the sound is crackly or silent. And I've got a few dozen others; I like smaller ones with lots of lights because they'll look good in my display case. Those Sanyo Lambdas are probably at the top of the heap for that; old boxy Fuzzbusters with one big light on the front need not apply. (I had one back when, hate to admit but about 40 years ago.)

    I suppose for what I've spent on all of this I could have gotten a new V-1 with all the add-on goodies and moved it from car to car but I don't want to have to do that, and much as I love the arrows (sometimes they really make you feel like God) I really just don't need 'em for most of my driving which is around town. If I only was buying one unit though it'd be a V-1 for sure.

    Just a last topic - spending as much time as I do on Ebay I am surprised by some of what I see. 8500's with mfg dates of over a dozen years ago still selling for over $100, some of them pre-date the mfg date code that's been in use for a long time. It would be helpful if sellers would post a shot of the bottom of the units because a) with Bel and Escort you can get a better idea exactly what model it is and how old, and b) if it doesn't have a good label on the bottom the mfr may refuse to repair it. As far as the many older 'collectible' units I've bought, I see some funny stuff - one guy with a neat old Micronta unit that didn't sell for $29 relisted it at $39, then $59, now $69. If it doesn't sell, jack up the price? Some really neat and uncommon units turn up and might be just a couple dollars or $20+. I had been looking and looking for an Escort DSP unit (Passport sized but with the Escort's volume dial) and finally one turned up - the guy was asking $99. I contacted him to say I might be interested but the price was way out of normal range. We worked out $27 including shipping because it appears mint. The very day after it arrived, another showed up on Ebay for $8.50. I've got one of those teeny tiny Uniden card radar detectors, a solar-powered rechargeable Cobra which still takes a charge and works after many years, and a few dozen others.
    Last edited by hoosier; 04-06-2016 at 10:45 PM.

 

 

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