Radar detectors Europe

Hello,

I am from Europe. I read a lot about radar detectors latelly and I want to buy one myself.

In Europe the best model (only for dashboard) is "Bel 550 Euro". I want to know if there is a model "Bel 550i" for the rest of world. A friend has one, but he doesn't know if it supports europe's frequencies. I'm interested in Ku band as in Europe police uses Ku band Cameras (something like GATSO with a different band). My friend told me his detector was 1,5 years old and didn't support Ku band. Is it posssible, as 550 was the substitute for 990 and it was made especially for that reason, to cover the new frequencies.

If the 550i is not suitable for Europe, do you know if the US models, such RX65, V1, Escort etc (they support Ku band) are suitable ? Do they support the same frequencies as in Europe ? I don't know if the K and Ka bands are exactly the same in Europe as in US.

Another question is about the laser detection capabilities the radar detectors have. Does anyone have an experience where the detector detected laser guns ? I mean when a laser gun is pointing other vehicles in front, cause when we are aimed that's it, we are busted. If there is a detection, at what distance is this possible ?

Finally, what about POP mode and spectre ? In Europe we only have VG2, which is easy to detect, so no problem about that. But what about POP ? I believe the euro models are not equieped with POP mode and spectre. Do you have any information about this?

Thank you in advance about your time. If anyone could help I'd be glad.

Well:

Beltronics RX65 - Set to Ku On, "Ka International" - covers everything
Valentine One - Set Ku on, might want to disable Ka false filtre, for better detection on Ka photoradars.

ESCORT PASSPORT X50 doesn't have Ku ability right now. A software change can add it easily, and ESCORT may do just that soon. But - why bother when there is the RX65.

BUT - from what I know, the older Beltronics 550 and 990, or the 970-series remote are better for European conditions. I do not believe the 550i has Ku detection. The RX65/V1/X50 are designed primarily for USA market, which is a mobile radar gun on K and Ka territory, with the occasional X band and soon there may be Ku.

Where are you in Europe? I know some countries (e.g. Holland) do use Spectre devices. A new "Brand X" unit should come out this summer that is Spectre immune.

I wouldn't worry too much about POP mode. Laser detection is poor with a detector. You may be interested in a laser jammer, like the Lidatek or Blinder. A radar detector will possibly detect the laser early enough, but most often it won't. The Valentine One has far superior laser detection compared to anything else, but it also falses more on laser, from car brakelights, et al.

In Europe the V1 rarely falses on laser, only behind some newer BMWs. As for the best detector for Europe, I suggest you buy the Valentine 1. The new ones coming from the factory are well equipped to do the job.

I asked an expert for UK and he gave me this answer about 550i:

"Its fine anywhere as it has all the bands needed."

I also found a site in UK, where they sell the 550i and they say it has Ku band. Here's the url: http://www.electroniccentre.co.uk/sh...sp?ID=4&SID=93

I'm totally confused now. You say it doesn't support Ku band, the other two say it supports. How could I know for sure ?

Thanx for your time, your other advice where very helpfull.

Then it probably does. I did a quick search which showed me it only had X K ka but it probably has an option to enable Ku like the V1 or RX65.

the bel 550 detects all bands in europe!

this info is from target automotive they are the European distributor of beltronics.....


Frequencies: 9.41 GHz, 9.9 GHz, 10,525 GHz, 10,600 GHz (X Band). 13.45 GHz (Ku Band). 24,125 GHz, 24,150 GHz (K Band). 34.00 GHz, 34.30 GHz, 34.70 GHz (Ka wide Band).
Detection range: Average 200-800 meters (depending on environmental factors).

where are you from..... europe has the spectre rdd's! and radar detectors are banned in most european countrys!

if they are illegal in your country the chances are they will use the spectre rdd!

if they arnt illegal i would worry about rdd stealth !

at present time no detector stealths enough to protect you from the spectre rdd threat..... a few detectors are immune to certain specre types but not all!

the bel 550 is detectable by the spectre rdd!
http://www.target-automotive.nl/en/r...geteuro550.php

I knew about the target site in Europe, but there ara 2 models of bel 550, the Euro model and 550i. But as you said they ara probably the same, with the possibility to activate the Ku band in Europe.
Thanks for your answers.
I am from Greece. There we have the following systems:

1. Electronic signs tha inform you how fast you go (X band)

2. Gatso and mini Gatso photographic cameras (K, Ka and Ku band)

3. Gatso cameras with piezoelectric lanes (the started this year to put on all highways - the only way to avoid this is by GPS systems)

4. Radar guns (K or Ka band - I don't know for sure)

5. Portable radars (K or Ka band - got 1 tichet from 500m for speeding + 44Km/h)

6. Laser guns

As you see the only way to avoid tickets, especially at night is by a radar detector. The laser guns are not too many, they are difficult to use and the other drivers warn you with the headlights about such things.
The problems are during the night, especially in roads you don't know. They put a mini Gatso and they come to collect it after a couple of hours.
The detector is to avoid such tichets and some times the protable radars (rare thing nowadeys, they prefer the cameras) or even the lasers (i hide behind other cars so I believe I can detect them if no warning is possible from the other drivers).
As for the detector detector thing, in Greece they only have VG2, as the use of radar detectors is limited to very few people as it's illegal to use it, but not to posses it. I never heard about spectre I,II,III and such things, not even one busted for using radar detector.
But how they can be sure you have a radar detector ?
Usually they are bored to search, or they don't even know what's a detector. After all it's the court thing were they don't want to get involved.

If I had one, until now, and for the last 2 years, I could have saved at least 200 euros = 260 $ from tickets. The main reason why they stop you is for speeding and especially in areas where the highway passes through villages (speed limit 50Km/h). They don't care so much about safety belt or other violations as they don't offer much money the easy way.

They do the same trick, every cop in the world does. The limit is 70Km/h, you go 100+, they stop you, they tell you that they are good so they write you were going only 85-89 Km/h. Up to +20Km/h you pay 17 euros = 22$, you say thnx and you go. If you are a little rude they write up to +40Km/h were you pay much more, but they don't have to prosecute you (paperwork saved, no need to come to the court etc). You must be very unlucky, or speed in a highway (speed limit 120 km/h) more than 200 Km/h to prosecute you and only when there is traffic.

The cameras now...end of the speeding history !!!

Sorry for the big post. I wanted to inform you about things in Greece.

It seems to me that things in Greece are getting worse since the last time I was there for my summer studies in ALBA (athens).

I am in Bulgaria now and over here the cops only use the X-band...and for the last couple of months they work mostly on low-power instant-on very deadly weapon.

Well a month ago I did a road trip from Sofia to Madrid and the way back...ongoing journey was Sofia-Beograde-Wienna-Munich-Zurich-Geneva (visited the autoshow there :D )-Lyon-Barca-Valensia-Madrid...then Zaraggoza-Barca-Cannes-Nice-Monaco-San Remo-Torino-Milan-Padoa-Venice-Slovenia-Croatia-serbia and back...

well my V1 saved me couple of times...especially from Laser in Serbia...total of 3 times saved my Laser :D ...in austria they work on K-band photo camera...germany is the same thing but they use as well Ka. Bad thing in Germany is that on the highway they have undercover police cars which use same line same speed to get you measurment of speed...while been recorden on video...Speed limits on Germany highways do exist when crossing near cities and when it is raining snowing.

Swiss...ok I didn bother risking it...so i didnt use my V1 and anyways everyone there drives with 120-130 you go over it...you are in troublle....France is much better case...dont use my V1 for the reasons of spectre but you can go 150km/h without any problems...

I have to finish the post someother time cause i have to go now...

take care

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KGB

It seems to me that things in Greece are getting worse since the last time I was there for my summer studies in ALBA (athens).

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I think the first written greek sentence I ever figured out was a HUGE sign warning of radar enforcement on the highway from the new airport into Athens. At the time I was thrilled to be able to read anything. :lol:

Does anyone know how good the Snooper S5 works?
I know for Europe the best is BEL 550, but in ebay I can't find good and cheap detectors from BEL. There are only 1-2-3 pieces each time and rarely shipped to Greece where I live. So I decided to go for Snooper S5.
Any tests or opinios about this detector?
The www.ukspeedtraps.co.uk recommends it along with BEL 550, Cheetah, BTST and of course Valentine V1.
I want to know more opinions though.

Thanks in advance for your time.

I dont know who told you that BEL is best for Europe :roll: ...everydetector has good and bad sides...but I can tell you for sure that V1 is very good for use anywhere in Europe...and think about LIDAR which is becoming more and more popular across europe...and V1 is most probably the best in laser detection.

BTW if you have any friends or family in the US you can ask them to order the detector you want for you and then send it to Greece...that way you will save a lot of money... 8)

In UK the prices of the V1 are between 400 to 900pounds which is 600 to more then 1000Euro in US it is 400$ about 300euro...dont know about BEL prices but the story is almost the same from what I remeber.

I know that valentine is one of the best radar detectors and that it can detect laser very easily (seen the video using stealth mode?).

Good detectors are also Bel RX65 and Escort X50, but they are not designed for Europe, specially X50 withouth the Ku band.

For Europe Bel suggests 550, ready for the European market. The problem is I live in Greece, so it's not completely ready, with the presets for my country.

After all, valentine is a little too expensive for me (400$ + shipping), and in eBay I can't find any of these detectors much cheaper.

Bel 550, is also an excellent detector, costing 450 euros, or 550 in Greece. So, it's expensive too. In eBay I can find them but there are not too many, they are used and still expensive (still haven't find cheap 550).

In www.ukspeedtraps.co.uk I found that among the others they recommend (Bel 550, Cheetah rear view mirror, BTST, and of course Valentine) is the Snooper S5, which is easily found in eBay, and it's very cheap too. I found new pieces for 200 euros (shipping included). So I decided to buy the Snooper for its price and still have good performance.

After all I don't speed too much in roads I don't know, the traps are mostly in certain places, my car is only 90Hp, and the most important I want to buy a cheap detector cause it's my first one.

I believe that in a year or two, I'll buy a Valentine or Bel which I believe are the best RD in the world today.

For the moment I want to know if anyone has used Snooper, and how it performs (2-4 seconds slower in Gatso cameras than Bel 550).

Thnx for your time

In my photo radar testing (on KA), the X50 performed better than the RX65, for whatever reason. X band was turned off on both, POP off.

This was against the Multanova photo radars. Go figure...

Which country do you live in? I think that is the most important question.

Hong Kong.

They use the Multanovs on 34.2-4 KA band, and also 24.x K band. All photo radar. No handheld radar. They do use Lazer, but i dont know what brands now, but they used the LTI before.

From what I have read on the net, Snooper's are very good detectors. I havent used one, but many people from UK are happy with them.

The fact that your car is 90hp has nothing to do with speeding. Police radar is not used to protect us but is used to get our money...so almost all places were radar is found it is like 70km/h limit on a highway where it is safe to go 150km/h.

only a detector wont save you. Your eyes and the detector will safe you in more then 90% of the cases.

I recently posted some commentary about a new V1 update that apparently is specifically designed to deal with the non-US market (ie; Multinova and Gatso.)

http://www.radardetector.net/Latest-...ware-1475t.php

Something to consider...

Does the Bel's RX65 Ka Intl setting specifically adjust the Ka sweep to look concentrate on these diffifuclt to detect radar units, as well?

Veil Guy 8)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by The Veil Guy

I recently posted some commentary about a new V1 update that apparently is specifically designed to deal with the non-US market (ie; Multinova and Gatso.)

http://www.radardetector.net/Latest-...ware-1475t.php

Something to consider...

Does the Bel's RX65 Ka Intl setting specifically adjust the Ka sweep to look concentrate on these diffifuclt to detect radar units, as well?

Veil Guy 8)

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The INTL setting on the RX65 scans the entire Ka band, the USA settings scans only three small segments.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KGB

From what I have read on the net, Snooper's are very good detectors. I havent used one, but many people from UK are happy with them.

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Its OK, but don't forget that the UK Police is using near solely K band radars. There isn't any Ka band and a few numbers of Ku band only but there are many fixed speed-traps (with loop).

I never owned Snooper detectors but I've tested two version of them with my tester. There are 9 grade at Snooper S5R and it showed 0/9 at Ku band (13.450GHz); 2/9 at K band (24.125GHz); 0/9 at Ka band (34.360GHz). There are 3 grade at Snooper SD715iS and it showed 2/3 at Ku; 3/3 at K; 2/3 at Ka Narrow bands at the same circumstances.

Hi T-T! :)

Yes, the Snooper Sd715iS better than S5R. Much better....

But on the S5R there are only 5 grade.

I hear the Snoopers are supposed to be pretty good at picking up photo radar? Is that true?

I haven't any real experience with snoopers but Snooper has publicated details of warning distances as follows:

SD715iS 69m (225ft) on K band and 366m (1200ft) on Ku.
SD815iS 91m (300ft) on K band and 549m (1800ft) on Ku.
S5R/S6R 300m (985ft) on K band and 300m+ (985ft+) on Ku.
"Please note detection ranges are at optimum performance conditions and should not be consistently expected."

the s5r
http://www.snooper.co.uk/images/products/S5R-2.jpg

lists radar and laser 2miles
mini gatso upto 600 meter
gatso upto 300 meter!

uk speed traps tested them and got 6.9 seconds warning at 60mph going towards the rear of a gatso but is was the s5 not the s5r the 5r replaced the s5 because they interfered with sat tv!

they also tested it on the m25 gantry gatso and got 16 second warning at 80mph!

ukspeedtraps also tested the 2002 v1 it gave a 7.7second warning at 60mph to gatso! 207meters warning!

but autoexpress said that the v1 warned them 125 meter away from the gatso! yet in novembers 1999 topgear mag topgear said the v1 the 1.7 gave 300 yards warning thats 274 meters!

autoexpress also said the snooper s5r gave 15 meter gatso warning! yet some mags have said its as good as the v1 on gatso performance!

you dont know what to believe! but like mike said are the tests does right and accurate!

at the end of the day you have to do the tests yourself on low scatter gatsos you know!

they should have a gatso in the middle of nowhere and on a straight road test them drive slow towards it and when it gaves first beep measure the distance! this way you get the real hard tests!

autoexpress 98 test said that the sd815 didnt reconise the radar even when pointed at the detector! well mine works ok.. picks all x k ku ka up a good distane on straight roads!
it only has a problem with the gatsos sometimes!
must have been faulty dont they even think to get a replacement and try that! thick idiots!

some tests are just not done properly!
some new detectors have got better concidering the snooper s5r gives 300m warning it just shows what they can do if they want to!

snooper s5r are £200 over here or about £179 on the net..... the cheapest i sa one was in argos for £150 but there now back at £200! i was tempted to get one temporary at that price i should of!

same as valentine i think they are just messing about pretending they dont know that much but they know everything!

i think it all boils down to cost of manufacturer they could make the best far far better than todays detectors.. exept mike and the rest of them wouldnt be making huge million $ profits!!

TWO HUNDRED POUNDS FOR THAT!!!

I have the IDENTICAL unit. It is called "Sensoro Alpha" and I paid $30 US off the ebay brand new.

It keeps picking up my satellite TV as well :lol:

Hey once I get my hands on a Brand X I'll sell you my "S5R" for 100 GBP and I'll ship it to you gratis! :D Hell I'll negotiate! :D

The best on Gatso and Multanova radar, for what I have seen is still a Bell 975, or a Target (Bel) 966evo. I get at least 500 meters on a Gatso and maximum of 300 to 400 meters on Multanova.

The thing with window mounted detectors is that the windscreen blocks a lot of signal, especially if it is car with sun reflective windows. That drastically reduces the range. Just try it once to hold your window detector out of the side window. It will increase sometimes with 200 meters! There is also a difference in the detector vertical mounted or horizontal. For the Bel 975, bel recommends horizontal, we recommend vertical.

For a movie: http://images.flitsservice.nl/cm_php...epo.php?id=605

they are at the bottom.

You're right, Flitsservice.nl

According to my experience if you mount the antenna in horizontal position then BEL/Target 966 can detect from longer distance automatic door-openers on K band. If you mount it in vertical position then 966 can detect from longer distance Multanova radars. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Flitsservice.nl

The best on Gatso and Multanova radar, for what I have seen is still a Bell 975, or a Target (Bel) 966evo. I get at least 500 meters on a Gatso and maximum of 300 to 400 meters on Multanova.

The thing with window mounted detectors is that the windscreen blocks a lot of signal, especially if it is car with sun reflective windows. That drastically reduces the range. Just try it once to hold your window detector out of the side window. It will increase sometimes with 200 meters! There is also a difference in the detector vertical mounted or horizontal. For the Bel 975, bel recommends horizontal, we recommend vertical.

For a movie: http://images.flitsservice.nl/cm_php...epo.php?id=605

they are at the bottom.

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This depends on the type of window, but generally the more expensive car the worse window :x

Mind you experiences in the USA have all shown reduced range to some extent when using remote-mount radars, presumably due to the lower height. On photoradar...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SmaartAasSaabr

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Flitsservice.nl

The best on Gatso and Multanova radar, for what I have seen is still a Bell 975, or a Target (Bel) 966evo. I get at least 500 meters on a Gatso and maximum of 300 to 400 meters on Multanova.

The thing with window mounted detectors is that the windscreen blocks a lot of signal, especially if it is car with sun reflective windows. That drastically reduces the range. Just try it once to hold your window detector out of the side window. It will increase sometimes with 200 meters! There is also a difference in the detector vertical mounted or horizontal. For the Bel 975, bel recommends horizontal, we recommend vertical.

For a movie: http://images.flitsservice.nl/cm_php...epo.php?id=605

they are at the bottom.

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This depends on the type of window, but generally the more expensive car the worse window :x

Mind you experiences in the USA have all shown reduced range to some extent when using remote-mount radars, presumably due to the lower height. On photoradar...

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On photoradar.......?

the remote seems to be king. Why? I do not know. Likely related to the low power and angled beam of the photoradar, but at the same time, this should still keep "what's ideal" with both types of units. I can only guess that increased height, which plays a good role in mobile radar, is not condusive to photo radar, despite photo radar boxes, usually, being placed far higher than mobile radar. Perhaps due to angling.

Best is knee height.

We have also someone that makes something we call "Remote+". it is a horn enlarger for your Bel adding about 200 meters extra to the range on photoradar.

http://www.flitsservice.nl/techniek/html/remote.htm

pretty funny how a bigger antenna can increase range that much but it makes sense!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Flitsservice.nl

Best is knee height.

We have also someone that makes something we call "Remote+". it is a horn enlarger for your Bel adding about 200 meters extra to the range on photoradar.

http://www.flitsservice.nl/techniek/html/remote.htm

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Would this attachment work for the windshield mount detectors (assuming you could attach it) like RX65 and X50?

They would work but I think you really don't want to put this accessory on your windshield. :lol:

You would get something liek this:

http://www.flitsservice.nl/techniek/...3-2001_002.jpg

This though my Bel 915 antenna and not a windscreen based detector.

Quote:

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Flitsservice.nl
Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2005 1:16 pm Post subject:
The best on Gatso and Multanova radar, for what I have seen is still a Bell 975, or a Target (Bel) 966evo. I get at least 500 meters on a Gatso and maximum of 300 to 400 meters on Multanova.

The thing with window mounted detectors is that the windscreen blocks a lot of signal, especially if it is car with sun reflective windows. That drastically reduces the range. Just try it once to hold your window detector out of the side window. It will increase sometimes with 200 meters! There is also a difference in the detector vertical mounted or horizontal. For the Bel 975, bel recommends horizontal, we recommend vertical.

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Would mounting my Bel Vector 995 detector vertical help with range on Multanova too? and does it compromise the K-Band reception much?

Thanks,

Ford_Power

Yes and no. Try it out I would say.