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Hey everyone. I'm looking for a good low budget RD. Some 5 minute googling brought me to the conclusion that Whistler makes good radar detectors at decent prices.
My driving is mostly urban areas. Some rural.
Looking to spend no more than $50.
Any suggestions??
Any input would also be appreciated. If you think I should up my budget for a certain model, let me know!
add 100 bucks more and go for the newest 78,690 se. they will be the best budget rd's ever.
look online u will get them for around 160 bucks.
yeah you need too add aleast $100 to get a decent detector...just dont waste it on Cobra.
You can bearly get a Cobra for $50. I'd recommend the refurbished Escort 8500. Knocks the socks of off any Whistler you can buy. (sorry whistler fans) The new XTR 695 would be a pretty good choice though. Type in escort 8500 on ebay and the featured item at the top sold by "escortradar" is the one. They come with a full warranty and from an authorized Escort dealer.
Actually, see if you can find a Whistler Pro78 revision C for cheap. You might be able to since this model is being replaced with the Pro78 SE model. I really love my Pro78 for driving in suburban areas since its performance is quite good, yet it falses considerably less compared to other radar detectors in its price range.
Well as Fire65 always says, save a little longer and buy a little better. Truly if you can't afford more than 50 you can't afford to speed. 150 is the bare minimum.
^^ Hmm...actually, fire65 hits the nail on the head.
Gotcha Gotcha. My friends got an escort 8500 and i actually was looking at those on ebay last week. i thought you could get a decent detector for cheaper though. sounds good. ill go back to the 8500.
I would get a 78 Rev C ..which i own and have many videos of my encounters on youtube. I am updating to a 78 SE very soon :D
The lowest priced detector I would consider purchasing is the Whistler Pro68 around a 100 bucks. The performance is slightly less than the Pro78 and XTR695 on K, KA band, slightly more on X band.
Another user that goes by Sarge has one and has had very good results with it. I my son a Pro 68 as a Christmas gift and it gives him plenty of warning. I ran it for a week to make sure it worked properly and compared it to my Pro 78 and it alerted to K band within a second of Pro78 consistently. The 68 is usually 2 to 3 seconds behind the 78 on Ka band.
If this is your first detector save some extra money and consider the new XTR690se or PRO78se. The Ka band performance is suppose to be equal top of the line Bel and Escort.
Whistler1:D
Ok thanks for the info.
Heres what I got it narrowed down too:
-Escort 8500 (ebay refurb)
-Whistler Pro 78 "Rev C"
- Whistler Pro 68
-Whistler XTR-690 SE
-Whistler Pro 78 SE
So from what you are telling me the Pro 68 is only a few seconds behind the
Pro78RevC. And the XTR-690 SE and Pro 78 SE are comparable to the Escort 8500.
What is the best best detector on my list?
I like the looks of the Whistlers more than the Escort. I'm not really liking the blue display on the 78SE tho. I really want a Red display to match the rest of my interior lights.
How much better is the XTR-690SE than the Pro78RevC? The price difference between the two is only like $20.
^^ If you are young and have good eyesight (as in being easily able to focus on objects which are only 1 foot or a bit closer to your eyes), then you will have no problem reading the 690 SE's red display at night. I would definitely pick it over the 8500 refurb on eBay since Whistler high end models are really good at picking up very quick instant-on radar bursts. The Pro78 is just as good at this, but it has trouble with forward facing radar guns. The newer SE models, from the video which I have seen, appear to offer a noticeable improvement in this regard.
Well, thats my two cents. :)
I would second Memtek's recommendation. Spending the extra dollars for an upgraded SE model would be the best. For the price of the refurbished Escort 8500 you can get the XTR690se. Check out the Veil guys review of the new SE models. The XTR690se is a very impressive unit.
Whistler1 :D
Thanks. Just read that article. I can't believe hes comparing the SE models to high end units like the V1 and such. Crazy stuff going on here guys!
OK the 690SE it is. Thanks everyone for your help and expertise! Hopefully this thread helps some other make a decision as well. Thanks again.
I believe the reference to the V1 was in regards to the ramp up/down texture
"their quickness also does a good job at conveying the texture to approaching instant-on police radar traps, something that generally gets lost in translation from other radar detectors' trailing alerts, which continue alarming for a finite period of time after the radar signal is no-longer present (trigger-released). These Whistlers behave more like the Valentine One in this regard, which is something that I personally much prefer."
$50 simply isn't realistic for a good radar detector, save your money and go for a Pro-78. They're about $100-150 depending on where you look.
Hi Michael,Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael B
I take it that the ramp-up profiles on the new SE models is very similar if not identical to the ramp-up profile on the Pro78? I hope so since this is one Pro78 feature which I really like.
All the new Whistler models since 2007 have pretty quick ramp up times.
Whistler1:D