Newbie has questions regarding latest radar detectors

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Originally Posted by Event Horizon

yea I see. My point is that 1500$ is not enough to justify picking up an IO shot that is missed by a windshield mount. Rare, rare rare. I seldomly encounter true IO. And if they are doing IO, then they are rampant about it and a windshield mount will detect it.

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Perhaps where you are this is very rare, but not around here - i/o and laser is the norm. If there is CO it is usually an accident or a trooper with a customer. I have had several encounters where the STi-R was the only detector to alert to these i/o. Also do not forget about forward facing and moving i/o.

Common tactic is moving i/o and even if they wait a full minute before hitting the remote between i/o bursts the combined intercept speeds and distance at 70 mph would make most windshield detectors miss the first i/o alert at 2 miles or so. Throw in a curve and the windshield mounts are all pretty much useless in this situation.

Here in NY the troopers are taught to sit there for lengths of time of up to 5 minutes before they hit the remote for the i/o and moving i/o is really deadly. They want to specifically catch people with detectors and this is certainly one way to catch them and the Troopers are quite good at it, as some members here can attect to.

This is the main reason I have the Sti-R. It is not rare here and when I only have 34.7 enabled I get alerts that I did not think were even possible to detect. With that said, most people would not find it worth $1,000 for the STi-R, but I certainly do. Ever hear of the driver assessment in NY? 6 points (2 tickets) and you pay $700 or even a bit more. Each Ticket is $150-$200 plus the $700 driver assessment. I would rather give my money to Bel/Escort.

You level of protection should match your threats (as many members have beaten to Death several times). If you do not face much I/O then the V1 or even a Whistler is going to save you and these remote mounts would be overkill.

acknowledged my friend. I don't know about NY sounds nasty but here in West Florida the primary threat is Laser an CO radar. IO is sparse.

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Originally Posted by Event Horizon

yea I see. My point is that 1500$ is not enough to justify picking up an IO shot that is missed by a windshield mount. Rare, rare rare. I seldomly encounter true IO. And if they are doing IO, then they are rampant about it and a windshield mount will detect it. Furthermore, having rabbits or traffic of anykind upfront for that matter decreases the chances of IO ticket. If you want to speed at night in the wee hours with no traffic in sight, no detector will save you.

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I've seen it once and that is enough to justify the $1600. Would have cost me more than that over 3 years (time it's on your record) for 87 in a 70 between fines and insurance increases.

Everyone has decide what the threats are, what risks they are willing to take, and how much they are willing to spend to minimize those risks.

Thanks everybody for the input... I really appreciate the suggestions. I think I will end up going with the Passport 9500ci. I can pick one of these up on Ebay (~$1200 - brand new and never registered with Passport) and then have it installed for around $400 after calling a couple of places in Atlanta.

Unless anybody thinks otherwise, I plan to purchase this in the next day or so.

Cheers, Owen

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Originally Posted by okorkie

Thanks everybody for the input... I really appreciate the suggestions. I think I will end up going with the Passport 9500ci. I can pick one of these up on Ebay (~$1200 - brand new and never registered with Passport) and then have it installed for around $400 after calling a couple of places in Atlanta.

Unless anybody thinks otherwise, I plan to purchase this in the next day or so.

Cheers, Owen

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Hi Owen,

Considering what you are about to spend on a 9500ci (I have one myself) for God's Sake please buy one from an authorized Escort dealer, or you will NOT have any warranty! Almost all of the eBay sellers are NOT authorized dealers. Same applies for Amazon as well. At the very least, pick up the phone and call a few of the authorized dealers such as Radarbusters or others who have independent web sites and who do not sell on eBay. You might be able to get a really good deal by calling. Just a thought...

:)

I agree with MEM-TEK. Using an unauthorized dealer for these products is a bad idea. Of the three RDs I currently own, all were bought in the last year or so and all three have been sent back to the manufacturer for some reason or another. You're taking a huge risk by buying off of Ebay. If you were talking about $150 RD, that would be one thing, but this bad boy is expensive.

Also, the 9500ci is updateable via internet downloads. I don't even think that you would have access to these downloads without proper registration. I know for a fact that you wouldn't be able to get the RLC database downloads.

After looking at the Specification sheet on the Stalker 2 unit, I was amazed at how low the power output is:


STALKER ® II MDR Moving Radar
GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS
Type: Handheld Moving/Stationary Doppler Radar
Operating
Frequency: 34.7 Ghz (Ka-band)
Stability: ±100 Mhz
Battery Type: Removable/rechargeable sealed battery handle containing a
7.2 Volt Li-Ion battery
Cell Capacity: 2000 mah
Power
Requirements:
Removable Battery Handle: 7.2 VDC nominal
Cigarette Plug Coil Cord Handle: 7.0 to 18.0 VDC.

Power Output: 10 mw mininum
25 mw nominal
50 mw maximum

RFI : An RFI message indicates the presence of an interfering signal.
Operation is inhibited during an RFI indication


This is one of the lowest power output for any radar gun period. This unit makes cheap radar detectors a thing of the past. You need a detector with all the sensitivity and good filtering you can get. Another thing is fast detection time is an absolute must.

Whistler1 :D

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Originally Posted by Whistler1

After looking at the Specification sheet on the Stalker 2 unit, I was amazed at how low the power output is:


STALKER ® II MDR Moving Radar
GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS
Type: Handheld Moving/Stationary Doppler Radar
Operating
Frequency: 34.7 Ghz (Ka-band)
Stability: ±100 Mhz
Battery Type: Removable/rechargeable sealed battery handle containing a
7.2 Volt Li-Ion battery
Cell Capacity: 2000 mah
Power
Requirements:
Removable Battery Handle: 7.2 VDC nominal
Cigarette Plug Coil Cord Handle: 7.0 to 18.0 VDC.

Power Output: 10 mw mininum
25 mw nominal
50 mw maximum

RFI : An RFI message indicates the presence of an interfering signal.
Operation is inhibited during an RFI indication


This is one of the lowest power output for any radar gun period. This unit makes cheap radar detectors a thing of the past. You need a detector with all the sensitivity and good filtering you can get. Another thing is fast detection time is an absolute must.

Whistler1 :D

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Thanks a ton! I knew it was more difficult to detect and that there was something special about it. This proves it. Like I said earlier here, this sucker is much harder to detect than the older ATRs that I don't see anymore. This radar gun is going to cost even those people with pretty good RDs I/O tickets. It's no joke.

What kind of car are you driving and what part of Atlanta do you live in? I am close by and would be willing to help you install it and save you the $400 install fee, you will probably have to redo it anyway.

Get it from an authorized dealer, fleabay is trouble when it comes to electronics in my opinion.

Interesting, I wonder what the difference is between the STALKER II MDR and the STALKER II DSR, other than being hand held. I get great detection range and my local STALKERS, they use DSR's though.