Hey guys, I was wondering your opinions on the best radar detectors that a college student can afford. I'm looking to keep it below 200. let me know please.

 

Find a used Passport 8500 or Valentine 1 if that's your budget.

I cannot, in good conscience, recommend anything other than those two.

It's my personal opinion that the Whistlers & Cobra units out there are nothing more than flashy noisemakers. Sure they'll pick up the radar gun that's a hundred yards out, but it's long range detection that you really want, but won't get with a cheaper detector.

 

http://www.guysoflidar.com/aug....html

V1 is your best bet, but if its used, you might get screwed and get one that needs to be retuned...

a new V1 is worth the money... 400 is just twice your budget... you can save up

---------------

other than that, the Whistler Pro 78 is your best budget detector with pop...

for more range, the Bel V955... other than that those are your two choices...

cobras leak Ka all the time, and false alot... they are so annoying... cause i can detect cobra users with my v1


Modified by bpr0422 at 3:00 PM 3/28/2008

 

I have had great sucess with my $150 Cobra 797. It picks up 12 bands and has a compass and voltage meter. I love it for the price. It has saved me from the law more than a dozen times. I got mine at Wally Mart. http://www.walmart.com/catalog...ption

 

Find yourself a pre-owned new or used Passport 8500 X50 for around 200$'s on a trading website like ebay. That is by FAR you best bet on your budget. Sorry but I would not recommend the Cobra 797 at all.

 

absolutely do NOT waste your money on a valentine or passport, expensive POS, my cobra 12 band picks cops up from over 3/4 mile away, $125, all these people doggin on cobras, its BS one of the best

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 92ludef22 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">absolutely do NOT waste your money on a valentine or passport, expensive POS, my cobra 12 band picks cops up from over 3/4 mile away, $125, all these people doggin on cobras, its BS one of the best</TD></TR></TABLE>

Rrrriiiiggghhhhtttt.... Cobra is FAR from the best... It's better than Whistler, but that's about it.... You've probably never owned anything but the cheap detectors, so you have nothing to base your "expert opinion" on.

http://www.radarbusters.com/br...e.cfm

Looks like your Cobra comes in at an average of a mile less than the "real" detectors. So with your "3/4 of a mile" example, it would appear that you'd get at least another quarter of a mile to react. At highway speed, that's what, ten to fifteen seconds? That's a HUGE difference...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 92ludef22 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">absolutely do NOT waste your money on a valentine or passport, expensive POS, my cobra 12 band picks cops up from over 3/4 mile away, $125, all these people doggin on cobras, its BS one of the best</TD></TR></TABLE>

You really have no clue as to what you are talking about. Try doing a little research...

 

I had a cobra 12 band detector for almost a year & it does not come close to what the passport can detect. the x50 is my current radar

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by carloselpavo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I had a cobra 12 band detector for almost a year & it does not come close to what the passport can detect. the x50 is my current radar
</TD></TR></TABLE><TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 92ludef22 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">absolutely do NOT waste your money on a valentine or passport, expensive POS, my cobra 12 band picks cops up from over 3/4 mile away, $125, all these people doggin on cobras, its BS one of the best</TD></TR></TABLE><TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jinxwad &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have had great sucess with my $150 Cobra 797. It picks up 12 bands and has a compass and voltage meter. I love it for the price. It has saved me from the law more than a dozen times. I got mine at Wally Mart. http://www.walmart.com/catalog...ption</TD></TR></TABLE>

great april fools jokes ^^;

Before you buy a detector, read: http://www.guysoflidar.com
/thread

 

i just got the Cobra ESD-6700, 6 Band. Havn't really gotten to see it in action. I drove by "hot spots" that i would usually see cops at but it didnt go off....i'll let you know tomorrow when i go to school n see if it works (DVC = a lot of cops). I didn't buy this.............so i dont care if it doesnt work xP cuz im not the one who wasted my money on it if it doesnt work.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by FobFobFob &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i just got the Cobra ESD-6700, 6 Band. Havn't really gotten to see it in action. I drove by "hot spots" that i would usually see cops at but it didnt go off....i'll let you know tomorrow when i go to school n see if it works (DVC = a lot of cops). I didn't buy this.............so i dont care if it doesnt work xP cuz im not the one who wasted my money on it if it doesnt work.</TD></TR></TABLE>

return it, and get your money back...

it isn't worth any kind of money...

don't you people know how to read graphs??

cobras, have no range, falses a lot, and leaks ka... it leaks so much ka that it most likely detects its own ka &gt;_&gt;

also who would buy from a company that advertises more bands than the number used by the police?

Radar for police use is X-Band, K-Band, Ka-Band, in Europe there is the Ku band..

Ka has an Instant-on mode or POP

and Laser isn't a band...

So thats 3 bands + pop + laser... thats it no b.s.
if you are in Europe, its 4 bands + pop + laser

Ka is limited only to Police use, so if you detect Ka, its a leo.

Depending on your state/city/county... cops may use a mix of all those bands.
In ny, state troopers use laser and ka, suffolk uses ka...etc...

K and X band are also used in motion detectors at stores for the doors.

K is also used on the new fancy cars... with blindspot detection and adaptive cruise control

Laser is also used on some luxury cars for lane detection...

I hate luxury cars &gt;___&lt; cause the v1 detects all of them.
I also hate cobra users, cause the v1 detects them too...

 

My research is everytime I turn my key, it really isn't something to freak out about, you people act like the world will come to an end if you dont make YOUR point stick, really people??

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 92ludef22 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">My research is everytime I turn my key, it really isn't something to freak out about, you people act like the world will come to an end if you dont make YOUR point stick, really people??</TD></TR></TABLE>

No, the world will not come to an end.

You've been here less than a week. You'll come to realize that there's a wealth of misinformation on this site, spread by people like you who think they know everything.

At 17, you have much to learn. There are people in this section who have been installing since before you were even a twinkle in your father's eye. We know a little bit about the subjects we discuss. We're not "making a point stick". We're dispelling the verbal diarrhea misinformation that you came in here spouting off.

 

Age, or time I have been here doesn't mean my information doesn't count, he said he wanted one for cheap that worked well, I only stated that this is the best one I have found for the money

 

Actually you called THE best, and one of the best radar detectors on the market POS.

Post your experiences, thats what we want to hear. Not your speculations...


Modified by White Smoke at 6:19 PM 4/2/2008

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 92ludef22 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Age, or time I have been here doesn't mean my information doesn't count, he said he wanted one for cheap that worked well, I only stated that this is the best one I have found for the money</TD></TR></TABLE>

LOL... You never said that. Had you said that, it wouldn't have been an issue. Had you stated that it was the best out of the "lower end" detectors, we wouldn't have said anything. Instead, you came in acting like you knew everything, and that your word was gospel.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 92ludef22 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">absolutely do NOT waste your money on a valentine or passport, expensive POS, my cobra 12 band picks cops up from over 3/4 mile away, $125, all these people doggin on cobras, its BS one of the best</TD></TR></TABLE>

Now that we've gotten the ownage out of the way, can we get back on topic?

 

this is directly to bpr0422, i actually didnt buy it. i got from someone. reason why i got it is b/c he was scared if he gets pulled over by a cop and they see it, that the cop will give him a hard time.

it actually worked for me today. i was able to pick it up a good 3-4ish block away. yeah its not 100% the best but i can say it worked well for me and helped a lot especially when the cop was sitting behind the bush lol. as u can see the range was not the best and it doesnt detect 1 mile away, but atleast it gave me a good 3-4 block range. really thats all the range i need enough time to slow down.

 

you really shouldn't be speeding on local roads... ones with driveways, sidewalks, and major intersections, anything where you can define the distance traveled in "blocks" you really shouldn't be speeding...

too many variables... like pedestrians, parked cars, people pulling out of parking spot, people pulling in/out of a drive way... etc...


also based on your description, you are basically saying the cobra's detection range is useless on the highway, but thats where you are going to be needing it the most.

the more range it has, the more buffer time you have to slow down...

this is especially true for higher speeds, the faster you go, the more distance you need to slow down... basic physics...

===============================
to bring it back on topic...

if you read this: http://www.guysoflidar.com/aug....html

you will see that the cobra unit, places towards the bottom in all of the "round the curve" testing, this is really bad, since cops like to setup traps around curves and hills...

also the cobra unit is very bad at detecting K band radar, in rural areas K and X band are still used, cause the police force doesn't have a budget for newer Ka guns or laser guns... but it all depends on the area.. information on what your local leo's use could be found on http://www.radardetector.net

also look at the "forward facing" test..
the cobra doesn't even detect Ka one time, and has poor results for the rest.
the "forward facing" test is typically how cops setup traps on straight roads or highways...

also the cobra unit only detects 2/3 POP while the whistler Pro-78 detected 3/3 just like the more expensive ones...

The op wanted the best he could get for under 200,
I gave him the best based on that report... the Bel V955 or the Whistler Pro-78
The Bel has more range, but the Whistler has much better pop detection.

if you are hit with pop or laser, you probably won't get away with it...

however, the point of detectors, is to detect the radar or laser being shot at other cars...
so if your detector can sense someone else being shot far ahead of you, you have a good amount of time and distance to slow down...

a well trained leo, will not sit there and constantly fire his radar gun at oncoming traffic, they aim, and shoot their targets...

also, on major highways, the sensitivity of the units goes down, depending on what is around you, trucks, suvs, etc...
so if you already have a unit that isn't sensitive.. it just became even less sensitive..

there are other measures also, such as a laser jammer - which is the only effective defense against LIDAR, but they cost a lot more, which is legal in most states... i know in CA its illegal...

and CB radios, listening in on truckers or talking to them - never done it don't own a cb radio, don't drive out of the city area much - they will appreciate it if you have a good detector - since, i think, in all states its illegal for trucks to have detectors - and tell them where the leos(bears) are hiding, i've read that they also tell other ppl where they've seen leos... or you can also listen in for that good citizen who called your car in...

i believe in the Guys of Lidar tests, because they seem to be the most comprehensive, well done, and no bias... just giving you straight data, and no interpretation of it.

basically letting the data talk for itself. tho they only run the detectors a max of 3 times...it really isn't enough data to find out what the lower end detectors can really do...

but then again, the tests are only done to show the ratio of sensitivity, measured in feet, between the different detectors...


Modified by bpr0422 at 9:07 PM 4/2/2008


Modified by bpr0422 at 9:14 PM 4/2/2008