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    Default Radar Detectors - 2015 Opinions

    So looking over threads it seems like that last reasonable discussion on the topic was in 2010 .

    So i have been thinking of investing in a radar detector lately, never received a speeding ticket and would like to keep it that way. I don't do stupid things on roads but i would like the peace of mind of being able to travel a bit quicker than posted on highways and not get screwed by a hidden trap in the city or anything. Seems to me like at least having a detector is a good insurance policy.

    Most online review collections i have found seem a touch biased ( i.e. some reviews don't even include the top models from other reviews ) so i figured Beyond was a good place to ask about what people are buying and using.

    Sounds like there are still a ton of people who love the V1's, even though it looks straight out of the 90's. Others swear by the many passport devices ( which i can't tell the difference between for the life of me)

    Anyhow, beyond recommend a radar detector!

    Originally posted by Thales of Miletus

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    Here's my 2 cents. I've had a 9500ix for a couple years which is the passport model. Super quiet and was very useful early on when I purchased it but a lot of police vehicles are starting to use lidar when on routine traffic patrol. My passport doesn't pick this up. I'm not sure if there are any radar detectors that can as its a very small narrow band from what I've read.

    Perhaps others can chime in on models that pick up lidar. With the shift to this it's making radar detectors pretty useless. My passport won't even pick up the photo radar trucks anymore unless they are one of the older ones that didn't upgrade to lidar.

    I also got a ticket on the highway a couple weeks back. The cop when he comes to my window comments on my radar detector to put me in my place. "Oh is that a radar detector your using? Bahah he says... Guess you shouldn't have relied on that today eh? This was a small town under cover vehicle as well... Just something to keep in mind.

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    Lidar is just laser isn't it? Which to the best of my knowledge any modern detector can pick up.

    The issue with laser is by the time you detect it the cop has already clocked you in 90% of cases.

    But then again I have never owned one so
    Originally posted by Thales of Miletus

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    I'm not an expert when it comes to this but lidar is one of the waves they can clock you speeding on. It's a narrow band that's harder for radar detectors to pick up as it focuses on a smaller area. Used to be the x bands or k bands police would mostly use.

    By the time you get lazered it is too late but when a roving patrol vehicle has a lidar speed detector you're also screwed. I can drive beside a photo radar truck using lidar and my passport won't pick it up. I was just reading that in Canada police use a dragoneye speed lidar laser guns. It's not all vehicles that have this yet but the majority of police patrol vehicles don't give me alerts anymore.

    The good example was my recent ticket when driving back into the city... The cop came around a corner and snagged me without may radar detector ever going off. If he wasn't using lidar I would have detected him from a mile away on a highway.
    Last edited by gwill; 09-13-2015 at 03:33 PM.

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    So does no one use them any more then as they are useless?
    Originally posted by Thales of Miletus

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    I would say that in the city, esp. Calgary, that their purpose is limited now. If you drive on the highways, then I would recommend one as the RCMP are old school.

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    Laser is only used while stationary. You will still pick up cruisers on the highway with radar but you're pretty well screwed. Get a jammer if you want want to speed.

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    Originally posted by killramos
    So does no one use them any more then as they are useless?
    Best way to answer this is for someone to confirm what the CPS uses to clock vehicles and what the surrounding communities are still using.... Different communities or cities have migrated from standard radar at different rates.

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    I only use it on road trips. Saved me a bunch of times in B.C. and once recently in Canmore.
    You still need to watch the road as RCMP use the head on, moving technique where they zap you as they get close travelling in the opposite direction, giving you no warning.

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    Keep in mind CPS traffic unmarked use Ka moving in the city as well. Narrow K band now for Photo radar, of course lots of LIDAR.

    I still rock a v1. Have for 14 years(different versions)

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    I rock a Escort Passport 9500xi in both my cars, same as what gwill uses. And like he says, it's pretty much useless now cept for it does tell me where the speed cams and stuff are.

    When I first started using radar detectors a while back, my bel whatever, or escort 8500i and the current 9500xi used to pick up everything. Photo radars a mile away, rcmp's driving with radar guns on and laser if I was behind some . But now....doesn't pick up anything basically. I don't know if it's really saved me nowadays from any radar traps to be honest. I can spot the ford explorer or f-150 photo radars if they aren't hiding, but my 9500xi rarely ever goes off now.

    I guess maybe from a psychological aspect knowing I have a radar detector in my car it makes me feel...better haha.
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    There's an app called camsam that you can use for cameras if you're driving in an unfamiliar place. Otherwise you're pretty much boned nowadays. I won't even bother on the highway since they can be aircraft patrolled (at least on the qe2, where I spend most of my time). Detection isn't enough with laser. You need a jammer - a good one, and those are not cheap.
    Last edited by zieg; 09-13-2015 at 08:07 PM.
    dv/dt

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    ^ with an exotic you really need all 3

    - gps warning for common areas for police and photo radar, intersection camera locations
    - lidar jammer
    - radar detector for highways


    I say exotic because most drivers wont drop 1500-2000$ for this setup unless they drive something serious and where getting pulled over could mean your license.

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    Yea I drive a 2 series. Not a vanquish.

    Not that I would let some teenager hard wire in a laser system into an exotic.

    So really no one on here that runs a detector finds it valuable?

    Interesting, well I have been avoiding buying one for years as I think they are irritating and ugly (in other people cars I have driven or been in) . Sounds like one of the better decisions I have made.
    Originally posted by Thales of Miletus

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    Originally posted by revelations
    where getting pulled over could mean your license.
    Also a good argument for not doing insane speeds in the first place.
    dv/dt

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    I would disagree will the above. Own a 9500Xi and find it very useful.
    It has most certainly saved me from a few tickets and the GPS feature is great when you forget about that speed camera or in an unfamiliar neighborhood.

    I have also never seen a moving vehicle using lidar. Maybe im mistaken but i thought laser had to be aimed manually limiting it from being bumper mounted on a vehicle. Always had a Ka reading with RCMP patrol cars.

    With that being said you are screwed for laser traps since they have your speed in 2 readings.

    My recommendation. If you have some extra change and would like to frequently speed then go it.
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    9500xi is called the Passport 2 correct?

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    I bought a (used) 9500ix earlier this year and used it for about a month before re-selling it back on kijiji and got my money back for what I paid for it haha...

    It's cool how it warns you of speed-cameras. I could see that feature useful for people who drive all over the city on different routes each day. For myself, I drive the same roads all the time and already knew where they all were.. it got a little annoying.

    It never picked up the photo-radar vans, driving cruisers (I know this can't be expected though), and I went through a few police radar setups and I really assumed it went off by the time I was already clocked in by laser....

    The one and only time it warned me was when driving in Banff, just passing the gates.. it began to go off. I was doing the 90km/h limit, but as I came around the turn/bend there were 3 RCMP patrols sitting in the middle of the grassy area with speed-trap setup.. It felt real cool, but that was the one and only time hahaha..

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    Originally posted by BensonTT
    9500xi is called the Passport 2 correct?
    idk what a Passport 2 is.

    9500xi is the older model that has now been replaced with the MAX/MAX2 (Bluetooth is the only difference).

    I suggest the Max simply because the interface is miles better and the alert system is less annoying without comprise.

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    Originally posted by ZiG-87


    Also a good argument for not doing insane speeds in the first place.
    I can tell you that in BC with their 50 over laws, and with an exotic, it starts to make sense - not that I advocate constant driving idiocy.

    Either way, continued douche-baggery will net you tickets through visual estimation. If you flew through a Lidar trap with a dazzler/disruptor, the cops can still cite you with a ticket based on eye sight.

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