Replacement radar detector? Which one today?

S

Sid Post

Joined
Oct 14, 1998
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I have been a long time Escort/Passport owner. After 6~8 years, my current Passport 8500 is in need of service after bouncing down the rough roads and taking the Sun's abuse for much longer then I expected (several GPS units have died much sooner under similar harsh conditions).

I'm trying to decide on my next purchase and I'm looking for comments for and against the PASSPORT 9500ix and RedLine or, possibly a similar model from a competing brand. How good is the speed/red light camera database for the PASSPORT 9500ix? How much better does the RedLine work in West Texas and other "wide open" spaces? Does one false alarm more then the other?

TIA,
Sid
 
I have the 9500ci. I like it because it is professionally installed and you can't tell that it's there.

I don't speed, but I like to know about them before they see me and the 9500ci usually delivers on that.
 
Gollnick said:
I don't speed, but I like to know about them before they see me and the 9500ci usually delivers on that.
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I'm not a chronic speeder or red light runner but, I do get irritated going through small rural towns with "revenue collectors". Police shouldn't be "road tax" collectors IMHO. It is fairly obvious when rural local police are singling out "out of towner's" for burned out tag lights, missing poorly posted speed limited signs in a rural area (two miles of farm fields and pastures in a flat straight stretch with a 25MPH speed limit posted behind a light pole, bill board, tree limbs, etc.). I have great respect for all civil servants serving society at large but, I have run into more then a few bad apples in rural America. I really don't find a radar detector to be very useful to me on the Interstate but, two lane roads in rural America are a different matter with out of town speed traps as a source of revenue.

If you are driving above safe road conditions, you should be ticketed IMHO. However, I do want to be warned when I'm approaching a revenue oriented speed trap. The classic for me is one stretch of road that goes from 45 to 30 to 40 to 25 in about a half mile with no entry or exits to the road and no visual obstructions from changes of grade (hills, valleys). Was I "tagged" doing 35MPH in the 25 or 30MPH zones or the 40 and 45MPH zones (the road surface was eventually altered for photographic evidence for the courts)?
 
Sid Post said:
...The classic for me is one stretch of road that goes from 45 to 30 to 40 to 25 in about a half mile with no entry or exits to the road and no visual obstructions from changes of grade (hills, valleys)...
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oh yes, plenty of these sections when driving on 395 through the small towns in the eastern sierras...my valentine one has saved me lots of $$$ warning me of officer bob waiting off a side street...and it also has provided me with entertainment when someone blasts by me and i've got an alert blaring...2 mins later we drive by and see he's nailed by small town officer bob...
 
hell i still use a 10yr old Whistler. saved my ass many many many times. on flat ground she picks up over a mile away. still like any other detector its not worth a damn if they pop you with the gun when you get close. esp if its laser. all the detector will do for you then is just let you know you just got a ticket.
 
There not cheap, but I have had a Valentine 1 five years. I also have the secondary small remote display. Its all tucked away nicely with the display visible in my direct line of sight. Wouldn't trade it for anything.
 
I have the Valentine in my wife's DD and it works great. I have an 8500 in my car but I like the Valentine better. Both are really good and my choice is only personal preference, not based on performance.
 
I'm running a Valentine One on the visor and a Sti-R in the grill. Arrows and frequency are the best combo. No Lidar in town so no need for jammers yet.

Edit: The V1 will false more due to sensitivity. It will scream out of a Ka signal if a Cobra RD is in the vicinity. Easiest way to end that annoyance is to carry a radar gun yourself and ping the Cobra owner. Watch for brake lights and enjoy the chuckle.
 
Just in case you are not aware of it, some departments don't use radar but use lasers instead, and lasers are much harder to detect early to prevent you from getting a ticket. So depending on the department a radar detector might not be worth it.

With laser detectors they get a reading within 1/3 of a second so it can get you before you react. It also only emits a laser when the person has already targeted you and has pressed the button to get a reading.
 
eyeeatingfish said:
Just in case you are not aware of it, some departments don't use radar but use lasers instead, and lasers are much harder to detect early to prevent you from getting a ticket. So depending on the department a radar detector might not be worth it.

With laser detectors they get a reading within 1/3 of a second so it can get you before you react. It also only emits a laser when the person has already targeted you and has pressed the button to get a reading.
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yep i was tagged by one a few years ago. the radar detector did its job however it was so fast it just let me know i am about to get pulled. the cop was on an overpass and as i looked up, he looked down and waved. i was pulled over 1/2 mile up the road.:D..
 
Do you have an I phone or android?
I picked up a cobra I radar to accompany my android phone.... Does a great job...I travel All over the south east US..... Works with your gps in your phone.... You can set up speed limit warnings.... Mark areas that are prone to radar traps.... And it also shows where other users have marked thru a nationwide network..... Covers x k ka laser vg2 and utilizes the traffic alert system.... Very cool deal
 
TriviaMonster said:
There not cheap, but I have had a Valentine 1 five years. I also have the secondary small remote display. Its all tucked away nicely with the display visible in my direct line of sight. Wouldn't trade it for anything.
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me too.

I like the arrows
 
I've had a Valentine One for over 10 years now. Still works great. It has saved me so many times. I like that you can send it in at any time to get the internals upgraded. I think it's like a $95 fee? You can go on their website, enter your serial number, and they tell you what has changed since your detector was made. I've never had mine upgraded, and the only thing that has changed is the addition of the ability to be able to detect POP, which isn't that big of a deal for me. I'll hold off for a few more years to send mine in for an upgrade until maybe something else gets added to the new ones. But you keep the same case, they just change out the circuitry inside. I like that! I'd buy it all over again if I had to.
 
I have 3 V1's for many years, just sent them all back last Spring for a free check up.
They tweaked them a bit and I had them back in less than a week, the arrows make all the difference in the world.
 
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