I have a $150 gift certificate to Circuit City and wanting to know if anyone knew which one is the best for $150 and below.....

5/10/2006 12:03:24 PM

save up for a top of the line one

5/10/2006 12:04:16 PM

he's right.

waste of money if you buy one of the el cheapos.


save up and get an escort x50

5/10/2006 12:30:48 PM

^ and ^^

5/10/2006 12:40:21 PM

Quote :

"save up and get an escort x50 Valentine 1"

5/10/2006 12:44:57 PM

Quote :

""save up and get an escort x50 Valentine 1 escort x50""

5/10/2006 12:48:51 PM

Quote :

""save up and get an escort x50 Valentine 1 escort x50 Valentine 1""

5/10/2006 1:13:53 PM

im sure you get the point...

5/10/2006 1:17:33 PM

honestly, Ive used a valentine one, and an el cheapo from wal mart. The El cheapo has saved me from a few tickets, however I got a ticket with the valentine one. There really is not that big of a difference.

5/10/2006 2:21:56 PM

^That's a terrible justification. I'd bet your el cheapo had horrible KA band detection, if any at all.

There's a huge difference between x50/valentine1 and the cheapos, it's just a question of whether or not the difference in performance is worth the difference in price. Any informed source will say the same.

[Edited on May 10, 2006 at 3:04 PM. Reason : caps]

5/10/2006 3:04:33 PM

Speed thrills but kills

5/10/2006 3:05:14 PM

I have an el cheapo one from circuit city (COBRA).

It has NEVER EVER EVER EVER NEVER EVER detected anything but overpasses and sliding doors. But, atleast it looks cool and people ask me, "Ohhh, is that a radar detector?"

5/10/2006 3:34:22 PM

i got a ticket w/ a V1. its a radar detector, not an invincibility cloak.

i was going around a blind curve and bike cop came around. we saw each other. ah! he flipped on teh radar and got me.

but it has saved me i bet literally a hundred times by now. like blatent. hrmmm somethings up, slow down. go around corner/over hill and ah ha! caught ya sucker

5/11/2006 11:24:50 AM

i've heard you gotta get the expensive one too

some chick in hs said her parents had one that was like 2000 dollars

5/11/2006 11:27:59 AM

if you can't find an x50, the older 8500 is nearly identical. I have one, it works great.

5/11/2006 11:40:39 AM

The other benifit to the V1 is that once it becomes out dated, you can send it back to the factory to get it upgraded for a nominal fee...you don't have to buy another $425 when they come out with something new....just a 500-100 upgrade fee...

5/11/2006 11:46:07 AM

i think he meant a 50 - 100 upgrade fee, but yeah

i got a beltronics one from Circuit City, and i love it, its works really well and the range is really good, i think i got it for around 215, but if i had to go back and do it again, i probably woulda saved up some more and got the x50 or v1

oh, and at circuit city, they charge you 30% restocking fee on radar detectors, so make sure you know which one you want for sure before you buy anything

5/11/2006 1:41:15 PM

Quote :

"some chick in hs said her parents had one that was like 2000 dollars"

those are the deals with the hidden laser detectors around your tags and shit. completely not worth it


http://www.radartest.com

5/11/2006 1:59:39 PM

^ depends where you live
but lidar is not used in NC afaik
so worthless around here

5/11/2006 2:38:35 PM

^good point...ive seen laser on mine once, up in boone, state troopers beside me at a light going crazy with that shit

5/11/2006 3:01:35 PM

Quote :

"save up and get an escort x50 Valentine 1 spend your money on something that works."

Worthless in my opinion. Won't work on any sort of instant on lidar/radar. CB >>> Any Radar Detector.

5/11/2006 5:51:03 PM

Faith in your new detector misplaced may be

5/12/2006 1:09:24 AM

^did you ever read the story that came out about a month ago where a guy says he saved like some large sum of money cause he had one of those things emt vehicles get to change the stop lights?

it was pretty interesting i'll look for the link

5/12/2006 1:28:23 AM

my $50 Radio Shack (cobra) is great, its works very well....still get tickets but the instant on kills everyone. I've seen so many mounted wrong no wonder they arent working. They have to be mounted parallel to the road, no freaking tilted toward the sky...god that pissses me off when ppl do that shit

5/12/2006 1:30:03 AM

^ i love it

they get the ticket instead of me

5/12/2006 2:04:42 AM

haha, yeah, ive seen a few pointed WAY up. must be watchin for airplanes or somen, fuckin dumbasses

5/12/2006 2:33:48 AM

I've tried/seen a few detectors of my own. The only advice I can give you is do spend the money if you want good protection. "Is it worth it" is a personal question, but in my opinion either get a descent detector, or don't waste your money. I'm partial to my V1, it's saved me from countless tickets, but you do have to have a bit of sense. Mounting a radar detector properly is only going to help, but you'd be suprised at (how little) difference there can be from incorrectly mounting them.

PS: The quality of the detector is more important with instant on, as with a better detector, your chanses of picking up a signal when they're clocking a car that's several hundred feet ahead of the car you're in, is higher.
Ahmet

5/12/2006 2:48:07 AM

^ yep. and a lot of it is learning the difference between a false alarm and a real threat. seems wierd, but if you own one long enough, you can start to tell how it reacts to real threats


Ka and my ass slows down regardless

5/12/2006 3:14:20 AM

Aye, I've got a V1. Thing is the bestest ever. And the arrows are VERY helpful in identifying/locating law officers. It has saved me each and every time I have needed it to. Good detection range. I've picked up cops miles out, as far as 4 miles at times. Worth the money.

5/12/2006 7:11:59 PM

Quote :

"The other benifit to the V1 is that once it becomes out dated, you can send it back to the factory to get it upgraded for a nominal fee...you don't have to buy another $425 when they come out with something new....just a 500-100 upgrade fee... "

the escort X50 is also upgradeable.

5/15/2006 9:49:43 AM

well with the Ka instant on, everytime the cop said he didnt use it on everyone, just the ones he knew we flying...like me, so if they only use it on you your fucked regarless

5/15/2006 12:00:46 PM

just put that $150 in an account labeled "speeding ticket fund"

5/15/2006 12:28:19 PM

^^its pretty obvious that if you're the only guy on the road speeding then you're in danger and nothing will save you. Thats why you have to either be really smart, or don't speed when no one's around and there are places for cops to hide.

Quote :

"Worthless in my opinion. Won't work on any sort of instant on lidar/radar. CB >>> Any Radar Detector."

WTF? Yeah, well for most of us its more fun to listen to music while driving than a CB.

5/15/2006 1:10:13 PM