Radar Devices (Fuzz Busters)

[Joey D]

Ok old thread, but I need some more advice from people who own these things.

My Escort 8500 X50 keeps showing a "Service Required" warning, there isn't anything wrong with it according to all the forums I've looked on about the subject. Apparently it's quite common for these thing to do that. But it's getting annoying and I'm probably going to dump it on eBay. I've been wondering if anyone has had a chance to play around with the new 9500 with built in GPS yet? It seems a bit over priced at $499 for the blue display but if it's the best I'll think about it. If not I'll probably go with a Valentine V1, probably used off of of eBay or Craigslist.

Any thoughts?

And no I don't really speed, maybe 80-85 at the most which is common for Michigan but I like to keep myself in check and I find a radar detector is a good way to do that.

 

[buickgnx88]

Even though you talking about the license plate cover is from 2005, don't trust it 100% because on Mythbusters they showed that they don't actually block the plate. Of course, you can't trust them 100% either!

 

[Tornado]

We have Valentine V1s, so I can only comment on how good they are. They are quite nice, but I've noticed they are a bit oversensitive at times, which can throw you if you don't know why they are being so sensitive.

 

[Joey D]

At least that follows with what everyone else has told me about them, which is why I would like a good review on the 9500. Apparently it learns false alarms and quits bringing them up.

 

[bennyrrr]

Joey, its time to man up and buy a V1 Youll love it and it is by far the best detector on the market. I love mine. You read The Driver, even Roy says that anything other than a V1 is a brick. Plus, the V1 looks damn good in our Minis.

 

[Joey D]

Good point, if the man who drove across the country the fastest and competed in what, six Gumballs (?) says it's good then in must be. I mean Roy would be the one to know about these things . I suppose I'll look about on eBay a little more and see if I can't find a version 1.8 one that is a good deal, but otherwise my next paycheck might be going towards a V1 order.

Do you have your's mounted in the centre of the window or near the bottom? Also did you hardwire it in? I'm still debating about whether or not I want to hard wire it. While there is the added benefit of not having wires everywhere and it would free up the cigarette lighter for the Garmin, it would also be a huge sign for thieves to do a smash and grab. I try to keep anything worth stealing out of sight in the MINI's secret glove box.

 

[bennyrrr]

Mine is mounted high on the windshield and plugged into the adapter for now, I plan on having a professional audio visual shop do a hardwired discreet install later on.

 

[McLaren]

We have Valentine V1s, so I can only comment on how good they are. They are quite nice, but I've noticed they are a bit oversensitive at times, which can throw you if you don't know why they are being so sensitive.

+1. I have a V1 in the TL, and it does its job perfectly on the highways. I'll probably end up picking one up for the Si sooner or later as well since the little bugger tends to go faster than it should.

 

[Leonidae]

cheap advice: follow the limits. 💡 if someone starts tailgating you for that, do a brake test. couple minutes here and there doesn't really mean that much, does it? and if you need to be somewhere in time, leave earlier so you don't need tto speed.. sheesh.. is common sense running out of this world? [/RANT]

 

[stumpydino]

cheap advice: follow the limits. 💡 if someone starts tailgating you for that, do a brake test. couple minutes here and there doesn't really mean that much, does it? and if you need to be somewhere in time, leave earlier so you don't need tto speed.. sheesh.. is common sense running out of this world? [/RANT]

i feel like apologizing to practically everyone for doing the speed limit most the time, though i hear the limit only applies to smart people it is amusing what some do, usually setting themselves up for a block behind a truck when they try to undertake lol
iv noticed recently the in thing for the ton-up regulars is to go along on main beams flashing everyone in front in such speed beasts as berlingos and meganes omigord
police and speed limits, what an inconvenience eh

 

[Joey D]

cheap advice: follow the limits. 💡 if someone starts tailgating you for that, do a brake test. couple minutes here and there doesn't really mean that much, does it? and if you need to be somewhere in time, leave earlier so you don't need tto speed.. sheesh.. is common sense running out of this world? [/RANT]

You understand that isn't always possible right? I stick around the limit but sometimes I find my self going much fast on either a wide open road with no one around or in a pack of people. It's times like this I would like to have some device to inform me of an officers presents so I can slow down to about 5-10 over on the highway. It had nothing to do with me being late, I'm more often than not really early for things, I need this for longer trips in which time never really was a factor.

 

[Jim Prower]

I just do the speed limit, unless I'm risking getting rear-ended. I rarely do over five over, and, on the interstate, out of the question, thank you super-short 3rd. I've noticed, though, that a lot of people lately are doing BELOW the speed limit in my town. I'm passing more senior citizens left and right nowadays.

 

[Joey D]

I think it depends on the state you live in, in Michigan you grow up doing 80-90mph on your daily commute. When I was younger the speed limit was 55mph but I can't ever remember anyone doing that, I remember my mom got let go for doing 96 in a 55 back in the early 90's in her '82 Celica with a warning to keep it around 70. It's ingrained into us.

Now when I go to a state like Ohio (god help me on that one) I have to stay at or below the limit or every cop in a five mile radius, plus the airplanes, will be on my ass.

 

[Jim Prower]

Illinois is somewhere between those. The further from Chicago and St. Louis you get, the slower you're expected to drive. Since Peoria is right in the middle, and a fair-sized city, you got some who drive stupidly fast, and some who drive stupidly slow.

I tend to stick to an Interstate speed limit for a slightly different reason...I'm to install a tach in my car to make sure I'm not too close to redline. 55 is about the limit to keep the car's revs in a fairly reasonable range...but the speed limit on our interstates is 65, and when you get out there, you tend to want to do 70...the old folks are gone by then, and you get tractor-trailers to start moving at...uh...concerning speeds.

So, with a super-short high gear, I think I want something to keep myself from overrevving.

 

[Bones Brigade]

i have a cobra. basically, if theres a steady beam of radar straight ahead it will go off. otherwise...


but hey, i got what i paid for. when my bday pops up ill treat myself to something better.

 

[Casio]

I need this for longer trips in which time never really was a factor.

So if time isn't a factor why do you need to go above the posted limit?

How are these things legal in the US anyway?

 

[Joey D]

So if time isn't a factor why do you need to go above the posted limit?

How are these things legal in the US anyway?

Sometimes you just do it without noticing it. Michigan highways are really boring, straight, flat, and either have forest or corn fields on either side. Sometimes you just go faster then you should. I've found myself doing 95mph in the Michigan north and not even think about it since cars were passing me. There is a stretch of I-75 not to far from here that has been dubbed "the gauntlet", I've seen people do at least 130 through there on several occasions, the average speed has to be almost 100.

They aren't legal in every state, but just because you have one doesn't mean you won't get stopped. Sometimes cops don't use radar or laser, so you have a chance of getting caught. It's a gamble.

 

[McLaren]

cheap advice: follow the limits. 💡 if someone starts tailgating you for that, do a brake test. couple minutes here and there doesn't really mean that much, does it? and if you need to be somewhere in time, leave earlier so you don't need tto speed.. sheesh.. is common sense running out of this world? [/RANT]

Sorry, but that doesn't always work b/c there's 2 dirty words that every driver hates to hear.

Speed traps.
You can do the speed limit all you want, but these things are there to mess you up. My V1 has helped me avoid a few on the highways in and out of Oklahoma already.

 

[Rotary Junkie]

cheap advice: follow the limits. 💡 if someone starts tailgating you for that, do a brake test. couple minutes here and there doesn't really mean that much, does it? and if you need to be somewhere in time, leave earlier so you don't need tto speed.. sheesh.. is common sense running out of this world? [/RANT]

Michigan and high rates of speed go hand in hand.

I-75 and I-696 are our daily version of NASCAR. 80-85mph or get run over.

Yeah, and don't think about brake-testing to piss off tailgaters. It works... A little too well. I know at least one person who'd go ahead and drive through you.

 

[Keef]

Ok old thread, but I need some more advice from people who own these things.

My Escort 8500 X50 keeps showing a "Service Required" warning, there isn't anything wrong with it according to all the forums I've looked on about the subject. Apparently it's quite common for these thing to do that. But it's getting annoying and I'm probably going to dump it on eBay. I've been wondering if anyone has had a chance to play around with the new 9500 with built in GPS yet? It seems a bit over priced at $499 for the blue display but if it's the best I'll think about it. If not I'll probably go with a Valentine V1, probably used off of of eBay or Craigslist.

Any thoughts?

And no I don't really speed, maybe 80-85 at the most which is common for Michigan but I like to keep myself in check and I find a radar detector is a good way to do that.

Both of mine--an old 4500 and my 8500--suffer from random, seemingly uninitiated laser warnings. If finally found out the 4500 did it as a result of direct sunlight. The 8500 just does in completely randomly.

Anyway, I personally would forego a 9500. The GPS function is only useful for false alarms that you program into it--which means the ones you already know about. Detectors, at least in my experience, will show the most dangerous radar signal present at the time, with K overriding X, and Ka overriding K, and Laser above them all. If your false alarm is an X it'll get overridden by a cop's K or Ka, which means remembering that false alarm is pointless, unless you love your quiet.

The next detector I'll get is a Valentine One. Like it has been able to do since it first came out, it'll track multiple types, multiple signals, strength of the strongest signal, and multiple locations--via the arrows--all at the same time. It's big and ugly but by far the most functional. And yes, I've seen it in action personally. It made me smile. Also, lifetime software updates that do cost. But not as much as a $500 Passport.

Also, all current radar detectors are capable of 360 degree readings, unlike what Valentine's front page currently suggests. But I don't care if they're hyping their product, because it's better.

 

[Joey D]

I'm pretty sure I'll be getting the V1 here shortly, I really like everything I've been reading about it. Thanks for the input.

 

[Philly]

I'm actually thinking of getting one myself. On the topic of cordlesses, from what I've heard, I would avoid them. I guess there is a new type of cop radar out there that they can't track well because the cordless ones turn on and off very quickly to save battery so they can't detect some certain band.

And on the topic of obeying the speed limit, well, it's easier said than done. For me, going fast isn't the issue so much as the feeling that I have to be the fastest car on the road. I'd say that I'm probably more competitive than most people, but every car I pass is a challenge won and every car that passes me is a challenge lost. And I like winning challenges and absolutely hate losing them. That and you feel "badass" when you're the fastest car on the road.

 

[stumpydino]

as long as your not one of those who refuse to let people pass >.<

 

[Keef]

I'm actually thinking of getting one myself. On the topic of cordlesses, from what I've heard, I would avoid them. I guess there is a new type of cop radar out there that they can't track well because the cordless ones turn on and off very quickly to save battery so they can't detect some certain band.

Police use a technique called instant-on when there is little traffic and they want to suprise individual cars without broadcasting their presence from a mile away. They do it all the time at night. A cool thing about having a detector is that they can detect the noise from the radar gun long, long before the radar gun's return signal is strong enough to make a reading. With it I can see that a cop a half-mile up the road is using instant-on for the cars in front of me, and then I know he's there. The one car travelling the opposite direction, and he's in the lane closest to the center of the road to get the most accurate reading. That's about 90% of the time. It's so terribly obvious what their up to with a detector.

But my point of writing was that battery powered detectors aren't able to respond quickly to instant-on radar because they go to sleep when they aren't actively reading a signal. Otherwise the batteries would die every week.

But in general I rarely go far over the speed limit, even on the highway. Just seeing the detector is a deterrent for me. I just like keeping track of cops and what their up to. I don't like people spying on me. If you're checking me out I'd like to know, plz, and I'll be happy to slow down before you're close enough to snag me.

I just remembered another phenomenon I've seen before. As a cop is approaching me with radar on, they'll occasionally turn it off as I approach. Radar detector detector? Yes, they have those. And no, they haven't been able to turn it off before I know about it yet.

 

[Joey D]

But in general I rarely go far over the speed limit, even on the highway. Just seeing the detector is a deterrent for me. I just like keeping track of cops and what their up to. I don't like people spying on me. If you're checking me out I'd like to know, plz, and I'll be happy to slow down before you're close enough to snag me.

About how I feel on the subject.

 

[Philly]

That makes more sense. Does the effectiveness of the instant-on technique vary from detector to detector? I had a friend who could pick up cops even with their radar off. But I believe he had one of those expensive hidden ones.