Are radar detectors worth it? For amateurs, ALL radar detectors are worth it including a $20 used Cobra. For pros, only the high-end ones that allow reading on the spot (on the display) not just the police radar band (X, K, Ka) but its frequency as well and this mostly applies to Ka band, 33.8, 34.7 or 35.5 GHz +/- 100 MHz. Also IF you happen to live and mostly drive in an "illegal" jurisdiction (VA, DC or east-of-SK Canadian provinces), using an RDD-proof RD is paramount, unfortunately these ones ain't cheap at all. Drive safe and drive smart.
My R3 has saved me from countless stops. Definitely worth it. With laser, if they shoot a car or 2 in front of you, your detector should detect the refraction and alert you, giving you time to slow down.
I’ve owned my Valentine One for over twenty years. My V1 has been upgraded a few times and was just upgraded last month for a whopping $307. A new V1 is $399, in the past upgrades where they replaced the unit was $189. I did buy an Uniden R1 on Black Friday sale for $179. The Uniden R1 does have better range on radar, in some cases almost double the V1. However, the Uniden R1 is totally blind on laser. My V1 has caught laser on vehicles being targeted up to a couple of cars in front of me & saved me a few tickets. That is something the Uniden will never do. With all that in mind, I use my Uniden for my Canadian trips since the OPP looks for radar detectors with a Spectre radar detector detector & the R1 truly is undectable. The downside is the Canadian OPP shoots a lot of laser and the R1 Uniden is useless at detecting laser. I have seen cops aiming the gun at my car and not a peep from the R1. My V1 I use religiously in the USA since radar detectors in my region are legal. The Spectre can detect the V1 for over 1/4 mile away. There are pros & cons to both detectors. If you want you can buy GPS chipped detectors for more cash. I don't think over buying is cost effective. After all, preventing tickets is the goal and that saves money too.
3653john, have you priced out the ALP laser jammers? the cost for a standard car outfitted with front and rear protection is around $1500 and if you drive a larger car or truck more like $2000. Unless your getting hit with laser a few times a week it makes it cost prohibitive to even consider. Most people can fork out $200-$400 for a radar detector. Since laser has been out I have been hit maybe 7 to 10 times and not over far enough to warrant it worth chasing me down for a ticket.Trust me I'd love to have it just to feel covered but shit $2000 is a lot of tickets LOL
you should connect your V1 to an app like YaV1 on android or V1 Driver on iOS. You can add GPS lockouts, custom sweeps, etc and it really quiets down your detector from falsing
Want to enjoy the V1 and live in California? Turn everything off except KA band and do a run to Vegas. This is the best learning experience you can have with this detector. CHP only runs KA. If you fail and get a ticket you should not speed. EVER. But if you can harness its power and figure it out. You will love this tool and learn to speed like a samurai!!!
Sleestak so true. I’ve had the best detectors every year. Going from LA to Vegas once or twice a month. I got falses on Laser, K, turned all that shit off. Cope ONLY use Ka all the way from LA to Vegas. Once you’re on I15, all you need is Ka and a good common sense, just in case. But I’ve never seen a lazy CHP with a laser. Ever! They all come from behind speeding hard to catch up with cars. My wife was doing 85MPH and cop passed us like we were parked. They’re doing sometimes 100MPH around Azusa to catch up with speeding drivers. And it works. Happened at 3AM too driving to Vegas. Jackasses. They should not have a speed limit on some parts on I15, it’s just dirt and sand. It’s just to make $$$, safety my ass.
Well said. You are correct about laser detecting also. If you are tagged by laser it is pretty much over unless you have a laser jammer which are very expensive.
I just have a cheap detector that I have been using for years in my car. I mount it high next to the rear view mirror. I have a long ext cable that I run down into the power plug. It suits my needs. I also treat every "false alarm" as if it's the real thing. So I try to be on the look out.
Plenty of true good points. Radar K and Ka bands are almost gone in US now. Mainly because of officer cancer concerns. Also Lidar guns are so precise there is Nil chance of contesting a fine in court. Aĺ laser guns get your speed in 0.30 seconds. So there is no braking time in 98% of cases. Jammers work well but are a very grey or almost black area legally. Ka POP radar - microwave emits nothing before cop presses the trigger. So detector even $700 are no use there either. K Ka isn't used anywhere in 280 million pop Europe, only Lidar. www.bestlaserjammers.com
look at it this way it does not hurtt to have one i have a cobraSPX955 from walmart i bought for 100$ it works awesome its 14 bands has 360 degree protection and has all the features like pop mode and even has a built in laser detector also so it picks up 90% of the time its saved me thousands in tickets one ticket can be 300$ to 275$ just for going 20mph over thats the price of 2 radar detectors its just a good investment to buy one but make sure you buy a good one there are tons of shitty ones out there i say cobra,escort,valetine,are the best and whistlers suck and so do bell stick with a escort or cobra mine goes off all the time and when i look its usually a cop around me even in the city just passing a cop it will go off a half mile down the street 10 seconds later you will see himcruising by so they do work just dont think its a magic ticket stopper you still have to watch your speed on the highways dont go bast 80mph and your good here in masschussets the highways are 75MPH on most highways and 25 to 35 to 35 mph on most roads up here in the north
They're worth it until you get I/O'd. Otherwise always a pretty decent investment. Edit: before you go reading all the comments below and think you know everything subscribe to vortex radar and review the content that he has. Also, x, k, ka, and Laser usage is dependent on where you drive. Just because someone says turn on/off a specific band doesnt mean that band is used/not used in your area. All of this information is publicly available- you just wont find it on the comment section of a youtube video. Do your homework before you end up a customer to your local enforcement.
Laser can be detected when it is used on other cars behind and i front of you so the valentine will detect the scatter of the signal. And if you hear the signal starting and stopping this should be a warning that laser is around.
Someone used to make a "Smokey Detector." It worked off the other police radio emissions such as radio, computer, etc. He didn't need to be emitting radar for you to detect him. What happened to that? Seemed like a good idea.
It would have saved me last week since the officer was driving towards me in the opposite lane (obviously using radar), but i didnt see him because his car was black in the shady side of the road.
After doing tons of research on radar detectors, I think I'm going to pass lol. I bet the first few months of having one is nothing but paranoia and unwanted stress. Really all you gotta do is be cognizant of the traffic around you. If people up front are hitting their brakes or are slowing down, thats a huge indicator that there is a patrol running radar. If an officer is sitting in his/her patrol car without running radar and spots a vehicle obviously driving at excessive speed, im pretty sure they will laser you. By then it will be too late.
I agreed the V 1 is one of the best detectors on the market at the moment. However if you live in California its illegal to mount onto your window shield. Plus Trucks and other large commercial vehicles aren’t allowed to carry or mount such a device.
Your knowledge of radar waves is very poor. Saying the radar is cut out because of a mountain or around a bend is incorrect. X-band is not used in CA and can be safely be turned off, even most of the K-bands units are being replaced with the Ka-band. I lived in CA for 21 years and for the most part just ran Ka-band on my Valentine 1, defeating all radar encounters. Of course a certain degree of knowledge and tactics should be used. Laser bounces off your car and back to the gun, the gun then calculates the round trip of the beam and displays the speed. The only way to defeat laser is with an active laser jammer. Anyone buying a radar detector with laser detecting capabilities (including a V1) thinking they will defeat laser are mistaken and will be getting a ticket.
EJ257IHI Sometimes you can get lucky and pick up laser scatter if the fuzz targets a car in front of you. So a laser detector can be useful some of the time.
a radar detector with a laser jammer is what you need their are very good and effective laser jammers as a countermeasure against laser guns to use them properly it is best to turn them off after reaching the seep limit or slightly below so the officer can get a read on you car their very expensive and need to be mounted correctly to work properly, but the work very well when used properly
That looks interesting as an added countermeasure. right now I'm running the escort max 360, Waze, and a Uniden beartracker 885 CB/scanner. Both the max and Waze give me heads ups for cameras, with Waze still being the primary crowd-sourced speed trap reporting device. I can't have too many countermeasures, heh.
Alexander Wilde not completely correct the V1's are detectable by spectre but have a short range of being picked up. The Redline and Beltronics sti driver and maxum are completely undetectable to the point the the detector could be sitting on the police cars hood and still not give a reading off the spectre.
Ahmet there are detectors that are impossible to know they are in use but with penalties like that I would not chance it. The police could still see it in your car if your stopped.
KayyBinn they aren't illegal in California. Also, yes I agree, but you also don't want to impede the flow of traffic which in many cases is more dangerous.
If you read and obey the speed limit signs, you won't have to listen to the annoying beeping, pay for a detector, or risk getting pinched. The signs are there for a reason.
i can't believe i just wasted my time. i didn't care about you talking to a camera, i wanted to see it actually work. if you're speeding and a cop has a radar, speed away... you have a head start, turn a few times get out of your car & go inside a store walk around.. that's free way of getting out of tickets instead of being paranoid every time you hear a beep
When you're so chill that you review a product while driving
lol, thanks for watching!
Are radar detectors worth it?
For amateurs, ALL radar detectors are worth it including a $20 used Cobra.
For pros, only the high-end ones that allow reading on the spot (on the display) not just the police radar band (X, K, Ka) but its frequency as well and this mostly applies to Ka band, 33.8, 34.7 or 35.5 GHz +/- 100 MHz.
Also IF you happen to live and mostly drive in an "illegal" jurisdiction (VA, DC or east-of-SK Canadian provinces), using an RDD-proof RD is paramount, unfortunately these ones ain't cheap at all.
Drive safe and drive smart.
Please. For the love of god. NEVER EVER EVER WEAR MATT FARAH GLASSES AGAIN!!!!
You new here? lol
***** no I actually really like your tech videos, but this one was weird..
Because of the glasses? lol
Dillon Optics are great sunglasses so why not wear them.
My R3 has saved me from countless stops. Definitely worth it. With laser, if they shoot a car or 2 in front of you, your detector should detect the refraction and alert you, giving you time to slow down.
I’ve owned my Valentine One for over twenty years. My V1 has been upgraded a few times and was just upgraded last month for a whopping $307. A new V1 is $399, in the past upgrades where they replaced the unit was $189. I did buy an Uniden R1 on Black Friday sale for $179. The Uniden R1 does have better range on radar, in some cases almost double the V1. However, the Uniden R1 is totally blind on laser. My V1 has caught laser on vehicles being targeted up to a couple of cars in front of me & saved me a few tickets. That is something the Uniden will never do. With all that in mind, I use my Uniden for my Canadian trips since the OPP looks for radar detectors with a Spectre radar detector detector & the R1 truly is undectable. The downside is the Canadian OPP shoots a lot of laser and the R1 Uniden is useless at detecting laser. I have seen cops aiming the gun at my car and not a peep from the R1. My V1 I use religiously in the USA since radar detectors in my region are legal. The Spectre can detect the V1 for over 1/4 mile away. There are pros & cons to both detectors. If you want you can buy GPS chipped detectors for more cash. I don't think over buying is cost effective. After all, preventing tickets is the goal and that saves money too.
If you are interested in laser jammers ALP are the best. You need to watch Vortex on here where he compares them all. 👍🏻
3653john, have you priced out the ALP laser jammers? the cost for a standard car outfitted with front and rear protection is around $1500 and if you drive a larger car or truck more like $2000. Unless your getting hit with laser a few times a week it makes it cost prohibitive to even consider. Most people can fork out $200-$400 for a radar detector. Since laser has been out I have been hit maybe 7 to 10 times and not over far enough to warrant it worth chasing me down for a ticket.Trust me I'd love to have it just to feel covered but shit $2000 is a lot of tickets LOL
you should connect your V1 to an app like YaV1 on android or V1 Driver on iOS. You can add GPS lockouts, custom sweeps, etc and it really quiets down your detector from falsing
do the radar detectors even still work? i heard cops changed the way they detect speeding cars
Want to enjoy the V1 and live in California? Turn everything off except KA band and do a run to Vegas. This is the best learning experience you can have with this detector. CHP only runs KA. If you fail and get a ticket you should not speed. EVER. But if you can harness its power and figure it out. You will love this tool and learn to speed like a samurai!!!
Sleestak so true. I’ve had the best detectors every year. Going from LA to Vegas once or twice a month. I got falses on Laser, K, turned all that shit off. Cope ONLY use Ka all the way from LA to Vegas. Once you’re on I15, all you need is Ka and a good common sense, just in case. But I’ve never seen a lazy CHP with a laser. Ever! They all come from behind speeding hard to catch up with cars. My wife was doing 85MPH and cop passed us like we were parked. They’re doing sometimes 100MPH around Azusa to catch up with speeding drivers. And it works. Happened at 3AM too driving to Vegas. Jackasses. They should not have a speed limit on some parts on I15, it’s just dirt and sand. It’s just to make $$$, safety my ass.
Check the Vortex Radar channel on UA-cam. Very informative. Video on tuning V1.
Well said. You are correct about laser detecting also. If you are tagged by laser it is pretty much over unless you have a laser jammer which are very expensive.
I just have a cheap detector that I have been using for years in my car. I mount it high next to the rear view mirror. I have a long ext cable that I run down into the power plug. It suits my needs. I also treat every "false alarm" as if it's the real thing. So I try to be on the look out.
Plenty of true good points. Radar K and Ka bands are almost gone in US now. Mainly because of officer cancer concerns. Also Lidar guns are so precise there is Nil chance of contesting a fine in court. Aĺ laser guns get your speed in 0.30 seconds. So there is no braking time in 98% of cases. Jammers work well but are a very grey or almost black area legally. Ka POP radar - microwave emits nothing before cop presses the trigger. So detector even $700 are no use there either. K Ka isn't used anywhere in 280 million pop Europe, only Lidar. www.bestlaserjammers.com
look at it this way it does not hurtt to have one i have a cobraSPX955 from walmart i bought for 100$ it works awesome its 14 bands has 360 degree protection and has all the features like pop mode and even has a built in laser detector also so it picks up 90% of the time its saved me thousands in tickets one ticket can be 300$ to 275$ just for going 20mph over thats the price of 2 radar detectors its just a good investment to buy one but make sure you buy a good one there are tons of shitty ones out there i say cobra,escort,valetine,are the best and whistlers suck and so do bell stick with a escort or cobra mine goes off all the time and when i look its usually a cop around me even in the city just passing a cop it will go off a half mile down the street 10 seconds later you will see himcruising by so they do work just dont think its a magic ticket stopper you still have to watch your speed on the highways dont go bast 80mph and your good here in masschussets the highways are 75MPH on most highways and 25 to 35 to 35 mph on most roads up here in the north
They're worth it until you get I/O'd. Otherwise always a pretty decent investment.
Edit: before you go reading all the comments below and think you know everything subscribe to vortex radar and review the content that he has.
Also, x, k, ka, and Laser usage is dependent on where you drive. Just because someone says turn on/off a specific band doesnt mean that band is used/not used in your area. All of this information is publicly available- you just wont find it on the comment section of a youtube video.
Do your homework before you end up a customer to your local enforcement.
Laser can be detected when it is used on other cars behind and i front of you so the valentine will detect the scatter of the signal. And if you hear the signal starting and stopping this should be a warning that laser is around.
Someone used to make a "Smokey Detector." It worked off the other police radio emissions such as radio, computer, etc. He didn't need to be emitting radar for you to detect him.
What happened to that? Seemed like a good idea.
It would have saved me last week since the officer was driving towards me in the opposite lane (obviously using radar), but i didnt see him because his car was black in the shady side of the road.
After doing tons of research on radar detectors, I think I'm going to pass lol. I bet the first few months of having one is nothing but paranoia and unwanted stress. Really all you gotta do is be cognizant of the traffic around you. If people up front are hitting their brakes or are slowing down, thats a huge indicator that there is a patrol running radar. If an officer is sitting in his/her patrol car without running radar and spots a vehicle obviously driving at excessive speed, im pretty sure they will laser you. By then it will be too late.
It will cost it least 400$ for one ticket. If it saves you it least once it's worth it. They are not a get out of jail free card in any way.
absolutely worthless if the police uses LASER, youre nailed, also unless you hit break instantly, POP will nail you as well.
POP can't be used to issue a ticket. It has to be a full blast Ka . K band radar.
I have escort passport 8500x. They are awesome.
Yeah!
I agreed the V 1 is one of the best detectors on the market at the moment. However if you live in California its illegal to mount onto your window shield. Plus Trucks and other large commercial vehicles aren’t allowed to carry or mount such a device.
Keep Speed In Check California is such a shit hole... What isn’t illegal there?
Your knowledge of radar waves is very poor. Saying the radar is cut out because of a mountain or around a bend is incorrect.
X-band is not used in CA and can be safely be turned off, even most of the K-bands units are being replaced with the Ka-band. I lived in CA for 21 years and for the most part just ran Ka-band on my Valentine 1, defeating all radar encounters. Of course a certain degree of knowledge and tactics should be used.
Laser bounces off your car and back to the gun, the gun then calculates the round trip of the beam and displays the speed. The only way to defeat laser is with an active laser jammer. Anyone buying a radar detector with laser detecting capabilities (including a V1) thinking they will defeat laser are mistaken and will be getting a ticket.
Please educate me
EJ257IHI Sometimes you can get lucky and pick up laser scatter if the fuzz targets a car in front of you. So a laser detector can be useful some of the time.
400$ ticket, where i live you have to be going atleast 20+ over and even that is usually around a 300 dollar ticket
MrR3V0000 yeah I got a ticket for going 72 in a 45 and it was $180
Just Wing It damn how many points?
I think it was 3
Can someone tell me if they detect near by cops even if they’re just cruising n not scanning speed ?
Once your tagged with laser u know so hide your drugs before ur talking to copper 🤣
a radar detector with a laser jammer is what you need their are very good and effective laser jammers as a countermeasure against laser guns to use them properly it is best to turn them off after reaching the seep limit or slightly below so the officer can get a read on you car their very expensive and need to be mounted correctly to work properly, but the work very well when used properly
Tell me more about that?
It can detect the laser that's aimed at someone else and you will be warned ahead of time
The REDLINE works in mountains ⛰ don’t waist your money
Did u ever hear of the uniden brand? If so what do u think Is the V1 better?
you can turn off k audio or until a certain strength. K in city is 80% false. Ka 99% true. All kinds of tuning for v1
mike nicholas yup yup
Pretty much anything under 5 over you can take it to court under the bases that mechanical machines cannot be perfect
Definitely, although that's a huge pain
it's a tax scam and police never go the speed limit.
My escort max 360 hardly ever falses at all anymore after the v1.6 firmware flash. Before that, BSMs made it squeal on K band constantly.
madhtrr what about the tap trap Nighthawk it seems like it's pretty easy to use just from the reviews I'm watching I don't know
That looks interesting as an added countermeasure. right now I'm running the escort max 360, Waze, and a Uniden beartracker 885 CB/scanner. Both the max and Waze give me heads ups for cameras, with Waze still being the primary crowd-sourced speed trap reporting device. I can't have too many countermeasures, heh.
Don't forget to turn off kband, for a super quietride
California only uses KA...
Too bad it is illegal where I live to have a radar detector..
Aww man. Don't have that issue here luckily
Virginia or DC? You can get the STi Magnum, it's undetectable by police.
Netherlands.. but luckily we have an app ("FlitsMeister") that notifies you when police is checking the speed.
the v1 and the redline are undetectable. pretty much anything made with a magnesium encasing is undetectable
Alexander Wilde not completely correct the V1's are detectable by spectre but have a short range of being picked up. The Redline and Beltronics sti driver and maxum are completely undetectable to the point the the detector could be sitting on the police cars hood and still not give a reading off the spectre.
Nice shirt with dogs on it lol
Nice shades
arent they illegal?
KayyBinn In most states including my state Ohio, they are legal
I have that shirt
What's up
imbored200 supply
You should grab a Magnum it's $50 cheaper after rebate, undetectable, and smokes the V1 by a mile.
Newer laser detectors will jam laser signal for 5 seconds allowing you to slow down and not get dinged for going over the speed limit
wich laser detectors are those?
Is it that hard to follow the speed limit?
55mph is ridiculously slow
No but speed limits are for the gays
Not hard, boring. Driving fast to blow by idiot drivers is neccessary.
but police can detect this device remotely and resulting in 2 years of prison sentence in Turkey
Ahmet there are detectors that are impossible to know they are in use but with penalties like that I would not chance it. The police could still see it in your car if your stopped.
you COULD just not speed.
KayyBinn they aren't illegal in California. Also, yes I agree, but you also don't want to impede the flow of traffic which in many cases is more dangerous.
Or get a beast lawyer that rips them apart. Not about safety, it's about money. Make it cost them 5000 to get your 500. They will throw it out.
How about just follow the speed limit?
Jomzai thats no fun
Because unless you're on the 130 toll that bypasses Austin and has a set speed of 85, everything seems too damn slow. lol
If you read and obey the speed limit signs, you won't have to listen to the annoying beeping, pay for a detector, or risk getting pinched. The signs are there for a reason.
Thanks mom.
i can't believe i just wasted my time. i didn't care about you talking to a camera, i wanted to see it actually work.
if you're speeding and a cop has a radar, speed away... you have a head start, turn a few times get out of your car & go inside a store walk around.. that's free way of getting out of tickets instead of being paranoid every time you hear a beep