Radar Detector Advice?

[Saleen556]

As a law enforcement officer with all the trainings I've been to by the companies that make the radar and lidar systems I would not waste my money on one. From what they tell us in training by the time your radar detector goes off the lidar or radar already has your speed locked in for the officer to see. That's just my two cents on radar and lidars.

I will agree with you about laser. When it goes off it’s just letting you know you got hit. Radar is another story. I get notified plenty of time to slow down when the cars in front of me are hit. If there is nobody in front of you getting hit then you are correct. A detector is only a tool. Still have to use common sense. I’ve slowed down plenty of times and let someone else go by me only to get pulled over by the officer.

 

[Creamsicle]

I’m well versed in this topic and, like another poster, would point you towards rdforum.org if you want to take a deep dive into the tech. Radar detection and laser jamming are two totally different topics.

RADAR:

The Reader’s Digest version is this: The Uniden R8, Escort Redline 360, and Valentine One G2 are, inarguably, the three top detectors. Each has pros and cons.

Uniden: Best reactivity to give you the best protection from “instant on” radar. This is its biggest advantage against the key competitors. It detects signals as much as two seconds faster than the Escort. K-band performance is exceptional. CONS: The GPS-based automatic lockouts are not as good as the Escort.

Escort: Put this on the windshield and forget about it. It’s quiet, has excellent filtering, and it’s GPS auto lockouts are the best in the industry. Perfect solution for those who want minimal falses and little interaction. CONS: Reactivity is not great. The signal processor is slow so the detector takes longer to react to the presence of a signal. This could cost you a ticket in the wrong circumstance. That said, most believe it is not functionally a deal breaker. K-band is not as good as Uniden.

V1G2: Fast sweeps across all bands make for great overall performance. Likely the best detector of “off-axis” radar strikes (ie an officer perpendicular to the road). Great range. CONS: No GPS. You need to buy an app for auto-lockouts that will use your phone’s GPS to manage lockouts. This is not at all cumbersome and the apps provide fantastic added functionality. Without an app, this detector is not a great option.

LIDAR/LASER:

ALP is pretty much the only game in town for semi-affordable systems that deliver against all of the modern threats. The newest LIDAR guns have created lots of challenges for older systems and ALP is, by a landslide, the leader in this space.

Hope this helps!

 

[IdahoKTM]

As a law enforcement officer with all the trainings I've been to by the companies that make the radar and lidar systems I would not waste my money on one. From what they tell us in training by the time your radar detector goes off the lidar or radar already has your speed locked in for the officer to see. That's just my two cents on radar and lidars.

I had a conversation with a judge that was formerly a police officer, about radar detectors. He explained how radar, laser, etc. worked and how the various devices detected the signal. He was of the opinion that radar/laser detectors should change the warning tone from "beep, beep, laser" to "beep, beep, you've been had".

 

[cgr]

I have responded to this question before - but... I always recommend/push radar and laser jammer combos. As already mentioned, ALP is the only game for laser jamming. I go with Radenso, which gives you two radar (front and rear) combined with 5 ALP jammers. Controller is direction (front/back) specific and audible. Also as already mentioned - laser detectors are absolutely worthless. Radar is basically the same story if you are the only car on the road. Hope this helps.
Chris

 

[TomsTRX]

I have a Uniden R8 on a blendmount and so far it has worked great. It has given me plenty of advance warning on radar in the area. Using a Blendmount on whatever detector you go with is soo much better than the suction cups on the windshield.

 

[OnTheReel]

I had a conversation with a judge that was formerly a police officer, about radar detectors. He explained how radar, laser, etc. worked and how the various devices detected the signal. He was of the opinion that radar/laser detectors should change the warning tone from "beep, beep, laser" to "beep, beep, you've been had".

With laser yes. Think everyone here would acknowledge that. But for radar, no. Both the local cops and county sheriffs here drive around on patrol with their radar always on. I know a cop car is in the vicinity sometimes a mile before I see them and certainly with enough time to slow down.

Even if they switch that off and set a stationary speed trap with instant on radar, it still bounces of the vehicles ahead and I pick it up. Having one with great range and sensitivity is the savior on that front.

Obviously there are scenarios where it won’t save you (laser, or instant on radar if you’re the only vehicle on the road) but that doesn’t mean they are pointless. Saves my ass enough to justify the small expense.

 

[Saleen556]

I have a Uniden R8 on a blendmount and so far it has worked great. It has given me plenty of advance warning on radar in the area. Using a Blendmount on whatever detector you go with is soo much better than the suction cups on the windshield.

Agreed. I’ve run this setup in my TRX for nearly 2 years. Along with Waze it’s a great combo.

 

[HDMLNIUM]

I can tell you that the only speeding ticket I have received in the last 10 years or so was from a plane tracking me on the turnpike. My V1 has saved me from speeding tickets so many times, as I probably deserve one most days. The V1 tells you from what direction the radar is coming from and also how many signals it picks up, multiple police running radar. I feel naked when I'm in a different vehicle without it. Well worth the investment I can PROMICE you that.... And I also use waze for my gps and it is another great tool to add.
Bill

 

[DocPhD]

My Escort MAX 360 MKII is great! It alerts far, far beyond what the radar can actually pickup (for you literal folks - NOT instant on radar, NOT laser).
A couple of cross-country trips and zero tickets. As you can see, I don't piddle around on the freeway, either.

 

[Counterfeit]

How are the false positives with these things now a days? Last detector I ran years ago would get tripped by any new car with blind spot monitoring. It became worthless and I tossed it.

It's all about how you set them up. I have mine set to only pick up KA and Laser signals here in AZ. In the metro area, they are the most widely used. My Uniden R8 is usually pretty accurate with detecting police units with their radar on.

 

[Counterfeit]

As a law enforcement officer with all the trainings I've been to by the companies that make the radar and lidar systems I would not waste my money on one. From what they tell us in training by the time your radar detector goes off the lidar or radar already has your speed locked in for the officer to see. That's just my two cents on radar and lidars.

Well, that can be left to perspective. I would say your statement would be correct if someone is using these systems on 2-lane country backroads where they are one of few cars on the road, but when using these in the city with 4, 5, and even 6-lane roads and highways their value is a ton better simply because if an officer is running radar ahead of you chances are they are checking speeds of traffic out front allowing you to slow down before they target you.

In my experience officers in my area have a mounted radar system on their dash so even though they may not be actively looking for speeders my system detects them and gives me an early warning of where they might be so I don't make the mistake of getting on the throttle a little too much.

I dont condone street racing or any type of driving that places others in danger but I will get on it when entering on the on-ramp or alone on a backroad.

 

[Najeem]

Best radar detector out there look wise (low profile) and performance wise.

Escort Redline 360c

 

[Najeem]

As a law enforcement officer with all the trainings I've been to by the companies that make the radar and lidar systems I would not waste my money on one. From what they tell us in training by the time your radar detector goes off the lidar or radar already has your speed locked in for the officer to see. That's just my two cents on radar and lidars.

Detector will alert on radar bands miles out but Lidar u need jammers. Sometimes when you hit the plates on a few cars in front of the car the detector will pick it up as well.

 

[GrahamSP]

My Escort MAX 360 MKII is great! It alerts far, far beyond what the radar can actually pickup (for you literal folks - NOT instant on radar, NOT laser).
A couple of cross-country trips and zero tickets. As you can see, I don't piddle around on the freeway, either.View attachment 123500View attachment 123501

Now that is a good radar setup. Can you link or post the mount setup? Is that the Bulletpoint mount with the cellphone arm just tilted 90 deg upwards? And is it the XL Universal holder? Thanks!

 

[DocPhD]

Now that is a good radar setup. Can you link or post the mount setup? Is that the Bulletpoint mount with the cellphone arm just tilted 90 deg upwards? And is it the XL Universal holder? Thanks!

Yes, to everything you just said. Here's a link to the bulletpoint page, and it is the XL universal holder tilted 90 degrees.

RubiGrid® V2 2019+ RAM Truck 1500/2500/3500/4500/5500 + TRX Dash Mount

Start with the RubiGrid Platform Dash Mount and Create your Custom Command Center. Mount up to 5 different devices with the use of AMPS balls. Cell Phones, Tablets, Action Cameras, CB Radios and more. Made from Laser Cut Metal, RubiGrid installs in your RAM Truck's Dash using existing Screw...

www.bulletpointmountingsolutions.com

 

[SquirrelMaster]

ALP is pretty much the only game in town for semi-affordable systems that deliver against all of the modern threats. The newest LIDAR guns have created lots of challenges for older systems and ALP is, by a landslide, the leader in this space.

Howdy, i want to touch on this a bit.
I am one of the admins on rdforum and we recently just finished testing a full battery of jammers in our yearly Florida meet/test.

ALP did well but lately there's some decent competition. The uniden R9 did shockingly well and was less finicky to set up. While they don't yet sell the jammers separately from the r9 radar part, they do actually work and we had the jammers connected to a uniden r4 successfully.

Official results should be up anytime now but the R9 did very good and is absolutely at the top of the game alongside AL.

 

[Creamsicle]

Howdy, i want to touch on this a bit.
I am one of the admins on rdforum and we recently just finished testing a full battery of jammers in our yearly Florida meet/test.

ALP did well but lately there's some decent competition. The uniden R9 did shockingly well and was less finicky to set up. While they don't yet sell the jammers separately from the r9 radar part, they do actually work and we had the jammers connected to a uniden r4 successfully.

Official results should be up anytime now but the R9 did very good and is absolutely at the top of the game alongside AL.

Awesome to hear that other are advancing their product lines. It would be awesome if Uniden were to offer their jammer tech as a standalone system.

Looking forward to reading about the test results on rdforum.

 

[SquirrelMaster]

Awesome to hear that other are advancing their product lines. It would be awesome if Uniden were to offer their jammer tech as a standalone system.

Looking forward to reading about the test results on rdforum.

For now it's looking like they want to keep them as a pair with the r9 radar portion, but they actually came out to the test event and we've been chatting with them to try to change their minds since.

 

[JTR]

After going through all the detectors, I ditch it completely and just use Waze now and pick and choose the “safe” times to send it.

 

[FastMD]

V1 plus Waze for me, that combo works great.