Radar Detectors
 

I got a speeding ticket in maryland and they really screw you over so i want to get a radar detector to avoid this. What is the best one for the lowest price.

The Vector series from Beltronics is good for the price. Don't know how many people know this, but the V940, V955, V965, and the V995 all have the same range. They just come with different features.

Cheapest would be the V940 at around 140 from Circuit City. Don't let the salesman or the charts in the back of the box fool you. They all have the same detection.

BTW, you wouldn't happen to know what they got you with? Radar, laser, other? A radar detector won't provide much help against laser, and other methods of speed acquisition (pacing, VASCAR, etc), only radar. Even then, you have to be careful with IO.

Ive got a $40 detector from Walmart. It seems to work pretty good. Its a Cobra. They also have a few more up to 120. Its definitly useful.:thumbsup:

Cobras aren't a good name in the radar detector community. They tend to not be very consistant with their detection, as well as polluting the air with their interference.

Radar detector users should know what I'm talking about. Those random hits on Ka (sometimes K) in the middle of nowhere after having passed a car, a Cobra is usually to blame.

cobras suck. plain and simple. id spend the money and get a nice radar detector. ofcourse, you could just not speed and then you know you wont get a ticket.

nock on wood- my pastport 7500 has kept me ticket free since 93

Valentine One is the best. You can only order from there site $399.00 and worth it www.Valentine1.com . Check out Car and Driver under Radar Detector reviews. The guy who owns Valentine One started Escort.
Successful defense begins with good intelligence about the enemy. Valentine One has a patented warning system relying on both forward- and rearward-facing radar antennas (front and rear laser sensors too). It goes beyond Ordinary Radar Detectors by telling you -- on every alert -- where to look, and how many to look for. Once you have this intelligence report, you can easily decide when to defend, and when you can simply shrug off a non-threatening alarm.
Valentine One is the only detector with two radar antennas -- one front and one rear -- to scan all around your car and precisely locate each radar threat
Ordinary Radar Detectors have a single antenna facing forward: to cover beside and behind your car, they hope radar will take a lucky bounce into the front opening.
Valentine One uses front and rear antennas reporting to an onboard computer to analyze and precisely locate every radar threat, either by direct reception from one antenna or triangulation between both antennas.

LOL, that sounded just like an ad. :lol:

The OP wants good detection for the price. Though it's unquestionable that the V1 is king of the hill when it comes to radar and laser, it isn't the "best" for everyone. Some people are turned off by it's "noisiness," and it's price.

That's why I recommended the Vector series, which is a great budget line.

Is there a detector for lasers?

Well, yea. Most, if not all radar detectors have laser detectors in them. The problem is that, depending on distance, most of them will have a hard time actually detecting the laser signal. The laser beam used in the guns have more or less a divergence of 3 feet for every 1000 feet. If a LEO hits you 1000 feet out, the beam will be 3 feet, and most decent radar detectors should have no problem detecting that.

The problem comes when you are hit at, say, 500 feet out. The beam will be about 1.5 feet wide. If they shoot center mass, especially with the size of the front end of these trucks, very little of the beam will make it to the detector.

This link might better illustrate it for you.

Even with a great laser detector, like the V1, the problem with laser is that readings can be gotten rather quickly (under 1 second), especially with front plates. So, as many would say it, a radar detector can sometimes just be a "ticket notifier." Things like having a dark colored car (or a black car bra), dark headlight covers, and plate covers can slow down the acquisition time, but none of these passive countermeasures can guarantee anything.

Hope that helps.:thumbsup:

Radar detectors are more then a "ticket notifier". It is laser detectors that are damn near pointless. As soon as you get hit with laser, the cop knows how fast your going. The only way to effectively defeat laser is with a jammer.

As far as radar detectors go though, I have a passport, and I love it.

LOL, yea, that's what I meant. Maybe I should have said:
Most modern radar detectors are also "laser detectors." Actually, as far as I know there aren't any detectors that are solely for laser. I know they used to have some years ago, but most detectors now come integrated with a "laser detector."

Sorry for the confusion.

What is a jammer?

Illegal in 9 states, and possibly Nebraska and DC, it is a device that is supposed to "jam" a laser gun.

As of now, there are two types, LED and laser diode. It is generally held that laser diode (aka simply as diode jammers) are better than LED-based jammers since you need less heads to protect the same size vehicle.

Some guns are easier to "jam" than others, just as some "jammers" work better than others.

Unlike radar, which is easier to detect the closer you are to the LEO, laser gets harder to detect since the beam is smaller. So there is a point where, if not enough protection is used, a laser gun can get a reading. This is known as punch through.

^^^^^ Got a link for these???