Just got my issue of Car and Driver and they had a radar detector test (what a coincidence ). It tested 6 different brands/models:

Valentine one
Escort Passport 8500
Bel 980
Cobra XR-1050
Whistler 1780
Uniden LRD 987

(ranking from top to bottom - top is the best, bottom is the worst)

 

had a cobra 9000, till it got stolen, then i got a cobra 9150 w/ digital compass and ive been useing it ever since.

 

I have a cobra 9110, I got it for $50 via Circuit City price match when Best Buy had a price mistake on the product (kinda long story, not worth my time to type). I got it because: A. it was cheap, B. I don't speed that often and just want a little reasurance, it feels wierd driving in a car without a radar detector . But it did save my *** a few times in the 2 months that I had it. My friend has the Cobra 9210 (same but with voice telling you what alert it is) and before he got it, he got like 6 or so speeding tickets, during the six months it worked, he didn't get a single ticket, and then his power socket crapped out and he get a ticket. So it did save his *** quite a bit of money.

Is the radar detector worth it, if you can get a decent one cheap, sure, but there is no way I'm paying $300 for a detector which will only give me a better range. If I'm going ten mile over limit, I can stop within 1 mile time, I don't need it going off because there is a cop driving 2 miles infront of me with his radar on. I say a radar is a radar, cobras work well in my experience, and the price I got sure makes it even more worth it.

 

Well i have the phantom 2. It cost me about $320. it is a jammer/radar detector. It claims to jam radar up till 100 feet away from the cop. so if you are 100+ feet away from the cop then he can get a reading. i haven't gotten a ticket in over a year since having it. before i got it i rack up about 6 speeding tickets in 2 years. I think it work well and it is a good radar detecor too.

 

i bought the cobra. Its a execellent brand...in my opinion. I have a set of 5mile walkie talkies and they worked so good i decided to keep with the brand and get the radar detector. its model # is 9110.

look it up.

 

Do yourself a favor, get a Valentine. It's the only detector I've seen that actually WORKS.

 

Would you be willing to donate $400 to me in that case?

The Cobra I have "actually works" (what ever that means) and detects radars, and it cost me 1/8 the price. I'de reater spend the $350 I saved into something less annoying and more useful. I only need the radar once in a while, and even then I can spot cops that don't have radars on and slow down, pay attention to the road, don't invest in flase security.

 

No one should get punchy about cost. You do pay more for a Valentine and that is just a fact of their sales model, and the upgrade system they have in place.
I have two, and like them both just fine. I am staring at the shelf with my old Escort DSP unit, an outstanding unit for the time.
My reasons for preference are pretty straight forward- I like the features and it is a very sensitive unit with not too many false signals, and the ability to upgrade as improvements are made. The signal arrows, and the hit counter are both of extreme use to me, but I have always been a "data" freak, the more information I have to make a decision with the processor between my ears (brain) to make it's own decisions.
BUT- if you find one that you like the features of and it does detect well enough, get it.
Most radar in used in a line of site capacity by police, they are broadcasting that beam light a beacon for quite a ways ahead of themselves. Unless it is a true traffic enforcement officer, or a patrolperson with time on their hands, police seem to lack the disipline to use instant on features or set speed traps. Truth is they do have to, there are enough idiots out there going to damned fast that they don't need to be sneaky about it.
Personally I don't get a rush from speeding anyway, the rest of the world is too unpredictable anymore anyway, I can't read the guy in front of me's mind to know he has no brake lights and doesn't use signals, or that kid may try to run across the street.
I do continue to use a radar dectector because radar in the average officer's hands is a poorly understood tool with humans observaton used in operating it. I don't choose to get zapped for a revenue function of government if I can avoid it, and keep my insurance down. One car is a Mazdaspeed Turbo, and the other a twintrubo RX-7, I need all the help I can get on the insurance!!

 

Well, I'm going to add my 2 cents here.

Valentine One, Bel, and Escort are the only ones worth it as I see it. Anything else, well they add in crap like a compass, thermometre, and stuff like that to try and sway you into buying their "lesser" RDs.

I have a Bel 980. Had it for a year now. It's great, never failed. Same would go for an Escort (buddy has one, works awesome too) and a Valentine (seen it in action as well).

I've seen a Cobra in action too, and well, they got caught. It didn't even pick up the bank right next to us - but maybe he just got a bad one! Other may have a Cobra and think different, but the top 3 brands above are by far the best, proven over the years.

Now, onto LASER.

Hehe, a RD with "laser detection" feature is basically bullshit. If that thing is flashing "LASER" you're caught. Don't even argue with me on this on, because you know that a laser is a small narrow beam of light and if the cop is getting the car in front of you the beam would NEVER be wide enough for you to detect it, and if you DID detect it...well, then you're busted and probably have been targeted by the same laser gun 2 or 3 times already.

I do A LOT of freeway and highway driving, so I invested in a laser jamming device. Yes, before you say anything, it IS illegal. BY FAR it is illegal. It's hidden well, and it works like a charm. I've never been caught by a laser gun since then, and it gives me a warning when I am being "lasered." When I am, I slow down to the speed limit, flick it off, let the cop get my LEGAL speed, and I drive on happy.

I have the Blinder M-10 Plus. There is another one out there made by K40. They both work just the same and work 100% if installed correctly.

Speedlabs tested them both and said they are your only option to laser.

So, there, that's my 2 cents worth. Actually, it's more like 2 loonies worth, but whatever.

~A