 "Top Tier Detector At A Mid-Level Price" | 2009-11-09 |
| - Reviewed By Nonprophet from Portland, Oregon |
I've been using radar detectors for 25+ years. First a cheap Cobra, then a nicer Whistler, another Whistler, and then finally I stepped up to the plate and bought a Beltronics Vector 980 which at the time (9 years ago) was one of the best on the market. During that 25 year period, I have only received ONE speeding ticket, and that was from a motorcycle cop hiding in the driveway of a private residence behind the homeowner's truck reaching around the canopy with his radar gun and doing the "instant on" thing (I guess they were getting desperate for some revenue......lol). Under those circumstances NO radar detector would have saved me as I was the only car on the road......Still, my driving record is totally clean (driver diversion class for that one ticket...), and, while I've spent maybe $700 on radar detectors over the past 25 years, I've saved THOUSANDS of dollars in tickets/fines/court costs and increased car insurance premiums. So, if you're wondering if a radar detector is worth the money, YES, they are!!!
Anyway, after 9 years of faithful service, my 980 is finally starting to die: lot's of false alarms, self-cal and low voltage warnings, etc. After speaking with Beltronics Tech Suppoort (who are located in the U.S. and very helpful!) it became pretty obvious that it was time for a new detector as my 980 is acting like it's on the way out.
Even though I've been very pleased with my Beltronics 980, I did want to read all the relevant reviews to see what detectors are the best bang for the buck these days. Basically, if you want a top-quality radar detector, you have to spend at least $200 and you want to buy from Beltronics or Escort--it's really that simple. Both companies are currently offering an $80 "Cash for clunkers" rebate where you can send in any old detector (working or not) and get $80 off any of their current models. A pretty good deal, though Amazon's $209 price without the rebate and free prime shipping on the V995 was still lower......
I thought briefly about making the switch to Escort--I like the smaller profile of the Passport and they are highly rated. But after reading some of the reviews here and at other sites, it seemed like there was a fairly high failure rate of these units after a year or so of use. Given that repairing this type of electronics is almost always cost-prohibitive, I decided to just stick with Beltronics, after all, my 980 lasted for over 9 years!!!
In reading the review sites (just google "best radar detector") it became clear that the Beltronics GX65 is among the top dogs. Its got all the bells and whistles, including GPS. It's also got a $469 price tag.....
I think GPS is a nice feature. It would be nice to add grocery stores and other false alarms along my most-traveled routes to the GPS-enabled RD to keep it silent. It's also nice to be able to plot out and store the locations of the seemingly never ending mine field of photo radar speed cameras. However, for me a GPS-enabled unit didn't make sense.
One, in terms of creating my own "blocked list" of local false alarms, the V995 allows you to fine tune the X band sensitivity (or turn off X band totally) which should reduce 90% of the false alarms generated by store and alarm motion detectors. Second, and maybe most important, I don't think that GPS-enabled RDs provide a satisfactory level of security against photo radar.
Why? Well, for starters the lists of the photo radar sites are user-generated and subject to error. Also, most of the RD manufacturers only update their lists every 30 days--that's a lot of time for LE to change things up. Add to that the fact that many cities are using mobile photo radar vans, and no list is going to help with that. Lastly, don't think for a second that LE isn't motivated to get the local photo radar site lists and then change their locations accordingly once the "gig is up" and their speed traps are outed. As we all know, traffic citations are a HUGE revenue machine for local municipalities, and they're not going to give up one penny of that revenue stream without a fight.........This IS a game of ever-changing strategies--remember a few years back when LE dusted off their old X band detectors and started using them again because many of the newer RDs on the road didn't even offer X band detection any more and/or RD owners were turning off X band? In summary I think that the GPS-enabled RDs give too much of a sense of false security and that can lead you get over-confident and start racking up spendy photo radar and red-light camera tickets.
The next model in the Beltronics lineup is the RX65 which retails for $339.95 Yet several tests rated the V995 BETTER in radar detection, and it's $150 less.....Yes, the RX65 has a few more bells and whistles, but not nearly enough to justify the much higher price IMHO. It's worth noting that the V995 retails for $295 at the Beltronics website.
So far, I'm very happy with the V995. I've been running the 980 and the 995 together for about 2 weeks now just to test sensitivity of the V995 (my 980 still works very well on detecting actual radar--it's just getting waaaaay too many false alarms). I really like the fact that the V995 comes with the "smart cord," I saw earlier reviews that stated it did not, but mine did. The V995 mounting bracket is simple, yet very strong and effective, and I really like that the V995 locks onto the mounting bracket with a push-button lock on the top of the V995. This means that if you're running some errands and you want to hide or take your RD with you to prevent theft, you can quickly remove it from the bracket without having to remove the bracket from the windshield. Still, if you're in a high crime area it's probably best to remove the bracket from your windshield as crafty thieves will look for RD and GPS suction cup mounts hoping that the owner has just hidden the RD in the glove box or under the seat and then bust out your window just to find out......
I also really like the auto-mute feature on the V995. Essentially, once it pics up a signal it will beep 2-3 times loudly so that you are alerted, and then it will mute the sound but keep the lights flashing so you can track the alert over the next few minutes without the annoying beeping or the need to push the mute button. Another great feature is the autoscan feature (which I now use the most) that allows you to not have to choose between City or Highway mode (for increased/decreased sensitivity) it will autoscan the area you're driving in and switch itself between Hwy and City as needed. So, all the protection without the false-alarms from cell phone towers, motion detectors, and other cheap radar detectors. The end result is a very quiet, yet very sensitive radar detector--and that's what you really want.
My V995 has been great--it even gave me plenty of warning last week for a laser speed trap--though when you hear the "laser alert!" warning you need to slow down NOW! It gives me virtually no false alarms, and it mounts securely to the windshield. It comes with the smart cord, the windshield mount (and Beltronics even included a spare set of suction cups--a nice touch) and a well made zippered case to store everything in. Sure, you could spend more money if you want to, but for $209 for the V995, this is hands down the best radar detector bang-for-your-buck!!! |
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| "beltronics v995" | 2009-10-23 |
| - Reviewed By dcgrosie from Texas |
| I've used several other mid price ranged detectors over a period of several years and this unit is the best one yet. Its accuracy in picking up radar is dependable. One of my favorite features on this detector is the alert beeps that sound at a normal volume the first few beeps, then the volume goes down. |
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 "Very satisfied" | 2009-10-15 |
| - Reviewed By bobbytraylor |
| After my wife and neighbor got speding tickets, I decided to look into radar detectors again. Seems here in West Palm Beach Florida with tax revenue dried up police are out in full force to make some money. People crawl when driving around here now. Anyway, I got both the Bel995 and Passport 9500ix and ran them both for a couple of weeks. Interesting to me I ended up returning the 9500ix and kept the Bel995. I run it in KA band and Laser band only. I put some Veil on my headlights also for more time with Laser alerts. I just didn't bump into any real K band alerts around here, and X isn't used in Florida. I'm mainly concerned with FHP hiding in construction areas on 95 where speeding fines are doubled. If you're 16 miles over the limit when it changes from 70 to 60 (in other words, going 76 mph) you're done. FHP is all KA now. I'm told some laser, but haven't bumped into any. On a trip to Orlando last wee on Florida's Turnpike I saw 6 separate speeders pulled over at different times all on KA. I guess from my years of K falsing over and over, I'm exra sensitive to it going off all the time. Even with the 9500ix's ability to "learn" my area and block out false k's, k falsing when I was on the road in new areas was pretty constant. So I'll take my chances with the 20% or so (maybe less) K band units in small towns still in use in Florida - In my experience, every time the unit goes of in KA it's a cop. Also, if they really want to get you, they'll just use instant on anyway. So best to slow down and use the unit as an extra measure of safety. Better mileage too! - Oh we do have a photo van here in town that uses K band. Looks like they've stopped using it though, as we have so many lawsuits over it now. I'm assuming the town (and State) doesn't want to hassle with lawsuits when it's so easy for them to find speeders with a regular old radar gun! - And redlight alerts with the 9500ix I don't need, as we don't have many here. Also, don't run redlights. Duhhh. Research has proven they actually cause more accidents as people slam on their brakes when they see the cameras!!! One last thing - the Passport 9500ix with gps and learning ability is an incredible piece of equipment. At $550. (with three year warranty and updates) it's pricy but amazing. I'd probably get one if I lived in Ohio or Arizona, California - places that have redlight, speed cameras and use alof of K band and some X band - and if I drove like I did when I was 18 in my cop magnet!!! |
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| "So far, so good" | 2009-10-06 |
| - Reviewed By ljvirgo |
| I have used several basic radar detectors over the years, with relative ease and success. However, I thought it might be time to invest in something with a little more technology, given the technology different agencies use on the roads. This item was very well rated on various consumer sites and they reports were correct. Very easy to use. Data feedback was clear and accurate. Worth the investment. |
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| "Set it up once, and let it warn you without annoying you" | 2009-09-19 |
| - Reviewed By R. Urban from Ohio, USA |
| Since I bought this detector, I have driven about 5000 miles and it has warned me numerous times. The auto mute feature gives you a reasonably loud beep or two, but does not drive you crazy in scenarios when you cant spare a hand to hit the mute button. I have been extremely satisfied. |
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| "Turn down the VOLUME!" | 2009-08-25 |
| - Reviewed By An Amazon User |
I bought this detector to replace an old Cobra unit that had died. I drive about 65 miles each weekday to and from work, so having a radar detector gives me peace of mind. When I first plugged in the Beltronics unit, everything seemed fine, but the first time it went off I almost jumped out of my skin! The default setting for the volume is apparently set to maximum, and this is a jarring setting. It took a while to figure out how to lower the volume to something more manageable. Now I just need to figure out why I'm getting alerts when there is no obvious source.
After the initial experience, I've been very happy with the Beltronics V995 detector. I especially like the locking mechanism for the mounting bracket, but I can also attach it to the Velcro on the dashboard. |
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