 "Not bad." | 2008-10-07 |
| - Reviewed By xamox |
| Pretty good detection overall. The only issue I have with it, is I wish it was louder. I can't seem to hear it a lot of times over my music or if my windows are down. Other than that it picks up radar quite nicely, I thought it was going haywire one day while in town, only to find out it was picking up the radar from the auto-enforced street light. |
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| "Beltronics 955 radar detector review" | 2008-09-29 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3RHWZ095JB808 |
| Good product. br /Gives a fair warning of police radar presence. Wish it gave a better warning in some cases though. The reaction time in a few cases was mere seconds but usually this is not the case. br /I like the programmable features and they're easy to use and the detector remembers them after you turn it off and on again.br /I bought this after seeing that it was considered the 'best under $200 radar' by more than a few sources. br /I found mine on Amazon for $50 dollars cheaper than a lot of the other bigger sites. I paid $153 total to get it to my door.br /Detects on all the bands used to catch speeders. br /Now I need a laser jammer. |
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| "Probably the best bang for the buck in radar detectors right now" | 2008-09-12 |
| - Reviewed By User: A33WIN510NQ3GK |
Yes, the Valentine, Escort 9500-series, Bel Sti-series all get 95+ percentile performance for $400+. The Bel Vector series (all of which have the same sensitivity performance, just differ on features) reliably tests in the 60-70 percentile range with independent repeated testing. This makes for ample time to recognize police radar operating in the area. Compared to the dismal 5-10 percentile range performance for the best of the Cobra/Rocky Mountain Radar line (avoid even at a fraction of their price), the Vector 955 is a quality, good performing detector.
The Vectors have better false-recognition than most radar detectors built before 2004, but today, they're just an also-ran in that department and will pick up X and K band automated door openers from your local supermarket. The Vector 955 has the feature to turn off X-band, which is rarely used outside of New Jersey. For this reason, the Vector 955 is my bang-for-the-buck choice over the Vector 940. Though I will give a positive nod to the Whistler Pro 78 which has similar performance.
The Vector 955 also has Voice alerts and can be connected to auxiliary devices such as the Beltronics SmartCord for remote operation, or the Cincinnati Microwave ZR4 Laser Shifter. For motorcycles, it can be connected with the H.A.R.D. helmet LED device that lights up a tiny light in your helmet when the radar detector alerts to radar.
The Vector 955 (like many detectors), does not do so well in very hot weather, such as 110-degree days in the sun in Arizona. When hot (combined with the heat of it's own operation), the device can give error/service codes. |
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 "Excellent value" | 2008-07-25 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2BO3QLP9ZGM78 |
| The BEL Vector 955 is better than I expected. There are very few false alarms and detection of radar or lazer is at least a mile or more. It has saved me already on two occasions since I received it 2 weeks ago. I would rate it near much more costly detectors. Amazon has once again come through with quick shipping and excellent value. I'll be back! |
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| "Owner for almost a year now..." | 2008-07-17 |
| - Reviewed By User: A8Z83VNJYKG3E |
| I have owned my 955 for around a year now and it is definitely the best performing radar I have ever owned. Sure it has its faults but overall it is a great value. This thing has saved me in at least 4 different sates. It picks up on K band incredibly well especially on an open highway. If it alerts the K or Ka you can be 97% sure that it is police radar. There are some X false alarms but the city mode eliminates those or at least mutes them until they are very strong. The laser sometimes goes off randomly as well but not very often. WARNING... I know that it is common sense but do not leave your unit on the dash in sunlight unattended for too long. You will get the service errors and will be lucky if it still works after a couple of times. Mine has only diplayed this when it has gotten very hot. The auto volume feature on this thing is my favorite! It just lowers the volume in a couple of seconds as not to annoy you too much but to let you know what is around. I would definitely recommend this product even though I have not had any experience with the customer service. Thanks for reading |
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| "Price Value equation is right on" | 2008-07-02 |
| - Reviewed By gdipietr |
| I bought this detector to mount to a Honda 599 motorcycle for the most part. It performs flawlessly when detecting radar but often falses on X band when encountering alarm systems. If you ride uphill into the setting sun it also falses for laser alert. I'm not sure if the more expensive detectors false less but you can usually tell if it's a false alert depending on the band. If it's KA band they are using instant on further ahead and you should slow down. I'm not sure what you are gaining by going with the $300 plus models. |
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 "Beware - defective product, poor response from Bel" | 2008-06-30 |
| - Reviewed By davidkrump |
Purchased from Amazon and has not worked in Ka band since new. No alarm passing traffic boxes that display speed, or patrol officers using Ka band. I received two tickets from radar patrols, one only a warning, thankfully. Also, if left in the heat, will display "service required" and not work until it cools down. Betronics people trained to provide lame excuses; claims Amazon is suspect retailer, may have re-packaged defective unit as new, traffic boxes not calibrated or don't use radar. Made me pay another $59.95 to get repaired even though it has NEVER worked, right out of the box. Even though using two detectors in a car is not advised, I ran this unit side-by-side with my 15 year old 9500 Passport and the Bel remained silent as the 9500 alarmed in Ka mode. In all other modes, it performed as well, or better. I didn't know for sure that it wasn't working until I performed this test. Until then, I was believing the Beltronics BS. By the time I returned it, I was one month out of the 1-year warranty. One final note, it will give a continuous laser alert if you are driving into the least amount of sunshine. Is an excellent sun detector, not sure if really detects laser or not. I just got off the phone where I informed Beltronics that I would write this review in response to the way they handled my return of this defective product. Hopefully, after paying a traffic ticket, increased insurance, and an additional $59.95 to repair, they will return a working unit to me, but I will never trust it. Although they are now owned by the same company, I should have paid the extra money (actually much less than this has cost me) and bought a top of the line Escort.
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| "Vector 955" | 2008-06-20 |
| - Reviewed By User: A8Y4678B5ULS9 |
To start, this is the best radar detector I've ever had! I pick up a cop long before he can ever see me. I have only had a few close calls (careful over hills), but it is a world of difference compared to by old Cobra (they are more likely to GET you a ticket due to their range).I go at least 15 over everywhere I go.
One day, I driving along the highway and got a K-band alert. Thinking it as a false (it has no K-band filtering BTW) I kept going. The bar keeps going up and I see the policeman over a mile away!
This detector takes some getting used to. For example, if you are at point blank range, it will continue going off even after the threat has passed (at full alert w/ all bars). So basically if it starts going off, just slow down and don't wait for all the bars to go up.
This detector has a few customiztions. I prefer the no-X filter because of multiple X-band doors in my area. There are other features that are useful, but not essential. (Their website is very informative). Something that wasn't listed on their website is the detach feature. I find this useful because in some areas of my city, it is likely to get stolen. So I end up detaching it with the button on top and locking it up.
This is the best value for your money IMO. I wouldn't buy the Vector 995 unless you REALLY need those features (you won't) because they have the SAME range. (check some reviews online). Honestly besides the occasional false (which isn't a big deal really), I am very happy with my purchase.
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| "So far so good" | 2008-06-12 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2AJY1SIUU84AU |
| No problems so far with false alarms, etc. The detector broke after about 2 weeks, but Amazon replaced it very quickly.... |
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| "sensitve detector, poor mount" | 2008-06-11 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2MZ2MSBFELUNH |
| This seems to be a good detector. I got caught in Ohio by a cop that just turned on his laser. The detector lit up and sounded off like the 4th of july, but the laser was just turned on so they got me. You really need a radar and laser jammer nowadays. The mount sucks. Use a grip pad for the dash, or maybe hang from the mirror in states were its legal to have these. I havan't been using as a result of the laser problem. But it has definitely saved me a few potential tickets. I didn't even know they were using those new sport looking Dodge sedans for law enforcement in Mi til i bought this beltronics. Great at detection, but that's not enough. |
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