I'M looking for a radar detector recommendation, I plan on buying it off ebay or just a good 2nd hand unit from the Corvette forum .
So are there any good radar detectors that you could recommend?
Thanks Boonie

 

I had an Escort 8500 x50 which I really liked, worked great and they're available all the time second-hand for about a hundred bucks.

Honestly though...a radio with Apple Carplay/Android Auto and a crowd-sharing navigation app like Waze. On my last road trip across the country, Waze (or the other users on Waze I should say) identified literally every speed trap for me miles in advance, much more reliably than my RADAR detector since those only provide warning during the brief windows in which the police RADAR is active.

 

Checkout Vortex Radar Detector videos on YouTube.

 

Valentine One.....been using mine for many years & have only been caught one time when I ignored the warnings.....plain ol' brain fart! I especially like the direction (ahead, behind, side) & the number of signals features.

 

I also had a V1 for years but finally tossed in a drawer and just purchased a Uniden R7. The V1 served me well for a long time but with today’s blind spot monitoring and such that vehicles have, it just became to noisy. I tried the limited programming that can be done but not much of a change. Sure you can can send it back in and they will upgrade it, but that is 200 - 300 dollars (and if old enough, it appears they are not doing that anymore). In my opinion, Valentine has dropped the ball in recent years, and to get full use out of it, you need to use a App in conjunction with it.

The R3 is fully programmable and when firmware updates come out, it can be done online. The range is one of the best out there it also has front and rear facing sensors with directional arrows, GPS, which can be used for marking known false hits.

But, with the lasers out there, none of the above really matters, unless you’re lucky enough to catch some scatter off another vehicle.

Much of the reason I like them is for the entertainment value of the game. Whenever I kick the throttle way down, I do so prepared to pay the ticket consequences.

 

I have an escort 8500 x50 for sale

if interested pm me

 

Escort Max 360 is a very nice, I have had mine a year and it is solid. Mixed with waze you are well protected. I have run Escort products for a long long time.

 

Valentine 1 is no longer manufactured, hasn't been in several years. Get the top of the line Uniden or Escort. Compared to ticket costs and insurance, a $600 detector is cheap.

 

That is not true about Valentine binging out of business for several years. There are current rumors, that since the V1 is currently unavailable, that a all new model is coming out soon, or he is going out of business.

 

Updated V1 is hopefully about a month out from being released. You can turn off the K band which is what most all of the car safety systems use, as long as the LEOs in your area don’t use it anymore.
Radenso has the best detectors out currently. They are developing a new model called Theia which will be a game changer, but it’s probably going to be upwards of $1000.

 

Completely agree. Waze saves me damn near daily on my 90mile round trip commute. Not that you don't need to pay attention but generally it is spot on and for all kinds of potential road hazzards, not just speed traps. I love fellow Wazers.

 

Waze is great if on a busy highway, but on a road without much traffic it is pretty useless. I run escort, and waze, and google but most of my driving is on back roads and I never see any updates on waze. If you live near high populations, yes waze is awesome.

 

Uniden R3 is the best bang for the buck at the moment.

 

Got a great deal on Rakuten on the R3.

 

Uniden R3 for me.

Great radar for the price.

 

R7 right now, if you had to go out and get one today OR wait for the new Redenso with A.I. learning capabilities - called Theia.

From what we are seeing on line, it will have the capabilities to tell the differences between automatic door openers at stores and traffic radar. Basically, way less falses and artificial intelligent type of learning capabilities. It will do way more than that, but just that alone is groundbreaking.

It will be a game changer and probably be a grand or more.

https://radenso.com/products/radenso-theia

 

do you have it hardwired into the rearview?

 

I'm using the R7 coupled with Waze until Theia comes out. Then I'll see what I want to do.

Prior to the Uniden I had a Passport 9500ci and a Passport Max 2. I can't go back to non directional arrows on a unit ​​​​after the R7.

 

I have: Uniden R3, Uniden R7 and Escort Max II.

Uniden R3 is absolutely fantastic for the money. The only drawback is that it can pick up almost too far away, meaning if you're in an area where multiple highways meet then have no clue where the signal is coming from. So it can become a bit easy to stop paying attention if you aren't careful (I work near a section that has 3 highways coming together). Manual GBS lockout.

Uniden R7 again has the ability to see far way. The arrows are the nice addition though left/right is shown as a single display so you know it's coming from a side, but not sure which side. Not a huge deal since if it's from a side, it's more than likely not near you else you'd be previously getting the front arrow. Again, manual GBS lockout.

Max II is a good unit also though it doesn't see as far away. The automatic GBS lockout is nice, but remember that lightening can strike twice, so when it locks out you need to make sure it's really a signal and location that will not have radar in the future. (someone help me here - does it lock out the location or the location and frequency?) Bluetooth programming is nice.

Overall opinion - for the money, Uniden R3. If you can afford a bit more then the R7. (I match both up with the Escort M1 Dash Cam. Hardwired into the mirrors.)

Past units that my son-in-law has now are the Escort Max and Passport. I'm going to give him the Max II since it's a good improvement over the Max and Passport - I can't really recommend either of those.

Whatever you do - don't go cheap else all it will be is an annoying noise maker.


EDIT: Anyone else old like me remember the Fuzz Buster? Back in the day with the metal dashes - my brother had one and the big thing was to hide it by covering with a tissue box with a couple holes cut out for the radar, light and squelch ****.

 

The Valentine One is still in production. They have a new model that doesn't pick up all of the garbage out there. Also, Mike Valentine still comes into work every day!

I just got the new one on a trade-in of my old V-1 that could not be upgraded. Works super!