I concur

 

Yes indeed

 

For a windshield mounted detector, the two top options are: Valentine V1 Gen2 or a Uniden product. For an excellent lower cost detector, the Uniden R4 is a great bang for the buck.

 

On my cross country and back trip, JBV1 (which gets it crowd sourced alerts sourced from WAZE) gave me many more heads up than the V1. I can't count the number of times I knew well before I got there that Johnny Law was "observing" but not using his "gun", so the detector wouldn't go off at all. ..

As many above have stated, to be safe(r) use both. ... . In my case I wasn't exceeding the posted limit(s) by more than 10%, usually, but one never knows how strict the constabulary will be in an unfamiliar jurisdiction.

 

JVB1 is an excellent app. Be aware that if Johnny Law was using Lidar for speed enforcement, his Lidar gun would not set off a radar detector in most cases.

 

If you're close enough to a car that get hits with the laser, a good detector might go off because of how the antenna is designed, but you have to be close. If its just you and the cop on the road, you have no chance, which is where the apps come in. Up here in ND and SD very rarely do I run into laser.

 

Just checked to see if illegal in SC! We had a VP Operations with a large boat in Myrtle Beach and on Friday would speed on the hour trip using a "jammer" that prevented tickets. Our plant was located on I95 and all troopers and local cops were just waiting for speeders on the 1+ hr trip to the beach. He said he never got a ticket.

• South Carolina Code Section 56-5-3870 makes it illegal to use radar jammers.
• Radar jammers are also illegal at the federal level. The FCC has banned radar jammers since 1996, including the sale, use, and advertising of these devices.
• Advanced radar guns can detect radar jammers by monitoring the return frequency of the jammer.

 

That's why I run 2 of them. 1 in each car. No X band & I like to hear all alerts. The arrows are quick. The R8's are too slow in my testing. Especially when leaving a radar source. They are ugly too & looks like they belong in 1985.

 

Just got my Valentine. I would say it is plug and play if you only learn how to turn the volume down. With the app even I have managed to change a few things and I have little patience for overly-complicated tech stuff. On airplanes there is a lot of tech but at least it's there to help you keep the shiny side up. 😁

 

Using just the V1app (from Valentine) you can adjust the most critical settings, but get JBV1 if you have an android phone. The defaults are fine, but take your time and slowly go thru the various menus. There's a lot to find. It may take weeks!, but it's worth it. ...

Now here's a tip. At some point, you'll get a notification that the firmware of the V1G2 is ready to be updated. For this you MUST use the native app (V1 Connection). Now, if you have multiple detectors, as I do, when you try to update the 2nd unit, it will not connect. ... In fact, even if you just want to use the app, you can't get in. What you have to do is go into the APPS setting of your phone, find V1 Connection, and CLEAR THE CACHE. On the other hand JBV1 will recognize any of your detectors automatically, (at least up to three) including a mix of V1G1 and V1G2s. --one at a time, of course... but you can't update thru that app.

 

He's referring to LIDAR jammers, which are not illegal at the fed level, but are illegal in 10 or 12 states. To OP, I used to have a Uniden, I went back to Valentine when the G2 came out and V1G2 + JBV1 + Waze are going to be hard to beat. Waze is on my C8 screen, JBV1 on my phone mounted next to the screen. detector is located at top of windshield to the right of the rear view and is very difficult to spot. I also turn off all lights on the detector and use my cell phone as the display via bluetooth/JBV1.

 

Visit Vortex radar site and read and learn. There is no one detector that is best at everything, so you need to decide what's important to you and what you're willing to compromise on. If you're willing to invest some time and have an Android phone, the combination of the Valentine 1 Gen 2 and the JBV1 app is hard to beat at anything. But it does add complication. If you want something that's just plug and play, there are better choices. But again, what's best for your needs and wants may not be the same as what someone else chooses.

https://www.vortexradar.com

Pure BS. Must be a bald cop.

Legal, yes. But a LEO may be a lot more likely to write a ticket vs. a warning if they see an RD in use.

I tens of thousands of miles of highway travel up and down the east coast, I see radar in common use, LIDAR only rarely. (A good detector will let you know when you've been tagged with LIDAR. Not in time to do anything about it, but you'll know when it's in use.) LIDAR units are much more expensive, harder to use (must be static and the LEO has to sight on a specific vehicle. Radar units are cheap, require no effort, and are frequently used in moving vehicles. An RD, combined with Waze or JBV1 (which also provides Waze alerts) won't be foolproof, but it will probably protect you from 98% of speed traps.

​​​​​​​Except that all the top RDs also detect LIDAR (see above.)

 

FHP love their lasers. Troopers set up horizontal in the median, with the passenger window down & aim their laser gun at traffic approaching. They get a lock, & are up your behind in seconds of passing them. My V1 has been silent most times. Sometimes I get a scatter hit.

 

I use a Uniden R8 in a Bartallama3D infotainment screen mount: https://www.bartallama3d.design/prod...9-c8-uniden-r8
I plug it into the socket below the glove compartment. I picked that mount because I didn't want to mount it to the windshield or rear view mirror and hardwire it or have dangling cables. The infotainment mount is clean, out of the way and allows me to swap it easily between cars.
I also have Waze up on the infotainment screen.

 

+1 on the R4.

 

I travel in FL (and TN, who do the same) regularly and agree! WAZE, in addition to my V1, helps greatly!

In GA, especially south GA, favorite spot for officers to sit is on overpass bridges, or at the top of the exit you just passed!

Nothing is foolproof of course, but running WAZE, and participating to keep it updated on radar/laser locations will keep one very aware.

 

Whenever my GPS prompts and ask if there's a a speed detector or radar going on to check speeds, I always submit yes. : )

 

 

The thing about radar detectors is when they detect the signal you are already seen by the police. If you have, as you noted, a low propensity for being stopped I would not worry about it. And yes, you probably got stopped for the rapid acceleration. There are actually statutes concerning what are considered, "Jack Rabbit Starts".

 

Completely untrue. Modern detectors (and I mean any good one made in the last decade) have way more range than the LEO can visually identify you. I've picked up signals around corners, over hills and at distances where I literally could not see the LEO. This is true, however, of laser/lidar and is why you should run Waze/GMaps as well as an RD (laser/lidar can only be run stationary, radar can be run stationary or moving).