Radar Detectors

Beltronics BEL 980 Radar Detector Technical Details:980 Key FeaturesDetection Mode:City / Highway modesDetection Area...

Bel 980 worth every penny Beltronics BEL 980 Radar Detector In a recent 120 mile trip, I can upon eight state troopers scattered about. The Bel 980 was superb in alerting me...

I’ve had the Bel 980 since 2002, and previously owned many models of cheaper detectors (below $150). After years of false alarms and poor warning from the cheap detectors, I can comparatively say that the Bel 980 is far, far superior.

The problem with the cheap units, which you can get at Radio Shack or many electronic stores, is twofold: 1) not enough warning for real speed traps, and 2) false alarms when there is no trap. In fact, #2 false alarms is one of the worst characteristics of most detectors, since it trains the user to ignore the nosily thing, and keep on speeding.

The Bel 980, once installed, immediately cut my false alarm rate into a third of what I had before. But it also gave me more advanced warning of real speed traps.

But on top of improvements in the two most important aspects, the 980 also provided some very useful features:

- settings memory: every time I turn off and on the car, the 980 remembers the settings I set. This means I don’t have to touch the thing to make it work right every time. My Bel is plugged in such that power to the unit is cut with the ignition key, so it’s totally idiot proof. Set it and forget it.

- Beeps to clicks: my older detectors would beep when they detected radar, and the beeping intensifies with the strength of the signal. This beeping can drive you insane if you are following a cop cruiser, so a lot of people just turn it off or turn down the volume (only to regret that later). The Bel 980 only beeps for a few seconds to get your attention, but then replaces the beeps with more mellow “clicks”. The clicks are not annoying at all, and they let you hear the intensity of the radar signal without deafening you.

- Customization settings: The Bel 980 has all kinds of custom settings, all of which are saved even when powered off. Some things like which bands to warn on, lighting preferences, traffic warning preferences, etc. All in all, a good set of choices, although not as important to me as those mentioned already above.

All in all, a great detector for the price, and has saved me from lots and lots of speeding tickets in the past three years. I have one in each car.

On the downside, it does have a learning curve. For example an experienced Bel 980 user can “sense” when warnings are real or false based on how they start, grow, and fade away, but a new user might over-react to some false warnings.

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