Radar Detectors

Good range… but WAY too many false alarms Beltronics Vector 995 Radar Detector My previous radar detector was a Beltronics Vector 985. The 985 had become one of those 'industry standards', and ...

Must Have! Beltronics Pro RX65 Radar Detector This is a must have radar detector. I have tested it against the Escort Passport 8500 and it outperforms it in th...

Thought I did enough research on this detector to justify spending the money for it, but was way off on my expectations. I got it for $268 online and was pleased till I put it in my truck. The thing will false over anything, and not just the annoying one and done beeps, but the kind that actually ramp up to 4 or 5 and then go away! What’s this?!? If I had bought an el cheapo brand then I could understand a false generated by another detector, but this was supposed to be a pretty nice piece of equipment. I am extremely unsatisfied with it. It’s to the point where I don’t even pay it any attention unless it’s absolutely screaming.

The other nagging issue for me is the City-X or City-All feature. City-X is pretty good. In city mode the detector gives a visual indication, but does not beep unless the signal strength of the radar goes above a set threshold. This I like. However, in City-All mode, you get the visual and a first beep for all bands and then clicks until the signal is gone. So when I go to City-All, now I have to listen to the X band beeping all the time. I personally think the City-All should work like the City-X and give only a visual alert until a minimum threshold is crossed, at which point the beeps should start.

The windshield mount is the worst design I’ve ever encountered. With all other detectors I’ve owned (more recently Escort and from my teen years cheap Unidens), the back of the unit has rubber pads that rest against the windshield that keep the casing stable and allow it to ride over bumps with the vehicle. With the Bel, you have to put the mount together, insert a set screw and then figure out a way to hold the detector in place while you tighten the screw to try and set the angle that the detector sits on the window. What this leads to is that the unit itself is just sort of floating about an inch away from the windshield and when you go over any type of bump, then detector bounces a good deal. I don’t think all this bouncing is an inherently good design from an engineering standpoint. I don’t like the fact that you let the radar just bounce around all the time. Seems like with sensitive electronics, you would want everything as stable as possible.

On the plus side, I like the digital voice feature. My wife hates it, but it’s not in her vehicle, so it doesn’t really matter. After reading through the manual once, it’s very easy to navigate through the user programmable menus.

Just for comparisons sake, I have a 3 year old Escort in my car that I would not trade for anything. I wanted to try to Bel unit to see if I could get any better performance for a better price. Unfortunately, I have found that this is not true, at least not with the Bel, and a new Escort 8500 on order for my truck.

Great Performance! Beltronics Vector 940 Radar Detector This radar detector exceeded all expectations. The sensitivity is outstanding while filtering out false alerts. ...

A great detector for a moderate price Beltronics Express 935 Radar Detector I asked for this radar detector for Christmas to replace my 10 year old Escort 5000. I was going to replace my Es...

A More Than Sensible Detector… Beltronics BEL 980 Radar Detector Beltronics has produced a second rate performance, but first-rate value detector for many years. With the New 900 ...

Beltronics Vector 995 Multi-Band Radar Detector Vector 995 Multi-Band Radar Detector features: digital "POP" Alert, Voice Alerts help keep your eyes on the road, Digital Signal Processing...

Beltronics Pro RX65 is the way to go, with no regrets! Beltronics Pro RX65 Radar Detector Bought a RX 65 last month to replace a Cobra that had lost it's voice(??). Did my home work for 3 weeks, and start...

Bel 960 Another great product from Beltronics. Beltronics Vector 960 Radar Detector This is my second Bel detector in my last 2 years. The previous one I have is the Bel 870. This time, Bel does a...

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Tags: 8500, Beltronics, cheap, Escort, Uniden

Filed under: Radar Detectors Reviews