you have to know how to use a radar detector. this is the biggest reason why they dont work for so many people. not every cop has his radar on 24/7. chances are, if its just normal driving, the cop wont have it on at all. and if he's taggin people from the middle of the highway and it doesnt go off when you go by him, its because he was using laser. with laser being only a 3-6 ft beam, only the car that's getting tagged will get an alert. to me it sounds like blaze didnt exactly know what he was doing, and the 8500 is outdated, the x50 is the current model of the 8500. you have to know how to use it. ignorance will screw many people in the RD game.

 

i had an 8500 in my old truck and ive got a 9500i in my tc... good stuff, dont know if the v1 is worth the extra money, but it is an awesome radar aswell. and im 90% sure the passport and bel are now the same thing, just an FYi.

as for mounting, mine is on low middle of my glass and the cord is run under the dash... dont really have god pics of the loc, but its the red lights in the middle of the glass.

 

now how does the GPS thing work on the 9500? does it show where the frequency is coming from on a GPS or what?

 

Thanks for all the good info. ^ I also want to know about the GPS capability, what's that all about? Also, is there any detector which can be mounted on the dash instead of on the glass? (Same location but without the suction cups). Any suggestions on how to achieve this?

 

Yup sure you can, as long as you mount it in a way where the detector part is not blocked by anything solid then it should be good. I own the bel RX65 pro and has saved me lots of tickets, I was even pulled over once for no license plate and the cop commented "what is that radar detector for?" i was like duh! It was on a open highway, it went off even before he was visible to me. But you should be good with those RD mentioned above just respect their limitations.

 

And what was your reply to the cop?

 

Lol this is what he exactly said "What is that radar detector for? So you can speed?" I dont know what to say so I replied anything as fast as I can "not really" lol but he cut off that conversation gave me a ticket for no front plate but he had that sarcastic smile, looks ____ed.

 

ahh that sucks if cops around you are rich enough to use a lot of laser...not much to do against that except get a laser deflector which is pretty expensive.

 

I assume laser deflectors/diffusers are illegal?

 

nope, they're not illegal. they're just bound to ____ off cops, and you'll be out an extra 850 bucks at the minimum to have 2 diodes placed on the front of your car. anti-laser and cheetah both make about the same unit. kinda like the rx65 and the 8500 x50.

with regards to the gps stuff on the 9500...basically, the detector picks up the frequency and band of the radar signal and then memorizes it location. you then press a button on the 9500 to store the location. in the future, that exact radar band and frequency will not go off again at that exact location.

 

Yeah it's cool and maybe worth it if you don't already have a radar detector

It varies by state.

 

California law VC section 28150

28150. (a) No vehicle shall be equipped with any device that is designed for, or is capable of, jamming, scrambling, neutralizing, disabling, or otherwise interfering with radar, laser, or any other electronic device used by a law enforcement agency to measure the speed of moving objects.

 

my bad you're right....it does vary by state. here in oh they're legal

 

well if you really want to not get caoght get a radar scarmbler yes it is illegal but it sends them a false reading like they miss hit you if they are going the other way they wont even turn around if they are sitting being a "leo" you have a button turning the scrambler off..... but what ever you do dont get a cobra you would be better off getting a pair of glasses than buying a cobra radar detector... get a escort or beltronics or v1 if your going to go cheap go with a "high end" whistler... also i would hard wire it dont get that coordless ones.. as well as the higher you go less falses but its harder to catch laser... but thats why you get laser blockers and your okay!

if your getting escort go with the 9500i or the x50
beltronics has the sti or the rx 75/65
and you cant go wrong with the v1....

 

Hmm, save your money to pay for the ticket. 'Round here if they zap ya, they've got ya. And being caught with a RD on ya dash generally = ticket. Use your eyes.

 

its obstructing view ticket you have to have it on your dash or above the rvm

 

I knew how to use and mount it but laser is precise to pick up
It was the x50(sorry i didnt remember the entire model number)

It worked decent with Ka and X band but not with laser.

 

laser is subjective, the only person who's gonna know about it is the cop. i can tell you 100% for sure that if i'm getting tagged with laser, my x50 is ALL over it. anyways, we all share different views.

guys.....cmon.....be smart. RD's have a night mode where its basically impossible to see them from outside the car. on the x50, it will either say HD (for highway driving), CD, or AD (city and auto). so leave it on that at night. when you pick up the signal from a cop, the very first thing you do is hit the brakes...next, visually verify the cop. once you've visually verified the cop, TAKE THE RD DOWN. all you guys with tC's have a nice little cubby hole right in front of the shifter that's very accomodating for an RD.....i know because i use it for my RD.


crimson's view on saving the money to pay for the ticket.....basically....if you routinely speed at 8-10 mph above the speed limit....chances are you're getting more than one ticket. and after about 2 tickets, you just paid the city the same price as what your RD would have cost. with the speed limit in cincinnati at 55 mph, my RD has saved me from dozens of tickets. i typically drive 75 mph.....like most people do for highway cruising, and a couple of tickets for 20 over will have you thinking quick about getting an RD....so get one before you get the ticket, and save your **** from the ticket.

 

and to those who are too lazy to take the RD down.... your argument is invalid IMO.... http://www.radarbusters.com/radar-de...4293856166.cfm

 

I use the chubby when I leave my car but why take it down if your passing the cop? Might just be my area but I've stopped for red lights next to a cop countless times and have yet to take it down or even have any trouble because of it. Radar Detectors aren't illegal so they can't give u a ticket for it.