Escort radar detector

[Fred]

How many of you have one? And what's your opinion.

[polywideblock]

aren't they illegal Australia wide ?

[charger Downunder]

aren't they illegal Australia wide ?

Only if you get caught.

[Fred]

I bought it here.  
Besides, I should be detecting them long before they detect me.  
Also, they're 100% non detectable.

The thing is, since I've had it, I haven't come across a single speed trap in order to test it. Go figure!

[Lord Warlock]

They're undetectible until the cop walks up to your window and notices you forgot to take it down.  Also cops often see them mounted on the windshield and watch you take them off and stash em.  If they want to search, and find them, they would.  Depends on whether you're one of those that the cops tend to search or not.  I've never had one ask me to pop the trunk, much less ask to search the car. 

I've had two Escorts, they've been one of the leading brand detectors since the early 70s, and one of the most advanced.  I had an 8500 first, then i got the escort passport (wireless) which seems to work just as good and it runs on batteries so there is no cord and easily swaps from car to car.  The only other brand that really competes against escort is Valentine1.  Some of the Bell's rate decent, and some of those are remote mounted.  The smaller the signature the more expensive they tend to get.  Expect to spend between 299 and 599. 

[Fred]

Mine's the Redline pro A.   AU$860.00
I've also got a dash cam mounted on the windscreen which is more visible and takes attention away from the proA. I don't generally get pulled over and am pretty good with abiding by the rules. BUT occasionally when I'm in the Charger out on the freeways, I do like to put my foot down for short bursts and that's really all it takes to get caught if you're in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

[Chargerguy74]

I run a Beltronics STI Magnum. The thing is amazing. It was a tough choice between Bel and Escort, but after reading a lot of reviews and comparisons I don't think you could really go wrong with either. Escort is the parent company of Bel. The detector has saved me many times and they are legal in western Canada.

[Fred]

I run a Beltronics STI Magnum. The thing is amazing. It was a tough choice between Bel and Escort, but after reading a lot of reviews and comparisons I don't think you could really go wrong with either. Escort is the parent company of Bel. The detector has saved me many times and they are legal in western Canada.

 Legal......How good is that.
Funny thing that. It's legal to buy here, just not legal to use. lol.

[XS29L9Bxxxxxx]

Mine's the Redline pro A.   AU$860.00
I've also got a dash cam mounted on the windscreen which is more visible and takes attention away from the proA. I don't generally get pulled over and am pretty good with abiding by the rules. BUT occasionally when I'm in the Charger out on the freeways, I do like to put my foot down for short bursts and that's really all it takes to get caught if you're in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

Redline is a great one! Had a V1 since 92, got the RL in 2012 on a trial

[Mopar Nut]

I had one until I was pulled over doing 90 mph, the trooper turned his radar on at the last minute. I got off because I was honest and wearing my seatbelt. That was twenty years ago when I was young and full of stupidity.

[Fred]

Twenty years ago we were still able to get away with a lot of things. These days it's hard to get away with anything if you get caught.

[Brock Lee]

They are almost useless in some areas. Ohio has drones up all over the highways constantly emitting a signal and tripping these off. You can lock out the location, but there are so many you only end up with spotty coverage as the detector locks out the GPS coordinates of each of those areas. 

[Lord Warlock]

Not sure about drones per se, but here in florida they've been using planes to catch speeders for over 20 years, Luckily its too expensive to do that and get much return on the investment so we don't see them as much these days.  Course now we'll have to worry about drones doing the job, and we can't tell those from birds in most cases.  Whoever changed the laws to allow spying on the populace with drones was a moron.  Could understand when they wanted to view a fugitive from justice from an aerial perspective, but we all aren't  fugitives.

[Old Moparz]

I haven't used a radar detector in about 25 years. When the police started using the type of radar that they could leave off & only turn on when they wanted to snag someone, mine became useless. They also started using laser which meant I didn't have a chance unless I spent a lot of money on another one. My wife had one as well, (we both commuted 120 to 200 miles per day) but she found that the CB radio was much better. Other drivers would warn everyone about speed traps. I was also getting too many false alarms that became very irritating.  


 

[Mopar Nut]

I haven't used a radar detector in about 25 years. When the police started using the type of radar that they could leave off & only turn on when they wanted to snag someone, mine became useless. They also started using laser which meant I didn't have a chance unless I spent a lot of money on another one. My wife had one as well, (we both commuted 120 to 200 miles per day) but she found that the CB radio was much better. Other drivers would warn everyone about speed traps. I was also getting too many false alarms that became very irritating.  


 

[Tilar]

I run a Beltronics STI Magnum. The thing is amazing. It was a tough choice between Bel and Escort, but after reading a lot of reviews and comparisons I don't think you could really go wrong with either. Escort is the parent company of Bel. The detector has saved me many times and they are legal in western Canada.

 Legal......How good is that.
Funny thing that. It's legal to buy here, just not legal to use. lol.

Tell them that you weren't using it, you just put it up for decoration. 

[Fred]

I run a Beltronics STI Magnum. The thing is amazing. It was a tough choice between Bel and Escort, but after reading a lot of reviews and comparisons I don't think you could really go wrong with either. Escort is the parent company of Bel. The detector has saved me many times and they are legal in western Canada.

 Legal......How good is that.
Funny thing that. It's legal to buy here, just not legal to use. lol.

Tell them that you weren't using it, you just put it up for decoration. 

I'll tell them it's my heart monitor.  When it starts beeping, I need to slow down. 

[doctor4766]

Here in Western Australia radar detectors are legal to use.
I bought a Bel STi/R from a guy who used to rent my office area to run his online radar detector sales business. At the time, the Bel was the best available in his opinion.
The trouble now though is that in WA metro, the multanova roadside cameras have been swapped out for the new laser front/rear cameras, so even though my detector still goes off, it's too late to slow down as youve already been flashed.
The solution to the problem is a laser jammer that stops the camera from getting a reading of your speed in the first place.
These are expensive in comparison to standard radar detectors, but definately do the job.
Fred, google DONT GET CAUGHT for more info on jammers

[Fred]

Here in Western Australia radar detectors are legal to use.
I bought a Bel STi/R from a guy who used to rent my office area to run his online radar detector sales business. At the time, the Bel was the best available in his opinion.
The trouble now though is that in WA metro, the multanova roadside cameras have been swapped out for the new laser front/rear cameras, so even though my detector still goes off, it's too late to slow down as youve already been flashed.
The solution to the problem is a laser jammer that stops the camera from getting a reading of your speed in the first place.
These are expensive in comparison to standard radar detectors, but definately do the job.
Fred, google DONT GET CAUGHT for more info on jammers

Actually doc that's where I bought mine (WA) it's the very latest in detectors and will pick up radars from 1.6 miles away.
Thanks for the info, I'll do a google and check it out.

[doctor4766]

My buddy Sean has since returned to the US after selling his business, so dropping my name may be useless now.

[Fred]

My buddy Sean has since returned to the US after selling his business, so dropping my name may be useless now.

No worries mate, I wouldn't have anyway, not my style. 

[Chargerguy74]

Yeah I'm debating going with a jammer too. I've only racked up about $600 in photo laser tickets earlier this year but still can't justify the expense. I've learned to spot the regular laser setups, but a jammer with 4 seconds of jamming would be perfect! A lot of times when I get lasered from overpasses the radar detector doesn't even go off. It sucks getting the surprise in the mail and clearly seeing my radar detector on my windshield in the picture and knowing it never went off.

[Lord Warlock]

Getting caught with a detector is one thing, most cops don't really care that much, but getting caught with a jammer is another story, there are stricter penalties for those here in the US.  Plus there are plenty of scam products that promise jamming and don't do anything, the ones that do tend to cost a fortune in comparison to a nice detector.  A jammer won't stop the photo lazer tickets either.  Just something to keep in mind.  They mostly use instant on around here, sometimes laser, my passport detects both with an adequate to fairly long range.  IF they tag someone in front of you and you pick it up.  Even if jammed the cops are trained in estimating speed and are pretty darn accurate without any devices.  And can pull you over by estimating speed. 

[Chargerguy74]

But they're just parking sensors And I'd agree that most are useless. Instant on, or popping, is pretty common, but quickly stabbing the brakes has always saved me when popped. From what I've heard from others, getting popped normally means a ticket every time if speeding. Ive been lucky so far. Normally I'm not the first guy to get popped and I'll pick up some weak Ka band long in advance which results in me dropping my speed and setting the cruise until things settle down. But I've also been running the detector for 2 years now and have been fairing very well. I did have one bad scare once, but I was able to blend in and look innocent while the officer was trying to make a call on which one of us to take down. That would have been a tow lol. For the record, I am a defensive driver and consider myself one of the safest drivers on the road. Always watching out for others and trying to stay a step ahead of them has saved me a few times from getting plowed into. Some drivers are just oblivious to what's going on around them.

[Lord Warlock]

My escort always picked up about a mile and a half away, which was too far in most cases, you'd drive and drive and drive until you finally passed the cop.  It saved me alot of tickets in the stealth.  I got pulled over a lot with that car.  When I sold my previous car to get my current one, i gave the old 8500 to the new buyer, and bought myself a passport which i still own.  I just almost never use it anymore.  its in the console but never gets taken out unless i plan on a quick blast somewhere or go home on vacation to visit relatives.  I'd get lots of laser false alerts and finally disabled it, doesn't protect you much anyway.  

Usually i'd wait for an alert, then do one quick mash on the brakes which would drop me about 20mph in 3 seconds or less, then cross my fingers and hope the police would ignore me or not.  Did fail me once,  I got on the highway from an on ramp, and at the end of the ramp was doing about 110-120, got off the gas and as the car started slowing, a cop rode up on my right side, looked at me till i noticed, wagged his finger back and forth at me once, then drove off.  Looking older sometimes helps. 

[6spd68]

Looking older sometimes helps. 

One thing I look forward too with age...  Easier experiences with Ontario's finest...

[charge69]

I have a passport in both of our everyday vehicles and travel a bit between Houston and San Antonio on I-10.  The terrain is mostly flat with some hills closer to San Antonio. The passport detector usually picks up radar easily 2 to 3 miles away with plenty of time if I need it to slow down. I really think it is the best one out there. However: I use mine mainly for "informational purposes" as I like to know where the police are whether I am speeding or not.

That said, to me, the laser part is almost useless on it as it has never warned me in what I would call enough time to slow down before getting hit.  The last time I went to San Antonio I was travelling on Beltway 8, getting around to I-10 from my home north of Houston, and was hit by a laser just as I topped an overpass. I was speeding a little but was travelling with a pack of 8 to 10 cars all going a little fast.

As I went by, he put the laser gun away and got into his Tahoe police vehicle. I was not sure which of us he was going after but quickly learned it was me as he pulled up behind me and turned his lights on. I pulled over and got my drivers license and CHL out to give to him as we are supposed to do. My G30 Glock  .45 loaded with an extra loaded magazine inside was in a "day planner" holster right next to me in the drivers seat.

He walked up to the car and said "do you know you were going 82mph in a 65mph area?" I said I did not know how fast I was going but could have been going that fast as I was just travelling with the pack! I gave him both licenses and he quickly looked at my CHL and handed it back to me without a comment. He asked about insurance and we gave him our insurance card and he just said "wait here, please" and walked back to his cruiser to run the info. in his computer, I guess.

After about a minute, he returned to the side of our car, handed me my license and said "slow down a little and have a nice day" !  Not even a warning ticket!  I smiled all the way to San Antonio and considered that my "lucky day" but confirmed again the laser part does not give you enough warning!

[Fred]

This is all very interesting. Thanks for sharing your opinions and experiences. 

[Fred]

For the record, I am a defensive driver and consider myself one of the safest drivers on the road. Always watching out for others and trying to stay a step ahead of them has saved me a few times from getting plowed into. Some drivers are just oblivious to what's going on around them.

I agree. The only way to be safe on our roads these days is to pay attention to what all the other drivers are doing.

[ws23rt]

I had a fuzzbuster in the late seventies/ early eighties. A state patrol asked me one time if it saved me any money.  I told him maybe 3-4 hundred bucks over a couple of years.

He was just interested and said he doesn't use his radar much.  Said he likes the sport of pacing the speeder . (I got a ticket)

Another time with the same officer I was on the four lane interstate in my hemi RR that likes 80mph- at night- no other cars on the road. Something caught my eye to my right. He was next to me in the right lane and had turned on his dome light. (no head lights).  He had a big grin. (I got a ticket then too)

[Fred]

I had a fuzzbuster in the late seventies/ early eighties. A state patrol asked me one time if it saved me any money.  I told him maybe 3-4 hundred bucks over a couple of years.

He was just interested and said he doesn't use his radar much.  Said he likes the sport of pacing the speeder . (I got a ticket)

Another time with the same officer I was on the four lane interstate in my hemi RR that likes 80mph- at night- no other cars on the road. Something caught my eye to my right. He was next to me in the right lane and had turned on his dome light. (no head lights).  He had a big grin. (I got a ticket then too)

That's funny in a not so funny way.