Some of you may know I just got a Passport 8500 X50 in two days ago. This morning i was driving 80mph to on freeway 580. It seem pretty fast, because there were not that many cars and they were driving 70 soemthing. Then i saw a cop car chasing up and hiding hiding another car!!! I know he was waiting for me to go faster, because my car was the only good target at that time. I was like...O Sh*T!!! I brake til 65mph, then he started to slow down, too. He stared at me when we were side by side. Then, within 2 miles, a 328i sedan got pwned.

The thing is...the radar detector didn't detect anything. Maybe because the cop didn't has his radar on. I am kinda disappointed of its performance now, because i almost got another ticket. (the last one was $430, doing 77 in a 50 zone.) I guess i always have to be careful even with a R D.

 

radar detectors are not always going to save you. for one the cop did come up behind you....and most cops dont use radar anymore.....i know where i am from the cops around here have lasers that are mounted in the front and rear bumpers....they hit a button and got your speed.

 

That or he was just going to pace you. Thats a popular move in traffic...following normally and then boom lights flash and he nails you.

 

CHP's favorite tactic is to sneak up and pace you....you saw him before he had a chance. It's much harder to beat a "Pace Ticket" in court vs. radar.

I've had a V1 detector......since Dec. 2000. I've learned that CHP uses primarily Ka band...and the local cops around here (NorCal) mostly use K band.

 

Radar detector are now useless!!!! Cops dont use them they all use Laser Gun at leaset in urban areas, that's why you see them parked hidden and waiting to gun you. the fact that your Radar detector can also detect laser but by the time it beeps the cops already zapped you and got your speed. Not to mention High way patrol can guage your speed just by seeing you....

 

You know the best method to avoid a speeding ticket.....





































Don't speed

 

yeah...try not to speed.
do you get reckless when you pass over 25mph from speed limit?

 

Preach on, preach on brother...they dont leave rader on all the time, they see you coming then they point that thing at your car, by that time its too late for detector to warn you, when they do actuclly gives you warning signal, is when they pick up "residual" radar wave from last trigging.

Ken and Sean are you coming to the meet on Sunday?

 

his radar must have been off............or he popped you and you dont have that option turned on

 

The X50 isn't a cop detector.

I have no problems with mine. You just need to be aware of your surroundings and know where the cops use radar.

For instance, in San Diego. Anywhere NORTH of I-8 cops use radar so speed all you want. South of the I-8 they prefer the pace method.

 

You are clueless.. Radar detectors are uselss unless you know how to use them.

First of all, state troopers KNOW that people have radar detectors, and that they think they can get away with speeding, which is dead wrong. Most state troopers (around here anyway) get all their speeders by pacing them, meaning they drive behind, do the speed limit for a little, and find the car gaining the most distance ahead of them (while hiding behind other cars so it is not noticeable to you) and then nailing you like that. Without any use of a speed gun.

Most other cop cars that will hide out on back wide opened roads will use radar detection and hide on the side of the road and try and get you. And dont think you are safe from oncoming traffic cops from the other lane too.

 

Funny, I haven't gotten a ticket in more than ten years and man, I speed all the time. Never (much) faster than everyone else and I keep my eyes peeled, but if I'm on the freeway, I'm pretty much speeding. I got really annoyed yesterday when I was on my way home from work and a cop pulled in behind me. I felt like I was poking along at 35, since I was used to going 45 or so along there.

When I was in Texas I ran with a radar detector all the time; I still have my old V1 (the very first model, I believe). Here in California, though, they almost always nail you by pacing you or, on the rural interstate, by a spotter in the air and then pacing you. Makes it tough for those of us who like to get places in a hurry.

My rules of thumb, though, are: Pay attention! Never drive faster than is safe under the circumstances. Don't stand out or draw unwelcome attention. Never, ever drive too fast on a neighborhood street. Oh, yeah, and pull over when the paramedics are going by. (One time I was coming back through Malibu on PCH when those guys were coming through, from behind me. This *ssh*le wouldn't let me over, he sat right in my blind spot until I gunned it and jumped in front of him. Then after the paramedic went by he popped out and followed them. Five minutes later I passed him. He had been pulled over by CHP and the cop was writing him a ticket. Heh. I waved. )

As far as radar detectors, though, I never use one here. No point.

 

Ayup. They're just a tool. It doesn't matter how good a tool is if you don't know how to use it.

But those situations are where detectors are most useful. If you hang back from some other speeder you can almost always get a hint they're there from the scatter when they zap someone. Of course, this doesn't work on a narrow windy road in a pine forest in East Texas, he said from experience. (Pine needles absorb those signals really well and I was almost the only car on the road that day. He came around the curve and zapped me instantly. Got me doing 90 in a 55. )

 

I know radar detector ain't cop detector and i do understand the basic concept of it. I just had a weird feeling, because i just got a $300 detector and i almost got a ticket with it on.

 

I may come. It's a long day event, not sure if i have the whole day, but i really want to see the G people.