Are you a commercial driver who has a radar detector installed in your rig? Did you know that today police use a device called the Spectre which is a radar detector detector that is able to identify over 95% of all radar detectors on the road today and if your caught your commercial license could be in jeopardy?

And did you know not only are commercial drivers at risk but anyone that drives any motor vehicle in Washington DC, Virginia or even on a US Military Base where radar detectors are illegal are also at risk of hefty fines as police this same Spectre RDD technology.

As most every radar detector manufactured, including that expensive and somewhat outdated Valentine One, leaks radio frequency or RF from their oscillators, the Spectre RDD is able to detect this leakage hundreds of feet away, thereby notifying police that you have a radar detector.

Therefore if you want to be able to enjoy have the added security of using a radar detector without being detected by the Spectre RDD you’re only choice is to select one of the few radar detectors that are proven to beat the Spectre RDD such as the Beltronics STi Driver radar detector.

The Beltronics STi Driver was the first radar detector ever that was designed with the commercial driver in mind as it is able to beat all radar detector detectors past, present and future including the Spectre because of its ZERO LEAKAGE technology.

The STi Driver’s twin antenna design coupled with its shielded magnesium case enables the unit to be completely RF leakage free.

As far as sensitivity and performance you’ll be please to know that the STi Driver ranked near the top during our testing and that the unit also has exceptional filtering capabilities to keep those annoying false alerts to a minimum.

One of most frequently asked questions we receive in regard to the Bel STI Driver is “What is the difference between the Escort Redline and the STi “

First off today Beltronics and Escort are the same company and their detectors are designed by the same engineers and manufactured at the same North American plant located outside of Toronto Canada.

Beltronics first introduced the STi in 2006 and the Escort Redline model followed a few years later and is based upon this same hardware technology, but utilizes what I feel a slightly better firmware technology that gives the Redline an edge in sensitivity and range.

The Redline is a little more expensive than the STi, but I feel that the extra range that it affords you is well worth it.

If you should have any questions please email me direct using the contact form on top of this website.

Do you do extensive driving in North American and abroad in Europe or Asia and are you searching for an International radar detector?

If so you may then want to consider the Bel Vector 995 radar detector.

The Bel V995 includes the European Ku band and has over ten times the range and sensitivity of those other cheap International radar detectors.

However, if you do most of your driving in the US and/or Canada, I would not recommend the Vector 995 as we found in our testing that the Bel RX65 and the Escort 8500 x50 are better tuned for driving in North America and is less prone to those annoying false alerts.

Some of the most frequently asked questions that we receive from clients who either own or are considering purchasing the Bel 995 are;

“Should I activate the Ku band on the Bel 995” and “Why doesn’t Bel honor the warranty for the detector that I just purchased on Ebay, Amazon or Overstock?”

There is no police agency in North America that uses Ku band so no; I would not recommend that you activate this band.

Ku is primarily used in European countries so unless you’re planning a trip on the Autobahn, keep it turned off.

As far as Beltronics and Escort not honoring the warranty for your radar detectors if you purchase it on Ebay, Amazon or from Overstock is that they require that you purchase their unit from their list of authorized dealers only so you can be assured that your Bel product is not a remanufactured unit or counterfeit.

On our blog we have a post about one customer who did decide to purchase his radar detector from Overstock and found out the hard way after receiving a speeding ticket that his detector was a re-manufactured unit that was not properly serviced and had no warranty.

To add even more salt to his wound, the detector even cost him an additional $62.00 after Overstock added their service fee to repair the detector several weeks after he purchased the unit.

If you find the information that we provide to you here on RadarDetector.org helpful I would like to ask you a favor to support our quest by using the links on our website and by purchasing your product on one of our partner websites.

Also please consider pressing the Facebook like button on this page or adding a comment in our comment area below.

Are you searching for a high performance radar detector that will not break your budget and is affordable?

If so I would recommend the Escort 8500×50 from Passport.

Test after test the Escort 8500×50 is hailed as one of the best and most affordable extreme range radar detectors made today.

The Escort Passport 8500×50 provides extreme range on all police radar bands, instant on including POP mode with minimal false alerts.

And like many of the other higher end Escort units, the x50 also includes filtering with their proprietary Traffic Sensor Rejection software to eliminate those annoying false alerts that you may encounter from those traffic flow sensors that are popping up on many of our roadways.

If you’re someone like me who cannot even program my own TV remote control because it is so confusing, you will find the programming of the Escort 8500×50 a snap to program for its advanced features. Don’t live in an area where X band radar is used or do you want to use the expert meter? Just press two buttons and it is programmed to your specifications.

Some of the more frequently asked questions we receive here at RadarDetector.org about the Escort 8500×50 include;

“Why is the blue display more expensive than the red display and is there any difference in performance” and “Why doesn’t Escort honor the warranty for the detector that I just purchased on Ebay, Amazon or Overstock?”

No, there is no difference in performance over the blue display over the red display. The main reason that the blue display costs a little more is that it is more expensive to manufacture LED’s in a blue color, thus this extra expense is passed on by Escort if you choose the blue display over the red.

As far as Escort not honoring the warranty for your radar detector if you purchase it on Ebay, Amazon or from Overstock is that they require that you purchase their unit from their list of authorized dealers only so you can be assured that your Escort product is not a remanufactured or counterfeit unit.

On our blog we have a post about one customer who did decide to purchase his Escort 8500 from Overstock and found out the hard way after receiving a speeding ticket that his detector was a re-manufactured unit that was not properly serviced and had no warranty from Escort.

To add even more salt to his wound, the detector even cost him an additional $62.00 after Overstock added their service fee to repair the detector several weeks after he purchased it.

If you find the information that we provide to you here on RadarDetector.org helpful I would like to ask you a favor to support our quest by using the links on our website and by purchasing your product on one of our partner websites.

Also please consider pressing the Facebook like button on this page or adding a comment in our comment area below.

I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone that has been participating in our free STi radar detector give away and also wish each of you a very joyous holiday!

So far the response for our free STi radar detector contest has been amazing, as we have had over 124 people sign up! We have also added a second prize, a can of the Veil Stealth coating.

However as of today there are only four people that have earned the 1000-point eligibility requirement.

First for those of you that may not be aware of our contest let me give you a short recap.

On February 15^th 2011 we will be raffling off this brand new Beltronics STi dash mounted radar detector valued at 469.00 and one can of the Veil Stealth Coating as a second prize to two of the participants in this contest.

The first thing you need to do is go to this page; http://www.RadarDector.org/r/RadarRoy and enter your email address to get started and get your links.

By the way, please don’t be intimidated by the number of links that show up after my name as I am excluded from wining anything from this contest!

After you do that an interface will open asking if you would like to connect with your Facebook account, Twitter and YouTube account by approving you automatically get 250 points added to your account.

Once you do this you can automatically add comments to your Facebook, Twitter and our Facebook channel by clicking on the enclosed links from the interface.

If at anytime you wish to disconnect this service you can press the disconnect link in the interface.

Your initial goal in this contest is to obtain a minimum of 1000 points to become eligible for either of our two prizes.

To get to the 1000 point standing, there are some real simple things that you can do, as an example.

After you sign up go to our news area and find articles that you like and press the Facebook “Like Button”. Each time you do this you’re awarded 100 points!

Go to our YouTube channel and subscribe, you’re awarded 50 points.

Post your personal link as a signature file in your emails along with a comment about the contest asking your contacts to sign up. For every person you do sign up you get 100 points!

Then on February 15^th our contest software will select someone at random to win the STi radar detector and the can of Veil.

Win a Laser Interceptor Laser Jammer Contest!

Right after this contest ends we will have a second contest and we will be giving away this brand new Laser Interceptor laser jammer and the top ten leaders from our STi contest will be awarded 1500 FREE points for this new contest!!

For those of you that may not be familiar with the Laser Interceptor it is one of the top laser jammers made today and will virtually make your car invisible to police laser enforcement and this unit retails for $599!

So guys and gals help us spread the word about these two exciting contest give aways while also increasing your odds at winning!

Wishing you all a Very Joyous Holiday and remember, drive safe and drive smart!

This year there were several exciting new product announcements at the SEMA 2010 show such as:

• The public debut the Passport IQ and Escort’s Solo 3 radar detectors
• Laser Interceptor finally putting to rest the rumor about eye safety on their laser jammer
• And Laser Mask’s new diode based laser jammer.

In my review of the Passport IQ I called it a “game changer” in the fact it is the only high performance radar detector that combines full GPS capabilities along with blue tooth technologies. You can read my full review here.

In the coming week’s Escort will be releasing their new cordless model radar detector, the Solo S3 which will be replacing the current Solo S2.

In meeting with Ron Gividen from Escort at SEMA he provided a rundown of the features of both these units.

Ever since the release of the Laser Interceptor there has been allot of misinformation concerning the issues of eye safety with their laser jammer. So at the SEMA show Cliff Crane from Laser Interceptor allowed me to review a recent testing report by an independent testing company which basically gave Laser Interceptor a clean bill of health and is in full compliance with FDA regulations in this regard.

Laser Mask made their first SEMA appearance with their new diode based laser jammer.

I tested a prototype of this unit several months and I have to admit I was very surprised at its performance for being such a small unit.

Melvin Lee provides a rundown of three different  Laser Mask units that his company currently has under development.

The Passport IQ from Escort is a game changer….

When I was first introduced to the Passport IQ last at Escort’s headquarters last month I was so impressed that the first words out of my mouth was, “this is a game changer…” Escort has integrated the very best in radar detection technology into a fully functional GPS.

What Escort has done with the Passport IQ is basically create a device that includes a high performance radar detector that is on par to their Escort 9500ix, with a full color five inch display GPS while also offering optional bluetooth capabilities for hands free calling, live traffic reporting and also designing the unit so it can integrate with other services that are planned for the future.

For the past four weeks I have had the honor of being one of the first to do an independent review of the Passport IQ prior to the unit becoming available to the general public, here are my findings;

Radar Detection Performance:

How Escort was able to integrate a radar detector into the body of a GPS while still being able to offer a high sensitivity and performance in radar/laser detection is a story onto itself, as this was one of the most difficult engineering feats I’m sure the Escort engineers have ever faced.

During the past several weeks I have tested the Passport IQ against our own arsenal of radar and lidar guns in a controlled environment while also logging over 1200 miles in real world driving throughout the southwest.

In a nut shell, I would rate the performance and sensitivity of the Passport IQ on par with the Escort 9500ix and slightly below that of an Escort 9500ci.

In every instance during our real world driving test, the Passport IQ alerted almost at the same exact time as the Escort 9500ix. One particular alert that stood out was an instance of an Arizona Highway Patrolman operating a Ka gun in instant mode several miles in front of us.

Both units began chirping for a few seconds then stopped and then a few moments later they both began alerting again for a few seconds and stopped. I suspected from the nature of this alert that there was an officer up ahead operating his radar gun in the instant on mode by only activating his radar gun when he had his victims within range.

A few miles later my hunch proved correct as again both units went to full alert as I spotted the highway patrolman hidden in the median.

Photo Enforcement Capabilities:

This I would certainly say is one of the strongest points for the IQ as Arizona is littered with those photo enforcement cameras that snap your photo and send you a ticket in the mail.

One thing that stood out to me during my review that the Passport IQ only alerted to cameras that were in my direction that I was traveling, case in point Chino Arizona.

The Chino Police Department has several fixed photo speed enforcement cameras on each side of the highway at different locations. The Passport IQ only alerted to those cameras that were on the same side of the road that I was approaching and ignored those on the other side of the road that were not a threat.

What also impressed me was that the type of photo enforcement camera was also displayed on the GPS screen with its exact location; example red light for red light cameras and photo camera for fixed photo radar locations.

GPS Features:

I’ve owned several dash GPS units from Garmin and Tom Tom and one of my chief complaints with all of them has been that annoying “nag screen” that always pops up when you turn the device on. This “nag screen” will also pop up the first time you use the Passport IQ but what is nice there is an option from that point forward to deactivate it, which I have done.

The large five inch full color screen is very easy to read even in bright sunlight and the unit is very easy to program and will get you to the address or location you want to go to.

Overall Impressions:

Mounting: The suction cup mounting system that is offered with the IQ is very stable and capable of holding the unit in place on your windshield.

Menu System: There are three separate menu systems for the IQ making programming a snap. Simply touch and navigate though it’s simple and easy to follow menu system to program the advanced features of the radar/laser detector.Map features view maps and current location

-          Go To touch and go to create a route, get directions or find thousands of points of interest.

Driver Information: To Have this much data at your fingertips on a five inch screen is amazing!

-          Current vehicle speed and posted speed limit; Useful to know if you’re exceeding the posted speed limit in real time.

-          Mark Location; Is there a certain location that you would like to mark such as a speed trap in your area? Just press a button, the location is marked for future reference.

-          Current Location and Route of Travel; Stay on course to your destination with easy to follow voice and visual prompts.

-          Photo Enforcement; Alerts you of approaching photo enforcement cameras in advance.

-          Radar and Laser Alerts; Displayed with a bright red LED with numeric frequency of the threat displayed on the five inch screen. You can also select the type of audio alert from tone alert to full voice alerts.

Additional Features:

Optional blue tooth capabilities for hands free calling and live traffic reporting will be offered for the Passport IQ sometime during the 1^st half of 2011.

Potential Issues:

Guys, if you think that you can keep this detector all to yourself you are WRONG! Even though my wife is married to the “Radar Roy” she hates having a radar detector mounted on the dash of her SUV and hates all those annoying false alerts those other radar detectors have. So once she saw the Passport IQ her first question was where is mine?

Another issue is having the cord dangling down from your windshield into your cigarette lighter. Those of you that already own another Escort/Beltronics product who have hard wired your detector will be happy to know that the Passport IQ also uses the familiar RJ-11 power plug. Those of you that have never hardwired a radar detector and are interested in learning how, I would recommend that you watch our video on YouTube on how to direct wire your radar detector.

Overall Findings:

The Passport IQ is truly a game changer for the radar detector industry in that it combines a high performance radar detector, a GPS and more into one unit that easily mounts to your windshield.

What are your thoughts about the Passport IQ? Please have your voice heard by leaving a comment in the comment area below.

Drive Safe and Smart….

Back when I retired from law enforcement and began my new career in the speed counter measurement industry back in 1997 Mike Valentine’s V1 was the very best radar detector on the market.

Since there has been allot of innovation in our industry and it seems that it has flew by Mike unnoticed.

Stealth to the Spectre RDD: The “famous brands” as you like Mike calls Escort and Beltronics were the first (and only company) to figure out how to defeat the Spectre RDD (radar detector detector) with their introduction of the Bel STi.

Mike did place a winning bid on Ebay for a Spectre RDD, but I can only assume it is sitting on his shelf in his lab collecting dust as his V1 can still be detected.

GPS Integration: Then the “famous brands” beat him the punch again with the integration of GPS into their radar detectors with their introduction of the Escort 9500i and the Escort 9500ix.

Long Range Sensitivity: Then last year that “famous brand” Escort company came out with their Redline radar detector which has longer range, sensitivity and filtering then the V1.

Now with 2011 a few months away Mike’s patent on the dual antenna system will expire thus turning his “extraordinary” radar detector as he calls it into ordinary.

But what really leads me to take notice of Mike’s lack of innovation these past years was this recent magazine advertisement that he ran.

It was the same ad that Mike developed over 15 years ago after attending one of Joe Sugarman’s training conferences and published way back then!

Hell, he didn’t even change the testimonials to freshen it up a bit!

Mike has become lazy driving around in his Porsche while his dusty old Spectre sits on his shelf and has reverted to running old magazine ads from 15 years ago.

Those other “famous brands” are famous because of one thing, they INNOVATE!

“Radar” Roy Reyer

One of the passions in life my wife Margie and I share is jumping on our Harley Davidson motorcycles and hitting the open highway for a weekend trip here in the South West or heading up to Sturgis South Dakota for the week long motorcycle rally.

As I’m an “iron butt” rider, my Screamin Eagle Ultra Classic is outfitted with the very best in speed countermeasure equipment and I have it outfitted with an Escort 8500 X50, the HARD system and a chrome handle bar mount along with the Blinder M-27 laser jamming system.

My $900.00 dollar plus investment in outfitting my bike maybe a little out of reach for the weekend warrior’s who just want a good radar detector to give them the edge, so last week I installed the new Adaptive Technologies TPX motorcycle radar detector on Margie’s Sportster and we gave it a good workout these last few days.

The TPX system is the only radar detector that is currently designed and marketed for use on motorcycles.

There are several different types of mounts that are available from Adaptiv for use on your bike, the unit is water resistant so you don’t have to take your detector off when it rains, handles shock and vibration very well and has oversized buttons so you can operate the radar detector while riding.

It also has an external LED display that you can mount to your windshield or handle bar that will light up when the detector is activated or an external wireless speaker that you can mount inside your helmet.

During our test the last few days we found that the TPX was on par in performance as the higher end radar detectors from Whistler in that it gave us ample warning of police radar along our journey.

However, what I feel what makes the TPX Motorcycle Radar Detector System attractive to those of us who like to ride the open highway on our bikes is the price!

The TPX retails for $309.95 and you can accessorize the detector for your bike with the mount that will cost an additional $69.99, the visual alert $49.99 and/or the wireless headset for $70.00.

During my 14 year career in the speed counter measurement industry I’ve perhaps installed over 300 remote mounted radar detectors for clients on everything from cars, trucks, RV’s, motorcycles and even a few tour buses for a few notable rock and roll and country western bands.

Typical installs can take me a couple hours and more complex installs can even take days. So when I heard about the Escort Radar’s claim that the typical install for the QI45 was under 45 minutes, I was a little skeptical.

QI45’s name represents Escort’s commitment to develop a radar detector that any automotive buff could install in under 45 minutes. I.e.; Quick Install 45.

During our installation we also installed Escort’s Shifter Pack during this same install.

Prior to our install we read the user manual and install manual for both units in full and laid out our plans.

We chose to us an “Add a Circuit” to the positive wiring harness so we could plug into an accessory socket in our fuse box. We chose the radio accessory as the detector would activate when we started the car and then turn off when we removed the key.

We then removed the lower portion of our Toyota’s dashboard and installed the controller module by zip tying it to a bracket under the dash.

The front of the antenna of the QI45 has laser diodes for laser detection. Therefore the front of the radar antenna should not be blocked by the grill or any other object. We chose a location in the lower drivers side grill area.

We choose the upper bumper area of our Toyota to mount the two Shifter heads. As we didn’t want to drill into the bumper or grill, we selected 3M double sided automotive tape to secure both the radar antenna and both Shifter heads.

To the rear of the QI45’s antenna, there are two jacks to plug in the Shifter heads.  This is a great feature as typically the cabling for the laser jammer s must be run through the firewall along with the radar detector cable.

Care must be taken to align the plugs to the antenna by aligning two white dots. If this is reversed you could damage your system.

A little tip; tape over the head of the RJ45 plug prior to pushing it through the firewall, this will help protect the little plastic tab on the jack.

Next we installed the display module on the lower right portion of the dashboard.

We then plugged the three RJ45 cables into the controller, screwed down our ground and turned the key.

Within moments the QI45 came to life.

We screwed on the lower portion of the dash, made last minute adjustments to the laser shifter heads and closed the hood. Total time for install, 54 minutes!

The installation of the QI45 easiest remote radar detector install that I’ve ever made and I’m certain that anyone with basic automotive repair skills can do a similar install in under an hour.