The best radar detector made, period. Totally smokes Valentine 1 and Escort…
Back in the days when I had a lead foot and gas was $1ish I ran a $400 beltronics and a second hand v1.
Almost wanted to add a laser jammer but you know.
For now, but the R8 releases this year.
Beltronics STi Driver was one of the best radar detectors for a very long time with a nice but possibly obscure feature of having little to no signal leak. This means it was essentially invisible to radar-detector-detectors.
I really want this, but I have an R3 with the same OLED display. Two years old and the display is totally unreadable in daylight. Burn in is horrible.
Best detector on the market, not recommended for noobs (unless you love hearing it go off constantly) and the reason the factory refurbs keep popping up is that the displays do burn in something fierce. Turn the brightness down and far as it can go and hope the audio chip doesn’t fail (common on the R3’s)
Or you could just you know, go the speed limit.
Trying to go the limit on 81:
Get behind someone going ten below - get in left lane - get tailgated by people doing ten above.
Get back in right lane.
Repeat ad infinitum
Yeah,… that’s how it’s supposed to work… I don’t see the issue. Left lane to pass then back to right lane.
I guess none of you have the drive safe and safe devices from your auto insurance. You get a bad score if you speed and therefore you don’t get a discount.
So, serious question. What’s the benefit of a radar detector over something like Waze?
I know with Waze someone has to report the speed trap first, but after the speed trap has been reported is there still a benefit to a radar detector? Especially in a state like VA where radar detectors are illegal but Waze is not.
Meh. Their funeral. Just try to stay out of their way and hope they don’t take you with them.
Real time detection. No internet connection needed.
Mostly it makes you feel cool like you are part of Ocean’s 11 or something.
I was going to say 3AM runs through Montana when there aren’t many people to report speed traps, but if you hear this thing ping while driving in the middle of nowhere at 3AM, they probably already have you.
The thing about Waze (and now Google Maps as well) is that they rely on someone driving ahead reporting when they see a speed trap. That’s not very reliable. Especially given that some law enforcement are very sneaky (unscrupulous) and hide where you can’t see them. I see them hiding way back on on-ramps and overpasses etc.
I could really use one of these, but way too expensive. I’ll take my chances. I know it’ll likely happen some day as I find I often catch myself going well over 100 mph in my 5.0 Mustang without even realizing I was going that fast. Should probably get a boring Toyota…
A long time back, detector mfgs offered speeding ticking insurance, as long as you were not going more that 10% over the limit. 10% of 70mph is 77. I doubt many cops will waste their time for 7-over, unless in a school zone or other high pedestrian area.
Secondly, the way cops (esp VA) get detector owners is with radar instant-on. They wait till you’re in range and then shoot. Instantly they know your speed and as you hit the brakes, the realtime number drops quickly and your front suspension dips and your headlights drop.
The better way to speed is to learn from highway patrol pacing cars in front of them. They creep up slowly from behind until they can identify all cars in front.
I had this unit. It is sensitive, but it is too (!!!) chatty. This thing falsed all…the…time, I updated the firmware, locked out certain frequencies and it just would not stop. With most modern cars having lane departure, front crash avoidance lidar, this thing would announce every…single…one. It was to the point, where I wanted to smash the dammed thing with a hammer or throw it out the window. I sold it on ebay and got something else, more expensive, but only barks when there is a true signal.
tl;dr very effective if you want an advanced system. Fair price.
I missed this last time it was on woot and ended up buying one full price during a series of interstate road-trips with some near misses. It takes some learning and a tolerance for a lot of beeping noises while learning. It’s very very sensitive.
It has detected true positives a few minutes ahead of encountering the hidden traps. It’s very helpful reminder to check my speed when approaching a small towns with a sometimes minor change in the speed limit. Zero occasions that I’ve encountered a speed trap without the r7 going crazy.
I run this and Waze. If you’re in an area with lyft/Uber or a freeway with a lot of traffic Waze is adequate. When you’re on less busy roads or at times with less traffic, it adds a lot of value.
As for burn in, mine isn’t hardwired and I remove it every time I get out of the car so the screen does a get a break when I get a break…
There are other better places to learn the nuances of the r7 and other similar devices. This price is fair for the current market if you’re contemplating getting one. Could probably sell on Craigslist easily without losing too much if you have a change of mind.