Is this a good radar detector for the money? $25 off from Costco + Costco Warranty.

[Shawn]

It's a Whistler DE1793SE for $74.99 after $25 off. My last radar detector was a Whistler and I loved it but it got ruined after 5 years in the sun. This one has POP detection which my old one didn't have. Anyway I'm not even sure if it'll be in store or not but I was hoping to have one for the trip back home next week.

 

[Shawn]

bump

 

[jimbob200521]

Not a bad detector, especially for the price.

Edit: Do you have any play in your budget?

 

[OS]

I'm of the opinion now you should buy one of the top 3 detectors (bel, escort, v1), it will pay for itself, the range is superior.

You can score a bel RX65 on amazon.com for $250 shipped.

 

[Shawn]

Yeah, but that's out of my budget and my old whistler saved me hundreds of times. I'm just wondering how this radar detector compares to other sub $100 detectors.

 

[Shawn]

More info from Crutchfield:

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-YCOML3rA8f...2150&tab=detailed_info&i=229DE1793#Tab

 

[OS]

http://www.radartest.com/article.asp?articleID=10051

"Okay, so how?d we rate the performance of this budget BEL? In a word: spectacular. X- and K-band range exceeded 28,000 feet, nearly equal to BEL?s high-end Vector 995 and Pro RX65 models. Ka-band average for the three frequencies was 27,362 feet, again very close to the big boys."

the rest of the site is also good info. Ka band performance distinguishes the good models. Note they claim the budget bel performs almost as well as the top model RX65.

whistler is ok, but doesn't seem to have the same top heritage as beltronics, which i believe is now the same company as escort.

 

[Shawn]

That review is a bit old. It's dated 7/15/2005. I don't think any of those even have POP detection which a lot of cops are using now.

 

[OS]

yes but the site charges for anything newer

 

[jimbob200521]

Originally posted by: Shawn
That review is a bit old. It's dated 7/15/2005. I don't think any of those even have POP detection which a lot of cops are using now.

Do you know if the cops in your area are using Pop detection? I can't recall any time here where I was Pop'ed by a cop.

 

[j00fek]

Originally posted by: OS
yes but the site charges for anything newer

worthless

 

[Insane3D]

I am considering trading in my venerable Bel Vector LR for the RX65. You are looking at cheaper detectors, so I'm not sure what to suggest. I can see after two weeks with the Speed 6 that I will need a better detector...

I loved my LR though...had best in class K band detection which was heavily in use around here until about a year ago. All the troopers and locals up here have switched over to KA as of late though...

 

[OS]

Originally posted by: j00fek

Originally posted by: OS
yes but the site charges for anything newer

worthless

couple people here don't seem to understand, that POP is merely an operating mode that works off brief radar pulses.

Now if a series of radar detectors has crappy detection range on a continuous Ka signal, how is the same crappy detector going to have any hope of detecting a pulse signal of the same frequency. Pretty much all new radar guns are Ka band, buying a RD that is weak on Ka detection is ass backwards.

The electronics will not totally change year to year, in fact the waveguide antenna is probably the same for any given series. The DSP and cosmetics will change, but given that it's a $100 retail unit that costs maybe $30-$40 to make, you are not going to find any huge increases in ability one year to the next.

Of course you should get a RD with POP ability, but it might be nothing more than a spec sheet checkmark that tells you nothing about how useful the detection range is.

 

[Shawn]

Well I bought the Whistler from Newegg since Costco only had it online and Newegg had free shipping. It ended up being $79.99. I'll let you know how it performs.

 

[Shawn]

Originally posted by: jimbob200521

Originally posted by: Shawn
That review is a bit old. It's dated 7/15/2005. I don't think any of those even have POP detection which a lot of cops are using now.

Do you know if the cops in your area are using Pop detection? I can't recall any time here where I was Pop'ed by a cop.

No idea but i'm not concerned about around town. I'm concerned about the 6-7 hour trips back and forth between home and college.