Just came across this and thought I would share it with the good people of AR.
Radioshack has the Beltronics V995 on clearance for $80. It’s about $190 elsewhere online.
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2760953
Apparently it has the same internals as a Passport 8500 x50. http://radartest.com/BEL-Vector-995-review.asp
Only catch is that you gotta find it in-store. Most of the stores around me seem to have it so hopefully other areas have similar luck.
wow nice, I’m gonna grab one asap for my gf and brother
I’ve been debating about grabbing a V1 but didn’t feel like dropping that much dough on a detector right now. Instead I’ll try for two of these, 1 for the gf and 1 for me.
lol why is everyone buying them bulk for all of their friends? These good or something?
Wish we could use them. Illegal here.
At this price they’re a steal. Same internals as a Passport 8500 which goes for about $280.
I stopped by my local radioshack on my way into work this morning and got two of them. For some reason, they rang up at $65 instead of $80!
Yea, I’ll never forget to take mine down when driving through Canada again. I got pulled over in Canada about 4 years ago for having one and they wrote me a rather large ticket and confiscated the detector. Then to top it off, I didn’t realize that Canada wrote their dates differently than the US, so I didn’t pay the ticket on time and got hit with a ton of late fees. The ticket with late fees was about double the original amount so I just said fuck it and didn’t pay any of it. I haven’t been back to Canada since… probably have warrants or something.
Might order one for the girlfriend. She wants a valentine 1 like me but I told here she’s not worth $399. [insert sarcasm emoticon]
just like Black Gallagher!
http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=11905&title=black-gallagher
http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lpdwpvNBnb1qzyfkmo1_400.gif
Yea joe, the woman wants a V1 like me, but told her too expensive and just don’t speed. She’s oblivious to noticing cops anyways, so it probably wouldn’t help her much.
Personally, I either want a V1 or nothing almost. I’d rather not have the “false security” of a cheaper radar detector and think I’m protected when I’m not really. A bit of V1 prejudice, but I’d be hard pressed to ever go to a different detector after having it and how many times it’s saved me. It’s great seeing big car cruises and watching how much later people AHEAD of you are breaking b/c they just not started picking up a cop when I’ve already had it beeping at me for a couple of seconds.
My gf just got a speeding ticket and wanted a V1 afterwards as well. At $400, I told her to buy it herself!
I agree with you on the V1, but I will only be using this one for road trips and rarely speed even then. I’ve had a V1 and a 8500 x50 in the past and did notice a difference between the two, but not an extreme one. For $65, this detector will hold me over until I decide I ready to invest in a V1.
Yeah i feel exactly the same way with my V1. It’s one of those things where you really have to buy the best one possible to be able to trust it at all. I don’t understand how anyone could buy a radar without the arrows. The arrows are the first thing I look at when it starts beeping. I really only use mine on the highway though. I never speed anymore around town so I usually have it off or turned down all the way. The beeping all the time gets a little annoying.
Then on the highway you can still get hit by instant Ka or Laser so even with the V1, you’re still at the edge of your seat. If I make the drive to Cali this summer, I’m getting a set of Blinder M27 laser jammers, then returning them when I get back.
People often come into best buy looking for a radar detector and all we have to choose from is all the shitty passports and bell’s. I cringe when someone asks for one under 150 or something, knowing they will pro0bably put too much trust in that POS and get a ticket. Although I guess some of the cheap ones have the same guts as the higher end models. Go figure.
I can say the same about my 8500, its never let me down and picks up the signal far beyond visual range. I feel this whole argument is people justifying their purchases though.