Well, there is a lot to read about as far as radars go, something like oil, it's not as simple. I hate to say it, but radar detectors under $100 are not worth it. You might as well not speed. I had gone through cobras all the way to Valentine (HWY driving), why?
Economy wise, one speeding ticket will cost you on the cheap side $125 plus the rise in your insurance premiums, god forbid you get another one!
I researched radar detectors quiet a lot, biggest competitors are Bell/Escort vs Valentine. Obviously each one has their ups and downs.
Let me tell you how my V1 saved me double its cost within 1 week. I drove from Houston to Glacier NP and back, so little over 5k miles. I rarely get hits in Houston; though, this past week cops stepped up quiet a lot. On my way to Dallas I got hit 3 times, but I could have not even been speeding because of construction and ridiculous traffic. From Dallas going through Oklahoma and Colorado I saved myself 3 tickets, at least. However, the most surprising save was in one part of Glacier NP, there was a park ranger; they hit people with radar quiet a lot! Going to the sun road, they drive with constant on, so only an idiot with any radar detector gets hit, unless it's crazy off axis, from around a corner. OK back to my save. I read on the radar forums, a must, that you get a faint blip on my V1 seconds before either Instant On or Quick Trigger. I was going down hill and heard a faint blip, slowed down quickly because I wasn't going much over, and got hit a second later, ranger had no chance. Ranger sees me muting the detector, obviously [censored], turns around and hits me again, or so I thought. He got some black blazer. Coincidentally, I met the driver of that black blazer at a gas station, and asked him how much he got him for, he said well over $200.
Yes, initial investment into a radar detector is very high, but it is worth it, if you happen to speed like simply going down hill.
Few things:
1)Radar detectors are illegal only in Virginia and Washington D.C.
That's it!
2) Obviously military bases forbid them too, but it's clearly posted.
3) Radar detector detects radars, it helps you see them.
4) Never run ahead of a pack because no matter how good your radar detector is, you have a high chance of getting a ticket.
5) Follow a rabbit, a car ahead of you that is most likely to get hit first.
6) Some states allow defense against lasers like blinder.
7) Read a lot on the radar forums.
8) Get Waze app(it's free waze.com), it's basically essential for driving on the interstate.
One website, forgot which one, has a map with info what states and counties use which frequencies, so you could chose the radar detector better. Obviously, you can register and ask a question, just like here, about which one to get based on your driving and location.
Also, I bought
Cheetah c50 . A device that tells you your actual speed by GPS, and has updated database of red light cameras, common speed traps, 5 second red lights etc. It is far superior to apps like trapster.
