Velryba's chick

Hello,

I am looking to buy some kind of Radar Detector for my husband for Christmas. Luckily he won't be on here for some time now so I have to take an advantage!

Can you recomend any? My budget is about £350.00 max.

I have found Snooper S4 neo for £329.00 - any good?

Thanks
Kate

Matt Classic

Thats the one I've been using. Think you may be able to get them for nearer £300 if you look around though.
I've had it since August and been very happy with it. Its compact, easy to use and it locates the cameras, not sure what else to say about

Just need to update it every month from the web, 5 minute job and easy to do.

scoobyjimbo

Kate.. wish my other half would come on here and aks question slike this.. socks again for me this xmas... :-(

anyway the snooper is good, but i think for your budget you should be able to get a road angel 2 which is the newest detector.. I have one and they are great... My dad has the snooper though and is very happy with it.. although i think he wishes it was a bit smaller like the new road angel..

good luck
J

Velryba's chick

I haven't been able to find any Road Angels 2 for under £399.00

Velryba's chick

And what about Target LRC100 laser detector?

RRH

Halfords are doing the Road Angel 2 @ £399, and you get a free Williams F1 valeting kit that retails for about £50ish

jaycee

You have PM.

Jason

Velryba's chick

After my reserch I think I have a choice of:

Snooper S4 for £329.00
Road Angel classic for £299.00
Road Angel 2 for £400.00
Target LRC100 for £350.00
Origin B2 for £400.00
Lidatek LE30 for £380.00

or there abouts with the prices.

I am keen to go for the Snooper S4. It's just about the right price and seem to do the job.

Any other help and advice?
Thanks
Kate

jaycee

Kate, I'll beat those prices for you. Easily!

Jason

Adam M

not so keen on the gps based units as they struggle to get mobile camera vans which to me are the biggest concern.

Personally I would go for a detector like the bel euro 550. Or better yet, go on to ebay and buy the american sourced Bel Vector 995. It is £170 on buy it now delivered to your door. Vector is the US version of Bel and this model encompases all the technology of the 550 but with 4 years more development time. I have had 2 from them and both have been far better in terms of reduced false alarms than the Euro 550 I used to have for double the price.

In terms of money saving, it is definitely the one I would buy.

edthedoc

Beware the new Road Angel: the loud beep everytime it is turned on will drive you mad very quickly.

Petem95

Agree that the mobile vans are the main problem (although S4/Road Angel is nice if you can afford it!).

Adam, does your Vector 995 seem to detect mobile camera vans well? Ie with enough time to check your speed before passing?

Adam M

yes, it has saved my sister whom I bought the original unit for.

I was searching ebay for a second hand euro 550, and this came up as a cheaper better alternative. Despite being a US sourced model the vector website was keen to point out it was capable of detecting worldwide frequencies, specifically Ku band used in europe. This is rumoured to be the main frequency used for mobile vans. My sisters unit has not been configured to pick up Ku band yet (need to change settings - three buttons) didn realise this until when I received mine and havent had a chance to change hers yet.

However she picked up a van on the A127 at 70mph and had plenty warning to enable her to react. That hand held gun was emitting K Band though.

Surprisingly even the laser alert has been effective enough to save another friend who has one but that was probably a lucky reflection.

Nevetas

I agree what Adam is saying, but if your going to buy a GPS based detetor I'd go for the Origin B2 everytime.

sKunk

For a dedicated radar\laser detector you can't beat the Bel Euro 550. Much better than a snooper in my opinion.

Adam M

sKunk, you can beat the euro 550, its the vector 995 that i am talking about. It started life as a euro 550, but has 4 years of development work on top. It seems to have gone into the functionality. Fewer false alarms, more solidly built, it also has a new kind of camera detection facility for some american type cameras which emit very short pulses and are meant to be less detectable, no doubt we will ahve them here soon.

On top of that the it is more solid and certainly heavier, can be retro upgradable by flashing and has a better plug which is a telephone type connector instead fo a jack plug.

Best bit is it is £170, made by the same people, and does a better job in every way!

Adam M

aside from that, I have an origin B2 aswell but I rarely use it as most places I go to the 995 is more helpful as I know the fixed cameras. Would use both if venturing into unknown territory.

sKunk

I use iPaq + Tomtom GPS with the pocketGPS camera database for GPS gatso detection and I have the Bel Euro 550 as well.

Quite intriguing the 995. Never heard of it, plus they still sell the 550 as new now don't they? Either way, both are much better than snoopers

Adam M

agree re snoopers, pants by comparison.

euro 550 is still on sale new.

vector 995 is a new model which has been released as a worldwide model but I have little doubt it will replace the 550 in europe soon enough. Funnily enough it is not the top of the raneg from bel electronics. They do a higher up model but I am yet to understand what it does that the 995 doesn't do.

Price for price, I was a little worried about going for the 995. It sounded like a dodgy sales pitch on ebay to me. But the offical bel electronics website confirmed it to me as well as the frequency cross reference. At half the price and an international warranty, I couldn't not take the risk and would advice anyone else thinking the same to do the same.

boulevard

iTrader: (1)

I use an origin b2, and apart from the little bugger jumping out of its cradle, have found it to be excellent, very small and discreet.

Velryba's chick

E-bay has the Vector 995 for for 220.00 Dollars which is a great price.

I liked the sound of the Origin B2 but they are for £400.00 and that's to much.

Adam, as you mentioned I was a bit worried that beeing the Vector American could cause a problem. So it has'nt caused any problems for you?

The price is great!

Kate

danny-boy

This Vector 995 seems like a great deal.

I'm after something after getting caught. Does the vector pick up SPECS? As I reckon these bad boys are going to start popping up on all major motor way routes.

I really want something that does all types of speed detection if that even exists!

Cheers

Dan

sKunk

You needs a GPS based detector to pick up specs imo.

Adam M

Kate, there is a company in this country who bring them in for £170 landed and mailed to your door.

The only thing that is important in terms of detection is the frequency range that they detect.

checked and double checked these against those of the euro 550 which is made by the same company and is intended for the European Market, and they are exactly the same.

I ahve used mine over here for a week or so, but my sister has been using her for a few months and it does everything it is supposed to do. It has a good ability to automute so it doesn't keep alerting you, plus if the intensity of the signal it picks up is low, it doesn't keeop buzzing in your ear until you move.

Also you can selectively turn off frequencies which can annoy such as X band, though these days everything including mobile cameras and gatsos are on K band, so you have to put up with some of the false alarms you get from sliding automatic doors.

pbee

I had a bell 550 and hated all the false positives, virtually every garage with a automatic door sets the thing off because they work on the same frequency as some gatsos, so you cant turn that exact frequncy off., sold it and bought a road angel and lrc100. i wouldnt recomend a traditional radar detector to anyone as they do not detect truvelo cameras or specs, you need gps for that.

you do realise unless you get a very luck refraction off another car when the laser alert goes off you have allready been caught speeding.

dont bother with a radar / laser detector, get a road angel or road angel 2, and pick a lrc100 on the next group buy or a used one.

Velryba's chick

Someone has again recommended the Snooper S4 Neo with built
in laser detection. It should alert me to all fixed cameras, Gatsos (yellow
ones) and all the non detectable digital cameras, DS2, red light and SPECS etc.
As well as having inbuilt laser detection for the mobile hand held guns they use at the side of the road and in the back of white vans.

Is it correct?

STE.W.

Pbee,

I think you are right about the best combination if

a, (unlike me) you can afford it.

b, there arnt too many vans in your area. I live up north where we dont have too many gatso, I dont think we have specs or truvello.
Our main cause for licence loss are the radar based white van man type which can be used at randam all oveer the place. I'm well aware of mobile traffic laser and I think thats my only real threat up here but thats the same any where int country isnt it?

c, I use my bell 550 in my co. car and my Leggy T so the lcr100 would be out of the question because of de-fitting and re-fitting or double costs and the GPS will only tell me where the fixed sites are any way unless I programme after its too late.

If I'd known about the 990 I'd have gone for that. Damn you Adam M

But I think it really depends (at the moment) where you live and what your main requirements for detection are.

The 550 does give all the beeps and "k-band" yank voice warnings every time you go past an auto door but I'm quite happy with falsies as long as the real threats are picked up too.

Just my 2p (more like 7p ) worth and obviously imho

Ste.

pbee

is the s4 neo the radar/ laser detector and gps unit ? If that is the one that is probably best value.

I paid £250 for my road angel and £200 for the lrc100 both in group buys. not that much more than what the bell 550 cost me.

Velryba's chick

This is what I found:

Snooper S4 Neo Features include:-

* Detection of ALL fixed monitoring systems via our comprehensive database
* Speed Limit at each accident hotspot or speed monitoring system located via GPS
* Genuine 'Easy Fit, plug and play'. Your S4 can be mounted on the dashboard or inside of the windscreen and powers from your cigarette lighter socket!


Provides advanced warning of:

*
Gatso & Truvelo Safety Cameras
*
SPECs Camera Systems
*
Laser Guns
*
Digital Cameras
* Schools (optional)

Additional Benefits


# Speed limit and road number or name at location of accident hotspot or speed monitoring system
# Memory retention of preferred features
# 360 degree detection of all laser speed monitoring systems
# Super bright LED text display
# Speed Limit Alert
# 2 Years manufacturers warranty

Velryba's chick

Or if I can persuade my family to chip in then maybe this one:

The Snooper S6-R combines BOTH laser / radar detection with GPS satellite tracking so that ALL threats are covered. The S6-R also has a built in modem there's no need to take extra equipment with you to update.