Which is the World's Best Radar Detector?

Modern police radar can get the drop on anyone, including other police vehicles. This Decatur Genesis II Select moving radar can clock any of the three vehicles seen here. The only defense: a super-sensitive radar detector. (Or you can drive a marked police car and benefit from a little professional courtesy.)

Last updated: 9/8/2010

One of the best-kept secrets of the radar detector industry has been the substandard performance of many new detectors--regardless of brand or price--in countering the latest police radar guns. The new radar guns share three characteristics which, together, have been causing endless headaches for detector designers--not to mention lead-footed drivers.

These new "smart" radar guns use DSP, digital signal processing, making them lightning-fast. In a recent test of front-line police radars, in stationary mode (parked at roadside) I found it possible to put them on RF Hold, not transmitting but ready to fire and, when a target approached, with a press of a button I could transmit, confirm a target speed and lock it in less than 0.40 second. Clairvoyance isn't required to guess the outcome of an encounter like this.

These new digital radar guns are ultra-low powered compared to their forebears and most use Ka band, a lethal combination. The weak signal is tougher to detect and Ka band makes the job even harder because of its extraordinarily wide bandwidth, 2.6 Gigahertz, some 52 times wider than X band. Since radar can be anywhere within the spectrum, detectors must search the entire band looking for signals, a time-consuming process that dramatically lowers sensitivity--and detection range--if conventional signal processing techniques are used.

Many of the new radars have Fastest Speed, allowing the officer to press a button and clock the fastest vehicle, impossible to do with analog radar but easily handled by DSP. No more hiding behind 18-wheelers or slower traffic, bubba.

Not that even the best radar detector will make you invulnerable. Most new owners are thrilled when their detector goes off before a radar-equipped cruiser pops into view. But on other occasions the warning inexplicably is too late to be useful. And they're baffled by frequent K- and Ka-band false alerts when there isn't a police radar within 30 miles. Eventually they upgrade, figuring: If it's the most expensive, it must deliver the best protection, right?

Not necessarily. And if you happen to pick a model that's lousy at detecting POP-mode radar, you'll need divine intervention to get across some states with your license intact.

The only defense is to spot these new radars before they spot you, a job for a detector with superior Ka-band sensitivity. From an engineering standpoint this is hardly an impossible task although it definitely is expensive. Required are superior engineering, premium components, sophisticated programming and a lot of development time. But judging from the dismal Ka-band performance of many detectors in our past tests (some didn't go off until we were parked next to the radar gun) some manufacturers clearly hadn't responded to the challenge. This begs the question: have the manufacturers finally got a handle on this new threat?

To find out I gathered four high-end detectors from as many companies for a full test. Three were dash-mount models--the Escort Passport 8500 ($300), Beltronics (BEL) Vector 980 ($290, since replaced by the BEL Vector 995 model with similar features and performance) and the Valentine One ($399). The fourth was a three-piece remote that has the distinction of being the most expensive on the market, the K40 SS3000 (about $1400 including installation). (This model has since been replaced by the K40 Calibre model.

Here are the results, listed alphabetically.

Beltronics (BEL) Vector 980

Score: 94

BEL's stylish flagship model employs a Motorola programmable microprocessor that can be upgraded to meet future threats. Its extensive list of features includes a high-resolution text display, voice alerts, tutorial mode, auto mute and multi-step dim/dark.

There are seven programmable features, more--except for the Escort 8500's nine--than any detector on the market. City All mode alters selectivity on all three bands to cope with extra-noisy urban environments. Momentary encounters with the weak radar signals typical of non-police sources are noted by a visual alert and brief audio alert; full audio warnings are delayed unless signal strength increases. This keeps the 980 quieter when confronted by noisy detectors in passing cars and other sources common in cities.

The BEL 980 also has selectable band defeat, allowing individual bands to be deactivated for use in areas where just one police radar frequency is used, also limiting false alarms. It shares this feature with its sibling, the 990 International, BEL's export model. Unlike the U.S. where few X-band radar guns are still around, only K-band or Ka-band radar is used in most Western European and Pacific Rim nations. Due to increasing demand for precious microwave-frequency bandwidth, many countries are gradually moving away even from K-band police radar, replacing it with Ka, lasers and non-radar automated enforcement hardware.

I was impressed by the clarity of the 980's audio, including the digitized voice. Its visual alert system was comprehensive and easily interpreted, even at speed or at night. More importantly, I found the BEL 980 almost supernatural in its ability to sniff out distant police radar. Even in hilly terrain it detected the deadly Ka-band digital radar gun at 7.6 miles, nearly double the range of the Valentine One and over twice that of the last-place K40. To make certain I ran the test two more times, with identical results. It proved equally adept in countering X and K band radar. In town it chirped only one false alarm, a notable achievement and a big improvement over past high-end BELs.

It did, however, display an affinity for alerting to other radar detectors out on the open highway, a common issue with hypersensitive detectors. For this reason I often ran it in City All mode to cut back sensitivity on all three bands, limiting the number of false alarms. (This was a very early unit; later production got revised software to partially cure this issue.)

That aside, its class-leading sensitivity, an impressive list of standard features and sophisticated design make the BEL 980 the best digital-voice radar detector I've ever tested.

Don't miss my recent field test of the BEL 980's successor, the BEL (Beltronics) Vector 995.

Escort Passport 8500

Score: 97

Editor's Note: See our recent test of the Escort Passport 8500 X50, this model's successor.

The Escort Passport 8500 has a platinum exterior to help visually distinguish Escort's newest entry. (The Escort Solo S2 cordless unit's housing has a similar hue.) I like the color but not for a piece of electronic gear mounted in my line of sight. Too much of a reflection in the windshield. But if you're less troubled by visual distractions--or if you live in gloomy New England or the Pacific Northwest--this will be a non-issue.

There are two multi-function switches atop the case and a simple thumbwheel power/volume switch on the side. A high-visibility red text display on the front of the case is flanked by an audio manual-mute button that remains easily accessible regardless of where the detector is mounted, a nice design touch.

The Escort Passport 8500's microprocessor can be reprogrammed to combat future radar and laser guns and provides nine user-selectable features for an unprecedented level of customization to user preferences. Aside from the standard bar-graph display there's also a unique Threat Display (formerly called Expert Meter) that tracks up to eight simultaneous radar threats and displays the band and relative signal-strength of each. Techno-geeks will find favor with a third option, the Spec Display that identifies the exact frequency of each radar signal and displays it numerically.

Standard is a unique SmartCord with built-in status LED, alert light and mute switch. Plugged into the cigarette lighter, it allows the Escort Passport 8500 to run in full-dark mode for discrete nighttime operation or to be tucked away out of sight, safe from inquisitive eyes.

Despite this array of programmable features I found the Escort Passport 8500 a paragon of user-friendly operation. Depressing both of the extra-large, textured top buttons enters programming mode; press the left button to scroll through the menu, the right button to make selections. It's the most intuitive programming method I've seen and the only one that doesn't require prior consultation with the owner manual.

Instead of manually selecting city or highway mode I tested the Escort Passport 8500 in its unique Auto Mode and let the microprocessor automatically regulate sensitivity. Apparently it's a pretty smart microprocessor, allowing a single false alarm on the urban loop with no obvious compromises in detection range on the road. It ferreted out Ka-band radar at 40,222 feet, a virtual tie with the BEL Vector 980 but fully 3.2 miles before the Valentine One. In the difficult curve test its X-band city-mode range bettered the BEL 980's by 1,681 feet and the V1's by 4,260 feet, a useful 311 percent increase.

Except in one X-band test where the V1 led the pack, the Escort Passport 8500 and the hotshot BEL Vector 980 shared top honors, scoring within feet of each other nearly every time. (The exception: X-band highway mode/curve--V1: 6,348, Passport 8500: 6,280, BEL 980: 4,599.) I awarded the Escort Passport 8500 extra points over the BEL mostly for its ease of operation and unique features. Judged solely on performance and value it would be nigh impossible to choose between the two.

The new Passport 8500 displays considerable refinement and attention to detail, a practical example of how decades of experience, coupled with leading-edge technology, combine to raise the bar another notch in high-performance police radar and laser detection.

K40 SS3000

Score: 39

Editor's Note: See the recent K40 Calibre and Defuser EX test, the successors to these K40 radar detector and laser jammer models.

This K40 has a separate laser module and rear radar antenna, the former mounted on the front license plate (optional is a rear laser module). The manufacturer heavily promotes the promise of bi-directional radar detection although conventional dash-mounted detectors manage to pick up radar to the rear quite nicely without the added bulk and complexity of a second antenna.

The K40 is operated by a cockpit-mounted control module that sports two slide switches and six status LEDs--four of them either pale green or yellow that simply disappear in sunlight. This forces total reliance on the audio for band ID chores. Unfortunately, they weren't quite up to the challenge. Although I halted the test several times and cycled through the audio alerts in an attempt to learn them, this bewildering assortment of chirps, tweets and bird whistles proved impossible to interpret even after two full days earnestly spent trying.

I tested the rear antenna separately and found it gave about the same range as the front antenna. At least it did on X and K band. After spending fruitless hours trying to coax it to detect any of the three different Ka-band frequencies, I finally determined that the rear antenna doesn't pick up Ka band at all. Confronted with the evidence, a K40 spokesman reluctantly admitted that Ka band in the rear antenna is purposely deactivated.

I can guess why: the SS3000 is uncommonly prone to falsing--in reaction to other radar detectors, microwave relay towers, supermarket door openers, Burger King microwave ovens, you name it. I also noticed that the microwaves emanating from the K40's two antennas frequently set one another off, adding to the din. On our 10-mile urban loop the SS3000 shrieked 10 false alarms--that number would've doubled had I counted alerts of less than 2 seconds' duration--making it the noisiest detector I've seen in the past decade. The constant racket makes the SS3000 useless as a police-radar detection device but highly recommended for hungry drivers searching for the nearest Burger King.

At the Straightaway/Hill test site the K40 SS3000 turned in competitive X-band Highway and K-band scores but its range in X-band City Mode was so poor that we were clocked by the radar for nearly a quarter-mile before it finally went off. It was equally shy about alerting to both K and Ka-band radar at the curve site, the radar guns nailing our target car well before they were noticed by the K40.

As the most expensive unit tested it would be fair to expect greatness from the K40. But with its inept Seventies-era design, lamentable lack of features, user-unfriendly operation, wildly uneven radar scores and overly talkative nature, I'd suggest shopping elsewhere.

Valentine One

Score: 77

The Valentine One uses a single rotary switch with concentric ring to control on/off, audio level, mute level and two "logic" modes that filter X band. I feel that's about four functions too many. So does the competition, all of which allocate these key functions to separate switches for faster, simpler operation.

The Valentine One's audio alerts are reasonably distinct although its audio level was the lowest of the bunch. Like the Escort Passport 8500 it can warn of multiple radar signals although the Passport 8500 (and Passport 8500 X50) not only displays band ID but also the relative signal strength of each, helping to prioritize the threat. One unique V1 feature is the Radar Locator, claimed to pinpoint the direction of incoming radar beams. Under optimal conditions--detector mounted high on the windshield with a panoramic view and with a relatively strong signal on a steady bearing--I found the directional arrows generally accurate.

But I quickly learned to distrust the bogey counter's truthfulness. For example, in bucolic Campo, Colorado, a village of 121 souls, the Valentine shrieked a strident warning of three simultaneous microwave threats. Yet the hamlet has no police radar at all, largely because it has no police department. In larger metropolitan areas I noticed this Chicken Little behavior even more, often being bombarded by alerts for eight or nine simultaneous threats while sitting gridlocked in traffic.

Truth is, radar to the side poses no threat at all and radar from behind is scarcely worthy of more attention. (See About Radar (How it Works) to learn why.) I'd prefer to not to be annoyed by incessant warnings of microwave ovens in roadside eateries and door openers at every Safeway store. Just let me know when there's a real threat up ahead and keep quiet the rest of the time. (The solution to false alarms is GPS, a technology used with devastating effectiveness by a few models in the new crop of GPS-enabled radar detectors.

Features notable by their absence include auto mute (manual only), user-programmable features, text display, voice alerts, selectable band defeat and tutorial mode. A photoelectric cell automatically dims the displays but there's no provision to darken them or tailor the brightness to personal preference. The lack of a dark mode is a problem due to the enormous red directional arrows, red status LEDs and large red "bogey counter" which together produce nearly enough illumination to read road maps at night. Mounted squarely in the middle of the windshield--a requirement if the "radar locator" and rear radar antenna are to function reliably--the Valentine One draws detector-poor drivers like moths to a porch light, who then glom onto the rear bumper and refuse to leave. Disapproving police officers find it equally attractive, as do most thieves. Linking the V1 with an optional remote display ($39) extinguishes the light show but the extra wiring does contribute to cockpit clutter and installation hassles. I'd prefer one button and my own choice of display brightness.

If this were 1991, with X and K-band radar the primary threats, the Valentine One would have fared much better in this shootout. In the straightaway test, in unfiltered X-band mode it heard the radar from 7.5 miles away, easily good for a solid first-place ranking and far superior to nearly all other detectors. At the same site it also scored within feet of the BEL Vector 980 and Escort Passport 8500 in the X band city mode and K band tests. It was considerably less adept on Ka band, trailing the BEL and Escort by nearly 17,000 feet, almost 3.2 miles, and a critical shortcoming in an era when Ka-band radar guns are everywhere.

In the X-band highway/curve test it eked 68 more feet than the second-place Escort Passport 8500 but achieved less than one third the Passport 8500's range on X-band city. On Ka band it belatedly issued an alert only a few feet before the radar locked-on to our speed. It did far better against lasers, weighing in with a first-place finish in field of view and third place in maximum range, within feet of the Escort and BEL. [In my latest review of high-end detectors the V1 performed much better.]

Still capable of putting up a good show against X and K-band radar and particularly lasers, with its high price tag, minimal features and quirky ergonomics the V1 is a very specialized piece. The primary appeal to its rabid fans is its excellent sensitivity. Few complain about its chatty nature--at least publicly--and most treasure its willingness to alert to the faintest whiff of a microwave signal.

Test Results

	Radar Sensitivity	Laser Sensitivity	Ergonomics/ Features	Selectivity	City Mode	Sound Level	Total
Max. Possible Points	50	10	15	15	5	5	100
BEL 980	49	7	15	14	5	4	94
Escort 8500	50	7	15	15	5	5	97
K40 SS3000	26	6	3	2	1	1	39
Valentine One	44	9	6	12	3	3	77

Features	BEL 980	Escort Passport 8500	K40 SS3000	Valentine One
Suggested Retail/ Street Price	$330/$295	$300/$300	$1400/$1400	$400/$400
Visual Band ID
Audible Band ID
Multi-step Dim/ Dark Mode
Text Display
Digital Signal Strength
Voice Alerts
Auto Mute
Settings Memory
Driver-Programmable Features	7	9
X/K/Ka Band Defeat
Tutorial Mode
Multiple Threat Counter
Remote Audio/ Visual Display

Looking for something else? Go directly to: More of the latest radar detector reviews Action Video: How Radar Works Secrets to getting real protection from your radar detector What you need to know about police radar and lasers