Bel 945i Radar Detector
Rene Lampe
I am considering purchasing the Bel 945i and was
wondering if anyone had any comments on it ?!?!
Before you tell me to get a V1, I am looking for
something cordless.
Please respond via email: re...@interlog.com
Thanks...
Rene
P.J. Hartman
In article <6e0ltf$2i...@kidd.tor.shaw.wave.ca>,
NotFo...@IHateSpam.com says...
> I am considering purchasing the Bel 945i and was
> wondering if anyone had any comments on it ?!?!
>
> Before you tell me to get a V1, I am looking for
> something cordless.
Cordless may be convenient, but it's also ineffective.
If you want to be warned of radar, use a corded detector, preferably a
V-1.
TheCentralSc...@pobox.com
Bel doesn't believe there's any value in silence. Their detecters never
ever shut up. Everything from AM radio to cell phones seems to set off Ka
band alarms. I got so frustrated I threw my $200+ bel cordless out the
window. What a piece of junk!
Brent Phillips
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I just purchased the 945i about a month ago. I bought a Bell because I
had heard that they had the best radar detectors on the market now.
I also have a Passport 1000? (the one with the LCD screen showing
multiple radar sources). I didn't get another passport because I had
to have it repaired 3 times. And to me that was too many problems.
I found a good deal on the Bell over the internet and had it within 3
days of ordering.
Here is what I think of it....
Any time it's colder than 40 degree's outside the detector beeps and
shows K 1 over and over and over until the car gets warm inside.
I've never had problems like this with other detectors.
I called Bell and they told me not to leave it in the car (I had
problems with this because I don't want to have to remove it
everytime).
But they said the would replace it with no problems with only the
shipping having to be paid by me.
I've also noticed that it doesn't seem to pick up radar nearly as far
away as my old Maxon and my current Passport do. It lets me know soon
enough but not like the passport which gives you a very early warning.
I've moved the radar to a different location to see if it improves the
warning time.
So far I don't like the Bell and wished I had got another Passport
(it's even cheaper!)
But hopefully with a replacement the cold weather problem will go away
and maybe the relocation will help the warning time...
On Mon, 9 Mar 1998 07:05:19 -0500, "Rene Lampe"
<NotFo...@IHateSpam.com> wrote:
>I am considering purchasing the Bel 945i and was
>wondering if anyone had any comments on it ?!?!
>
>Before you tell me to get a V1, I am looking for
>something cordless.
>
>Please respond via email: re...@interlog.com
>
>Thanks...
>
>Rene
>
>
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Jake Schmidt
Brent Phillips wrote in message <35090d5a....@news.utk.edu>...
>-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
>Hash: SHA1
>
>I just purchased the 945i about a month ago. I bought a Bell because I
>had heard that they had the best radar detectors on the market now.
Never heard of the Valentine 1, huh?
<snip>
>I've also noticed that it doesn't seem to pick up radar nearly as far
>away as my old Maxon and my current Passport do. It lets me know soon
The older detectors are often better at detecting X- and K-band radar for
some reason. I can't at the moment remember why though...
<snip>
Jake
Steven Fisher
>>I've also noticed that it doesn't seem to pick up radar nearly as far
>>away as my old Maxon and my current Passport do. It lets me know soon
>
>The older detectors are often better at detecting X- and K-band radar for
>some reason. I can't at the moment remember why though...
Newer ones deaden at least X-band, cause it's so annoying to have it false
all the time.
I think they should instead make a button that disables X-band. I'm just
not worried about someone using X-band when I drive through Downtown Seattle
or associated freeways where the cops use K, Ka and Laser.
TheCentralSc...@pobox.com
In article <6e9p7j$o...@news.microsoft.com>, Steven Fisher wrote:
>
>I think they should instead make a button that disables X-band. I'm just
>not worried about someone using X-band when I drive through Downtown Seattle
>or associated freeways where the cops use K, Ka and Laser.
>
The bel makes up for that by generating constant Ka band falses. I've had
it go off with all LED flashing away in the middle of *nowhere*: not a
car or sign of civilization for 20 miles.
Hank Zimmerman
In article <slrn6giits.scl.TheC...@nyx10.nyx.net>,
TheCentralSc...@pobox.com wrote:
I have a 945i and love it except for the Ka band alerts. I almost never
have an X-band alert if I am in City mode. I find Highway mode livable
aroud town (and definitely out in the state except for the occasional
Wal-Mart)
A few suggestions if you go with the 945i:
1) Replace the batteries often. When the batteries start dying false
alrams are an every-minute sort of thing. Stick them in your TV's remote
control or something.
2) See if your dealer will throw in a power cord. Mine did and it helps in
cars with a ciggerette port.
3) Disable the VG-2 guard unless you are living somehwere where it is
needed (I think it is shipped with VG-2 off, so that is not a problem).
4) Disable the SWS alerts. Those are just annoying They are almost never
used and the Bel seems to default to "unidentifiable SWS radar" if you are
miles off from the radar source (which, most of the time, is a cop sitting
on the other side of a hill or curve).
--
Hank Zimmerman maintains the comp.mail.eudora.mac FAQ
It can be found at <URL:http://www.ka.net/eudora/faqs/faq.html>
Hank Zimmerman's [Unofficial] Eudora Site: <URL:http://www.ka.net/eudora/>
TheCentralSc...@pobox.com
Better yet, toss it out the window and replace it with a usable detector.
My $69 cobra is a zillion times better than that !@#$%^&*!! bel.
Hank Zimmerman
In article <slrn6gom6o.2ph.TheC...@nyx10.nyx.net>,
TheCentralSc...@pobox.com wrote:
>Better yet, toss it out the window and replace it with a usable detector.
>My $69 cobra is a zillion times better than that !@#$%^&*!! bel.
Funny, my friend has a Uniden in his Miata. My other friend has a Cobra in
his Audi. I *HAVE* to drive in City mode in both to keep from getting a
false every few feet (both in the city and out in the state). I have found
both to be unusable because I could either:
1) Drive in City mode and not get alerted until I was about 100ft. away
from a cop (by that time his lights are already on).
or
2) Drive in highway mode and drive the speed limit at all times because
the damn detector is going off so often.
I end up moving my Bel into both of their cars when I drive their cars and
using that (cordless makes it easy) because I cannot stand either of them.
I have hundreds of hours with the Bel and dozens of hours with both the
Uniden and the Cobra. The Bel is much better at both distance and false
alarms.
I imagine the V1 is even better but I had to go cordless.
You get what you paid for, I suppose.
see.my.s...@no.damn.spam.com
> >> I am considering purchasing the Bel 945i and was
> >> wondering if anyone had any comments on it ?!?!
> >>
> >> Before you tell me to get a V1, I am looking for
> >> something cordless.
> >
> >
> >If you want to be warned of radar, use a corded detector, preferably a
> >V-1.
> >
If you keep a fresh enough battery, and maybe don't let it get baked in the
sun, why don't cordless work as well?
----------------------
email: darkstar(at)zeus.ax.com
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see.my.s...@no.damn.spam.com
> >I just purchased the 945i about a month ago. I bought a Bell because I
> >had heard that they had the best radar detectors on the market now.
>
> Never heard of the Valentine 1, huh?
>
of radar sources count (which doesn't work right anyway), cordless, and
preferably cheaper.
> The older detectors are often better at detecting X- and K-band radar for some
> reason. I can't at the moment remember why though...
>
Because most police radar is Ka or Ka wide now. Having alot of sensitivity in
the largely unused bands just increases falses, especially because there are
alot of X band sources in town. Those auto-door openers on supermarkets
are all X band radar.
----------------------
email: darkstar(at)zeus.ax.com
[replace the "(at)" with "@"]
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see.my.s...@no.damn.spam.com
> >I think they should instead make a button that disables X-band. I'm just
> >not worried about someone using X-band when I drive through Downtown Seattle
> >or associated freeways where the cops use K, Ka and Laser.
> >
>
disabled, the X band sensitivity. I would like to see a detector with a
complete X band disable, because like you say, almost no police use X anymore.
I've only seen in out in the midwest or some 100 person population town out in
the desert.
Have you ever seen any cops using laser?
I've never seen nor heard of any cops using it in southern California.
Plus, I've seen articles that say it only works on oncoming cars, with the cop
standing on the side of the road. We don't get too many of those "classic"
speed traps around here.
On a side note, I read you can jam laser legally by just getting some powerful
offroad lights and driving around with them on all the time. They emit tons of
infrared, and that's what type of laser the Lidars are. It makes em read like
1000mph or some nonsense #. To keep from getting busted for too bright of
lights, you can put an infrared filter (cerca 1950's Army) so only the IR will
get thru. No one will even be able to tell whether they're on or not.
I never implemented this cause like I say, no laser traps around here.
> The bel makes up for that by generating constant Ka band falses. I've had it
> go off with all LED flashing away in the middle of *nowhere*: not a car or
> sign of civilization for 20 miles.
>
You may have just been radared by aircraft.
----------------------
email: darkstar(at)zeus.ax.com
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Quote of the Day:
"Book (n): a utensil used to pass time while waiting
for the TV repairman."
John Miles
see.my.s...@no.damn.spam.com wrote:
>
> > >> I am considering purchasing the Bel 945i and was
> > >> wondering if anyone had any comments on it ?!?!
> > >>
> > >> Before you tell me to get a V1, I am looking for
> > >> something cordless.
> > >
> > >Cordless may be convenient, but it's also ineffective.
> > >
> > >If you want to be warned of radar, use a corded detector, preferably a
> > >V-1.
> > >
> Why?
> If you keep a fresh enough battery, and maybe don't let it get baked in the
> sun, why don't cordless work as well?
>
High performance, false-alarm-resistant detection requires two things:
(a) at least reasonable CPU power; and (b) high gain, low noise RF
amplification. Both of these goals are at odds with the limited power
available from batteries.
If you powered a V-1 from batteries, it would probably run a few hours
per set at most.
-- jm
------------------------------------------------------
Note: My E-mail address has been altered to avoid spam
------------------------------------------------------
Chuck Tomlinson
jmi...@pop.removethistomailme.net wrote:
>
>High performance, false-alarm-resistant detection requires two things:
>(a) at least reasonable CPU power; and (b) high gain, low noise RF
>amplification. Both of these goals are at odds with the limited power
>available from batteries.
>
>If you powered a V-1 from batteries, it would probably run a few hours
>per set at most.
My V1 once ran for five days on (car) battery power while I was on
vacation. There was enough juice left to turn the engine two, maybe
three revs; not quite enough to start the car, unfortunately :-)
--
Chuck Tomlinson
John Miles
Right. 5 days on a car battery = 5 hours on double-A's. :-)
I remember my original Passport could sit for at least a couple of weeks
without totally draining my battery. Those were the days before
microcontrollers and Ka-band capabilities infiltrated the detector
world.
TheCentralSc...@pobox.com
In article <350DE6...@pop.removethistomailme.net>, John Miles wrote:
>
>High performance, false-alarm-resistant detection requires two things:
>(a) at least reasonable CPU power; and (b) high gain, low noise RF
>amplification. Both of these goals are at odds with the limited power
>available from batteries.
>
>If you powered a V-1 from batteries, it would probably run a few hours
>per set at most.
>
off. The constant falses prevent it from automatically powering down.
Edward Gibson
see.my.s...@no.damn.spam.com wrote in article
<1998031702...@dry.jps.net>...
> Have you ever seen any cops using laser?
> I've never seen nor heard of any cops using it in southern California.
> Plus, I've seen articles that say it only works on oncoming cars, with
the cop
> standing on the side of the road. We don't get too many of those
"classic"
> speed traps around here.
Laser works equally well on oncoming and departing cars, but it's easier to
motion an oncoming car to the side of the road than it is to chase down a
departing car. Lasers can be operated from within the vehicle and do not
require the officer to stand by the side of the road.
Ed
Jake Schmidt
see.my.s...@no.damn.spam.com wrote in message
<1998031702...@dry.jps.net>...
> >I just purchased the 945i about a month ago. I bought a Bell because I
> >had heard that they had the best radar detectors on the market now.
>
> Never heard of the Valentine 1, huh?
>
>Is there anything as sensitive as the V1, but smaller, without the #
>of radar sources count (which doesn't work right anyway), cordless, and
>preferably cheaper.
Well, I agree that it would be nice if it was a little smaller, but I'm
willing to deal with that. The bogey counter usually works halfway decent to
me, and it would be nice also if the price were a little cheaper. However, I
wouldn't ever wish that it was a cordless detector.
> The older detectors are often better at detecting X- and K-band radar for
some
> reason. I can't at the moment remember why though...
>
>Because most police radar is Ka or Ka wide now. Having alot of sensitivity
in
>the largely unused bands just increases falses, especially because there
are
>alot of X band sources in town. Those auto-door openers on supermarkets
>are all X band radar.
Come to Iowa. I have been zapped with Ka-band radar less than 5 times.
Jake
----------------------
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[replace the "(at)" with "@"]
Quote of the Day:
M. McLaughlin
> > Never heard of the Valentine 1, huh?
> >
> >Is there anything as sensitive as the V1, but smaller, without the #
> >of radar sources count (which doesn't work right anyway), cordless, and
> >preferably cheaper.
>
> Well, I agree that it would be nice if it was a little smaller, but I'm
> willing to deal with that. The bogey counter usually works halfway decent to
> me, and it would be nice also if the price were a little cheaper. However, I
> wouldn't ever wish that it was a cordless detector.
>
Is the V1 unusually big?
Surendar Jeyadev
In article <1998031702...@dry.jps.net>,
<see.my.s...@no.damn.spam.com> wrote:
>Is there anything as sensitive as the V1, but smaller, without the #
>of radar sources count (which doesn't work right anyway), cordless, and
>preferably cheaper.
What do you mean by "which doesn't work right anyway" -- are you
quoting a certain skewed test? The bogey counter works fine, but
as all signal processors, it cannot distinguish between a source
its reflection. This occurs with very strong sources such as
door openers. This leads to over counts in very particular
situations, but is never a problem with police radar.
--
Surendar Jeyadev jey...@wrc.xerox.com
Surendar Jeyadev
Never heard of aircraft radar. Cannot see how they can get
a decent reading unless they are quite low and behind or
ahead of you as they would have to avoid the cosine factor
-- which always works to *our* advantage.
--
Surendar Jeyadev jey...@wrc.xerox.com
John Miles
Under absolutely no circumstances will you, or anyone else, EVER be
"radared" by aircraft.
Aircraft clock by pacing only. Watch out for those suspicious white
paint marks at the side of the road....
Will Cover
>> The bel makes up for that by generating constant Ka band falses. I've had it
>> go off with all LED flashing away in the middle of *nowhere*: not a car or
>> sign of civilization for 20 miles.
>>
>You may have just been radared by aircraft.
>
>----------------------
>email: darkstar(at)zeus.ax.com
>[replace the "(at)" with "@"]
>
>Quote of the Day:
> "Book (n): a utensil used to pass time while waiting
> for the TV repairman."
will_cover writes:
I may be wrong on this one, but I think its a logical
assumption that you CANNOT radar from the air. Think about it.
Traffic radar is unlike military radar. It CANNOT distinguish one car
from another car. It simply obtains a reading. It is up to the
officer to decide which car is speeding and which is not. Now, how in
the hell can one make that decision several thousand feet up in the
air? Think about it.
Will Cover
Will Cover
On Mon, 16 Mar 1998 18:27:28 -0800, see.my.s...@no.damn.spam.com
wrote:
>> >I think they should instead make a button that disables X-band. I'm just
>> >not worried about someone using X-band when I drive through Downtown Seattle
>> >or associated freeways where the cops use K, Ka and Laser.
>> >
>>
>I used to have an old Passport and it had a "city" mode that lowered, but not
>disabled, the X band sensitivity. I would like to see a detector with a
>complete X band disable, because like you say, almost no police use X anymore.
>I've only seen in out in the midwest or some 100 person population town out in
>the desert.
will_cover writes:
Speaking from experience, Mississippi uses X band regularly,
as well as Alabama, and some midwestern states, such as Nebraska and
Kansas. And these are not just in "100 person population town" as you
say. These radar guns are mounted in Highway Patrol Cars/State Police
Cars. While X band is certainely giving way to K and now KA band
radar guns, it is still poses a great threat, not only in rural towns,
but as well as on the highways.
>Have you ever seen any cops using laser?
>I've never seen nor heard of any cops using it in southern California.
>Plus, I've seen articles that say it only works on oncoming cars, with the cop
>standing on the side of the road.
Wrong. Lidar guns can obtain a speed reading from oncoming
cars, as well as cars going in the opposite direction from the laser
gun.
We don't get too many of those "classic"
>speed traps around here.
>On a side note, I read you can jam laser legally by just getting some powerful
>offroad lights and driving around with them on all the time. They emit tons of
>infrared, and that's what type of laser the Lidars are. It makes em read like
>1000mph or some nonsense #.
The laser gun will remain blank. And it only reduces the
laser beams effectiveness in terms of distance. A well trained
officer will be able to obtain a speed reading from another source,
such as your windshield.
Will Cover
Hank Zimmerman
>Have you ever seen any cops using laser?
>I've never seen nor heard of any cops using it in southern California.
>Plus, I've seen articles that say it only works on oncoming cars, with the cop
>standing on the side of the road. We don't get too many of those "classic"
>speed traps around here.
I have been pulled over by LIDAR. The guy pulled into the median and
zapped me from inside his car (he was partially hidden is the reason I did
not see him until the blue lights were on). It was in Ohio (a giant
state-wide speed trap if there ever was one).
I got zapped another time by a stationary car in Ithaca, NY. Was not
pulled over, though.
>> The bel makes up for that by generating constant Ka band falses. I've had it
>> go off with all LED flashing away in the middle of *nowhere*: not a car or
>> sign of civilization for 20 miles.
>>
>You may have just been radared by aircraft.
WHAT? Airplane radar? Get real! It wouldn't work at all.
And, anyway, the airplane would need a car onthe ground (since the guy
said he as 20 miles from anywhere, there obviously was not a police car
around).
Brent Phillips
>If you powered a V-1 from batteries, it would probably run a few hours
>per set at most.
What is a V-1?
Brent Phillips
On Mon, 16 Mar 1998 18:27:26 -0800, see.my.s...@no.damn.spam.com
wrote:
>Because most police radar is Ka or Ka wide now. Having alot of sensitivity in
>the largely unused bands just increases falses, especially because there are
>alot of X band sources in town. Those auto-door openers on supermarkets
>are all X band radar.
Well in Tennesse almost all the radar seems to be X and K.
My old radar detector (9 years old) could still pick up all radar I've
ever come across in Tennessee. There are suppost to be laser used but
I've never actually seen it used.
I've relocated the Bell and it seems to have helped the detection
problems some.
And what is the V-1 radar detector?
TheCentralSc...@pobox.com
>On Mon, 16 Mar 1998 18:27:26 -0800, see.my.s...@no.damn.spam.com
>wrote:
>
>>Because most police radar is Ka or Ka wide now. Having alot of sensitivity in
>>the largely unused bands just increases falses, especially because there are
nope. In the my last five years of driving, in 40 states, I've *never*
encountered a Ka speed trap with the exception of a "you are going xx mph"
automated display. 95% of radar is K band and the remaining 5% is X band
mostly in very rural areas.
P.J. Hartman
In article <3510c163....@news.utk.edu>, Brent-P...@utc.edu
says...
> And what is the V-1 radar detector?
It's an abbreviation for a Valentine One radar locator. These units
were designed by Mike Valentine, formerly of Cincinnati Microwave.
They are excellent radar (and lidar) locators, and will display the
number of radar sources, the type, the signal strength, and the radar
source direction(s).
--
P.J. Hartman mailto:har...@tconl.com
Corvette, Talon, MGB, ZX-11, GS450LX, and Neon
http://www.tconl.com/~hartman
Hank Zimmerman
In article <350fc10f....@news.utk.edu>, Brent-P...@utc.edu
(Brent Phillips) wrote:
>What is a V-1?
A Valentine 1 radar detector.
I think the web page is <http://www.valentineone.com/> (but I could be wrong).
Surendar Jeyadev
In article <01bd51a7$59085af0$b311cfa8@gibs2858ws1>,
Edward Gibson <Edward...@reyrey.com> wrote:
>
>
>see.my.s...@no.damn.spam.com wrote in article
><1998031702...@dry.jps.net>...
>
>> I've never seen nor heard of any cops using it in southern California.
>> Plus, I've seen articles that say it only works on oncoming cars, with
>the cop
>> standing on the side of the road. We don't get too many of those
>"classic"
>> speed traps around here.
>
>motion an oncoming car to the side of the road than it is to chase down a
>departing car. Lasers can be operated from within the vehicle and do not
Quite true, but lidar is not very effective behind glass. So the cops
have to roll down the windows, for which they have to park broadside
on and increase the chance of being seen. Thanks to the lovely weather
for 5 months of the year here, in upstate NY, I am sure the cops will
not take to lidar for the winter! In this respect, I have seen the
state police clocking cars with lidar since last fall, but have not
seen them give tickets. I have seen car whip by at 70+ in 55 mph
zones without being stopped. Not sure is this is an 'evaluation'
phase.
--
Surendar Jeyadev jey...@wrc.xerox.com
Craig S. Gillen
hey, have any of you noticed taht the windshield mount for the bell 945i
doesnt stay suctioned to the windshield. the swivel on the bottem gets
in the way, and prevents the suction cup from getting a good hold. a
simple fix is to bent the top part of the mount first away from the
radar detector, then but another bend a little less than a quater inch
higher on the mount so that it returns to its origional ange. this
works pretty good, but i dont understand how bell could put out a mount
that clearly doesnt work...it gets in its own way...youd think this kind
of thing would have been realized in testing.
--
Craig S. Gllen
AIM: CGBrewDog
ICQ: CGBrewDog/4730295
http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Rapids/9680
see.my.s...@no.damn.spam.com
> >Have you ever seen any cops using laser?
> >I've never seen nor heard of any cops using it in southern California.
> >Plus, I've seen articles that say it only works on oncoming cars, with the cop
> >standing on the side of the road. We don't get too many of those "classic"
> >speed traps around here.
>
> zapped me from inside his car (he was partially hidden is the reason I did not
> see him until the blue lights were on). It was in Ohio (a giant state-wide
> speed trap if there ever was one).
>
from a stop as well. I'll have to remember not to be the one driving if I'm
ever in Ohio.
> I got zapped another time by a stationary car in Ithaca, NY. Was not
> pulled over, though.
>
> >> The bel makes up for that by generating constant Ka band falses. I've had it
> >> go off with all LED flashing away in the middle of *nowhere*: not a car or
> >> sign of civilization for 20 miles.
> >>
> >You may have just been radared by aircraft.
>
> WHAT? Airplane radar? Get real! It wouldn't work at all.
>
Maybe, but the PLANE could have radar. You know, to see other planes! If it
was a military jet flying low, it definately had radar. I don't know if it's
on the right band or not.
> And, anyway, the airplane would need a car onthe ground (since the guy
> said he as 20 miles from anywhere, there obviously was not a police car
> around).
>
That's what they do. They radio to a car that's ahead of you. If you're on a
freeway out in the desert, there's not really anywhere you can go before you
come up on him. They just use a scope to get your plate and give the car that
and the cars descrip.
----------------------
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