Autoexpress Radar Detector Tests - October 2000 - Bel 990, bel 980, snooper, valentine 1, uniden, geodesy, cobra and whistler units



	Courtesy of Auto Express


	A question of Speed
	The rights and wrongs of speed traps is a hot topic and the morality of using a radar detector to avoid being caught by one, even more so. But no-one wants a fine or points on their licence. Although radar detectors have been legal to buy, own and use since a High Court case in January 1998, the Government is planning a crackdown and wants to change the law to ban the devices completely. The new rulings could come into force by next year. But do detectors actually work? Auto Express has put the latest devices to the test to find out.

The Test
For our three tests we employed the help of an off-duty serving police traffic officer. In the first we fired a radar and laser gun from about 350 metres away to see how our detectors performed. Test number two was similar but this time the detectors were around a bend in the road and approximately 550 metres from the guns. None of the detectors would pick up the laser from this position as the beam travels in a straight line. Nearby hedgerows provided nothing for the beam to 'bounce' off, and the results could have been different had there been buildings around.

So are these devices effective enough at spotting speed traps to justify the Government trying to ban them. Although all of them managed a good response to the radar and laser guns, it's the Gatso cameras that are more likely to be encountered on a regular basis, and our test showed a huge variance in performance. Despite there being lots of detectors on the market, the key results put BEL's products clearly ahead.

A question of Speed

BEL 980

BEL Vector LR

BEL 990

BEL 966R

Valentine 1

Whistler 1670

Cobra ESD 9100

Cobra ESD 6700

Snooper 715is

Uniden Stealth LRD 777

BelDirect ( www.beldirect.co.uk )

Pama
( www.pama.co.uk

Snooper Direct ( www.snooper.co.uk

Morpheous (Geodesy) ( www.geodesygps.co.uk )

Uniden Stealth LRD 777

Rating:

Price: ?199.95
Fuse? Y + spare
Carry case: N
Voice? Y
Mounting: W/D
Warranty (yrs): 1
City/Highway: Y
Claimed bands: L, X, K, K

This is a chiselled, Star Wars-type device with selectable voice alert and a large dot matrix display that had a useful electronic compass. It worked well on the first two tests but failed on the Gatso. Head-on, it detected just one bar of signal as we were level with the camera. When we passed the other way, it picked up nothing until we'd passed through the white lines.

BEL 966R

Rating:

Price: ?549.99
Fuse? Y
Carry case N
Voice? N
Mounting: Permanent
Warranty (yrs): 1
City/Highway: Y
Claimed bands: L, K, X, K

This is the only permanent-fit model on test and it has a radar sensor that's placed behind the car's grille and a laser one inside. It's about the size of a matchbox and bands could be switched off. The small display had LED lights, but the increasing frequency of the beeps gave good notice of the location. Gatso performance was excellent - 175 yards from the rear and twice that on the head-on run.

Valentine 1

Rating:

Price: ?523.95
Fuse: Y
Carry case: N
Voice? N
Mounting: W/D/S
Warranty (yrs): 2
City/Highway: Y
Claimed bands: L, X ,K , K

This is a device for the techno-heads as it has a long accessories list, lots of warning LEDs and uniquely here, a direction indicator to show the danger direction. Although bands can't be deselected, you can choose between auto and two 'intelligent' modes, which reduce false alarms. Gun tests were passed and the Gatso was despatched with ease, but we didn't think it merited the nearly ?500 asking price.

BEL 980

Rating:

Price: ?299.99
Fuse? Y
Carry case: Y
Voice? Y
Mounting: W/D/S
Warranty (yrs): 2
City/Highway: Y
Claimed bands: K, K, X, K

Effectively a Vector LR unit with better performance and voice warnings. In the head-on Gatso test, it started beeping at 350 yards and from the rear, it gave 170 yards' warning, counting up in plenty of time and going off the scale as the camera was passed. The best in our test.

Cobra ESD 9100

Rating:

Price: ?139.99
Fuse? Y
Carry case: N
Voice? N
Mounting: W
Warranty (yrs): 1
City/Highway: Y
Claimed bands: L, X, K, K

A Bulky unit, but even with its size, there was a limited visual display (no text) and only two warning lights. It handled test one well, but was hesitant on test two. In the head-on Gatso examination, it did little until opposite the trap. Worse still, it holds the dubious distinction of being the only unit not to sound at all on the all-important rearward Gatso test - a disappointing performance.

Cobra ESD 6700

Rating:

Price: ?229.99
Fuse? Y
Carry case: N
Voice? Y
Mounting: W/D
Warranty (yrs): 1
City/Highway: Y
Claimed bands: L, X, K, K

A compact unit, this one has a clear dot matrix text display and selectable voice alert. It picked up the guns in tests one and two very well, but its Gatso performance was much less impressive. Head-on, it didn't register until we reached the white lines, where the display lit two bars out of five. From the rear, it again didn't register until the trap had been passed.

BEL Vector LR

Rating:

Price: ?249.99
Fuse? Y
Carry case: Y
Voice? N
Mounting: W/S
Warranty (yrs): 3
City/Highway: Y
Claimed bands: L, K, X, K

Bel's Vector LR maintains the bulbous corporate look. It has a quality textured plastic case and clear dot matrix display, but no voice. We liked its ability to cut out irritating X and Ka bands. Tests one and two were easily passed and its Gatso performance was very good with it locating the trap from 300 yards away head-on and rearwards from around 150 yards - in both cases, counting down accurately.

BEL 990

Rating:

Price: ?349.99
Fuse? Y
Carry case: Y
Voice? Y
Mounting: W/D/S
Warranty (yrs): 2
City/Highway: Y
Claimed bands: L, K, X, Ka, K

This is the Bel 980's bigger brother, with a price tag to match. It looked identical and had the same controls, but with the addition of the Ku band (used in France, where detectors are illegal). The Gatso results were impressive and gave plenty of warning, although not noticeably more than the 980, which would probably be the better choice for UK-only travellers.

Whistler 1670

Rating:

Price: ?239.95
Fuse? Y
Carry case: N
Voice? Y
Mounting: W/D
Warranty (yrs): 1
City/Highway: Y
Claimed bands: L, X, K, K

A well turned-out unit with a clear display, the ability to delete X band in one of the City modes, and the facility to record up to six 10 second memos worked in its favour. It performed well in test one, but not in test two. However, in the Gatso one, it barely recognised the camera head-on and from the rear didn't react until we were almost out of the white lines.

Snooper 715is

Rating:

Price: ?163
Fuse? Y
Carry case: N
Voice? N
Mounting: W/D
Warranty (yrs): 2
City/Highway: Y
Claimed bands: L, X, K, K

No voice, no case and a limited number of LED warning lights were on the downside for this unit, but it was the second cheapest here at ?181. Results in tests one and two were encouraging, although on the road, it seldom stopped beeping sporadically to itself. It also beeped a little before the Gatso, stopped, murmured a bit more while we drove through it, and started up again 50 yards later!