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battery powered radar detectors?


BarryG

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I can't tell you from any personal experience, or even from reading reviews, but the phrase "you get what you pay for" comes to mind here.

My bet is it is indeed crap.

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You lose 20% efficiency cordless vs corded in detection ability.

Is that proven? Still 80% better than not having one. With a corded one do you have create a mounted outlet and all that stuff? I'd love to just take the thing right off the bike with my tank bag and no cord.

BTW..Nick....like your quote in your sig....true enough! 8)

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Just finished looking at battery versus power models and decided to make the extra effort to hard wire in a power connection as the duty cycle is somewhat reduced in the battery operated models to save power. I want as much warning as I can get. Any detector is better than none though.

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Barry,

Help me understand Why you would try to save a couple dollars in opting for a cheap model instead of having the peace of mind of either a Passport or V1. For crying out loud, your next ticket will likely run you over $500 + a serious pain in the ass (if caught really speeding it could literally be a "pain in the ass"). Spend the 3 bills and fogetaboutit! Cry once, buy smart, then be happy... If you wanted cheap you would have bought a GW or a Bird.

BTW - sorry to hear about teh sadness with the x-GF, you've got some great advice from the boys. Most of all, severe the "friendship" right now, and the foreseeable near future otherwise you'll not mend.

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how hard is it too hook up a corded detector with an outlet for it? Is there drilling involved? I don't do much but change my oil...

A bid fiddly is all. Get an Escort Passport 8500 X50 or the latest Bell as they have a mono outlet. Get the hardwire kit and a Techmount control mount as well as a two meter lenght of mono cable with a male/female end. Fit the control mount on left side of bike. Take seat off, take bolts from rear of tank out, pull tank clips out and lift. Place a block of wood under raised tand. Thread wires through from front to under rear. Attached earth of hardwire the to the battery and splice into say the horn with the power. Thread the female end of the mono cable to sit up in between the seat and the rear of the tank. Just use an earpiece in the helmet and plug in. Of course you have to put the tank back and cable tie everything up. Bingo. Well worth the effort. Took mine for a run today and works like a treat. Very happy.

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Friend of mine just finished a 6900 mile X-country trip using a Bell cordless. His normal cruise is 90-100. No tickets. Saved his ass on 22 occasions. Worked fine for him.

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Friend of mine just finished a 6900 mile X-country trip using a Bell cordless. His normal cruise is 90-100. No tickets. Saved his ass on 22 occasions. Worked fine for him.

How did he mount it? Did he have it velcro'd to a tank bag on on the shield suctioned?

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I hardwired a bell passport. I went ahead and had my dealership install a fused power source to the ignition so I could power several toys. I had it wired into a junction box under the cowl. The main problem I have run into is each appliance I have has its own "cigarette lighter" plug, and I have to solder these to the junction box. The plugs are starting to take up a lot of real estate in there.

As for the cordless, I considered them, but I read in several places that the "cycling" they exhibit will not necessarily intercept POP radar. My detector has saved me hundreds and hundreds.

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I hardwired a bell passport. I went ahead and had my dealership install a fused power source to the ignition so I could power several toys. I had it wired into a junction box under the cowl. The main problem I have run into is each appliance I have has its own "cigarette lighter" plug, and I have to solder these to the junction box. The plugs are starting to take up a lot of real estate in there.

As for the cordless, I considered them, but I read in several places that the "cycling" they exhibit will not necessarily intercept POP radar. My detector has saved me hundreds and hundreds.

Hardwired an 8500. Hardwire kits aren't expensive:

http://www.radarbusters.com/products/acces...ort/default.asp

When I move it to the car, I use the cig adapter that came with it.

I researched the difference between the high end battery operated and the 8500/Valentine 1 powered variety, and came to the conclusion that knowing that it's actively scanning and receiving all the time, as opposed to having to worry about losing battery power halfway through a trip was worth the extra $ to wire it and do it right.

Add to that the expense of batteries/dealing with recharging: You're talking $60 (1 for each bike @30 each) to never have to worry about buying batteries again, ever for your detector. Considering the amount of riding I do, it paid for itself over and over again.

I won't even begin to explain how much it's saved me in tickets from the county sherrif's office.

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Add to that the expense of batteries/dealing with recharging: You're talking $60 (1 for each bike @30 each) to never have to worry about buying batteries again, ever for your detector.

The 2 AA's supposedly last over a month and I have a recharger along with rechargeable AAs. The cost of batteries to me is zero and recharging once a month....if that.... is nothing.

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As many traps as my V1 picked up during my trip to Cali, I'd say the miminal expense at wiring up the bike is worth it. I went with PowerLet, ran a small cable to my tank bag from the outlet, and inside the bag I run a 2 socket cig lighter adapter from powerlet to run the detector and my GPS. Mind you, between the external PowerLet mount, the cig adapter, and the cable I spent about 75 bucks or so, but I'm happy with how it turned out, plus I can run other stuff through the outlets as well (phone charger, power connector for music keg, etc.). Just DO it! :twisted:

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bel express 946 Is what I bought. It came with a motorcycle kit(batteries, earphone, periscope to allow you to put it in your front pocket) I first used it in my car, alone side "old trusty" and it matched the performance beep for beep. "old trusty" has kept me ticket free for 7 years, and I drive about 150 miles a day. I got it new for $115 from amazon.com.

My two cents,

Brian Bongfeldt

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Hey.......Is it true that the coefficient drag on these bikes is so low that the cops have a hard time getting a bead on you? Apparently not, from some of the posts I'm reading. I know when my buddy & I go by those roadside speed detectors, they don't seem to pick us up

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Add to that the expense of batteries/dealing with recharging: You're talking $60 (1 for each bike @30 each) to never have to worry about buying batteries again, ever for your detector.

The 2 AA's supposedly last over a month and I have a recharger along with rechargeable AAs. The cost of batteries to me is zero and recharging once a month....if that.... is nothing.

Go for it then. When the batteries die, and you're in the middle of no where with no protection, and you get a ticket... well, think of me. :lol:

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Go for it then. When the batteries die, and you're in the middle of no where with no protection, and you get a ticket... well, think of me. :lol:

Or I could reach into my Joe Rocket Manta bag and pull out 2 more of my rechargeable AAs and Voila! It's magic.....the thing works again!

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