Remote Units: Welcome To The Big LeaguesNov 14 '03 Write an essay on this topic.
Popular Products in Radar Detectors
The Bottom Line Choose wisely, it can be a hard choice. Valentine One is still the best.
Remote units are radar detectors that you're more likely to see in high-performance and high-priced cars. These prove to be popular sites in cars such as BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, etc... These for most part are NOT CHEAP and have a $1,000+ price tag, though there are some cheaper sub-$1,000 models. Here's what you should know... -Hey Look! A Clean Windsheild!- *Unlike mounted detectors, the remote units have a radar antenna placed elsewhere in the car, such as in the grille. Then the central units can either be LED-interfaces that are placed somewhere in the dash, or there are some with only LED-indicator lights such as those of K40 which make the system completely hidden. If you're very worried about auto-theft and want some nice protection, a remote system may serve you well. Cheaper units such as the Bel Vector 975LR and Whistler 3400 are well under a grand. More expensive units are in the $1,000+ range. -Some Nice Stuff- *If you live in a state where radar detectors are illegal such as Virginia, a remote-unit maybe the perfect medicine to keep your lead-foot free. The K40 units for example are expensive, but the "pods" which are integrated into your gauges will make your radar detector system completely invincible. Pretty cool, huh? Other than that, I think it is much cheaper to buy a mounted unit. -Some Not-Such-Nice Stuff- *I'd have to say that the worst aspect of owning a remote detector is that you can't move it from car to car. Also, if the unit goes obsolete, it's not so easy to get rid of the damn thing just like that. Plus, the price tag is pretty high! Oh yeah, installation always proves to be pretty costly in most cases, and that can be a hassle for some people. -Front... Rear?- *The only company that off-the-bat offers rear-protection is K40. They patented that with their remote systems. It's always better to have rear protection, that being proved with the Valentine One. Once you're protected in the back, you'll wonder how you ever survived without it. One lacking thing with the K40 though is that their performance is lacking compared to that of Escort and Bel's remote systems. -Maybe Expensive... But Better Performance?- *Just because you're paying over $1,000 doesn't neccassarily mean that you're getting the best performance ever. I've compared remote systems to the Valentine One (Which offers rear-protection), and they actually still had slightly worse sensitivity than the Valentine One. Compared to just about any remote out there, a Valentine One is cheaper and still offers better overall radar sensitivity. You have to figure out what you really need when it comes to this. These remotes are by no means bad, but the Valentine One still stands out as the benchmark detector. -In Conclusion- *It's up to you to decide whether you really should pay so much money for high-end protection. You can already have the best with the Valentine One at $399. However, the nice things about remote systems is that they aren't dangling on your windsheild which attracts auto theives, and also they can be invisible so they are absolute pleasures to use in states like Virginia where detectors are illegal. Whether it's the cheaper Bel Vector 975LR or the more expensive Escort SR7 that you're using, you are getting better performance than most windsheild mounted units out there.  |
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