Bel 904 Laser defense system
Written: Nov 26 '02 (Updated Nov 27 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Gives you plenty of advance warning to check your speed
Cons: If you decide to install it yourself, it can be difficult
The Bottom Line: Works as advertised and should be installed to the letter of the instructions so you get optimum performance.
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| creeper73's Full Review: Beltronics LaserPro 904 Radar Detector |
Love it, love it, love it! Lead-footed gadget geeks dream. When I heard about this anti-laser device coming out I was interested. When I found out that it was Bel (a quality company) that was distributing it, I knew it was for real, unlike those crazy products you see advertised at the back of car magazines. I opted to buy this unit from an online source for about $250, and chose to install it myself since I had a free afternoon. I think the main thing you should be aware of and consider before buying is how exactly the front part of your car can accommodate the two front transceivers. Do your homework and note the dimensions of the two front units before you buy the whole package.
You *must* have a clear view of the road ahead where they are going to be installed, and they have to be situated somewhere between the headlights and the center point (where your front license would go). If you have openings somewhere in that general vicinity, then go for it. I think if you chose to install them further away from those points they may not be able to give you full jamming power since police tend to focus on headlights or the front plate to get a return reading. One other note on installation, they have to be positioned straight ahead and within or -5 degrees parallel to the road surface. Bel includes a balance tool to determine that, so that was very helpful on their part.
Once I did all the drilling and positioning on my 98 Camaro (it was no easy task for me) I hooked up the wiring and mounted the small control panel in the cockpit. Satisfied that everything was working and ready to go, I decided to “test” the units by going by a couple well-known speed traps here in the Atlanta area. These are usually straight roadways stretches so the officer can get a good frontal reading if he’s using laser. In my case the motorcycle traffic enforcement units have Prolaser III and LTI Ultralyte guns, with one or two older LTI 20/20’s. On my first encounter the unit went off just as my old detector did from probably a couple hundred feet out. It usually takes the lidar gun a split second to get a reading, but my units continued to go off for at least 8 seconds until I hit the disarm button. At that point the officer (who was almost within spitting distance basically) had rested the gun down, obviously the unit had worked flawlessly and he was not able to get a reading.
On subsequent encounters in the couple months since I’ve installed it, the results have been the same every time. I wouldn’t suggest you try it necessarily, but I’ve approached the officer without disarming the unit just to see what would happen, and you could see sheer puzzlement from the officer as to why his expensive toy couldn’t get a speed reading at all from a car coming towards him clear as day. The Bel should be used to aid you in driving more safely, not for irritating the police doing their jobs, so use it accordingly! Based on my experience, it gets a 10 out 10. A couple final notes, I did not install the rear transponder since they do not target the rear part of cars here. I can only speak on the forward units. Also, I had to send the control panel unit I got because it would not automatically turn on and off with the ignition in my car, Bel supplied a newer one that worked as advertised in a timely fashion. Oh, don’t forget to wipe off the front of the transponders before you leave for the road, any dirt or scum that accumulates on them may reduce performance.
Any questions send to cmgraham@bellsouth.net. CG
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
creeper73
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Reviews written: 1
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