Buy Radar Detectors

Here at Buy Radar Detectors we found ourselves looking at the different anti-photo plate protection products we carry, and we thought a small, informal comparison test might be needed. Well, not needed. More like we thought it would be fun to get outside on a nice spring day. So after obtaining a test vehicle we decided to see how well each product would work, and how noticeable they were.

Plan A we had to cancel. It mostly involved duct tape, the four lane freeway outside, a cheap camera equipped cell phone, and a tall tree. Wishing to avoid upsetting area commuters and for a more controlled test environment, we instead decided on a more scientific approach to our comparison test. Hereafter known as Plan B.

In our test we will be reviewing the following products:
TollFree Protector Anti-Photo License Plate Cover
Super Protector Anti-Photo License Plate Cover
Photo Blur Anti-Photo License Plate Cover
Photo Stopper Anti-Flash License Plate Spray

For testing the plate covers we used a Canon EOS Rebel XTi tripod mounted camera with a Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM SLR lens and a Canon 430EX flash. We took three pictures of each product:

• Picture from above (camera height 7'10") - This position should provide an idea of how the plate cover would perform against a red light camera, which are typically mounted high in an intersection and angled down.
• Picture from behind (camera height 4'3") - This position should give you an indication of how the license plate cover will appear to other drivers or police officers that are looking at your vehicle from behind.
• Picture from the side (camera height 4'3") - This position should provide an idea of how the plate cover would perform against photo radar equipment, where the camera is typically positioned on the side of the road.

We also used the flash in every plate cover picture, as this is typical for photo enforcement equipment. For the Photo Stopper anti-flash spray, we used the same equipment (camera height 4'3") and show each angle, with and without a flash, to show the effect of the product.

For an anti-photo product to be effective it needs to achieve a delicate balance. At angles used by photo enforcement equipment, the license plate numbers should appear obscured. On the other hand, when viewed straight-on the numbers need to appear clear and legible to avoid attracting any unwanted attention.

Please Note: Actual conditions vary according to camera location, time of day, and weather conditions. This is an informal test, and subjective. Feel free to try this at home.

For Plan B we did try to have some controls in place with similar lighting, same test vehicle, same camera, and same camera location. We also used a ladder from the warehouse for the "above" test to get a better result.

TollFree Protector Anti-Photo License Plate Cover
The Toll Free Protector is advertised as offering the best protection against cameras at the cost of being more noticeable. At first glance, this appears to be the case. The shot from the side completely obscures the plate number, and when viewed straight-on it is fairly obvious there is a plate protector. The shot from the top did not turn out as well as we had hoped. The numbers seem to be obscured, but if you look very closely you can make out at least 5 of them. Is this enough to save you from a ticket?

Super Protector Anti-Photo License Plate Cover
Next, we have the Super Protector, which is typically advertised as being the best mix of effectiveness and noticeability. From above, well... you are getting a ticket. From the rear, it is far less obvious than the TollFree Protector. From the side it does partly obscure half of the numbers (which is what it is supposed to do).

Photo Blur Protector Anti-Photo License Plate Cover
The Photo Blur actually looks a lot like the standard "clear" bubble plate covers sold in most automotive supply stores. It is generally advertised as being the plate cover that is least likely to attract unwanted attention, as even at an angle the obscuring looks more like a glare from the sun or accidental distortion. One very important feature we liked, unlike the other two protectors it does not require a separate tag frame to hold the cover in place. With some states making plate frames a violation, this alone is interesting.

This one surprised us, from above it does partly obscure the tag numbers, enough to possibly keep from getting a ticket. It also does a good job from the side. From a straight-on view it performs as advertised, being the least noticeable of the covers we tested.

Bonus test!
Photo Stopper Anti-Flash License Plate Spray (With and without flash.)
Photo Stopper does a great job at making your plate look shiny! While it does slightly overexpose the picture when a flash is used, it was not enough to obscure the plate number in our setup. Perhaps the results would have been better with a stronger flash or with a license plate where the numbers are not black and raised? We're told that products like this tend to work against older equipment, but are fairly ineffective against newer technology.

With Flash

Without Flash

With Flash

Without Flash

So there you go. The one we thought would block the plate from every angle, the TollFree Protector, is not so great when the picture is taken from above (better from the side though!). And it may lead to interesting conversations with local law enforcement officers. The Super Protector worked from the side. If you want the best mix of possibly obscuring a picture of your plate while not being very obvious, the Photo Blur does a rather good job. Finally, all the PhotoStopper spray really does is make your plate look shiny and new.

In closing, one of the better ways we have seen to avoid the cameras:
Top Gear - Richard Hammond vs the speed camera round 3

We just got the scoop on two new upcoming products from Whistler that are expected to be available sometime in 2009. We don't have all of the details at this point, but thought we would share some basic specs and a few images.

Whistler RLC-100

Whistler RLC-100 Red Light Camera Detector
First is the new Whistler RLC-100 red light and speed camera detector. The RCL-100 compares your current GPS location with an on-board database of red light and speed camera locations and alerts you when you are near one. The MSRP is $139.95. UPDATE! 7/27 WE NOW HAVE THEM IN STOCK FOR $79.99! GET REDLIGHT CAMERA PROTECTION TODAY!
Features:

• High Sensitivity GPS Antenna
• Updatable Camera Database
• Dual Alert Display
• Current Speed Reading with Max Hold Feature
• 100 Location Manual Entry

The RLC-100's database is updatable from the internet using the integrated USB port. You can also connect the RLC-100 to a Whistler radar detector if you use the optional interface cable (not included). You can specify MPH or KPH and a speed warning notification. The RLC-100 also has a digital clock and trip meter.

Dimensions and Weight:

• 3.13" long x 2.13" wide x .75" height
• 1.8 oz

Whistler BT Headset

Motorcycle Bluetooth® Headset
The second item from Whistler is a series of motorcycle Bluetooth® headsets. The BT2200 / 2300 / 3200 / 3300 headsets are designed to work with any full/flip-up/open style helmet and allow full duplex bike to bike or bike to passenger communications. Whistler has produced motorcycle-specific radar detectors in the past, but this product presents an exciting new direction. This series includes four products to cover all scenarios (bike to bike or bike to passenger, and open faced or closed faced helmets). The MSRP is $219.95 for the bike to passenger products, and $259.95 for the bike to bike products.

Features:

• Bluetooth® 2.0 High Quality Stereo Audio
• Noise Cancellation Microphone
• Easy Installation
• Full Duplex Wireless Intercom
• Weather Proof Case

The BT2200/2300 headsets provides two channel rider to passenger communications, and the BT3200/3300 headsets provide two channel bike to bike communications. In addition, the headsets can also be used for true stereo music. Battery duration is estimated at 7-14 hours of usage. You can adjust the volume and the BT2200/2300/3200/3300 headsets also have a large mute button for easy use.

Whistler Headset

Dimensions and Weight:

• 3.31" long x 1.75" wide x .81" height
• 1.8 oz

Buy Radar Detectors is pleased to announce the new lineup of Whistler radar detectors!

For 2009, Whistler's product line will include a total of 11 radar detector models (including 3 Pro series models). At least two high-end models, the XTR-690 and Pro 78, will be reintroduced with a few face-lifts and a sensitivity-enhancing new feature. A new cordless model and a new sub $100 model will also be released.

The new models and features listed below have been confirmed, but of course these models are still a few months away so changes can happen.

Improved Ka Band Sensitivity
Hardworking Whistler engineers have found a way to squeeze even more Ka sensitivity out of their high-end platform! The new XTR-690 SE and Pro 78 SE will all have a new mode called Ka Max. With Ka Max activated these detectors will deliver even more range on Ka alerts.

New Radar Detectors

Pro 78 SE (Updated!) - The current Pro 78 will be replaced with the slightly modified "Pro 78 SE". The shiny silver buttons and splash of blue coloring on the top of the detector are gone in favor of solid black. The Ka Max mode has been added as well as the RSID feature that was first available in the XTR-695. RSID makes it easier to quickly distinguish a real Ka threat from a false alert. Estimated retail price is $179.99. We will be selling them for $169.95, and are now taking pre-orders!

XTR-690 SE (Updated!) - The "XTR-690 SE" will replace the current XTR-690. This model is also now solid black, but more importantly has a completely different display. Instead of the blue backlit text display, which some users reported as being difficult to see in bright sunlight, the "XTR-690 SE" has bright red text on a black background. This display is very similar to the display of the Pro 78 SE, only red instead of blue. The Ka Max mode has also been added. Estimated retail price is $169.99. We will be selling them for $159.95, and are now taking pre-orders!

XTR-540 - The XTR-540 is a cordless model that will replace the popular 1788 and make Whistler's flagship cordless model look more consistent with the rest of their lineup. This model will have the same style of display (blue backlit text) as the 1788 and will also feature a built-in battery charger. Blue "alert periscope" LED's have been added as well as a 72 point digital compass. Estimated retail price is $149.99.

XTR-265 - This is a fairly low end model, one step up from the XTR-140 and very similar to the now discontinued XTR-260. It features an icon display with a numeric signal strength indicator and POP mode detection. Estimated retail price is $69.99.

All of the new models listed above are expected to start shipping in mid to late April, however this date is tentative and could change! We will likely begin accepting pre-orders for a few of these models as we approach the release date.

Do speed cameras promote economic fascism and not safety, well according to the Veil Guy Blog they do and he wants everyone to know the background behind state government's involvement with foreign based companies in order to increase state collection revenue. He uses two examples to illustrate his point. The first, imagine being pulled over by a traffic patrol officer after observing your driving behavior and cites you for one act of indiscretion (going over the posted speed limit for 10 minutes). The citation (around $100) covers the whole speeding episode that was observed and it acts as an instant deterrent to your actions. However, in the second example, there are no law enforcement officers, but rather you trip a series of 10 or more speed cameras that are strategically positioned on highway "speed zones". Several weeks later 10 or more speeding tickets are found in your mailbox amounting to over $2,000, since each speed camera represents its own unique violation. In that scenario, there is no instant deterrent of speeding and that allows each separate action to be considered a violation.

With state governments trying to fill shortfall in budgets many are turning to these technologies to alleviate some of the pressure. Does it seem fair to punish people for multiple infractions of the same law as they drive down an interstate? How many times do you find yourself just going with the flow of traffic or just going a few miles over the speed limit as you come down a hill? The use of these technologies to generate revenue for budget shortfalls does not match the governments push to utilize them for safety. Should foreign companies (or any company for that matter) receive a portion of revenue from traffic fines that are paid after their product is used to implicate you? Head over to the Veil Guy Blog to read more on the fight over the governments' use of speed and red-light cameras.

We are excited to announce that we are accepting pre-orders for the new Beltronics Pro GX65 GPS enabled radar detector. The Bel GX65 provides the high performance and functionality that you have grown to expect from Beltronics radar detectors, but is Bel's first detector to incorporate a GPS chip. The GPS allows the GX65 to offer many of the GPS enhanced functions of an Escort 9500i, such as false alert reduction, while adding a North American database of red light, speed, and safety camera locations.

Vehicles equipped with the Bel Pro GX65 will be able to avoid tickets from the proliferation of red light cameras and speed cameras. The Bel Pro GX65 incorporates GPS and the North American Trinity Database, which allows a user to be notified of known speed cameras or red light cameras. The Trinity Database can be updated through a PC USB cable and it is recommended to do so every month due to the fluid nature of camera use to enforce traffic regulations.

The addition of GPS not only allows the user to be warned of known locations, the Bel Pro GX65 allows the user to "mark" the locations of local speed traps and hot spots. Another annoyance, repeated false alarms, is virtually eliminated with the Bel Pro GX65. While driving by areas that normally set off false alarms, the user can program the Bel Pro GX65 to disregard the location and frequency of the false alert.

The Veil Guy has a pre-release version of this highly anticipated new model, and has posted a preliminary Bel GX65 review to his blog. Check it out!

Just a quick note to let everyone know that the Whistler XTR-695 is now in stock, and all pre-orders have shipped! We also have plenty of stock remaining, so new orders will be filled immediately.

I spoke with The Veil Guy earlier today, and we have decided to team up and offer a special promotion along with our new Laser Veil / Photo Blur combo.

Click here for more information on the Veil / Photo Blur combo, including pictures of a recent application.

When The Veil Guy stopped by our office a month ago to show off his new "G4" formula of Laser Veil, he surprised us by mentioning that, with the new formula, he had achieved "optical compatibility" with On Track's assortment of anti-photo license plate covers. This was exciting news to us, because it means that finally customers no longer have to choose between a plate cover that protects against laser and one that protects against photo enforcement cameras - now they can have both!

I've been anxious to see the results for myself, so today I cracked open a can of Veil and applied a light coat to a Photo Blur license plate cover. The results were amazing. After Veil was applied, the Photo Blur had a nice slightly "smoked" look, and the plate numbers were still blurred when viewed at an angle - just like you'd expect them to be. I chose the Photo Blur because it is my favorite of the anti-photo license plate covers, being the most discrete yet still effective, but it should work with the Super Protector or Toll Free protector as well.

Here are a few pics of the application. Click the image for a larger version.

Photo Blur Only:



Photo Blur + Veil:



The Photo Blur license plate cover works by distorting the digits on a license plate when viewed at an angle, like a photo enforcement camera would see it. Veil works by making the reflective areas of your vehicle less reflective, reducing the targeting range of police laser and providing you with more time to react to a laser warning from a radar detector.

A Veil application on the license plate is also beneficial against certain types of photo enforcement equipment. The standard flash systems used by most systems can be a distraction to drivers, so companies are starting to bring equipment to market that uses IR to illuminate the license plate instead of a standard flash. This technology is being used in a fixed speed camera system produced by LaserCraft, and both a red light camera system and a mobile photo enforcement system produced by Nestor, Inc. When systems using this technology attempt to photograph a plate protected by Veil, the camera would only see black where the license plate should be!

I would like to personally thank The Veil Guy for all of the work that he has put into developing this improved formula. I know he has spent countless hours testing and perfecting G4, and this effort is apparent in the product. He has definitely made this product worth the wait.

Also, in honor of this achievement, we have created a new Laser Veil G4 / Photo Blur combo. Buy this combo and save $10 off the price of Veil and Photo Blur, if purchased separately!

As the launch date of the new Laser Veil G4 product approaches, we've been getting flooded with inquiries about expected ship dates. I spoke with The Veil Guy earlier today, and have some fairly firm dates on when the product will arrive at our warehouse.

Veil G4 is currently in the packaging process, which will take a few days to complete. However, they were able to get a partial shipment (132 units of Veil) out to us today (8/1). This shipment is expected to arrive on Tuesday (8/5). This quantity will not be enough to fill all of our pre-orders, so we will begin by shipping all orders where we have already collected payments from the customer. If we still have product remaining, we will begin filling the remaining orders starting with the oldest.

The remainder of our G4 order is expected to ship Monday or Tuesday, to arrive on Wednesday or Thursday, respectively. When this shipment arrives, all remaining pre-orders will be filled and we should have plenty of stock left over.

We expect that all Veil G4 pre-orders will be filled before next Friday (8/8). As we have told those of you who have called, we are committed to filling all possible pre-orders the day that we receive the product. We know many of you are anxious to receive this much anticipated product, and we will work overtime to meet this same-day-turnaround commitment.

If you pre-ordered Veil using a credit card, your card will be charged when the product ships. If you wish to cancel a pre-order, please notify us as soon as possible.

Today's high performance radar detectors are like computers in a way: they work well because of a combination of both hardware and software. A radar detector's hardware are the physical parts of the detector that enable it to sniff out a radar signal. This is the part that chiefly determines the sensitivity of a detector. Software, or firmware, controls how a detector behaves once it encounters a signal, and is responsible for the "personality" of the product. It decides which signals to filter out as false alerts, and is responsible for many of the detector's features, including the user interface.

Radar detector hardware doesn't change very often, if ever. Typically a change would only occur as new models come to market. Firmware, however, is frequently being tweaked by radar detector manufacturers and it is common to see several new versions released per year. That means that, for example, a Bel RX65 purchased today would potentially perform differently than a RX65 purchased several months ago, and certainly would perform differently than one purchased several years ago.

What Are They Changing?
So, what kinds of changes are being made with these firmware upgrades? Manufacturers are typically secretive about specific changes, but a common tweak is likely to adjust a detector's filtering capabilities for newly found interference-creating devices. Updates could also contain bug fixes, or product enhancements. Within the last year, Beltronics released an updated version of the STi Driver that fixed a problem related to poor sensitivity on a specific Ka frequency. Also within the last year, Whistler released an updated Pro 78 and XTR690 that improved Ka performance and enhanced some user interface functions.

Shopping For The Latest Firmware
If you're shopping around for a new radar detector, be aware that the detector's firmware version could affect its performance and usability. Avoid buying products from retailers or web sites where product would sit on shelves for months (from infrequent sales or due to huge quantity buys), or from web sites who have distributors "drop ship" product instead of stocking themselves. In a situation where products have sat in a warehouse for months or where a dealer has no control of the source of the products, it is easy to see how you could receive a dated version.

Buy Radar Detectors policy for high end detectors is to only stock as many units as we expect to sell within a two week period. This means we are constantly turning over our inventory, and always have a recent firmware version. We are now beginning to indicate on our product pages exactly which version we are currently shipping. We are also indicating manufacture date, when available. This information is being checked and updated once per month. If you are considering purchasing from us and have any questions regarding the firmware, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Checking Your Radar Detector's Firmware Version
If you already have a high performance radar detector and are curious to find out your firmware version, simply find your detector below and follow the steps.

Beltronics STi Driver - Hold down both the Volume/Mute and Sensitivity buttons while powering on the detector. The firmware version will be displayed when the detector turns on. Warning: this will reset the detector's settings to factory defaults.

Beltronics RX65, Vector Series (995, 965, 955, 940) - Hold down both the City and Brightness buttons while powering on the detector. The firmware version will be displayed when the detector turns on. Warning: this will reset the detector's settings to factory defaults.

Escort 8500 X50 Black - Hold down the City, Dim, and Mute buttons while powering on the detector. The firmware version will be displayed when the detector turns on. Warning: this will reset the detector's settings to factory defaults.

Whistler Pro 78, XTR-690 - Hold down the City button while plugging the detector into the cigarette lighter adapter. The firmware version will be displayed when the detector turns on.

Valentine One - Hold in the control knob while turning the knob "on". Continue to hold in the knob until all lights are illuminated (about 5 seconds). Release the control knob, then press-and-release it again. This will display the version one digit at a time in the bogey counter window. Warning: this takes you into the V1's programming mode. To exit, turn the detector off and then back on normally.

Dates of Manufacturer
For Bel and Escort products, you can determine the date of manufacture by checking the label on the bottom of the detector. The last four digits on the serial number line represent a year and week number. For example, if this number on the bottom of your detector is 1208 that means the detector was manufactured during the 12th week of 2008.