The Beltronics V995
radar detector is a very user-friendly unit that performs almost as well as more expensive radar detectors.
It is more suited to people that don’t want to have to fiddle with lots of settings out of the box and would rather just have effective and reliable protection while on the road.
One thing that I should mention straight off the bat is that the V995 and rival unit Escort 8500 x50 use a lot of the same components and technology.
This is because radar detector makers Escort and Beltronics merged all of their manufacturing and design, which poses another question.
Does it mean that the V995 (which is about $65 cheaper than the 8500 x50) is just as good, or even better?
Read on where I discuss the pro’s and con’s of each, because..
It really depends on what you enjoy and what you really hate about radar detectors..
For some reason the V995 does not come with the same SmartCord that the 8500 does. However, the absence of this particular feature won’t really put off too many people from buying the Beltronics unit.
Basically all that the SmartCord does is enable you to mute false alarms without having to inconveniently reach over the dashboard while driving and mute the sound on the unit itself.
Like I said, different people will have different tolerances to noises so it really would be up to you.
Smart and sensitive..
A lot of radar detectors claim to be able to pick up the many different bands of radar used in North America, but what most of them don’t mention is what their success rate is in terms of being able to correctly identify a real signal from a false one.
Let’s face it, if your radar detector is constantly giving you false readings you are either going to get a speeding ticket, throw the detector in the bin or both.
The V995 has that crucial blend of sensitivity and intelligence. It can detect any type of speed trap it comes across, but is also good enough to know when it is being fed something phony.
You are also covered against laser detection with an add-on system that attaches to the exterior of your car which can pick up and jam any incoming laser beams.
As if that wasn’t enough, the 995 also offers extra protection against Ku band radar which is great if you ever find yourself in Europe.
Protection from new law enforcement technology
POP radar is the latest addition to the arsenal of law enforcement in North America. While POP radar guns are not commonplace in most police forces just yet, they are a more complex radar in that they can detect speeding vehicles in heavy traffic – a situation where other speed cameras and indeed speed camera detectors fail.
In other words, the days of thinking you can get away with speeding in heavy traffic or behind a line of other speeders are almost over.
The reason they are called POP radars is because they sit in waiting at a low frequency before “popping” and sending out a very high frequency burst to nab a speeding driver.
Of course, the good news is that the Beltronics V995
A word of warning though – enabling POP radar detection may increase the number of false positives because the detection unit needs to be set in highly sensitive mode to detect them. In the V995, the default setting for POP detection is “on”, but interestingly in the Escort 8500 x50 it is disabled unless you enable it.
This further backs up my earlier claims that both the V995 and Escort 8500 x50 can cater for different tastes and tolerances, even if the price and actual capabilities don’t look that different on paper.
What I like about the Beltronics V995 radar detector
- easy to set up – just turn it on, start driving and you are set
- protects you from a wide range of radar bands and other speed traps
- for the most part, filters out false positives, including filtering out home security systems and garage doors which commonly operate on X band frequencies
- easily customizable interface for changing audio tones, volume, radar detection types and LCD brightness
- immune to VG-2 radar detector detection, so law enforcement cannot detect its use
What others are saying..
“Careful Driver’ of Seattle, WA has included some bonus tips with using the V995 which I think are important
a. Tutorial mode – manual doesn’t mention it, but I stumbled on it. Press the Dark and Mute buttons down and then the Power button to turn the unit on. Voila – tutorial mode!! Power button press exits this mode.
b. Audio/Voice alerts – learn to identify the bands with your ears, the range based on audio beep frequency, it helps keep your eyes focused where they need to be – on the road. I’ve turned Voice off after a couple of months, and rarely need to look at it (except in Tech mode).
c. Ebay/Unauthorized dealers – Beltronics honors warranty from authorized dealers only. Amazon itself is authorized (may change in future), Amazon’s sellers are not. Ebay is not, most stuff there are refurbs or rejects and hence the low low prices. You’ve been informed, use common sense.
He/she also went to say that while the V995 was not one of the best top 4 radar detectors on the market today, it still provides excellent value and adequate protection while on the road.
In fact as a quick comparison, it is almost less than half the price of the acclaimed Escort Passport 9500ix.
“Careful Driver” also went on to explain when the best time to use certain features of the Beltronics unit were, including the AutoScan capability where the detector monitors and analyzes all incoming signals and discards the false ones.
AutoScan works best in city or when in new areas; Highway works best on rural areas or highways. Use AutoScan with care, it filters all bands and can potentially reduce detection range (because it spends some time figuring out if the radar signal pattern is like those from typical sources of falsing). Its Tech mode (showing radar freq) can be used to find out real speed gun threat when a cunning officer hangs out in an area where detectors often false (drugstore, grocery store, etc) – not fool proof though. One should note that the ‘false alerts’ are not really false – they ARE actually radar signals in the same band used by police. It’s called ‘false’ because it’s not a ‘cop’ radar signal.
What you get in the box
- Beltronics V995 Vector Radar/laser Detector
- carrying case,
- coiled power cord,
- quick release windshield mount,
- owner’s manual
How much you should pay
You should pay no more than about $250 for the Beltronics V995 because it has been out for a while now. You can get it on Amazon right now for under $200.
Conclusion
The Beltronics V995 radar detector is a highly capable and multi-featured unit and is customizable to suit all tastes, which is what I like about it. It shows that Beltronics are able to comprehend that not all of their customers are the same and that some may hate features that others enjoy such as the occasionally hyperactive POP radar warnings.
Its minor shortcomings can easily be overlooked when one considers the price, reliability and the fact that this unit shares a lot of its technology with the popular and top of the range Escort series.
Filed under: Beltronics V995
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