Product Review
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I bought this radar detector because in independent testing at www.radartest.com, they said that they found the Bel Vector 985 to be the best model under $200 that they've ever tested (Bel Vector says that the 955 and 985 models are the exact same product with the only difference being a plate on it, one's a radio shack model). So that's why I originally bought it. I know that amazon.com ratings may not be as good as expert ratings because experts usually compare many models together and so they know how they compare, while customer ratings usually compare a product to what they think the ideal product should be like. Customer ratings are also usually biased towards those who either had really bad or really good experiences, since most people who buy don't fill these reviews out.
I gave it a four star rating because I believe that it's more sensitive and has less false alerts than a lot of other radar detectors that I've seen while being a passenger in other peoples' cars. It still has false alerts and can be annoying when in the parking lots of certain motion detecting stores, but seems to be better than others I've seen in friends' cars. It seems to be sensitive towards real alerts. I have used it to avoid some radar ambushes by police officers. But then there's always room for improvement and a $500 radar detector is going to be a lot better.
Keep in mind that radar detectors aren't meant to be foolproof. They're meant to alert you to police officers radaring vehicles ahead of you. Police usually leave their radar off until they're ready to target someone, so if you're the only one on the road for miles I'd be careful. Radar detectors are only a tool that helps you lesson your chances of getting a ticket. Tickets are expensive after raised insurance rates and all, so detectors are worth the money. Don't expect more than what they were made for. Situational awareness is important too.
I gave it a four star rating because I believe that it's more sensitive and has less false alerts than a lot of other radar detectors that I've seen while being a passenger in other peoples' cars. It still has false alerts and can be annoying when in the parking lots of certain motion detecting stores, but seems to be better than others I've seen in friends' cars. It seems to be sensitive towards real alerts. I have used it to avoid some radar ambushes by police officers. But then there's always room for improvement and a $500 radar detector is going to be a lot better.
Keep in mind that radar detectors aren't meant to be foolproof. They're meant to alert you to police officers radaring vehicles ahead of you. Police usually leave their radar off until they're ready to target someone, so if you're the only one on the road for miles I'd be careful. Radar detectors are only a tool that helps you lesson your chances of getting a ticket. Tickets are expensive after raised insurance rates and all, so detectors are worth the money. Don't expect more than what they were made for. Situational awareness is important too.
