2SCOOBS

I am considdering purchasing one of these Detectors but i have no idea on what to buy as there are so many different makes. I don't want to spend a fortune on one but equally i don't want one that is a complete wast of money.
also someone has said to me that you have to pay a monthly/yearly subscription is this correct.

thanks in advance

2scoobs

wacky.banana

Origin B2 is what you need. It covers fixed devices as well as laser emitting devices. It will also take a laser diffuser ( the legality of defusers has not been established, however as it opens up your garage door you should have a logical explanation for this).

Checkout their website for further info. If you want impartial info then refer to the ukspeedrtaps website (use Google to eearch for the exact address) who will give you a comaprison table to work with.

I have been using an Origin for 3 yeras now and coupled with my eyes, has become the best defence yet!

WB

corradoboy

I'm in the market for one of these soon, and there seems to be some cheaper alternatives coming onto the market now. The Origin, along with Road Angel and Road Pilots all seem to be around the 400 mark, but I've just been looking at a new Snooper S2 in Top Gear mag. It's only 130 and utilises GPS along with laser detection. What compromises are you making by opting for this cheaper unit ?

2SCOOBS

I have been looking at the inforad speed detector £79.99 which i didn't think was too expensive.
But then again is it any good?

2scoobs

corradoboy

I saw these in a mag recently, and TBH my concern would be how long the company would be around. Snooper, RA, Origin etc are well established now and there is little chance of them disappearing overnight. Also, those units looked as cheap as the price and I would be worried about their reliability. I would reserve judgement on them until someone has done an independent test on them personally.

Iwan

I've just bought a Beltronics Vector 995 radar/laser detector from an eBay eseller in the USA for £146 delivered. It's a new and improved 'international' version of the Bel Euro 550 which is sold in europe for £309.99 or more.

It's fully customisable so you can set it up to cover whichever radar/laser freqs are used in your country. Apparently it has lots of new filter circuits to reduce false alarms from mobile phones/masts and shop doors etc.

It's not perfect, and misses a few fixed cameras like SPECS or the forward facing Truvelos (as they don't emit anything). But it only costs £146 and there's no susbscription like with the GPS based units.

I may eventually get a GPS one (with garage door opener) as well though for full coverage....

Catherine

I can recommend the Road Angel Mk2. It picks up all the latest types of camera including Accident Blackspots. It will pick up lasers and it is also prone to the odd false alarm. I remember it giving me a laser alert when I went past a child with a pertrol remote control car.

umeerw

i bought the inforad, had it for 4 weeks, absolutely brilliant, does what it says on the tin,no probs, not as flash looking as the others but if it works which it does who cares!!!

Rokay

I have a Origin b2 great bit of kit. Like most things you only get what you pay for. I sudjest if you are in the market for one then get it from an authorised dealer. Your get full technical back up should you need it and warranty for two years. By from a none authorised dealer your only get 2weeks warranty and no technical support from Origin.

Theres an additional car craddle you can purchase so you can transfer the monitor from one car to another.

Wouldn't be without mine now.

2old4this

Got Origin B2 used it a couple of weeks its very good worth avery penny spent

kayeabl

In my opinion there's little difference in all of them. Personally although slightly larger in size i think the Snooper S4 is the best GPS based one for the price.

Get onto www.ebuyer.com and you can get it for £279 inc VAT. You can also get the S3 for £130 inc VAT which doesn't have voice or show your speed but netherless is still a very effective unit for the price

Cheers

Ash

hedgehog

Just be aware that although the Road Safety Bill didn't pass into law before the election was called it is likely that it will get another run fairly soon. It makes all forms of laser and radar detection illegal and the administration seem very keen to enforce this.

With this in mind if you buy any sort of detector (the GPS only devices are fine) then you must bear in mind that it is likely to have a very limited life span.

You should also note that the camera partnerships are logging the registrations of vehicles which generate "errors" on their speed measuring gear, which is what happens when a laser jammer operates. Vehicles which generate more than 2 errors are then flagged on the PNC and some people have been getting visits. In a few cases motorists have been arrested (obstruction or perverting the course of justice usually) and their cars removed for examination. Clearly this is less than ideal as quite a lot of the normal paperwork you encounter in society will ask "Have you ever been arrested?" and you will also need a visa to get into countries such as the USA even if you are never convicted of anything.

The war against the motorist continues.

fuxored

I decided to buy one last week its called - 'Drive Smart'. Claims to have all of the features of the others and some. Have to say i've been impressed so far but can't really comment how it compares to the rest...

Best thing is though theres no yearly subscription!
Worst thing, its pretty big...

Try www.drive-smart.co.uk check the forums, you can get these off ebay for about £250.

2SCOOBS

Thanks for all your comments..
This has given me a better idea on what to look for now..........

2scoobs

davedipster

Don't get one with a laser detector, they will be illegal this year.
Although road angel have said that a firmware update will be sent out to disable the laser part if requested by the customer to make it legal.

To be honest I think the best bet is a Tom Tom go and get the camera locations off pocketgps.co.uk. The database is free and the Tom Tom is a great navigator tool as well.

Dipster

Ray_li

I bought a Origin B2 from www.alpha-telecom.co.uk Tel 01943 850085.
Ask for Jason as he as supplied a few scoobynet members with the B2 at a every good price.

Daz34

Another vote for the Origin B2

Lovin' the MILF proximity alert

mightyyid

Origin b2 here as well.

Have to say chaps, if you;re gonna go this route, why would you compromise? Some peopel have said how the radar detector is the cheapest route - but it fails to obviously pick up Specs and Truvelo to name but a few. So why would you risk your licence some of the time but not all of it. To be honest, I see Truvelo and SPECS as being the worst - at least with Gatso you have a chance to see them, where as T and S are ones that you either have to know where they are or you've lost.

To my mind, £400 is a lot plus the £50 a year subscription. But overall, there has never been any camera that my b2 has missed, it has saved me more than enough to pay for itself (mainly Truvelo's round corners on unknown roads that I would never have seen until too late) and this makes it worth my while. Speculate to accumulate - buy the unit and accumulate a few Get out of jail free cards when it tells you about a camera you had no idea about!

messiah

Another Origin Owner here.

hicky_sti

im using snooper s4, had it 6 months and its spot on! But i have to pay £5 pound a month subscription.

King RA

I use and origin blue i and can thoroughly recommend it (obviously get the B2). A tomtom go with the camera postions (which I also have) is nowhere near as good, or intelligent. The database is nowhere near as complete as the origin and it picks up alot more false alarms...i.e cameras on the other side of the road, junctions off motorways e.t.c.

2old4this

Hi Can someone help me today i passed a Speed camera van parked on side of Marlow Hill in wycombe i was looking forward of test my B2 with these vans but for some reason i did not get any sort of alert on my B2 i was doing under 30mph anyone with experience why it did go off

Scot123

Because the operator of the van is only *supposed* target vehicles that look like they are exceeding the limit, not every car on the road.

Or he may have been stuffing doughnuts into his big fat slimey gob at the time you passed.

King RA

Or maybe up his slimy fat crack, they're a funny lot these operators!!

LostAtSea

Yep, the B2 has a "Limitator" feature which stops the radar/laser detector from alarming if you are travelling under (IIRC) 30mph. The idea being that it cuts down the number of false alarms, as you aren't going to get nicked for doing under the speed limit ...