Just bought Bel Vector 995

[JamieD22]

Bought the Beltronics Vector 995 (MSRP $299 USD) online last week, and I've used it for a few days now. After about 200 miles my initial impression is positive - it does just what it's supposed to do. Good display, not overly loud or obnoxious, very few false alarms, and the unit itself appears to be of good craftsmanship. Wide range for programmability (or so I hear), and it can be used (tweaked) for European driving as well (location that is). It seems to be a good purchase thus far, but I have noticed a very important short-coming.

After leaving it on my dash throughout the day, I've come to find that it may not agree with the Texas heat (painfully sunny & 95+ outside vehicle). As a result, it appears to stop responding after an extended amount of time in the sun (1+ hours) - this could potentially be a very expensive glitch. Makes sense, heat affects electronics, but I don't recall having a problem like this with my old Escort Solo. This is a pain for me, I'd rather leave things as they are than spend the extra minute in the car after parking to 'put everything away' before I exit in order to protect this gadget from the sun/heat.

Also, though this doesn't appear to be related to the radar, the radar stays on after I turn off my vehicle. Can anyone relate, or do you know of a modification that I can make to take care of this? I would have purchased a 'Solo-style' radar detector had I known I would need to manually power off the unit every time I park. Just a casual gripe.

 

[Tom]

Good review Jamie, where did you purchase this from?

I assume you are using the cigarette plug for power. The only way to get this is probably hard wiring it to your car and using the radio's remote wire to turn it on and off.

Maybe this link can help you out with the wiring. http://www.bmw330ci.com/DIY_V1.htm

 

[JamieD22]

Tom! How goes it?
I am using the cigarette lighter - just wasn't aware that it's constantly fed power if utilized. I purchased the radar from sbhcorp.com, a New York based electronics joint. Reason being that they sold this $299 model for $219.

 

[snowsedan04]

My radar detector also stays on when plugged into the cig lighter. That circuit stays on in almost every car, which is why you can light up with the key off. Doesn't bother me, but it will when I forget to pull the plug.

One thing I love, is that the grippy material on the dash holds the detector in place, so I don't have to actually mount it anywhere.

 

[MrElussive]

The power on/off thing depends on the car. With my Jetta, when my Escort Passport 8500 was plugged into the cigarette lighter OR hard-wired to the sunroof motor, it would always stay on after the car was turned off. My G35C with my new 8500 X50 radar detector is the exact opposite; it always cut the power, whether I was using the cigarette lighter adapter, or the hard-wire setup which is what I use now.

You should give the hard-wire setup a try, usually cars will continue to feed power to the cigarette lighter adapter and will cut the power for the other electronics.