Speed Camera Detectors

John_V85 · 11 Jul 2006 at 11:42

Which brand are generally regarded as offering decent ones? I've had a look at some of the snooper detectors; more specifically the S6, and they seem to be had for quite reasonable brices "brand new" on ebay.

I'm a little confused about the subscription service though, which is used to update the database of fixed camera locations. From what I've read you can pay per month or over a longer fixed period, but is it really necessary to update every month (maybe it is)? Can't you just pay when you want to update the directory, or is this not possible?

Lastly does the S6 model have a cumbersome power lead which plugs into the cigarette lighter or can it run off battery. If possible I prefer not to have power leads running everywhere.

Cheers.

stig · 11 Jul 2006 at 11:49

i have a snooper made by bell i beilve , i use it in conjuction with the satnav which i installed POI cameras. the snooper is very good but for some reason it picks up a camera everytime i go past a service or petrol station , im informed its the automatic door sensors

Rotty · 11 Jul 2006 at 11:51

The origin b2 and the Road Angel are regarded as the best

The Talex as the best on a budget

the Snoopers are generally not well thought of

the update subs need to be kept up , you cannot update on a one off basis

stig · 11 Jul 2006 at 11:53

Rotty said:
the Snoopers are generally not well thought of

the reason i have to use it with the nav , also it makes a horrible noise repeatedly when going past a camera

Rotty · 11 Jul 2006 at 12:00

stig said:
the reason i have to use it with the nav , also it makes a horrible noise repeatedly when going past a camera

is yours a detector or a GPS based unit ? I was referring to the GPS units but from your comment it sounds like you have a detector ( picking K band up from automatic doors ) , detectors are next to useless nowadays

stig · 11 Jul 2006 at 12:04

Rotty said:
is yours a detector or a GPS based unit ? I was referring to the GPS units but from your comment it sounds like you have a detector ( picking K band up from automatic doors ) , detectors are next to useless nowadays

yep its a detector , brought it 3 years ago when i had the 325, it was ok back in the day when all we had was gatso's but now theres all those silly SAC's so i have to use the sat nav more often

John_V85 · 11 Jul 2006 at 12:44

Are you saying that stand alone detectors aren't worth it? In their advertising speil they mostly all claim to pick up pretty much all types of camera.

Rotty · 11 Jul 2006 at 13:24

John_V85 said:
Are you saying that stand alone detectors aren't worth it? In their advertising speil they mostly all claim to pick up pretty much all types of camera.

stand alone detectors are near worthless , you need a standalone GPS locator ( detector won't pick up SPECS , DS2 , Truvelo )

the S6 you referred too is a GPS device

John_V85 · 11 Jul 2006 at 13:33

Oh right, I though the S6 was a combination model as they come with a laser detector as well. Are these any good or would it be better getting a Road Angel or other make. The ones mentioned earlier in the post seem very expensive.

Rotty · 11 Jul 2006 at 13:36

John_V85 said:
Oh right, I though the S6 was a combination model as they come with a laser detector as well. .

they do though laser detectors are useless ( well as good as )

the S6 is an old model and TBH was never that good in the first place

John_V85 · 11 Jul 2006 at 13:45

Are the Road Angel models GPS based then?

Rotty · 11 Jul 2006 at 13:49

John_V85 said:
Are the Road Angel models GPS based then?

yes

John_V85 · 11 Jul 2006 at 13:52

Sorry for all the questions, but do the Road Angels have good laser detection as well then for mobile cameras which wouldn't be on a database?

[TW]Fox · 11 Jul 2006 at 13:54

Personally, I use TomTom5 on my PDA with the PocketGPS speed camera database. It's 2 quid a month and I have yet to come across a single camera it hasn't alerted me too in ample time.

Why go for the hassle and expense of a seperate device?

John_V85 · 11 Jul 2006 at 13:55

[TW]Fox said:
Personally, I use TomTom5 on my PDA with the PocketGPS speed camera database. It's 2 quid a month and I have yet to come across a single camera it hasn't alerted me too in ample time.

Why go for the hassle and expense of a seperate device?

Surely, that's fine for fixed cameras, but not for mobile ones? It would also mean going to the expense of buying a GPS device which I do not have at the moment.

Rotty · 11 Jul 2006 at 13:56

don't worry about laser detection

firstly, in truth , none of them work ( you may get the odd scatter detection but 99% of the time you will have been caught before you detect the laser ) and secondly they will soon be illegal

John_V85 · 11 Jul 2006 at 14:01

So in truth then it maybe better (as I was considering a GPS navigational device) getting just the one GPS device which in addition has a subscription based database of speed cameras.

Any reccomendations?

[TW]Fox · 11 Jul 2006 at 14:04

John_V85 said:
Surely, that's fine for fixed cameras, but not for mobile ones? It would also mean going to the expense of buying a GPS device which I do not have at the moment.

It warns me of mobile cameras as well - all the sites they use them on are listed and updated monthly.

Ones which actually scan for mobile vans are useless anyway, all it will tell you is 'Yes, you just got nicked'.

John_V85 · 11 Jul 2006 at 14:09

Ok, so on that basis, what are some reccomendations for GPS devices which you can pay for a subscription service with data of speed cameras?

[TW]Fox · 11 Jul 2006 at 14:11

Get a Satnav system and add the POI's, about the same cost and miles more useful