Home > Consumer Reviews > Beltronics Express 906 Radar/Laser Detector

I have been using my BEL 936 Express for 3 years now (paid $95 new in 2002). I drive like a maniac. The only ticket I have gotten since I started using this was at 5am and the cop driving down the other side of the road didn't have his radar on until he saw me come along. The BEL 936 picked it up right away after he turned it on, but by then it was too late. No radar detector will be able to detect radar that isn't on. I have to say that the guy who left the review in November of 2004 (below this one) gave it bad reviews, but he isn't even reviewing the same product. He says right there in his review that he was using a different model. Likewise, there was another negative review in relation to another BEL model, not the 936 Express. The reason some of these detectors stopped working is likely do to the users leaving it out in the sun while they are not in their cars. The heat will destroy the electronics eventually. To avoid this, take it down when you go inside. Put it under the seat or in the console. I get a few false positives on X-band, but Ka and K are always reliable. I use "CITY X" mode almost always unless I'm on the highway. I have detected laser with this unit. I have picked up K and Ka as far as 3 miles away on the open road while driving across Louisiana in the middle of nowhere. The only problem I have had in the past 3 years is the speaker died. I ordered a new speaker from BEL for $7 including shipping. I installed it myself and now the unit works like a charm again. I highly recommend this. They are really cheap on eBay now. You can get them for under $40 brand new.

My ESCORT Solo was destroyed in a fire after almost eight years of wonderful use. Hence, I went shopping for a replacement, and like a complete fool, I tried to save $100 and bought this one (Beltronics Express 946 Cordless) about a year ago. To make a long story short, I finally tossed it in the trash today (won't even subject it on someone else at an auction). If I got award "minus stars" I would on this miserable product.

I will not even comment about the multiple false positives, or the absurd diplay which can not be read in the daytime, but what made me absolutely HATE this product -- and by imputation everything by Beltronics -- is the totally ridiculous mounting system. Every trip I spend just too much time and attention "adjusting" it as there is no real "locking" mechanism with regard to the "setting" once set. It tends to get loose and "pivot" around rendering it worthless as a detector. Once you finally get it set the way you need it, the suction cups do not "suck" very well, and it tends to fall off quite often at minor bumps and turns. This is quite dangerous as one tends to end up "adjusting" it while driving. Many times I have had to pull off the road to get it to work properly.

It is obvious the designers put NO thought into the user experience, as it fails at nearly every level. A horrible product. It's in my trashcan now and I've just ordered the Passport 8500 X50.

I bought one for my husband's birthday and now I take his car as often as possible. I don't have a lot of experience with radar detectors but this one has performed as expected. As far as I can tell, it has been extremely accurate from all directions.

it has alot of false warnings and doesnt pick up alot of real ones.

I've used my 936 express for just under 2 yrs in my Subaru WRX and I can say it has saved my bacon on a few occasions. Now while I would say that I don't drive like a maniac, I'm no saint either when it comes to obeying speed limits on the highway, but I have, so-far, NEVER had a speeding ticket -touch wood.

The unit did fail (stopped detecting radar altogether) after a couple of months. Bel repaired the unit quickly (I was without it for about 10 days) and it has been problem free since.

This detector is fairly basic, it has no 'bogey counters' or 'direction indicators'. I personally believe that a direction indicator is of dubious value anyway -owing to the radar energy's potential for being reflected off other vehicles / roadsigns / buildings etc. A 'bogey counter' feature on the other hand might be useful, but as I mentioned, the 936 doesn't have one. What the unit does offer though is excellent detection ability of X, K and Ka band radar. I've taken it on trips to California and in the flat expanses of Death Valley, the detector would pick up approaching police vehicles sometimes 2-3 minutes before we passed each other, that means they were over 4 or 5 MILES away when 1st detected. Naturally this range decreases in urban environments.

Because of the highly directional nature of Laser (it's a pencil thin beam) I'm personally of the opinion that if a genuine Laser alert is received, it's probably too late, if you were speeding, the ticket is as good as in the mail. The unit does sometimes give false Laser alerts (a particular overhead dot-matrix sign in my area sets it off about 75% of the time I pass under it). From what I understand, many laser detectors are susceptible to this type of thing.

False alerts on X band are common too (automatic door openers, fast food microwave ovens etc. are touted as the reason for this). It sometimes also chirps when passing other vehicles, I guess they are equipped with radar detectors - some of them leak a bit. By running it in CityX mode it is possible to reduce false alarms significantly by turning down the sensitivity to X band radar. I always run mine this way.

I give the 936 Express 4 stars since it offers solid performance at a budget price. I'd give it 5 if the volume was easier to adjust and the signal strength meter didn't go away in the nighttime use DARK mode (I see no reason why it can't be made dimmer)

What this thing isn't though is a licence to speed recklessly. It may alert you to the presence of police radar in a timely manner, but it does nothing to reduce the odds of an accident. In busy urban environments, the reduced range plus the false alarms from shop door openers etc., limit the effectiveness of any radar detector, not to mention the danger of inappropriate speed in these environments. If you drive like a maniac you will eventually get caught -or worse. It is perhaps best viewed as a useful indicator when to ease off if you're prone to doing a few miles over on the highway. Speed Safely.