Home > Consumer Reviews > Beltronics Vector 985 Radar Laser Detector

I spent a lot of time researching radar detectors before purchasing this one. I wanted to make sure I got the best one for the job before I laid out roughly [$]. I've been using this detector for a little over a month and so far, I've had no problems. There are very few false alarms. The only time I have trouble is if I'm parked right in front of an automatic door. And even in this case you can turn off X-band so that it won't chirp. One of the greatest things about this detector is the owners manual, it walks you through all of the options and diagrams radar scenarios to help inform the user of what to avoid. When you mail in your registration you get notified when upgrades become available.

The only problem I had with buying a radar detector is that there was not enough information on individual models. I hope this helps you make an informed choice. Enjoy.

Basic Features:
You can turn of x-band, k-band and laser by choosing one of the 3 city options. There's the highway mode as well, or my favorite, Autoscan, which will detect all radar, but only report strong signals, not weak x-band signal which is most likely a door opener. Autoscan mode lets you drive by shopping centers without having to change from highway to city. The detector has 360 degree Laser detection and 180 degrees detection for all other bands. The detector is sensitive enough to pick up laser and other band signals off of other cars to give you more advanced notice.

Advanced Features:

You can have it tell you exactly what frequency each signal is in hertz, not just what band. You can set it to be a voltage meter and it reads how much power is in your battery. You can also adjust start-up modes, if you don't like hearing it cycle-through all of the different bands, you can change that option. This detector also comes with cloaking capabilities which make it invisible to police radar-detector sensors.

Safety Features:
This radar detector not only detects highway safety signs, it will also report a message from the safety sign. The message will scroll through on your detector at the pace you specify.

Convenience Features:
The volume is adjustable, from 0-9 so you can adjust to hear over your radio. You can auto-mute, where it only chirps the first time it senses radar and not incessantly, great for driving with sleeping passengers. You can also select and adjust the brightness of the LED read-out at the push of a button.

Mounting Features:
You can mount this detector with velcro, a clip, suction cups, or by adding rubber feet to the bottom.
All of the mounting options come separate so you can choose how you want it. You can also mount it upside down, and by changing the read-out setting, you will be able to read the LED screen right side up. This detector also comes with a shorter curled cord and a 10ft straight cord, an extra fuse for the cigarette adapter plug and a travel case which holds all of the accessories.

I have long searched for a radar detector to do what it says, and I have finally found it. The Bel 985!. I have owned numerous radar detectors in the past (Bel 970, Escort 8500, uniden, whistler), but none have had all the necessary features to be a complete radar detector. Well I have to admit that the Bel 970 was very good but falsed a little too much, and the escort 8500 was good also. I thought I was upgrading to the escort 8500 but found out the range was same as the Bel 970. (I conducted side by side comparisons).
The Bel 985 has excellent range, better than the Escort and older Bel, it has the best anti-falsing software I have ever seen, and it has voice (so you can keep your eye on the road). But if you think I am bashing the other products, check out Speedzones.com latest report (Jul 02). It compares all the major brands. Both the Bel and Valentine were pretty much comparable. The key here is that the Bel 985 is [a lot]less!. The only area that I see where the escort 8500 does better than the Bel 985 is the over the hill test. By the way Speedzones.com is probably the most unbiased site out there. It has actual police officers testing the radar detectors and using the radar guns like they would in everday enforcement. I hope this review will help you to choose the proper radar detector. By the way I generally pick up radar in REAL World traps at over a mile away. That generally gives me about 50 seconds of warning time at 70mph(that's plenty).

I live in Phoenix but I assume most other cities are similar when it comes to radar detectors. This thing picks up all kinds of nonsense when driving through town. You can turn off individual bands, but as far as i know you cant turn off certain frequencies within a band. I pick up 24.050 on K as a false alarm constantly and wish i could just put it on perminant ignore. There are a few others, but this one stands out big time. Its not really that big of a deal because its a level 1 type alert, meaning it beeps about once every 2 seconds.. but it is irritating to her it going off all the time and you know its a false alert, i tend to reach for the mute button every time I'm near a major intersection.

As for the real alerts its done a real good job so far. When it picks up real radar signals it goes absolutely nuts, so you can easily tell the difference between a false or a weak signal and a strong radar clock on or near you. The easiest ones its spotted so far are the signs that have the "your speed" on them, my detector picked it up from a mile away. The other one that it gets real easy are the photo radar vans, it picked 2 of them up so far well in advance, the closest one was 1/2 a mile away.

Police signals are slightly different because most of the time they are not on, they normally just hit a couple cars here and there so you are depending on other people in front of you to bounce the signal back in time so your detector can pick it up. Radar detectors are pretty much useless if there is nobody around you that can be hit first to warn you.. if you are the only thing there, you most likely will not get a warning before your clocked. That said, i've picked up about 6 legitimate cop cars on the highway and in the city, every time the detector had very high signal ratings and they were all within 1/4 of a mile from me.

The only thing i wish were different about this detetector would be the ability to turn off individual frequencies and be able to tone down the lower level alerts to be either much quiter or less frequent in tone beats..

The Vector 985 is one of the 3 best detectors available and also happens to be the least expensive.

It's got excellent range and can pick up signals from weird locations. I've gotten GENUINE K and Ka readings coming from below a mountain road and downhill behind a subdivision surrounded by houses, trees, etc...

I actually slapped on my old Cobra ESD9200 next to the Vector 985 just to test them out. The Cobra was dead silent UNTIL I was literally in front of police radar. The Vector 985 had been going nuts 1-2 miles from the radar source.

This is it..if you are considering buying the BEL 985 and want the best radar detector for the money, this is the one to buy. Only the much more expensive ESCORT 8500 beat the BEL 985 but only by a little in flitering, not detection of police radar. I have this radar detector and it's awsome. Most usuable feature is the ability to "turn off" X Band reception which eliminates almost all FALSE ALARMS. In my state (FLA) only K and Ka Band can be used by police radar.
So when my BEL 985 lights up and alerts....it's police radar almost all the time and at a range of up to 2.5 miles. If you are going to buy a radar detector, this is the ONE to buy.