Home > Consumer Reviews > Beltronics V955 Vector High Performance Radar Detector (Black/Silver)

I was slightly reluctant to buy this item after reading a few bad reviews on Amazon but I bought it and I'm glad I did. Other consumer report sites rated it high and I do also. It's a great unit and came with no problems. It picks up radars long before they're in view. Make sure you have the unit parallel with the ground to work best. No need to unplug it when you leave your vehicle...it senses a low voltage and turns itself off after a moment when it senses the car is turned off then it turns on when you restart the ignition. It also muffles its alerts after a few beeps so you don't have to reach up and turn it down if you're conversing. Great features in a great product.

The 955 is a great detector that has only less features, not less range, than its more expensive stablemates. But if you are upgrading from a detector that's a few years or more older, you'll still find the features on the 955 to be great. More importantly, the range on the 955 is spectacular. Now, Bel has had some quality control issues as of late, but unless your unit pops up the dreaded "service required" message, chances are your detector is finding each threat the best it can. What some people don't realize about police radar is that police can use "instant on" radar which can be flicked on at practically point blank range. Using radar in such a fashion limits or completely prevents radar from being detected. It's not the detector's fault, police and radar manufacturers have just become savvy to the downside of leaving their radar units constantly on. Being popped by "instant on" radar has led many an inexperienced radar detector owner to throw their detector in the trash because they figured it just didn't work.... My advice would be for anyone contemplating the purchase of a detector to do a little online research into how police radar is used and what roll a detector can play in avoiding costly tickets....

Back to this unit, as I said previously, it's great. It has excellent sensitivity on all bands. If you can get by without the latest non-essential features (more conveniences than anything) then the 955 is the best your going to find in its price range.

My wife and I live 100 miles away from where we both work and we commute daily to and from. Prior to getting the Beltronics 955, I was a nervous wreck driving a total of 3-4 hours a day. I have been driving the commute now for well over a year and I received only 1 ticket but I had to be constantly hyper-vigilant. I did not purchase the device to speed at will, just to provide peace of mind on a long dangerous commute.
The device has performed quite well so far. During the first quarter of the drive there are speed limit postings with embedded Ka band to give you a readout of your speed versus the posted limit. Consistently, I pick up the Ka signal from the sign at 1.4 miles out---long before it can ever pick me up. By the time the sign picks up my speed (something you can see on the readout for at least 1/4 of a mile) I have been aware of its presence for over a mile and had plenty of time to react. I have been made aware of 6 individual situations over the past week where I had considerable time to adjust my speed before actually seeing the cruiser. I might add the highway where I have had the most positive IDs has very few straight runs and many blind corners. I have had no Laser or POP situations to verify warning times. I dont belive New Mexico State Troopers use Laser or POP twixt Santa Fe and Albuquerque or on the Santa Fe bypass road, but I am sure I will detect it if they do.
On city mode within Albuquerque, I get very few false alarms.
Overall, for the first week of operation I am extremely impressed by the range and detection of the 955. I have had no technical problems with the device thus far.

I own a different model of Beltronics radar detector (the Express 925) which I have had for less than a month. It developed a porblem with the display, so I called Beltronics so that I could get it repaired. Surprise! Surprise! The lady there told me they will not honor the warranty of any Beltronics radar detector not sold by an "authorized reseller" and she told me that Amazon is NOT an authorized reseller. So if you buy your radar detector from Amazon or other non authorized dealers, they will not honor the warranty if you have a problem. Check Beltronics web site to verify this!

The Vector 955 is sensitive yet in autoscan mode will not pick up many non-critical "x" band false signals. The alerts are loud enough to hear over a loud playing stereo. This unit is a very good value.