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Strengths: Detects all frequencies + laser, sleek, extra suction cups, multiple position mount, voice alerts
Weaknesses: The alerts are not all 100% voice, just the band type announcement, voice alerts are not very loud, unusual power socket/cable
Summary: I bought this when i decided to upgrade from my almost 10 year old detector to keep up with new technologies. I did notice a slight drop in false alerts compared to my old detector, and I did notice it is more sensitive and can detect signals at a longer distance. It also comes with an extra set of suction cups, which in the hot weather is a nice extra as they don't last very long in the sun.
The mount has multiple postions which you can set the detector at. The problem with it is that you have to set it again every time you mount the detector after removing it. My old model was just push into place and you were done. This makes it take a little bit longer to remount, because if you set it too far in the detector will be pointing up instead of level, and if you don't push it in far enough, it will point downwards. While it is a nice idea to allow for various windshield angles, I find it easier to just bend the mounting bracket to the correct angle one time and be done with it, instead of trying to see if I pushed the detector into the correct notch on the mount every time
Also, my previous detector was 100% voice, no beeps and squawks, which i prefer. This model allowes you to select if voice alerts are on or off. But even when on, the detector still beeps and squawks (rather loudly) upon a signal detection, followed by a barely audible voice saying "X Band", "K Band" etc to let you know the band that was detected. However, when i turn up the volume so i can hear the voice alert, the squawks and beeps become too loud (to the point of startling me). So they need to fix the voice alerts volume to match the beeps and squawks. A nice feature here is the automute, where after the first few squawks, the volume will automatically go down so as not to be a distraction.
The device uses an unusual power cord connected, which looks exactly like a phone plug, instead of the usual cylindrical connector. While this is obviously more secure (due to the locking tab) and wont slide out as easily, it means you will have a hard time using generic power cords if / when this one fails. My old detector's cable dried out and crumbled after years in the hot sun, but being the simple cylindrical connector I was able to use the generic lighter plug / voltage selector cables sold everywhere. In this case, you will probably have to order a replacement from BEL for much more money than buying a generic cable from any store.
Overall though, the main function of this item is to warn you of radar, and I find it does this very well, with out too many false alerts, and with pretty long detection distances. I would have no problem recommending this to others in the market for a radar detector.
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