It’s been a long day at work, you left late, and all you want to do is get home and relax on the couch with some tasty food for dinner. As traffic starts to finally clear up and space becomes available on the road, your desire to get home overcomes your attention to detail and you find yourself speeding down the road. All is going well until you see the flashing lights of law enforcement in your rearview mirror.
When law enforcement pulls you over for speeding, it’s an annoyance at the very least.
There are certain drivers that deliberately break the speed limit, but there are plenty of us on the roads that just get caught up in the events of our day and don’t notice the needle going over the posted speed limit during our commute.
If you’d had a radar detector in your vehicle, you would have been alerted to the officer’s presence and could’ve possibly had time to slow down.
Shopping for a radar detector can be a pain. There are countless models available from a variety of manufacturers, and your already busy schedule doesn’t really have available time for you to use browsing the web in search of specs, comments, and consumer reviews. Luckily for you, you won’t have to do that. We’ve scoured the web for you and compiled reliable reviews of the best models available so you can make an informed decision. In this review, you’ll find the features, pros, and cons of the BEL Pro 300 radar detector.
Features of the BEL Pro 300
The Beltronics Pro 300, known as the BEL Pro 300, is one of the finest (and little known) radar detectors available today. It is produced by a company that is a subsidiary of Escort, which itself manufactures a variety of radar detectors for consumers. This lends a great deal of performance capability to the Beltronics Pro 300 because Escort detectors have been in production for decades. The experience is put into the modern technology that drives this model.
The Pro 300 is a sibling unit to other BEL models such as the Beltronics Pro 500. The primary difference between the BEL Pro 300 and comparable models from BEL (and Escort) is that it lacks GPS capability. However, this does not take away from the performance of the Pro 300. This model offers full X, K, and Ka-band protection, laser protection, and includes a Safety Warning system as well. The fast microprocessor used in the Beltronics Pro 300 allows it to deliver alerts to drivers in 500 milliseconds or less.
The Beltronics Pro 300 radar detector comes with a SmartPlug, POP Mode protection, Escort Live!, false alert filters, digital voice and tone alerts, and 360-degree detection capabilities. The SmartPlug on the Beltronics Pro 300 features a power-on indicator, alert light, and a mute button right on the plug so you don’t have to reach (or look) all the way to the unit on your windshield for warnings or to adjust the volume of alerts.
All these features play into the sharpness and accuracy of the Beltronics Pro 300.
With this device on your side, you get more than enough time to slow down before running into danger e.g., bumping into a slowing vehicle in front of you or getting bumped from the rear by another speeding vehicle.
The Beltronics Pro 300 auto-scan system can spot a variety of traffic modes in an instant. This saves you the time and effort of changing the settings manually every time you enter a busy city, street, or highway.
Traffic Signal Rejection technology in the Beltronics Pro 300 allows it to eliminate false alerts from traffic flow sensors. These sensors are radar based and help produce traffic flow data for government agencies and personal GPS units. They emit strong K-band signals that can result in false alerts from radar detectors. The Bel Pro 300 is capable of filtering out these signals so you are not inundated with alerts while driving.
The Beltronics Pro 300 can detect even the weakest signs from Radar and Laser devices with its laser protection feature, including the POP gun*. This scanning feature spreads to almost 360-degrees around your car.
*The POP gun is a piece of equipment that features instant-on technology that is difficult for many radar detectors to identify because it does not emit a constant signal.
The voice and tone alerts provide flexibility in warning you about active radar signals in the area. Digital voice alerts provide information on active radar and laser signals in the area without having to take your eyes of the road. The tone alerts provide audible sounds for various radar, laser, POP, and safety signals.
All of these features make the BEL Pro 300 sound like a fantastic device, but does it work?
Pros of the BEL Pro 300
The greatest benefits of the Beltronics Pro 300 are its superior range and sensitivity. When compared to more expensive units from well-known brands like Cobra and Whistler, the BEL Pro 300 holds its own by providing alerts with more than enough time to adjust the speed of your vehicle. Countless consumers have raved about the ability of the Pro 300 to not only detect law enforcement before visual contact is made, but also its ability to detect signals around curves or originating from behind the vehicle.
Usability is a big issue with radar detectors. There are numerous devices available that promise the world to drivers and offer a range of fancy features, but make it difficult for users to adjust those controls and effectively use their radar detector. The Beltronics Pro 300 is the definition of user friendly and makes it easy for any driver to use the device with maximum results.
For drivers with relatively sensitive eyesight, the Beltronics Pro 300 provides comfort by giving users the freedom to adjust brightness and contrast settings to their preferred levels. The device also features a dark mode, which is handy for drivers who usually travel at night.
Finally, the voice alerts and available Escort Live! make the Beltronics Pro 300 a great device. Safety should be every driver’s first concern, even if they occasionally speed. Using a radar detector that requires constant visual contact with the device just creates more danger on the road. The clear and concise voice alerts allow drivers to maintain focus where it should be, on the road.
For the tech-savvy driver, Escort Live! allows them to transform their radar detector into a safety alert system that provides information about upcoming hazards along their route as experienced by other drivers. It is available in map or dashboard view and is compatible with iPhone 5, 4S, 4, 3 GS, and all Android devices operating OS 2.2 or higher.
Cons of the Beltronics Pro 300
There are not many cons to find with the Beltronics Pro 300. It does have difficulty minimizing false alerts on some bands, particularly the Ka-band, but that is more of an annoyance and less of a performance failure.
The Beltronics Pro 300 can’t be operated with batteries. It has to be plugged in while in use. It’s not necessarily a con, but there are people who might find this inconvenient. (Nobody wants a pesky wire running across their dashboard.)
Another minor downside is the lack of GPS capability. However, the compatibility with Escort Live! helps minimize that downside.
FAQs
Does the Beltronics Pro 300 have rubberized housing?
No, the Beltronics Pro 300 has a plastic casing.
What type of power connection does the Beltronics Pro 300 have?
The Beltronics Pro 300 uses a telephone-type connector (SmartCord) with a lighter plug adapter that you can insert into your car’s lighter socket or accessory socket.
Honest Assessment of the BEL Pro 300
There are few devices available that are worthy of two thumbs up, but the Beltronics Pro 300 is certainly on that shortlist. This radar detector is more than capable of living up to the promises of its manufacturers, and it comes with an affordable price ($259-$299 on average) given its incredible performance. If you can live without GPS, you’ve found a solid device in the BEL Pro 300.