Beltronics BEL 880 Radar Detector

I bought this radar detector as a means to avoid any unnecessary stops (officer) on a cross country trip I took. It was $200+ when I bought it at an electronics shop in Dallas Texas. I have owned several radar detectors in my day but had not used one regularly since my OLD ORIGINAL Escort. I plugged it in and made use of the 880 - worked great. It seemed cheaply built and rather fragile but it worked. It survive for about 6 months before I started having problems with the power cord. The connection on the detector is VERY cheap. It got to the point that the detector would not turn on any more. I opened the case took at look at the connection.. cheap, cheap, cheap. It was not worth my time to fix it so it landed in the kitchen trash can. I suppose I could have sent it back to Bel and they may have fixed it but I did not want another one. I do not think my problem was a fluke. I suspect Bel just makes their detectors as cheaply as possible... like almost everyone else. I'm writing this note because epinions.com has been helpful in choosing my next detector. Its nice to read what other problems people have experienced. I'm about to take off cross country again and I would like my next detector to last more than a few months after the trip.