I’m Ariel, but you guys know me as Vortex. I’m a radar detector enthusiast with a passion for understanding all the ins and outs of different countermeasures so I spend a lot of time learning, testing, making videos, and sharing what I discover. There’s so much I don’t know so I’m constantly trying new things, discussing ideas with others in the community, and creating videos and articles to help you.
I’m an engineer and not a salesman. My background is in electrical and computer engineering as well as photography so I’m comfortable with the technical details of things and I like being able to present it in a way that makes it easy for others to understand.
I don’t work for any radar detector company. Like I said, I’m simply an enthusiast who loves learning and creating the best possible content I can. I really enjoy doing this and it looks like other people really enjoy the videos too. Total win/win. Over the past few years I’ve had the opportunity to have countless discussions with the awesome people on the radar detector forums, I’ve done loads of tests, and I’ve created hundreds of YouTube videos. This website was created to help centralize and organize a lot of that content to make it more readily available for you, especially if you’d prefer to read instead of watch videos. I want to fill this site with as much useful content as I possibly can, things that would be the most helpful and beneficial to anyone also interested in the hobby. Everything from tutorials, reviews, comparison tests, technical explanations on how things work, you name it. The whole shebang.
Along with YouTube and RDF, this will be my place to share as I test and learn. To get the latest info on what I’m doing, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Thank you for your support and for being a part of this with me!
Ethics / Affiliate Disclosure:
I originally got into testing specifically because I wanted to find out how all this stuff works. I want to use the best detector for me, not necessarily just what someone online can make money off of me buying. I want to be educated and informed. That is also what I want for you, so let’s talk about money and my financial influences.
How Does Money Influence My Recommendations?
It is personally important to me to be honest and straightforward with you. It’s who I am and I believe you deserve that. I do make money with my tests and reviews which allows me to continue doing so. At the same time, it’s also non-negotiable for me to also maintain my integrity while I share information. Making money allows me to follow my passion. It’s not the purpose of my passion.
One way I make a living is when you purchase products I recommend, and I’ve covered this in detail here. It is priority number one for me to share accurate, objective, and unbiased information regardless of finances. So yes, while I do make money here which allows me to do my testing and pay the bills, it’s personally important to me to also ensure that I be objective about countermeasures. It doesn’t change what I say or why.
How I Make Money:
- When you purchase a product I recommend using an affiliate link to sites like Amazon.
- I do not make money on certain products like the V1 Gen2, Max Ci 360, or K40, but I will or will not recommend them just the same as appropriate. It’s simply the right thing to do.
- YouTube ads on my videos (I don’t control which ads show up on my videos)
- When you book a Private Session
- When you make a PayPal donation or YouTube Super Chat donation during a Livestream
Important Things to Know:
- I do not do paid reviews.
- I do not do sponsored content.
- I do not do advertisements.
- I am not paid by manufacturers to test or review their products.
- I am not paid to say good things or bad things about any company or product.
- I am sometimes sent free products for testing and I disclose this in my tests. It doesn’t change what I say about the product and manufactures have no control over what I say.
- Sometimes I keep the free products for further testing, sometimes I give them away to my viewers.
- Everything you see and hear me say are my actual thoughts and opinions.
- No product is perfect so a recommendation by me is not an endorsement that it is flawless.
- I make a point to call it like I see it and let the money part take care of itself.
I completely understand the concerns about financial influences. I think it’s important both for you to ask and for me to be transparent about this. Vortex Radar lives and dies based on your trust, and I will continue to put that first and foremost every day.
If you have any questions or concerns, let’s talk.
Thank you for supporting me and helping me bring you quality information. 🙂
-Ariel
