Radar travels at the speed of light as well. But even it it traveled at the speed of sound it's still going a heck of a lot faster than you which means the speed reading gets to the gun BEFORE you pass the cop.

 

Love my solo passport!

 

IMO Valentine 1--expensive but worth it !

 

Radar travels at the speed of light as well. But even it it traveled at the speed of sound it's still going a heck of a lot faster than you which means the speed reading gets to the gun BEFORE you pass the cop.
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Thats true, if you get hit directly by radar, your detector is not going to do you any good either. Just going to let you know that you will be getting pulled over shortly.

 

You know, as long as municipalities want to set up speed traps and pretend they are working for the common good I'll do my best to work against them because it's little more than a revenue generator.

If they really wanted to slow you down, they'd stay in plain sight, with their lights running to show they are patrolling. Aside from that, it has to be safer for them to be in plain sight that it would be for them to hide with their lights off and then blast into traffic to aprehend a speeder to hit their alleged non-existent quota. That would be just as effective as hiding trying to pick you off with their latest/greatest radar/laser gun.

 

Valentine 1 is an has always been the best detector on the market. The V1 consistantly beats the 8500 year after year in the Car and Driver shootouts. If your V1 is falsing simply adjust it, there are three settings. The V1 can also be upgraded every time new hardware or software becomes available. Simply mail it to Valentine and they will upgrade the unit.

 

Thats true, if you get hit directly by radar, your detector is not going to do you any good either. Just going to let you know that you will be getting pulled over shortly.
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You are incorrect. The GOOD (V-1) detectors will pick up reflections of the laser and radar off other surfaces, alerting you before the cop hits your car with the gun.

 

How much is this V-1 and where is it sold?

 

The escort is better than the valentine in certain areas also and competitive in everything else, but you can't go wrong with either. Those 2 are at the top of everything else consistantly. The benefits of the passport 8500 x50? It's considerably cheaper and it's MUCH MUCH better looking than the v1 (which is boxy and not great looking). Made the decision easy for me, it's cheaper, competitive if not better in everything with the V1, and since I mount mine very visibly underneath my rear view mirror, it better look good, and passport is sleek and pretty. Here's a link to the reviews page for the passport 8500: http://www.escortradar.com/x50.htm

 

If you have used a V1 (http://www.valentine1.com for the record) for a while, you will NOT be willing to go back to a "normal" radar detector. Yes it is expensive. But it is expensive (and ugly for that matter) for several reasons:

1) It has TWO seperate radar antennaes. One faces forward, one faces backwards. ALL the other detectors that "claim" 360 degree protection using a single antenna faing forward and hope to catch radar reflections from the front to signal. Twice the antennaes and twice the electronics to process the signals.

2) Magnisium case (not that cheap plastic molded "stuff"). Helps to improve performance of the unit by fully shielding the electronics from outside noise. And it is MUCH tuffer than any plastic case. Down side is it is expensive AND it makes the case look boxy. I can live with it.

3) DSP processing to a high level to detect THREATS and not just signals. You DO have to be in advanced logic mode for this to function. Other brands decrease the sensitivity on the inputs for "city" mode. That's like putting blinders on your guide through enemy territory! It's not 100% perfect, but it (in advanced logic mode) does the job about 10 times better than any other detector I have used.

4) And while I'm at it, the single greatest reason a V1 will ALWAYS be better than the single antenna competition: How many radars are hitting you and what direction are they hitting you from. When you are approaching a cop on the highway, you can watch the arrows point forward,then sideways breifly, then rearward as you meet him. There has been times when I could not ID a cop car in heavy traffic. I look out my side window RIGHT when the arrow flicks to the side view and there he is. Being able to count how many guns are pointing in your direction is also a major plus. I have see a couple of speed traps with one cop working a shallow valley and three or four of his buddies working the next valley or so over. The guys with lesser detectors (or no decectors at all) are speeding back up right as they coming up to the trap. I'm still sitting on the speed limit waiting to find the other two or three signals my V1 is telling me is out there.

Oh, and I did have to laugh a bit in the last speed test. They give the X50 better marks than the V1 because the X50 alerted at 11.5 miles instead of only 10.5 miles. And in the same article, they talk about how USELESS these extreme alerts are because you will start to ignore the signal when you haven't see a cop for 5 miles or so. And in none of the radar detector tests that I have seen where the V1 DIDN'T come in first did they test any of the detectors against multiple guns. If they did, it would have been a simple pass/fail. V1 pass and every one else fail.

I'm also sure these tests will also get more interesting when Mike Valentine's patent expires and that has to be getting close.

 

VA = Detectors Illegal

...hopefully will not equal Me and the Pony :drive: meeting up with :cop2:

...Pray for Me!!!

 

You are incorrect. The GOOD (V-1) detectors will pick up reflections of the laser and radar off other surfaces, alerting you before the cop hits your car with the gun.
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Kevin, the Valentine 1 is $399 . I looked in an issue of Car and Driver for the #. It's 1-800-331-3030

 

I have seen guys take apart the V1 and install the components in a stealth manner. I even saw a 911 with the arrows in the tachometer! NOTHING beats the V1.

 

Hey GMAYS. I live in PA. and travel in VA on reg basis (in-laws live there Tidewater area). Since when do the Dept Natural Resources pull you over abot 30 miles inland for passing them (yes I was speeding by about 10 MPH on a 4 lane highway) and take your detector away. Do they have that much authority down there?

 

SOLO 2 IS THE WAY TO GO!!!!! WIRELESS!!!! LOVE IT!!

 

Actually the custom installed K40's have 2 antennae as well but they don't have anywhere near the performance of the V1. I am surprised that people still think there are better detectors than the V1. ITS PRETTY COMMON KNOWLEDGE THAT THEY ARE BY FAR THE BEST.

 

6505pony...like I said...they are militant about taking down people with detectors. They even have those Radar Detector Detector things (VASCAR???) I imagine a Ranger (I assume that's what you mean by the Dept of Natural Resources) would have at least basic law enforcement privs since they do police the parks and public recreation areas but I haven't ever heard of them doing that...aren't they supposed to be stomping out leftover campfires and enforcing fishing and deer hunting seasons???

Watch your back!!!

 

I think the jerk just took it to keep it for himself. He was mad because I slowed down because I saw him coming up behind me then when he pulled beside and I same he was a "Park Ranger", I just pulled away back up to a little over the speed limit. Next thing I know he turns on the light and pulls me over, sees the detector says you know these things are illegal around here and takes it. Says he'll let me go this time.

I don't know their authority and it was a cheap detector anyways.

 

I bought the V-1 for the simple fact that when a newer version comes out, you just send yours back to Valentine for an upgrade(for a small fee, but beats buying a whole new unit). The arrows are invaluable when trying to detect if it is a false alarm or a real threat. I think everyone will admit that it does give many false alarm chirps when not in the logic modes, but you definately know a false alarm from a threat because the signal strength fluctuates. But, if you leave it in the logic modes, its not that bad. It is VERY sensitive. Real threats will sometimes signal for a half mile.

All that said, if its instant-on Ka or Laser, theres not much you can do if you are the only car on the road. If they are clocking cars ahead of you, you will get the alarm. If not, they get you at the same time you get the signal. I never speed when its an empty road because a lot of towns here in NJ use laser and instant-on Ka.

Honestly, its only saved me less than a handful of times, but if it saved me once it paid for itself.