help me choose a radar detector

A

accordmaniac

New member
I have a V1 and love it. Once you have the directional arrows and bogey counter, you can't use anything else. A while back, one road I used to drive on had a speed machine on it to try to get people to slow down. It was unsuccessful, so one day they put a cop about 1/4 mile down the road. My V1 told me that there were two bogeys so I made sure to slow down while others got popped. Just my $.02
 
I have the Escort S2 cordless and if given another chance I would have purchased the V1 instead. The arrows and counter is a neat feature, but they really need to redesign the exterior, it's almost 10 years old now.
 
V1 is great, mounting isn't as good as the old Passports IMHO (no symmetrical mounting groove on the bottom to allow you to use the visor clip on your dash, if you have a dash like mine...they really want you to mount it up high, anyway).
 
I just purchased the latest V1 last week. It is my 3rd. They're great units but do tend to false more than some of the competition. The V1 is the only "open-road" detector I would consider. If you do a lot of driving in busy, built-up areas, you may want to select another unit. I have many detectors..I've tried all the big players.



BTW, drive fast, don't slow down!!
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Another vote for V1. I have one for every vehicle. The falsing is something you get accustomed to and learn to interpret, at least in familiar areas.



Oh, and they did redo the exterior, but only slightly. I have a older one and it's a bit bulkier than today's model. I sorta hope they *don't* change it too much, I like my familiarity with the unit and don't want to relearn anything that I don't have to.
 
Another vote for the V1!

The bogey counter has saved me at least twice when the Texas DPS has setup a trap with a backup 1/4 mile down the road. The detector was still going off when I passed the trooper on the side and normally would have thought I was safe, and was just picking up the first one, when I noticed the arrow still pointing forward and the counter saying "2"

Kept the speed down and avoided the second catch.

I had an Escort and loved it, but the V1 is much better.
 
I just picked up a BEL Pro RX65 & I'm thoroughly pleased, it's saved my bacon a couple times on the NYS Thruway.



I was going to spring for an Escort 8500 X50 (the X50 & RX65 were ranked top 2 in radartest.com) but the RX50 came out on top for detecting POP radar.



V1 is tops for detecting laser but it didn't detect POP radar at all .... probably needs a freshening or an upgrade.



The RX65 has a SmartCord similar to the Escort's, many user-programable features, is upgradeable when new radar gun's are developed, and has excellent selectivity without compromising sensitivity.
 
I'm the lone ranger on this one, but consider a k40. I've had it for two years with no problems. I generally travel about 15mph over on the highway and I've never had any problems. They'll actually pay for your ticket(s) the first year too. I know a guy who got tagged going 120mph and they still payed for it.



In the city it gets set off around hospitals and a few other places, but I don't speed in the city. My best friend has a escort 8500. On the highway, I pick up the signal before he does. He gets less false alerts and has a better interface, but I have him beat on range. Btw, I bought mine brand new on ebay for $175, and list price is around $325.
 
Bel Pro RX65....I have owned 4 different Bel det. over the last 10 yrs. and have been happy w/all. As stated you cant beat them for the price & user features. Auto mute & quick start are the best. I followed a Vette up I-75 & I could see his V1 on the dash.

My old Bel 855 went off the same time as his V1. I cant justify the diff. in price. I hard wire the det. and hang it from the headliner for stealth mounting and is always on. (pg.3 in sig.)
 
Once you get to a certain detection range, such as the V1, Escort or Bel 985, what matters most is the user interface.



I've used a Bel and purchased a V1 in 05/2004. The directional arrows and bogey count of the V1 are invaluable and make a hugh difference and, to me, are worth the difference in price.



The latest V1s now have dual-band POP mode, something no other detector currently has.



Upgrades for the V1 to dual-band POP will be available in Jan from www.valentine1.com/upgrades
 
thaar said:
what is the dual pop mode and what benefits will it offer?
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From V1 web site http://www.valentine1.com/pop/

Valentine One has full-time POPâ„¢ Protection. Just plug in, light up, and youâ€â„¢re covered. Why should it be any other way?



It shouldnâ€â„¢t. But certain famous brands have âہ“Selectable POP.â€Â� Itâ€â„¢s a special operating mode you must activate. Otherwise youâ€â„¢re not POP protected.



Thereâ€â„¢s only one reason for Selectable POPâ€â€�the âہ“famous brandsâ€Â� company doesnâ€â„¢t have the technology to make a full-time feature you can live with. Why? Because those detectors poorly distinguish real radar from a thicket of false alarms. So they give you âہ“Selectable POP.â€Â� Use it if you can stand it.



Beyond Ordinary

V1â€â„¢s warning range on POP is beyond the others, too. They trim back warning range on POP to reduce false alarms. V1â€â„¢s superior engineering gives range on POP thatâ€â„¢s beyond them, and beyond line of sight.



The âہ“famous brandsâ€Â� cover only Ka band, too. V1 provides coverage beyond Kaâ€â€�specifically the MPH Industries models Enforcerâ„¢ (K and Ka) and the BEEâ„¢ III (Ka).



The World as it Really Is

Probably youâ€â„¢ve noticed that many other detectors create false alarms that set off your detector. Hundreds of thousands of badly engineered detectors from BEL®, Cobra®, Radio Shack® and Uniden® spew local oscillator harmonics that are very similar in character to the POP burst used by MPH Industries. Ordinary detectors arenâ€â„¢t clever enough to reliably distinguish between them.



V1 has never been ordinary.
 
you make it sound like it is a religous experience( joke) I linked earlier to some independent testing go check that out. The V1 is nice so are the others you pays yer $$ and takes your chances and BTW no radar dector makes you immune from tckts.
 
dashotgun said:
you make it sound like it is a religous experience( joke)
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It is. :p



All that stuff is copied from the V1 site, so it does sound good. :)



Biggest advantage is to know your detector, know your area and drive accordingly.



Still, the V1 arrows are awesome. :D
 
I am very happy with the V1.

I hardwired mine.

The remote display can be helpful depending on your install.

Someone (can't remember the guys name) takes OEM rearview mirrors and installs the remote display for a very nice, stealthy setup.

edit- here
 
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