I'd like to hear your recommendation on detectors please.

 

#1: situational awareness.
#2: passport

Someone will be along shortly to recommend the V1...

 

I agree with #1.

You would choose Passport over V1? Why? Not that I have any knowledge or experience with either just curious.

 

passport 9500CI with laser diffuser ....TOP
With Waze active on your phone :-)

Backup, for those like me in VA, Bel STI Magnum.......sniffs radar a gazillion miles away and is undetectable to detector detectors....

 

Im still stuck in the early 2000. have both a V1 and a Bell RX65. Love them both.
Im always seeing advertisements for new detectors with GPS and wifi.... no idea whats current....

 

This one is good, and it's pretty cheap.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/311460358058?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

That's really cheap compared to the others!

 

+1 for V1 is what I run with Laser interceptor...

If i did it again it would be V1 + Blinder 905 compact 3 or 4 head

The majority of highway speed traps are laser enforced 90-95% being hit from the front

What ever you do get a good radar detector + Laser def

$1200 spent on gear is alot less than the ticket + attorney (bc you will get popped over 90mph) + Ins fees over 1 year

My Exp: 2 tickets in 10 years w/ V1, both were laser enforced, from the front pre Laser Interceptor install

 

My understanding of laser detectors is that they are a very effective ticket detector. If you get hit with a laser, the chances are very good it is pointed only at you. The possibility of catching a stray beam is there, but not likely... It goes off, you get a performance award.
Edit: To the OP: My experience is only with a passport so I can't speak to the effectiveness of the V1 but I do know that is a high quality device.

 

I highly suggest getting the Passport Escort 9500ci with 2 sensors or even better might be the AL PRIORITY SYSTEM. I have owned the Valentine 1, 9500ix, and 8500 in the past.

 

I chose the v1 bc the rear radar range is amazing and the passport 9500 is a beast and was out of my price range during my 400whp Saab days :-(

Lasers jammers work by receiving a signal and rather than transmitting a correct "95mph" they give a number like 18mph then 148mph in return in transmission. The laser gun errors out due to the false reading and the officer tries again... You have at that point acknowledged the alert, slowed down and turned the system off and blended into traffic is the recommended course of action. He pops you again "80mph"... I cannot pull him =D

I try not to speed like an idiot anymore unless I can see far down the road, E55 brakes leave a little to be desired and going fast easily pushes past 100 mark while just being playful in 2nd and 3rd.

Dual defense is the best way to go IMHO

 

Valentine 1 is the way to go. Had mine for 3 years now and it continues to pay off.

 

What is it about that model you like vs the others?

 

rear radar detection is generally useless. Im not even sure how that setup would work. Even if a cop comes up from behind you his radar gun cant detect your speed by aiming at the rear of your car.

I had a V1 for years, but the proliferation of active lane change detection and active cruise control made for tons of K band falsing from the V1. I understand that the current V1's have filters to filter that out.

 

my car came to me with an older V1 and laser detector jammer and I have seen very few false alarms from cars other than cops. Every now and again is all. Situational awareness is the big thing but the v1 has saved me hassle more than a few times...

 

Don't want to seem like I am picking on you, but this is NOT accurate. Police have been using "moving radar" for more than 40 years which includes measuring your speed from behind.

here is a little useful background on radar
http://radartest.com/how-radar-works.asp

and some realworld product comparison
http://radartest.com/article.asp?articleid=8500

relative to the discussion of the value (if any) of directional detection, I would NEVER consider owning a system that does not include it. By observing the direction and signal strength, you can make informed (gas pedal) decisions as to whether the source is on the other side of the road, moving, or stationary. I have a V1 in each of my three vehicles and could not be more pleased with their performance.

relative to falsies ... in California, I get less than 2 a week. I find that X and K are no longer used by LEO . so I only run with Ka and Laser (and also run a laser interceptor system).


cheers and happy holidays,
Chris

 

When driving spiritidly, I keep my eyes scanning all the time, V1 active, and Waze active.

Bought the V1 after my last speeding ticket, which was well over $100 more than the V1 ended up being. Haven't gotten a ticket since (4 years).

On long road trips, the arrows on the V1 are a fun game to see who can spot the source first.

 

this is my favorite post of the week

21st century Games to play while driving .... "spot the bogeys" love it !

Cheers,
Chris

 

Regarding the rear radar detection, I stand corrected. However, in three decades of LOTS of high-er speed highway driving on both coasts, I've never encountered it. I HAVE been nailed by cops following behind me, but it's been by the cops using their speedometers to pace me.

As far as the V1 falses, took a trip about two years ago where a late model higher end Audi had the active cruise control and/or lane detection system active. Kept the V1 steadily going off the entire time I was within a mile of that audi. Again, this was the previous V1 that did not have the current software that detects and blocks these types of signals

 

The "Very few" is what Im talking about. On a highway trip of say, 8 hours yes I'll pass by maybe several thousands of cars going on both directions? Even if only 5 percent of those cars have systems that trigger the V1, it's too many. (It was for me). And thats why it kinda became almost useless for me.

Ill eventually get a current V1 that filters out those signals now, but actually, on my last couple of highway trips just using Waze (combined with using my eyes for situational awareness) was just as effective (if not more, because Waze will alert you to cops sitting on the side of the road who have their radar guns off/in "instant on" mode when detectors are useless against that)

 

Thanks for sharing your experiences, not one of us has the perfect answer for every end user and your observations are every bit as useful as mine.

While I wont disagree that pacing is a popular method for measuring speed, here on the west coast, the highway patrol often drive with their radar turned on (constantly) .... making the V1 a very useful "highway patrol detector" . I have speculated on occasion that they have concluded that doing this lowers the average road speed (as a measurable percentage of "speeders" use some form of radar detection).

Here in California, LEO often wait (somewhat out of sight) on freeway on-ramps or obscured by bridge abutments (shooting the tails of traffic) ... even if they first chase and pace their prey before giving a ticket, the V1 is a valuable tool here (first you get a front signal reading the reflection off of cars ahead ,,,, and then you get the side, then behind as you pass . ... (giving you ample time to lift off of the throttle... in turn, giving LEO the proper respect so he sets his sights elsewhere).

I wont argue a bit with your anecdotal evidence as most of mine is similarly derived . I will however mention again that I run without "x" or "k" turned on (no longer used in California except for some speed signs) .... and I rarely get falsies. I do get an occasional car radar falsie ( seems like some newer SUVs, .... haven't noticed any audi's) . I do have the latest software on all 3 of my V1s, so that may be part of the explanation as well.

One of the links that I posted previously discusses the use (saturation) of various bands in various locals, perhaps in some areas/states (that still use x and/or k primarily) the V1 is less useful . But for California V1 is a trusted tool.



Happy Holidays.
Chris

 

I thought you get software upgrades to V1 so they don't become obsolete. Is Waze another brand that I've never heard of? That sounds like a great feature. How does it detect a radar that is switched off?

 

yes, you do get software updates for that reason, but they are not free. You have to send your unit in to Valentine and pay a fee (can vary depending on how out of date your unit is). On their website, there is a place to plug in your serial number to see if you have the latest. They don't need to be updated particularly often.


Waze is a better version of Google Maps (owned by google IIRC)

here is how they describe it ...
Waze is the world's largest community based traffic and navigation app. Join other drivers in your area who share real-time traffic and road info, saving everyone ...
you can get it for free at waze . com

works on any android device (and other platforms I would imagine). I like/use Waze to the extent that I have updated both of my AMGs to have an android head unit so I can use it (I use it on nearly every drive).
I don't rely on it much for LEO locations/activity ... but it does provide that as well.

Cheers,
Chris

 

The V1 saved me again yesterday. A prius in the left lane, naturally, pacing a pickup, both doing 5 under. I went to the empty right lane and the pickup got offended and tried to block me off. I ahhh kept that from happening and finished the pass and as I was backing off, I got painted. The display said it was coming from behind (geez I just love love love that display, hiding in the rearview mirror). I never saw the cop. Unmarked? On shoulder? Overpass? Dunno. They didn't get me and if I hadn't gotten the alarm, it's likely I'd have kept my foot in it and bought myself a really good performance award...

 

My car came (used) with a built-in Passport SRX. Lots of false alarms from almost every modern GM SUV (Tahoes, Escalades, Suburbans, etc.). I was told to turn of the X and K bands and leave on only the Ka band and the laser detection (with shifters, front and rear).

Haven't tried it yet.