You may want to upgrade it though.

I have heard that Valentine has some kind of upgrade program if you have one of their products already.

This will also get you the smaller case.

 

I have a V-1, and love it... :yesnod:

 

My V-1 didn't help me too much tonight...............see my post in Z06 Forum tonight..........WHO you know is (sometimes better) than WHAT you OWN! :yesnod: :yesnod:

 

I like my 8500. The V1 has been around for years and the 8500 only about 1.5 years. So, there are many more V1 owners. Both detectors have outstanding sensitivity and so the detector features and build quality should be the things to consider. The V1 falses more than the 8500. I hate too much falsing. I have had several BEL models in the past and I will never buy another one. Every one of them ended up breaking in one way or another.

 

Since I live in Canada, I have to ask this question. Can any of them be concealed so that they cannot be spotted inside the car? For example, receiver in the front grill area with the alarm hidden under the seat?


Of course, I would never break the law by actually having one....just curious. :blueangel:

 

For about $1,000 US, Escort has a remote mount, front and back, system with the 8500 series technology. Very discreet. You pick up even more sensitivity not going through the windshield. They won't sell just the parts, must be professionally installed through one of their special dealers.

Chuck

p.s. I don't speed either!

 

V1 here... :yesnod: :smash:

 

I've put my Whistler up against V1's, and for 1/2 the price, has stayed right with them. :cheers:

 

Passport 8500 here. It's the best buy! V-1 is not worth another $100 and all the falses. :)

 

V1 for me.

:rolleyes: :nonod:

Mine has saved me several times. I haven't kept a "log book" on it, though.
;) ;)

 

Although you dont know me, i can vouch that you WILL get your V1 and all necessary components if you were to purchase the one for sale in this thread.(Kumar75150) He is a good, trustworthy guy and would make a good business deal if you were interested. :yesnod: Contact him if you would be interested. Well, good luck with your choice. :cheers: ;)

 

I love my dual Passport SR-1s ... I rewired them to display in the HUD. They're totally hidden. :D The picture doesn't do them justice.



I've put more pics of my car/stereo/radar here



[Modified by Still_Single, 3:15 PM 10/26/2002]

 

"Here's one of the tests I relied on: http://www.radartest.com/DS4HEM.html

Was I misguided?"

------------

Yes you were...

My analysis of radartest.com :)

that site is full of incorrect information. Let me breakdown some of the problems from his test starting with the "Product Specs and Features" chart:

1. V1 doesn't get credit for being fully programmable when in fact, it is: http://www.valentineone.com/lab/MikesLabRpt3.asp

2. V1 gets no credit for having the capability to defeat radar bands (see #1)

3. V1 gets no credit for "Digital Signal Strength" With no description of what this means, I'll assume it means a "hit" strength indicator. The V1's strength indicator is very clear and easy to understand.

4. V1 gets no credit for "Multi-step Dim / Dark Mode" even though it does this automatically!! Peterson even says so in his summary, "A photoelectric cell automatically dims the displays but there's no provision to darken them or tailor the brightness to personal preference." So I can't manually dim it myself...why would I want to if it does it automatically?

5. The categories in his "specs" table are selected to the Passport and Bel's advantage. He doesn't have a category for the following, all of which would ONLY be featured on the V1:
*Metal case instead of plastic
*Directional arrows to point out the hits (this is THE feature that completely separates the V1 from all other detectors, yet Peterson tries to downplay the functionality and effectivity in the text of his summary)
*Front and rear radar and laser antennas

6. Other categories such as: Text Display, Voice Alert, and Tutorial Mode are features that are useless and/or annoying or distracting to the user. I don't want to be reading my detector while driving down the road and I surely don't want it talking to me.

Now on to the text of his "radartest" summary":
1. "the Valentine uses a single rotary switch with concentric ring to control on/off, audio level, mute level and two "logic" modes that filter X band. We feel that's about four functions too many. So do the competition, all of whom allocate these key functions to separate switches for faster, simpler operation."

As a mechanical engineer, we're taught to SIMPLIFY by combining many functions into as few components as possible. That's exactly what the V1 does. Operation of the V1 couldn't be any simpler, yet Peterson tries to make the opposite seem true.

2. "One unique V1 feature is the Radar Locator, claimed to pinpoint the direction of incoming radar beams. Under optimal conditions--detector mounted high on the windshield with a panoramic view and with a relatively strong signal on a steady bearing--we found the directional arrows generally accurate"

Words like "claimed" "optimal" and "generally" are there to downplay this feature.

3. "But we quickly learned to distrust the bogey counter's truthfulness. For example, in bucolic...."

The 3 threats in that story could've been caused by MANY things. It sounds like Mr Peterson wasn't running in Advanced Logic mode if he's picking up 3 junk X-band hits at once, of course, he doesn't mention that. He just tells the story as if the hits are due to something that the V1 lacks, instead of something he lacks.

4. "In larger metropolitan areas we noticed this Chicken Little behavior even more, often being bombarded by alerts for eight or nine simultaneous threats while sitting gridlocked in traffic, a major nuisance. Truth is, radar to the side poses no threat at all and radar from behind is scarcely worthy of more attention"

Again, he's not running AL mode. The V1 only tracks up to 8 hits, so I'm not sure how he saw 9!! I've yet to see 8 in 2 years of owning mine. As far as radar to the side, he's 100% correct. You can't get clocked directly from the side. However, the side arrows do a couple things for you. When you pass a threat, the arrows light-up ahead, then side, then behind, which obviously tells you that you've passed the thread. They can also warn you of a possible threat by picking up a solid band hit from the side before the threat even has a chance to clock you from the front or back, essentially pointing out the threat (possibly on a sidestreet or coming from the opposite direction as you both approach a 90* turn) before it IS a threat. He fails to see (or at least point out) these benefits.

5. "On Ka band it belatedly issued an alert only a few feet before the radar locked-on to our speed. It did somewhat better against lasers, weighing in with a first-place finish in field of view and third place in maximum range, within a few feet of the Escort and BEL"

I have picked up Ka band right here in the DFW area at 3.5 miles. I've picked up instant-on Ka blips at about 1.5 miles. I can't imagine needing anything that picks up from a greater distance.

6. "If this were 1991, with X and K-band radar the primary threats, the Valentine One would have fared much better in this shootout...Still capable of putting up a good show against X and K-band radar and lasers, with its stratospheric price tag, minimal features and quirky ergonomics the V1 is an also-ran compared to modern detectors. Celebrating its tenth birthday next year, making it the oldest model on the market, the V1 is clearly showing its age."

Saying that the V1 can't at least hang in the Ka band department (although other tests have shown the V1 well ahead in this category) is absurd. He gives it credit for X and K band which are dying breeds as everyone knows. He wants people to think that the V1 is old technology just because the case has not been changed for many years, when in fact, it's on top.

Stratospheric? $100 more than the Passport...25% more. That price includes a hardwiring kit, which is $30 extra on the Passport.
Minimal Features - I think I've addressed this point already
Quirky Ergonomics - again, it's a radar detector, not a car. It performs it's job and the way it looks shouldn't even be an issue, but he's reaching for points.
Old - there is a new version out (late 2001) that's a little smaller than the previous, but there are few other changes (not needed).

Scoring System
"Ergonomic/Features" - V1 loses 9 points due in part to 2 things. One is the fact that he doesn't give the V1 credit for some of it's features and doesn't list the others since it's the only one with those features. #2, one of his main points against the V1 is the size and "look" of the detector. Talking about the appearance of a radar detector is a sure sign that he's reaching to find things. Compare the size/weight of a v1.8 V1 to a Passport 8500 and you'd be surprised. The V1 looks bigger due to the square aft end.

"Selectivity" - loses 3 pts, not even sure what "selectivity" is. He doesn't explain.

"City Mode" - loses 2 pts, for what reason I'm not sure. Instead of having a city/hwy mode, the V1 has 3 levels of filtering. No filter, Logic, and Advanced Logic. I run mine in AL at all times, as do most users.

"Sound Level" - loses 2 pts, and again he doesn't give any data. My V1 is never past 1/2 volume. Full volume is unbearable even with the radio up and windows down. The word "decibel" is not found on the radartest.com site ANYWHERE. I've seen this data somewhere, but don't have it at this time. All of the detectors were shown to be in the 100-110 decibel range if I recall correctly.
Given the fact that Peterson can't get the features right, I can't see giving his radar test results any credit. The V1, Bel, and Passport will all detect similarly.

Radartest.com has been one of the biggest jokes throughout the automotive community on the internet since it went online. Mike Valentine (creator of the Valentine 1) and Craig Peterson have a "past" and Peterson has made it a point to bash the V1 whenever he gets the opportunity. Valentine always publically addresses Peterson's shots, either on the V1 site or in his magazine ads. His challenge to the public is to buy both and send back the loser within 30 days. http://www.valentineone.com/lab/detectortests.asp Notice the Car&Driver results from February, as well as the past 10 years. C&D features ads for the Passport, Bel, Uniden, and V1 in every issue.

Most car enthusiasts agree that the V1 is the best detector you can buy, but there will always be a few doubters or people that refuse to drop $400 on a detector.

-------------------

My $.02

 

V1

 

I have escorts and pasports in a box somewear in the garage. V1's in the cars. Ric

 

bravo, hankd........


well researched and in my opinion, dang near perfect reply.

my second comment on this subject..........

Just returned from a trip to the Ga/Fl game in jax. fla. AND once again the V1 paying off. You know the good thing about folks not having a V1?? More chance that the Buford T. Jusice is busy doing paperwork on the side of the road while I am getting where I'm going. I like the advantage.

more ............ :cool: :cool:
less................. :smash: :smash: :smash:

Rb

p.s. anyone going on One lap next year?? sounds like a radar detector shoot out in the making to me. 5000 miles in one week, who is brave enough to take anyting but the V1?????

 

I have both the Passport 8500 and the V1. The V1 is my favorite hands down. :cheers:

 

V1 Rocks!
No guessing where the source is coming from.
Also tells you how many sources you are picking up.
If you have the extra cash go with it. You can also go to their site for software advances.

 

If you go to the V1 internet site you can enter your serial number of your unit and see if it has the latest technology....if not, you can pay a fee and get the latest and greatest model. :lol:

 

It's more cost effective to sell your old V1 on Ebay and buy a new one...

You can effectively "rent" a V1 for about $25-35 / yr if you sell it for about $325 after 3 yrs and then buy a new one...