Battery powered units aren't effective against Ka band radar, which is what the CHP and most local LEOs use these days. The reason is they have a sleep/wake-up cycle that's mandatory to conserve power. The cycle is fairly short, but IMHO that compromise is really the pits.

A radar detector won't make you bullet proof. It can greatly increase your situational awareness and reduce your risk, but all of them require that you study their features and spend the time to understand what the various beeps, braps and other sounds mean.

Visit the Valentine 1 website for tons of useful information:
http://www.valentine1.com/

The V1 arrives complete with a plug in adapter, hardwire adapter, windshield mount and visor mount (my personal favorite). I have mine hard wired so whenever the ignition is on, the V1 is on. The connection points are conveniently located in the passenger footwell. I used a $6 fuse tap to plug into the heated seats switched fuse slot. The fuse tap preserves the heated seats connection and provides an additional connection without cutting or splicing any wires. See the photo below for how mine is connected. Ignore the assembly with the white & red wires in the lower right of the photo. That's the connection for the Mild 2 Wild exhaust controller. The V1 connection is labeled "Switched Fuse Tap". The red wire of the V1 connector is connected there and the black ground wire is connected to the small bolt shown at the lower left of the picture. The wires tuck conveniently between the trim and weatherstripping on their way to the V1 and are invisible.


Here's how the unit is mounted in my C6:


Good Luck and stay safe!

 

Na, we're just letting all you V1 guys rant for awhile!

I have the Escort 9500i. Best on the market in my opinion after doing alot of research. Built in GPS allows you to lock out false signals. Built in USB port so you can do software updates (if there ever is any) right from home.

Nothing wrong with the V1, but spent MY money on the 9500i and I love it! Installed with 12" Invisicord.

 

The next logical question is: where is the best / least expensive source for the V1

 

I also have the 9500 and it's been very reliable.

I dig your poster!!! Can you zoom in a bit next time???

 

Michael, nice set up, but I like the poster above the toolbox better...

 

I have really had it with some of the guys on this forum and this is a good example!

This is the kind of puke that gets spewed out of someone's mouth that ALWAYS turns the detector threads into a war. I think the "J" that shows up on YOUR detector stands for "jerk behind the wheel"!

The V1, Escort 8500 & 9500i are all awesome detectors and no one would be making a bad choice by choosing anyone of them. Do a little research and buy what you like and what you think is best for your situation.

The crap, junk and waste of money comments all need to be left out of these discussions.

 

Funny how I always get comments about that poster when I take pictures in the garage! It's actually a Hooters Calendar. I've turned the page recently so there is a new hottie up there now. Guess I need to take some more pics!

 

 

"I think I'll site this one out" - John Houston from The Treasure of Sierra Madre

 

Sheesh! We're just a bit defensive here aren't we??

The "J" on the V-1 is sort of like an apology that it gives you after determining that a previous Ka alert was a false. This reading is fairly rare. I've never had it near an Escort or Bell, BUT I have had it near Cobra, Uniden and other unrecognized cheapo units that do leak. I appreciate that the V1 is a unit sophisticated enough to continue analyzing a signal enough to determine for me that it's bogus.

Now before you get your undies in a bunch, please re-read my post. There's nothing there that disrepects your unit.

 

The V1 is only available directly from the manufacturer:

http://www.valentine1.com/

Beware online auction sources, as the units may be malfunctioning or stolen. It's also common to find that the necessary electrical accessories can be missing.

 

Always a lot of hype in these threads. It is simple for me I wanted the best all around detector, which includes detection, elimintaion of annoying false alarms, ease and costs of upgrades, etc. My V1 is now in someone elses car, I now own a Bell 9500i, and I love being able to listen to my stereo again and not anoying beeps all the time after time after time. as for the best deal on the V1, there isn't a best deal and you can't just buy it anywhere, another plus for the 9500i. The V1 is not junk, it is very good, but it is very annoying and a wee bit behind the times in terms of technology.

 

Hmmm. It seems that we've been up and down this street before. The V1 has virtually infinite user selectable filter modes that allow you to tailor the amount of falses you are exposed to. I prefer to make those decisions myself, that's why I prefer the V1. Others prefer other models and some give up performance to avoid being annoyed. It's a big world and it's great to have choices. Mine's the V1 and yours isn't. I prefer to point out the strengths of the unit I chose, rather than perceived weakness of other units.

 

V1 has saved my a$$ many times!

 

V1 here as well. I have all my vehicles hard-wired (invisicord) and I take the V1 with me whatever I drive. SMA many times. I have a passenger side visor mount in my vette, love it

 

Another endorsement for the V1, Invisicord and Great Lakes mount.

 

Well, it is good that you give out all the technical info, that is good info. I am just giving out real world results having owned a V1. I know all about the infinite settings. Why would you have to go through infinite settings and put it into a less sensitive (protection) mode. The 9500i stays in full protection mode while staying quiet on the falses. It is what it is. The arrows for me were like all new gadgets cool at first, but in real world driving for two years, never saved my butt any different than a "so called" beep. Once again, shall we agree to not agree?

 

Not sure why you feel the need to defend yourself as it was not you nor your post that my comments were directed towards. The poster I was aiming for is t01lightning. His post is what I quoted in my repsonse.

Your comments are intelligent and respected. That is the kind of information we need here on the forum.

 

Oh, and there is a MUCH better mount that works on the V1 and the Passport's than the Great Lakes... http://www.vettemods.com/radarbracket-c6.htm

 

Sure we can agree to disagree, but your statement above is not correct. Here's why:

All radar detectors are simply radios tuned to the microwave frequencies used by traffic radar, they automatically sound off when they receive signals on those frequencies.

Unfortunately other things that are not radar are also operating on traffic radar frequencies. Examples are burglar alarms, automatic door openers, other radar detectors that leak radiation. There's no way for a radar detector to tell if a clean signal on a certain frequency is traffic radar or a false alarm. NO WAY.

The V1 has a "J" feature that identifies a false alarm after the fact because the V1 is so sophisticated that it detects very slight 'drift' in the frequency of the signal source. Traffic radar doesn't behave that way, but certain radar detectors do, because they aren't transmitting by design, they're leaking radiation in an uncontrolled fashion.

A radar detector that doesn't 'false' as much as a V1 has given up a certain amount of its detection ability in favor of silence. This really isn't a debatable point. It's a scientific fact. For some people silence is golden. For others who have the patience to learn the science and to manage it, they can enjoy a greater degree of protection. Everybody is different. Buy what you like and enjoy it, but don't try to defend an indefensible position!