| Author | Message | ||
| Peter Polasek (Peterp)
Junior Member Username: Peterp Post Number: 65 Registered: 8-2002 |
Thanks for all the feedback. I would never consider buying anything but a V1 and wasn't even slightly swayed by the radartest.com review -- just shocked that they could be so biased (and surprised that a respected friend believed it). I wasn't in the market for a detector when I started this thread because I drive fairly conservatively these days, but all this discussion has convinced me to order one. Thanks for the feedback. | ||
| Dennis (Bighead)
New member Username: Bighead Post Number: 36 Registered: 2-2003 |
Jason wrote: >I have had both a Valentine 1 & the Escort SR-1... My preference is the Escort....They both performed excellantly and I definately preferred the arrow system on the V1, but I just couldn't get past the hanging box....I know that you can have the display mounted in the mirror and hard wire the power....but where does the box go? >Surely the best radar is the one that is switched on!!!! My SR1 fires up every time the engine switches on.....my Valentine sat in the glovebox unless I was going on a 'trip', because I was too lazy to take it out every time I drove, and I didn't want to leave it hanging on the window. _______________ Jason, several people I know hide the V-1 "box" in a box of tissues on the dash. Another good place to hide it is under the passenger seat headrest (between the headrest and the top of the seatback). For a good custom installer, you can build an upholstered box near the windshield header. As you noted, the remote display can be hidden IN your rearview mirror, or mounted in some semi-obscure location. But more importantly, who cares? Unless you live in VA, DC or some provinces in Canada, detectors are legal. I rarely park my Ferrari in places where someone is likely to break into my car just to steal the detector. My V1s are hardwired into my car, so if it's plugged in, it turns on when the car is on. I only remove it if I'm at a hotel or somesuch. vty, --Dennis | ||
| 89TCab (Jmg)
Member Username: Jmg Post Number: 383 Registered: 9-2001 |
Peter, I own three V1s and have them all hard wired so no driving is done without them. I recommend folks put their remote displays lower so they are not showing folks behind them the way...mine are mounted on the top of the steering column. They may seem expensive to start but they are cheap after a few saves... As for Radartest, nothing they have done passes the bullshit test. When their results can't be repeated in a normalized environment, well simply put, their stuff is bs no matter who sponsers them. - JMG | ||
| Patman36 (Patrickr)
Junior Member Username: Patrickr Post Number: 114 Registered: 4-2002 |
Yes you have to watch out for the tint strips and the defroster wires, unfortunately I have to deal with both. I have never gotten a ticket though in my car with the V1. And it has saved me SO many times...  I know window tint in general will effect the unit if the tint has any metallic flakes in it. Patrick | ||
| Jason Fraser (Jfraser)
Member Username: Jfraser Post Number: 253 Registered: 3-2001 |
Yep, I remember that, and also front windshields that have the defrost wires in them...ford/jaguar, mess with a radars' capability | ||
| Dr Tommy Cosgrove (Vwalfa4re)
Member Username: Vwalfa4re Post Number: 703 Registered: 5-2001 |
That tint strip may be interfering with the V1's range. I read an article in C&D a few years back about windshields and their ability to block a significant amount of radar from passing thru. Does anyone remember this article? | ||
| Patman36 (Patrickr)
Junior Member Username: Patrickr Post Number: 113 Registered: 4-2002 |
I love my V1. Had one for about three years. Ya it may look like a box but there are many options for this. Personally, I hardwired mine into the car so it turns on automatically when I start the car. Also, it is "hidden" behind the rear view mirrow. I let it "peak" out behind the mirror to the right so the rear-radar-pickup-window thingy has a clear line of sight out the rear. I also have the remote disply in a convenient location. Can't really see it from the outside because it is right under the tint strip at the top of the windshield. Can't see it from the driver's side window either (no radar detector here Mr. Officer)... you have to be in the passenger seat to see it Patrick | ||
| Sean F (Agracer)
New member Username: Agracer Post Number: 30 Registered: 2-2003 |
http://www.ferrariclub.com/faq/ good FAQ on Laser and radar jammers for those who asked | ||
| Jason Fraser (Jfraser)
Member Username: Jfraser Post Number: 252 Registered: 3-2001 |
Hmmm, Don't mean to be contoversial here, but I have had both a Valentine 1 & the Escort SR-1 (which is basically the same as an 8500 but is a remote application.) My preference is the Escort....They both performed excellantly and I definately preferred the arrow system on the V1, but I just couldn't get past the hanging box....I know that you can have the display mounted in the mirror and hard wire the power....but where does the box go? Surely the best radar is the one that is switched on!!!! My SR1 fires up every time the engine switches on.....my Valentine sat in the glovebox unless I was going on a 'trip', because I was too lazy to take it out every time I drove, and I didn't want to leave it hanging on the window. Bottom line, they are BOTH great detectors.....I just wanted a custom install.... Regarding the laser diffuser 'phaser' question...They definately work (I posted a thread about them a couple of weeks ago) Here are the photos of the SR-1 installed http://www.ferrarichat.com/discus/messages/21/4853.html | ||
| Mr. Doody (Doody)
Member Username: Doody Post Number: 868 Registered: 11-2001 |
if they are so unfettered, why won't they respond to requests re: same? ...nor do we solicit or accept gratuities from manufacturers. they don't accept gratuities? if they were being employed under contract or directly by the manufacturers this certainly would not qualify as a "gratuity". if they really are independent, unattached, and uninfluenced then wouldn't it behoove them to say it that explicitly? why dance around the issue? every time this site comes up, there's a discussion like this. the folks who run radartest have, to the best of my knowledge, on something like 5 or 6 car boards i have frequented, never once responded to a post or email asking for clarification on all this. caveat emptor. the good news is that both passport and valentine have return policies - by both and return one. doody. | ||
| philip (Fanatic1)
New member Username: Fanatic1 Post Number: 33 Registered: 2-2003 |
Does anyone know much about the "new' Phazer....it sends out one signal that says you're going one speed, and another signal that says your going another....the apparent "confusion" registers a "zero" on both a radar gun and a laser gun......it's not a "blocker" it just sends out a signal that basically registers a 0 mile an hour read out....you can check it out at technoscout. com..... | ||
| Dr Tommy Cosgrove (Vwalfa4re)
Member Username: Vwalfa4re Post Number: 701 Registered: 5-2001 |
The BEST REVIEW? YOURS!!! The Escort, etc. I'm sure has great range, just like the V1. However the differences are measured by equipment that may show a difference in range in feet, yards, whatever. Who cares if one will beep at one mile and the other will do it at two miles. One mile is fine. BUT WHERE IS HE??? Either detector is going to sniff a revenue collector with plenty of warning distance. So get the one you think fits you best. I guarantee it will be the one with the arrows. I can't tell you how many times mine went off with a back arrow flashing. I don't even slow down. I just watch the signal strength and my mirrors. What is the first thing you are going to do when the Escort goes off EVERY TIME? | ||
| Peter Polasek (Peterp)
Junior Member Username: Peterp Post Number: 64 Registered: 8-2002 |
The excerpt below is from the radartest.com "About Us" page. It implies that they don't have any ties to manufacturers -- I checked this before starting the thread. It certainly is a comfort to know that they have spared us from the "mindless puffery" of the radar vendors: Our sole objective is to serve as a clearinghouse for information about radar detectors� electronic speed�measuring technology and countermeasures. Instead of relying on mindless puffery from retailers and manufacturers� check us out to get the real low�down on what works and what doesn�t. We do not sell radar detectors nor do we solicit or accept gratuities from manufacturers. Our staff members are driving enthusiasts� racers� veterans of flat�out coast�to�coast Cannonball Runs and heartfelt proponents of the New Hampshire state motto: Live Free or Die. | ||
| John Lee (Gjockey)
New member Username: Gjockey Post Number: 44 Registered: 12-2002 |
For radar, it seems the V1 is always the people's favorite from real world usage. However, I'm curious if there's any clear cut device for laser traps. Has anybody tried those "laser diffusers" ? Also, is laser the type of thing that needs to be aimed at a specific spot on your car or can a cop be sitting in his car with the laser device shooting a broad area? --- John | ||
| Mr. Doody (Doody)
Member Username: Doody Post Number: 866 Registered: 11-2001 |
to follow up what dennis said, the rumor mill has been rampant on that site for literally years now. my understanding is that this guy consults actively for all the manufacturers EXCEPT valentine. furthermore, i have on two separate occassions asked them to disclose their relationships with the manufacturers of the units they are reviewing and both times they have not responded at all. i haven't been there in forever, but i remember when i was digging info up they were fairly careful to not claim to be unbiased, unaffiliated, or independent. doody. PS: happy V1 owner | ||
| Rob Schermerhorn (Rexrcr)
Member Username: Rexrcr Post Number: 326 Registered: 11-2002 |
V1 all the way, worth every penny. I'm on my second one, so I've owned the first gen. first month of production, and just upgraded last year (over ten years of loving ownership). It's also nice that they offered the new unit exchange at a discount ($100) for return of my old one. As an engineer, I can relate to the difference between properly presented scientific evaluations and opinion / biased conjecture. I've always loved C/D's evaluations since the early eighties, when their results convinced me to invest in the first gen Passport, which I still have as a paperweight. (Valentine was behind that design, too.) | ||
| wm hart (Whart)
Member Username: Whart Post Number: 783 Registered: 12-2001 |
Hey, Dennis. Welcome aboard. | ||
| Peter Polasek (Peterp)
Junior Member Username: Peterp Post Number: 63 Registered: 8-2002 |
This feedback sheds a lot of light. It didn't seem plausible that both Escort and Bell could sponsor it, but it seemed far less plausible that this was a valid test. Either a direct or consulting relationship between Bell and Escort explains that. I guess the real question is why isn't Mike Valentine suing Craig? Radar tests are obviously subjective, but there are so many issues with this test that he probably has a case. I listed several huge holes in the analysis without having even using any of the products reviewed. There is no question that Valentine has lost a lot of business (my friend's included) as a result of this "test". | ||
| Dennis (Bighead)
New member Username: Bighead Post Number: 31 Registered: 2-2003 |
FYI, Craig Peterson is the man behind the radartest site. There has been some controversy surrounding him; see: http://www.valentine1.com/lab/V1Hater.asp for Mike Valentine's refutation. Is this a situation of "he said, he said"? Well, you be the judge. In every single quantitative test conducted by every single magazine that I've seen or heard of (admittedly, not a scientific sampling, but still), the Valentine 1 has come out as the overall winner -- EXCEPT for those tests that Peterson conducts. Interesting that HE ALONE picks other detectors, while Car & Driver, Road & Track, Roundel and other magazines all have ranked V1 first? Additionally, you'll see that Mike Valentine points out lots of problems with Craig Peterson's "test". Among the most glaring: Peterson stated that the V1 was "by far the largest and heaviest unit tested..." The truth? According to Valentine, "On our scale, Passport is heaviest at 8.9 ounces followed by V1 at 8.6 and the BEL at 8.0. Only V1 has a metal case (magnesium), the others are plastic. Passport is also the longest by a huge margin at 5.29 inches, followed by the BEL at 4.72 inches. V1 is shortest at 4.46 inches, more than a quarter inch shorter than the BEL and nearly an inch shorter than Passport. In thickness, all are within 0.1 of an inch (V1 is thickest). Only in width is V1 significantly larger than the others, but the difference between them is less than the difference in length." And, as Valentine states, "If [Peterson] can't get a simple comparison of dimensions right, imagine the reliability of his performance testing." Well, then, is the V1 worth the extra $100? For that extra $100, whether or NOT the V1 is more sensitive, you also get the ability to detect the DIRECTION from which the radar is coming, as well as the NUMBER of sources of emissions. Both of those features are worth far more to me than, arguendo, any marginal extra sensitivity (which, IMHO, the Passport does NOT have). Bottom line, this "testing" site is published by an industry consultant who has worked for, and received payment from, Escort, but has never worked for Valentine. Again, in all of the other tests that I've seen --other than Peterson's--, the V1 has come out on top, including those tests run by the incredibly independent techno-geeks at Car & Driver. vty, --Dennis | ||
| Dave Wapinski (Davewapinski)
Member Username: Davewapinski Post Number: 518 Registered: 8-2001 |
Based on Car & Driver and comments on Ferrarichat, went with V-1. Think it is overpriced, but love it. Would NOT buy any other brand unless some breakthrough technology becomes available. | ||
| Steven R. Rochlin (Enjoythemusic)
Junior Member Username: Enjoythemusic Post Number: 227 Registered: 4-2002 |
V1... except no substitutes. Worth it's weight in Verell's Unobtainium :-) Enjoy the Drive, Steven R. Rochin | ||
| Chris Horner (Cmhorner17)
Junior Member Username: Cmhorner17 Post Number: 105 Registered: 4-2002 |
I do remember that the main tester on the website (Craig Peterson) used to write reviews for a major magazine. However, it came out that he used to work for Bel and can't do those tests anymore for whatever magazine it was. And if my feeble memeory serves, Escort and Bel are one company now. So that would explain the test results. In fact, go to any enthusiast website, do a search for radar detector, and you will see V1 overwhelmingly recommended. | ||
| ken rentiers (Rentiers)
Junior Member Username: Rentiers Post Number: 113 Registered: 2-2003 |
Peter I have both a V1 and the new Escort. I used the Escort on one trip and went back to the V1. I don't care about relative range, both will let you know in plenty of time. | ||
| Peter Polasek (Peterp)
Junior Member Username: Peterp Post Number: 62 Registered: 8-2002 |
Sorry for the long post, but after reading the Chris Sawyer thread, this seams like a much better case for the F-chat sleuths: Is radartest.com secretly sponsored? A friend of mine indicated he was buying the Escort 8500 over the Valentine V1 based upon the following: http://www.radartest.com/DS4HEM.html Knowing the vast preference for the V1 from F-chat, I was curious to read the test. My conclusion, even without owning either an Escort or V1, is that radartest.com is co-sponsored by Escort and Bell. The only other possibility is that radartest.com is incompetent (due to heavy personal bias) or, of course, that the Escort and Bell really are better. I�m curious to see what other people think. Here are the issues I have with the test: � Why is laser detection, where the V1 performed best, completely trivialized in the written text � According to F-chat, the V1 allows X-band to be both turned off and fine-tuned, so why does radartest.com say it can�t be turned off in the V1? � Why is rear and side detection trivialized? They state that it rare that rear and side detection is beneficial � maybe, but will you feel any better when you get a ticket? Their comments that the V1 false alarms from rear and side sources seems like inadvertent admission that the V1 is better at off-center detection, but they slant it to be a negative and of course don�t post any rear and side detection results. Other tests show the V1 to be MUCH better at rear and side and none of them draw radartests.com�s conclusion that this is a useless feature. Additionally, Escort�s new high-end SRX model includes a rear-mounted detection unit, so apparently even Escort thinks this is important. � Radartest.com is the only reviewer that places almost no value to the directional indicators. This is a huge distinguishing advantage of the V1 that seems to be universally praised by everyone who has used it. Most high quality detectors give adequate warnings, the difference is the information the detector provides to distinguish the source � knowing that the radar is behind you, to the side, or in front of you is important, not too mention the safety factor of knowing where to look for the radar since most people do look when they get an alert. Ask 1000 people if they want their detector to indicate the location of the radar source and, with the possible exception of Dan Quayle, 1000 people will say yes � so why doesn�t radartest.com attach any value to this feature. The best they can do is give a back-handed compliment that implies the direction signals might work under absolutely ideal circumstances: �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� � Similarly, they don�t see any value in the bogey counter. If you see a count higher than normal in a known false alarm area, this means that a cop is hiding there. Why didn�t they test this since they had radar guns at their disposal? Instead, they only point out cases where it where it gave false alerts � again representing only the negative side while not even testing the possible advantage of this feature. � They criticize the Car & Driver tests for determining that K/Ka band sensitivity is decreased in city mode when radartest.com �knows� that city mode affects only X-band. I trust a source that actually tests something rather than assuming the manufacturers statements to be accurate � so for the �assumer� to criticize the �tester� for testing seems particularly brazen. � Why wouldn�t an objective source include all test results in a comparison chart? Instead, they bury results in the text with comments like �350 percent better than ��. This is elementary Specsmanship 101 -- the classic approach to making statistics work to the author�s advantage. A chart including raw stats (including laser, rear, side, �) might lead readers to draw different conclusions from the results. � The text includes phrases (like �the hotshot BEL�) that don�t sound unbiased to me � Although they talk about a controlled �10-mile city loop�, they appear to mix in results from outside the control area. Most tests point out specifically where the detectors false alarmed. No specific references here � except for the �town of 121 souls� where the V1 bogey counter went crazy � and the �121 soul� description of the location pretty much excludes it from being part of the �city� route. So did other detectors false alarm there? We don�t know. The implication is that the Bell and Escort had only 1 false alarm each and the V1 had the huge unspecified number --if these false alarm comments had really been limited to an identical route, they would have been much more specific. I am not qualified to critique the article � the only detector I currently own is a 1986 vintage that came built-in on my Mondial. I haven�t even turned it on based on the assumption it�s functionality these days is largely limited to helping Stevie Wonder locate the entrance doors at the Piggley Wiggley. In my high school days I did have a Fox detector in the front window and a Fuzzbuster in the rear, so I�d be happy to submit a review of these if anyone has an interest � but I digress. I�m curious to see what other people think about radartest.com. It seems to me to be a complete, and thinly disguised, snow job. |