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Message |
Dennis (Bighead)
Junior Member
Username: Bighead
Post Number: 63
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, March 27, 2003 - 11:26 pm: | |
And, FWIW, I totally agree with Mitch - radartest.com is BOGUS. Check the archives here or at FerrariList. I've posted this a few times:
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Kris wrote:
>There is a new passport out that is supposed to be better than the V1.
It's about the same price I think.
>http://www.highperformanceparts.net/Escort/8500.html
>Here is a better link for comparing RDs.
>http://www.radartest.com/DS4HEM.html
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The topic of "which radar detector" comes up on the F-List pretty frequently. For more info, interested parties can check the archives (both on the Ferrari List and here on the rennlist, but here's what I wrote previously:
+++++++++++
Bill wrote in response to my defense of the V1:
>Well, no. The report was on a website and I cannot find the darned link.
It was a head to head done recently. And the V1 lost.
>Ah. Here it is:
http://www.radartest.com/
>The V1 does not justify the increased cost, IMHO. And it is also bulkier.
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, Bimmer and other magazines all have ranked V1 first?
Additionally, you'll see that he 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...", much like what you stated above about the V1 being bulkier.
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."
So, by "bulkier", do you mean the V1 is lighter and shorter, but .1" thicker and slightly wider?
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, the "testing" you cite comes from 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 |
Dennis (Bighead)
Junior Member
Username: Bighead
Post Number: 62
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, March 27, 2003 - 11:22 pm: | |
I posted this on the FerrariList last February.
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2002 2:45 PM
Subject: RE: Valentine One Source?
Brian wrote:
> Have any of y'all heard of the Passport SRX? I don't all the particulars,
> but I believe it has 3 sensors for the front of the car and 1 for the rear.
> It can detect and reflect the radar signal essentially making you
> "invisible". As I said, I haven't completely studied the info, but we are
> selling the hell outta them. I think they're $1900 installed.
> I can find out more if anyone is interested.
Charles added:
I think finding out more is an absolute necessity. It can't make you
invisible if it's not an active jammer, and active jammers are illegal (FCC
unlicensed radar transmitter), so I doubt they would be marketing it or you
would be selling it - too much liability.
Is it just a fancier K-40 type with the multiple antennas?
_________
The Passport SRX is, as you point out, a K-40 type detector with multiple antennas (but not even as good as a K40!! See below). It is NOT a _radar_ jammer; what it calls its "laser shifter" is, in fact, a laser jammer -- though they don't come out and say that in so many words. While radar jammers violate FCC regulations, the FCC does not regulate laser usage (that's up to the FDA), so jamming lasers is not illegal. The SRX is a radar detector, laser detector, and laser jammer.
Escort also sells the laser jamming portion separately, for $500 (MSRP, installed) -- the ZR3. The MSRP for the full Passport SRX, installed, is $1500. The MSRP for the Passport SR1 is $1000, installed. What is the SR1? Well, the laser jammer alone is $500, the full SRX is $1500, but the SR1 is $1000 -- take a guess. Yup, it's just the radar and laser detector portion of the system, without the jammer gear.
If you browse around the Escort site, you can find links to some positive reviews, but there are NO reviews that compare the SR1/SRX to the Valentine 1.
Here's where the SR1/SRX totally FAILS, in my judgment; it has modules for front and rear LASER detection, but only one module (front) for RADAR protection. The number of Laser hits from the rear are incredibly, incredibly rare, but radar from the rear is not uncommon. So, how does the Passport protect you from the rear?? Using only one radar module, mounted somewhere in the front grille area, with all that metal shielding it from radar signals from the rear??? If you take a look at their literature, Passport relies on REFLECTIONS from radar signals from the rear -- reflections that bounce off trees, signs, overpasses, trucks, etc., to alert you to police behind you. Great....
Also, while Passport has finally gotten around to building a display that can show the NUMBER of radar signals, it still does not tell you WHERE the signals are coming from -- a critical feature, IMHO.
As for cost, $1900 or $1500 or even $1000 is ridiculous, IMHO. If I really wanted a mounted detector, I'd get a V1 with the hidden display module, and hit the V1 box somehere in the cabin -- one guy did it in a box of tissues, another guy did it in his center-high-mounted-rear-brake-light box. You can get the remote display embedded in your rearview mirror for a really trick installation too. And it'd still be WAY less than the SRX or the SR1. If I lived in a jurisdiction with signficiant Laser problems, I might consider the ZR3 jammer system, but I'd also look at the much cheaper license-plate laser jammer systems.
Lastly, I don't know where the hell you'd mount a K40 or SR1/SRX on some modern mid/rear engined cars. The front radar module can't be blocked by metal; I'm trying to picture where on my 355 it would go. Maybe, on Ferraris, they mount them behind the bumper. Also, the HIGHER the receiver, the more effective it is.
As it stands, I've got the V1 hardwired in two vehicles (thanks, Charles!!!). If I need to park in an area where I don't feel completely safe, I (a) unplug the power wire from the V1, like a phone jack, and (b) slide it out of the mount (or remove the mount too. 3 seconds. And I save at least $500. And I can take it with me on trips with a rental car, or use one detector for multiple vehicles. Still, I suppose there are those drivers who just really enjoy a simple, installed radar solution, even if it doesn't provide as much information/warning -- the ease of living with a fully-installed detector makes up for it, I guess, in their minds.
That's my $.02....
======================
Subsequently, Graham added:
>I can personally vouch for the fact that you can't mount the SR1 on a 355.
Period. There is a huge steel bar behind the bumper that makes installation
impossible there due to the depth of the detector unit. I gave up and stuck
with my Valentine.
vty,
--Dennis
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Mitch Alsup (Mitch_alsup)
Member
Username: Mitch_alsup
Post Number: 425
Registered: 4-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, March 27, 2003 - 11:30 am: | |
This is the same craig peterson that consistently rates the Valentine one lower than other stuff--while Car&DRiver, Road&Track and actual independent test rate V1 at the top, each and every test, over the last ten years.
http://www.valentine1.com/demo/demo2.asp |
Jason Fraser (Jfraser)
Member
Username: Jfraser
Post Number: 282
Registered: 3-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, March 27, 2003 - 1:47 am: | |
Eric,
I have the SR-1, and a seperate laser diffuser...System works very well, and the laser diffuser is superb....I've been 'gunned' twice in the past 6 weeks, and both times I have gotten the desired result...a cop looking confused as to why his laser didn't work |
Eric (Vette)
New member
Username: Vette
Post Number: 18
Registered: 3-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, March 27, 2003 - 1:14 am: | |
i am not affiliated with this company in any way... we all know the speech, right? anyway here is a link for those of you who are curious what these units are
http://www.radartest.com/article.asp?articleid=1048
youll have to scroll down past two other models to see the passports. the last one comes with the shifter technology and the second to last one can have the shifter unit installed with it.
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Eric (Vette)
New member
Username: Vette
Post Number: 16
Registered: 3-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, March 27, 2003 - 12:55 am: | |
let me start with the usual.. I dont street race, or speed on highways occupied by other cars...anyway, does anyone here have either the SR7 or the SRX concealable modules with the laser "shifter" unit? ive read in quite a few places that the SR7/SRX's ability to use the "laser shifting" technology are the only units that are actually capable of evading police laser, unlike the phaser/black widow/scorpion units. from what I understand it doesnt block the beam, but rather "redirects" the beam bouncing off the car in a different direction than the laser gun intended.. for instance, ohh, maybe by guiding it directly into the pavement. Id go out, buy one, and tell you all how it works, but the base price of the SR7(which is the cheaper of the two) goes for around $1100 and you have to have it professionally installed. so... any comments? experience with these? and can somebody please post a link to an area other than the ferrari owners site that has the 355 manual in .pdf format? thanks! |
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