I just got one a month ago before my 1,000 mile San Antonio trip. I love it! Has already saved me several times. Last weekend coming back from Kansas it started going off 3 miles before a cop passed me going the other direction. I have a 10 year old K40 installed too and it only goes off about 10% the time of the V1. I quickly learned to set it to "L" mode, I think called Super Intelligence or something like that. In that mode you don't get all the Wal-Marts setting off your X band. In "L" mode you only get the X bands it's software thinks are truly bogeys. It will drive you nuts with X going off in "A" All bogeys mode. I love it! Should have got it a year ago before I got 3 tickets in 2 months.
Art - I would go and Add the Blinder Xtreme 20 to your set up - This is the laser Jammer - For Radar the systems work fine - but if you get tagged with a laser (without the jammer) you will get notified - but if they were tagging you (ie - were not targeting cars in front of you) - by the time yours goes off you would already be busted. However if you are driving with others around (as opposed to open roads no one around) - you will be fine (most of the time) - since the police are targeting people way up ahead of you - your Valentine will go off - due to that with plenty of notice. I just put the blinders on my 355 spider - and they are awesome - you can point a laser at any point of the car - and the gun will not even detect a reading... Not a diffuser - but a jammer. Pretty cool. $399 for the full set up. PS. this is not a Radar Dectector - I have the K40 for that - this just detects and jams lasers...
Pay attention. The only real problem with a V1 is that it is too good. On a relatively flat interstate, you'll start getting hits that are several miles away. You'll get a hit and then nothing, and you start thinking that it was a false read until... Of course, laser is too late. Not that I ever drive over the posted speed limits. I get all this from friends.
Thanks for the advice. Since I'll be driving in Oregon for the next few months, I'll need to research their system for ticketing. Rob: Three tickets in 2 months. Awesome!. I once got 2 tickets on the same day, but I was riding a bike, and acting a little crazy at the time. It was almost 40 years ago, when that happened. Art
Art, bikes are dangerous. My roommate freshman year of College, got 3 total tickets in 42 days. One for speeding downhill on his bike in the hills of Berkeley (though he was on the Cal Bicycle team). He then got a ticket on a skateboard on the sidewalk, and then he got another ticket running a red light on his bicycle. He didn't have a car in college, becuase his above shinanigans (sp?) allowed the CA dmv to suspend his license for 15 months, since all the above were moving violations!!! Good luck with the V1, the Oregon highways are brutal for CA drivers, be careful out there.
jeez, don't you guys know how to adjust and use the mute on the V1? It makes life so much more pleasant. Art- if you have somebody hardwire it into the headliner frame near your rearview, it is also virtually invisible from the outside. (I have another one that is integrated into the rearview mirror itself, but that's alot more involved).
There is a new threat inside patrol cars. The Bee III(manufactured by MPH Industries) radar unit has "POP-mode". This feature allows the radar to transmit in bursts too brief for detectors to hear it, which means, if you are using a radar detector without POP detection... you are F'd! I couldn't find any mention of POP detection on V1's site. This is NOT an endorsement, due to the fact the Valentine seems to be the official radar detector of Ferrari owners, but one of the next best units that tested 4000 foot detection of POP-mode is the Bell RX55 and RX65. Safe travels, Gabe
Just got mine last week. It seems that for around town even in full Logic mode I get lot's of hits. I guess I'll get to know the regulars and pay attention to the others. I plan on using mine mostly on the highway. Saved me twice already on a quick drive just the other day (they were everywhwere!!).
The big L for me too. One other thing, watch out for Envoy's & Trailblazers. There's a few others out there, but when they hit the brakes, laser goes off like crazy. Kinda annoying. Learn your area. Learn where the typical kwik-e marts set off the radar, and the count. It will take a short while, but will become natural. Don't shut off X, especially in Texas. There are revenue assessing counties in the backroads that still use X. BTW, I also use the remote, because I hate having people follow me at speed because they see the radar in thecar. Helps greatly and I don't feel so strange when a cop follows me for a while.
Hello Art, My tips for Valentine: Here in Marin County, I programed my X band to the off position. The K still seems relevant to some of our police departments devices. I encounter a lot of false K, but the valentine's counter can be utilized to know when a real K exists. Whenever a Ka hits...I find that's a real alarm. Lastly, hard wire it in. Ken
I use my V1 on my scoot using the amplifier from Valentine and a speaker in the helmet (works ok even with earplugs in). I use a big piece of velcro on a special platform that goes in the steering head behind the wind screen. Don't the to use the little suction cups on a motorcycle. I would never ride with out it.
Yes, I've found most real bogey's are Ka, 2nd would be K. Don't know if I've ever had the top one go off. I'm pretty happy, in the little experience I've had with coming up on about 20 bogeys. Only once or twice did it go off so late I wouldn't have been able to slow down. Once I could tell he was standing outside the car shutting it on and off. The reason I went so long without a good detector is I think just being smart you can avoid a ticket 90% of the time. Always look up ahead, always watch cars in front getting on the brakes at once, always stay in packs, and everyone knows the usual places at overpasses and hills that they like. However, in the Ferrari my problem was I would get picked out of a pack or even get pulled over for only going 7-9 over. That never happens in my other cars. Actually, in the truck I can go 15-20 over and they won't touch me as I think they're afraid of Texas 'good ole boys'.
The top one doesn't go off by itself. If you get hit with laser, they all light up like a christmas tree. trailblazers & envoys make the laser go off when they brake. you'll see soon enough!
Actually when I drove by Wal-Mart, the bogey counter went up to 9 on k band. Extremely annoying so I turned k off, as well as x.
I would recommend as has been said killing x band right away. Find out if police use K band in your area. If they do leave it on, if not turn it off. You will soon learn to hate drivers of infinity fx-45's. There laser cruise control sets off the V1. Good investment.
IIRC the operation manual for the MPH BEE III has a disclaimer saying that POP mode should not be used to gather evidence for a speeding citation. Valentine tested this radar unit and found that it was very unreliable and would give readings all over the board. Don't know if the police or DA have ever looked at the manual. I would get the laser jammers too, they use light so they are not regulated by the FCC and are legal in most places. I've been wanting to get some for a long time but since I only drive short distances I have not done it.
First and foremost, the V1 will not make you invincible. It helps tip you off, but use common sense and try not to be too excessive in areas you don't know, around bends, and other areas where you can't see far ahead of you. Watch taillights up ahead. Learn where it goes off on your regular routes. You learn to tell if it's real or not depending on the persistence or pattern of the beeps. I usually switch between A and L depending on the area I'm in. A is All-Bogeys the half-'L' is Logic and filters out a lot of the bogeys, but lights up as a fail-safe and the 'L' is Advanced Logic and filters out most of the crap. 'J' is for junk I've had times where the laser goes off every 10 seconds and I've just had to turn it off because it became too annoying. The few times I've actually been tagged by laser, it's stayed on longer than most times where taillights set it off. Anyways, be safe, be smart, enjoy it.
What Velentine website were you on? "Valentine One has full-time POP Protection. Just plug in, light up, and youre covered. Why should it be any other way? V1s warning range on POP is beyond the others, too. They trim back warning range on POP to reduce false alarms. V1s superior engineering gives range on POP thats beyond them, and beyond line of sight. The famous brands cover only Ka band, too. V1 provides coverage beyond Kaspecifically the MPH Industries models Enforcer (K and Ka) and the BEE III (Ka). " This is not an endorsment either. Just right off their website.