[Moose///M6]

My friend just purchased the Valentine V1 and we tried it out in my car. Most the time it would pick up all the cruisers, but it missed maybe once or twice. The nice thing about the V1 is that it tells you which direction its picking up signals from and how strong the signal strength is. Although nearing the end of the night, the V1 was reading 1 cruiser behind us, signal strength was only at 1, as I saw crown victoria lights getting closer I told my friend to take it down quick. So he did and it turned out it was an officer. Radar detectors are illegal in Virginia, so he almost lost his $400 toy hahaha.

From the reviews I've read, the V1 and the Passport (?, either passport or escort, forgot the name) were the popular ones.

 

[Bimmerracer7080]

I have the STI Driver and I live in Northern Virginia, I never take it down
because it is the only radar that is
stealth to radar detector detector
Excellent quality but pricey $500
but I think it went down a little.

so if you are planing to travel to VA allot
STI is your best bit for now.

there is a new detector by escort I think
you can plug it in the PC to download
speed traps data and other info online!
I think the model number is 9### but
it is not stealth like the STI.

 

[Lummox]

If you live or spend most of your time in Virginia, you may want to consider the stealthy http://www.beltronics.com/sti.html as it is virtually undetectable by the radar detector detector. Read their website for more. I had a couple of V1's, although was NOT happy with the number of false alarms, nor the failure rate. Very happy with the STI Driver..........

 

[NigelM5]

I think (and am supported by many reviews) that for shear perfomance, the Valentine V1 is the best. It really works well but I don't rountinely use it because it is physically so large and require unsightly cord.

I had a remote Passport SRX in my e39 M5 and it worked VERY well. Since it is remote there are no visible wires, etc. Laser 'shifter' worked well too. Not Cheap. $1000+

I just recently had a k40 Calibre system installed in another car. This has bluetooth so there are no wires running to thru the firewall. It has laser and front/rear detectors with laser 'shifter' jammer. It is controlled by a small remote. Completely stealth. Two concerns, the audible signal could be louder (i.e loud enough for me to hear with music on and windows open at speed) but the LED's are very nice. I plan on getting another for my M6.

 

[sheltorj]

I brought an Escort Passport cordless at Best Buy for about $399. I've always seen them highly rated in test. :2: They may have come down. I don't think they are any better as a single direction unit than any other detector but the cordless part is great option. The batteries last three months.

 

[Gadgetman]

Valentine One is my favorite however, they're not sold at Best Buy.

How much do you plan to spend? Perhaps go ahead and order the V1 and keep the Gift Card for another occasion.

Merry Christmas,

 

[NV M6]

Valentine One is my favorite however, they're not sold at Best Buy.

How much do you plan to spend? Perhaps go ahead and order the V1 and keep the Gift Card for another occasion.

Merry Christmas,

+1

V1 is the way to go as the directional arrows are helpful.

 

[kwan]

I have the Bel Pro RX65. Supposed to be on par with Valentine. Only thing about Valentine were the reports of the chip breaking when exposed to summer heat in the car. That would be a problem in Houston.

 

[psybj]

Valentine One

Have owned many.

I use only Valentine One now. If someone gave me another brand I would give it away and purchase a V1.

They are sold thru the Manuf ONLY but someone can buy and resell for a profit. When you input V1 in search sometimes the site that comes up is a place that buys them for $400, then resells them for $500.

Be careful to buy ONLY from Cincinnati Microwave.

BTW they take care of them forever for you. Something goes wrong, ship it back and they fix it, no cost.

 

[psybj]

Hook-up

Have hooked up many V1s in many cars.

Simply tie in to a switched circuit and wire at top, out of headliner where it hits the windshield. Will always be on when you turn the engine on, off when you leave. I mount on passenger visor but have also mounted above the rear view mirror on some cars. Without the wires it can only be seen if someone looks hard trying to find it.

 

[Bimmerracer7080]

Have hooked up many V1s in many cars.

Simply tie in to a switched circuit and wire at top, out of headliner where it hits the windshield. Will always be on when you turn the engine on, off when you leave. I mount on passenger visor but have also mounted above the rear view mirror on some cars. Without the wires it can only be seen if someone looks hard trying to find it.

Thats where my STI sits
above the rear view mirror covered by the headliner and hardwired from
behind the headliner to center light unit and connected to it,
open the doors with the remote and the unit turns on unless I turned it off
before leaving the car; by the far the best spot for long range coverage
and in my case I also get rear detector coverage although it is blocked by the headliner.

 

[kwan]

Has anyone sent out their V1 for repair?
If so, how'd you find out it wasnt working properly?
Just trying to figure out if the reports of the V1s going bad while displaying normal function is true.

 

[Cosmos]

V1 for me!

 

[Lummox]

Yup, bought 2 V1's, and they both failed. Gave the indication of no threat, while my Bel 8500 was going crazy. Couldn't believe that the second one failed that fast as well. I had to return both of them within a couple of months.

I have 3 BEL RX65's, one on each motorcycle, and a BEL STi Driver in the beast. The RX65's have been cross country on motorcycle(s), rode with me on the Continental Divide on a dirt bike, through endless rain storms on my street bike, and have had no failures. There is one weird thing going on with these RX65's. After prolonged exposure to the heat, the volume control myteriously runs up to maximum, then back down to minimum, and back to max again. This can go on endlessly. It doesne't bother me, as I can't hear them on the open road, especially with the speakers in my helmet blasting music. I actually have the HARD system, which has a little UHF transmitter on the handlebar next to the RX65, and a UHF receiver on my helmet, connected to a bright red LED just below the helmet visor. When a threat is detected, I can easlily see the red LED flashing just above my line of sight. Works VERY good.

So, needless to say, the BEL RX65 has proven itself to me, from 25F to 120F!

I was actually disappointed by the V1's performance......

 

[Red_M6]

another STI user here. Has saved my *** a few times.

 

[Kelster]

Beltronics RX-75 plus

Beltronics RX-75 plus http://www.beltronics.com/rx75plus.html - radar detector and laser jammer. Anyone have any experience with it? I don't seem to be able to find any discussion about it on the usual forums possibly because it's too new.

Lists for $1099 at Circuit City, but Amazon has it on sale for under $600. http://www.amazon.com/Beltronics-RX...?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1198717585&sr=1-12

 

[kwan]

Yup, bought 2 V1's, and they both failed. Gave the indication of no threat, while my Bel 8500 was going crazy. Couldn't believe that the second one failed that fast as well. I had to return both of them within a couple of months.

I have 3 BEL RX65's, one on each motorcycle, and a BEL STi Driver in the beast. The RX65's have been cross country on motorcycle(s), rode with me on the Continental Divide on a dirt bike, through endless rain storms on my street bike, and have had no failures. There is one weird thing going on with these RX65's. After prolonged exposure to the heat, the volume control myteriously runs up to maximum, then back down to minimum, and back to max again. This can go on endlessly. It doesne't bother me, as I can't hear them on the open road, especially with the speakers in my helmet blasting music. I actually have the HARD system, which has a little UHF transmitter on the handlebar next to the RX65, and a UHF receiver on my helmet, connected to a bright red LED just below the helmet visor. When a threat is detected, I can easlily see the red LED flashing just above my line of sight. Works VERY good.

So, needless to say, the BEL RX65 has proven itself to me, from 25F to 120F!

I was actually disappointed by the V1's performance......

Thats the worse way for it to fail. That was the only reason I went with Beltronics

 

[RaDaRkInG]

The Valentine One is the best at detecting radar and laser.

http://www.guysoflidar.com/august-2007/radar-detector-test.html

http://www.laserveil.com/laser-detector-performance/

http://www.laserveil.com/laser-detectors/tests-reviews-comparisons/charts-by-radar-detector/

http://www.laserveil.com/laser-detectors/tests-reviews-comparisons/charts-by-police-laser-gun/

http://www.laserveil.com/laser-detectors/tests-reviews-comparisons/tables-by-radar-detector/

http://www.laserveil.com/laser-detectors/tests-reviews-comparisons/tables-by-police-laser-gun/

 

[Glen]

Have owned many.

I use only Valentine One now. If someone gave me another brand I would give it away and purchase a V1.

They are sold thru the Manuf ONLY but someone can buy and resell for a profit. When you input V1 in search sometimes the site that comes up is a place that buys them for $400, then resells them for $500.

Be careful to buy ONLY from Cincinnati Microwave.

BTW they take care of them forever for you. Something goes wrong, ship it back and they fix it, no cost.

"Be careful to buy ONLY from Cincinnati Microwave" The V1 isn't made by Cincinnati Microwave.