Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/22 for details.
A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/22 for details.
Options
Comments
No, you can turn on your TV in the morning, and see how busy the traffic is before you depart for work.
If you mean the VG-2 protection, that is pretty much standard with all modern detectors. That won't block radar, but it will keep them from picking up on the fact that you have a detector.
to MongoaPawn re: Automobile Magazine report....
Instant on is the ONLY radar that poses a challenge to ANY modern detector. You are absolutely correct regarding anti-falsing being a very important feature of the detector. Speedlabs did *several runs* per detector against instant-on. I've NEVER ONCE, ever, while driving with a good, modern detector, failed to pick up a stationary always-on radar AT ANY TIME. They are NO CHALLENGE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, REGARDLESS OF TERRAIN. Instant-on is another story. I drove with cobra RD3120 in an X & K band state & sometimes, you hear the instant-on blip in front of you, sometimes, your first warning is the meter pegging. So, I would say, that given the *facts* of radar, 11000 feet versus 8000 feet of "range" is absolutely irrelevant as *any modern detector* can beat a stationary radar. However, good detectors can beat instant on, *some* of the time, and how often is dictated by a) luck (foremost) and b) detector sensitivity. Naturally, having one that has poor anti-falsing is bad. The V1 is an absolutely phenomenal detector, #2 according to Speedlabs, #1 or #2 according to everyone else's reviews. The BEL 855/955 is also very good, and bested V1 against Ka stationary and Ka instant-on (Speedlabs), which is the *most* challenging radar band. X band is so easy to detect as to not even be worth testing any more. K is getting the same way, as long as it ain't instant-on. Ka band is the more modern, has the narrowest beam of the 3, and has newer, low-power instant-on modes, to make it tougher to detect down the road.
As far as jammers go, the passive ones are a toaster, junk, they do not work. The Phantom RCD will jam X band analog & a Falcon (I believe) K band gun, NO Ka band. As pointed out, it is FCC illegal, and is also illegal in some states. You can buy one at http://www.car-trek.com/jammers/. It is the only radar jammer that works.
As far as laser jammers, some will jam both the LTI Marskman LIDAR and the other major LIDAR gun brand all the way to the gun, using both headlights & license plate as targets. The top rated one (by Speedlabs) was the K40 Laser Diffuser, but there are others with varying degrees of effectiveness. They also cost $$$ and mount to your license plate, so don't mess up parallel parking or else it's smashola.
As far as VA goes, it's a $40 ticket w/ no points to have a detector. They cannot confiscate it.
anyone know something more about it?!
http://www.sodi.com/et_autov.htm
this sweet tool is the most common device used by law enforcement in europe....most of the time linked to a camera...
do you know if there is anything against it, even if the producer claims it's undetectability?
I suppose you would need some sort of bouncing back active-radar....
I'm moving soon to Italy and I'm afraid my lame uniden won't be much of an help against those sneaky laser beams....
for Craig Peterson's review of radar detectors;
The number 2 choice is the Uniden LRD6599SWS
that you can buy at:
http://www.uniden.com/docs/store/itemlist.cfm?cattype=prd
for only $126 ("like new") + $12 for FEDEX 2-day shipping. That's 1/3 of the price of the Valentine One!
Day after day, this has proven to be the smartest money I've ever spent. It has prevented a pullover DOZENS and DOZENS of times, mostly on surface streets where speed limits are 25-35-45 and the township cruisers only use radar and have lots of places to hide. I've read comments that the V1's locator arrows and the bogey counter are useless; I couldn't disagree more. When I drive my fiance's car and use her cordless Escort Solo, I find myself looking at the thing and wishing it would tell me where the cruiser is, or being able to count the hits so I know it it's an automatic door or something. I also feel sorry for those who want one and say they can't spend the $400....my advice is, babysit, walk your neighbor's dog, eat canned corn for a month, but get the money together! It is worth it! Go ahead and ask how many V1 owners in this forum regretted their purchase. Delivering pizza for nine hours a night gives a detector a workout like no other driving, and since I bought mine there are two other drivers who have bought V1s.
Yes, in the dark, they do light up like Christmas trees, which can be a problem. I've mounted mine to the visor, and ran the power cord
under the side moulding down to the fuse box. I've never had anyone indicate that they've seen it. Another driver took the guts out of a VHS cassette and put his V1 in it. He just lets it sit on the dashboard. The cassette has a clear window he can see the lights through. The third guy uses the remote display unit. He is hiding the main unit on the rear deck of his car, INSIDE the housing for the third brake light. He says it works fine back there. (Yeah, I admit we sometimes have too much time on our hands.)
I'm gonna buy a new truck next week, and I'll be getting a new V1 for it too!
Chris
The above-mentioned Autovelox device is unbeatable, though it probably doesn't work well in the rain. You can always go over 190mph and it can't measure your speed then! The device is no more than a stopwatch...the cops might as well just put those run-over sensors in or on the road...that's the purpose it serves.
Also I was wondering if anyone has heard of a device that works like a corner reflector. I remember in college physics my text refering to a rotating reflective device that can be put on a bumper that reduces the speed the radar "sees" the faster you go.
has anyone already had any experience with this???
If so let us know
Report #2 is the effects on radar detection.
Hell, even if they upgrade the technology, it's not like this technology sucks. I've been saved so many times I've lost count.
It's *SO* worth the money that I'm going to buy my brother one for his birthday.
Somewhere out there on the WWW is a page dedicated to one guy's hardmounting of his V1 in an NSX. He built a custom mount for it on the back windshield and disguised it to look like a 3rd brake light. I'll post the link if I can find it.
perhaps already mentioned, paint your car with the same paint that the stealth bomber has, it absorbs radar, and won't reflect it...
Now where can I find this paint... I hope it comes in other colors...
F-
Oh well
F-
Another mile down the road the V1 started picking up a Ka-band instant-on signal. Sure enough, there was a second cruiser, facing oncoming traffic in the center median, about a mile and a half beyond the first Ka alert. Alan Funt was right: "When you least expect it...smile, you're on Candid Camera". Those guys really know how to set traps.
I carried it on the plane all the way from NY, but it was worth it. My Valentine One sure kept my vacation from turning sour.
I think you have three options right now:
1) Hard-wire the Valentine somewhere where it won't be stolena
2) Spend the extra four seconds to plug it in when you get in the car, or
3) Put up with the less effective cordless and/or in-dash models.
The valentine uses the "back" of the unit for radar & laser sensors. The power jack is on the side of the unit.
Still, you might consider writing Valentine Labs and make the request. They may consider it.
bhepler is 100% right. I have owned a Solo cordless for two years and was unhappy about the short range of detection (¼ to ½ mile). Too dangerous. That's why I invested in the Valentine One about two months ago.
I hard-wired the small, included, "Direct-Wire Power Adapter" to a location right next to the suction cup windshield mount. I leave the 5 inch power cord plugged into the V1 while it's stowed in my glove compartment. I spend about five seconds to slide the V1 into the mount (I'm obviously older and slower than bhepler) and plug the other end of the cord into the adapter. I'm sure that I can handle the unplugging and stowing in the four seconds.
Forget the behind-the-grille location for a radar detector. It's way too low for early over-the-hill detection, and signals are blocked by the grille material.
So I was driving at night, on a road that had its share of hills and corner where there were numerous hiding places for the law enforcement. There were two cars infront of me, all of us traveling at a speed considerable higher than the posted speed limit. As I think back on the event, My V1 began warning me about 3.0 miles from the police radar. At first, it would alarm, then go silent, then alarm again. As the group of cars got closer, the V1 has been in constant alarm mode for awhile. We were about 1/2 mile from the police radar when the radar detector from car directly infront of mine, alarmed.
Well, the two guys infront of me were pulled over and for myself, I had slowed to the posted speed limit before passing the "critical" distance point of detection. The guy infront of me, his radar detector works great at a distance of 10 ft. parked on the shoulder directly infront of the police car.
I found out a week later, the guy infront of me was a good friend who lived in the same town. I asked him what the damage was from the ticket. He was fined $175 and a total of $350 in insurance penalties. He was so pissed off that he threw the radar detector out the passengers window before he left the scene.
gibble: I've owned pretty much every high-end detector on the market, and if you can't afford a V1, I'd recommend a Whistler. But--if you're willing to spend $250--can't you just save up for a couple of more months and get the V1? Believe me, you won't regret it.
Save up $400, bite the bullet, and get one. You will not be sorry. Ever.
It's not like life insurance; it just helps you stack the odds in your favor.
I'm sure people can tell you about all the times that it's *saved* them . . . it only takes one time before the V1's paid for itself.
I have a BCT7 that has saved my butt a couple of times. I'm having a problem with the lockout button, though. I stopped using it when I bought my new car. I kind of miss it, though.
There is also the problem that by going the speed limit, you are impeding traffic by not keeping up with the flow, causing a road hazard, etc. There's a pretty good discussion relating to this over in sportcars. Check it out.
>
it can pick up instant at least 1 mile away
but can't beat laser!
depending where you are, sts got to watch for those unmark trooper.
you may passed them with out knowing
Sorry (for all of us), but the Valentine One is only sold directly by the manufacturer, at full list price. Don't we all wish that we could have gotten a better price for the V1 elsewhere. Something about the short & curlies.
It does seem to work the best though. Good luck.
Down side is cost but sometimes ya gotta pay to get the best.
I also like the fact that you will never have to buy another because Valentine will update your detector as new technology develops, but of course you have to pay for the upgrade too!
Ray T.
Well, if it were my choice I rather spend the money for a radar detector for a membership in SCCA and going to the local strip. Hey there you can drive as fast as you want and not worry about getting a ticket.