For people with V1's...

do you turn "X" band off??

Around the city, I put mine in the advanced logic mode. Out on the highway when out of town, full on mode.

I run advanced logic too but "X" band gets annoying.

I just used the programming thingy on the website and shut it off completely. X-band has done me no good other than falses in the last 5 years or so.. I know Ill probably get a ticket from some yokal with Xband for saying that but it is the truth... ;^)

in my experience the V1 is a huge useless radio. it couldn't pick up a stationary radar speed displayer thingy even after it came into visual range (400~ ft...) pathetic. i might give it another go sometime, but for now, i returned it...

Your experience is very unique. I have two of them in two different cars, and I always get a warning a good deal before I can even spot the source. I also have a handful of friends who have been using the V1 for many years who swear by its performance. Either you have to try different modes, or you need to send it in for a checkup.

well if Viken says so... i just might buy it again and give it another try, perhaps spend more time programming / adapting it to local police activity... perhaps there is a new version out or the one i bought was defective...

Moogle, I agree with Viken. My V1 always goes off well before I get to the source of the signal. If you were not getting any response, or a poor response, I would send it back and have it checked out. You may have a defective unit.

I sleep with mine at night

I've had nothing but good service from the company and the product. Using your example, I drive down a well-known speed trap side street (Middlefiield from Menlo Park to Palo Alto) and there's one of those ridiculous "SLOW DOWN" signs distracting drivers from the road just as it kinks through a left-right causing potential head-on or off-set frontal collisions ... brilliant civil engineering and planning ... .anyhoot, I have three V1's and in each car they all pick up the sign from a good mile out and the bogey counter makes it easy to notice when there's more cops around making some revenue collection runs.

If the cop had a gun, it was laser. Radar detecters are useless with laser. They can tell you you've been "hit" but then its too late. For laser avoidance you need a jammer (illegal in some states). I Feb I did a cross country and the V1 saved me 4-5 times in three states. A cop followed me for 5 mi +/- and my rear arrow kept blinking. But it didn't save me from a plane in Socal. I would recommend it for long trips. I turn it off for my city driving which is usually monitered by laser gun (except freeway).

sorry to hijack the thread, but i'm going to try the V1 again... also, you know those little black candy bar shaped things that many high end cars have on thier front/back license plates? are those laser jammer/shifters ? and do they work? price is not an issue

Those black horizontal bars you see on front plates are EZPASS tags. You can get a windshield mount (most popular) or front plate mount.

some of them could be in fact lasser diffusers too, usually one horizontally placed near the front licence plate (were the cop targets you) and maybe (depending on the maker) two smaller rear ones for added rear protection (not as frequently targeted). Moggle, they do work pretty well for laser guns (LIDAR). I suggest you check out the best best regarded ones: the Lidatek and the Blinder. They are not expensive either.

I never leave home without my V1, literally. The cops are getting pretty strategic with how they use the radar these days. Often I pass them with a gun pointed right down the highway (I've slowed down before this point because I saw them) and the radar never went off -- why? Because they never had it on! They send these guys on training to estimate speeds of approaching vehicles. Once they think a car is going too fast, they hit the trigger, and bam, you're caught with no pre-warning. Along those lines, I had a nice chat with a Maryland cop about how he caught me going 85 down 95. The laser detector went off for like 2 miles! Never saw anything like it! Figured it must be a fluke and there was no cop. I thought they had to have the laser 90 degrees to the flow of traffic. Well this guy was aiming right down the lane into oncomming traffic, probably across the lane. He got me going over a little hill that was there. Point is, the V1 is awesome, in all respects, but cops are getting tricky, and they understand how radar/laser detectors work.

In Indiana, police in some towns still cruise with X band on. Those illuminated warning signs are annoying as they seem to have a radar device, even if the sign isn't posting your speed. AS

on the laser front...i just received the new lidatek le30 lazer jammer. i'll try to get it in asap and then give some feedback. i was part of the M5 list group buy. on the V1 front - i have two: one in the 951, one in the explorer work truck. in other words...i don't leave home without one. when i travel - one comes with me for the rental car. they have saved me FAR FAR more than their purchase price. a great piece of gear that is the best radar detector out there, in my opinion. plus....mike valentine belongs to rennlist - over on the carrera gt forum most of the time.....so at least my V1 purchases have helped SOMEONE buy a CGT!!!!

mike valentine drives a CGT? you lucky SOB...!!! oh well , judging from the feedback, he deserves it with such a great product...

i don't think his has been delivered yet, however.

My Sprint PCS phone causes numerous false warnings on the X-band. Beware of this when you are mixing/adding electronic goodies!

Definitely try the V1 again. Mine started acting squirrely after about a month of use, at which point I contacted Valentine and sent the unit back for repair/replacement. The customer service was very good. I had the unit back in a week. Of course, I got a ticket the day after I shipped the unit back for repair, but what are you gonna do? The V1 works very well and has saved my butt several times. fwiw....... Jeff

Yes, I finally couldn't take it anymore and disabled the X-band on the v1. The lower amount of falses on the 8500 is it's primary advantage over the v1 but I really love my v1 as it has saved me numerous times as well. I know there are a few local small towns around here that still use X-band (my wife's car still has an Escort 8500) but they are so few I keep the X-band disabled for now. I run the V1 in "L" (advanced mode) in town. P.S. My V1 has always detected the radar signal WAY BEFORE I see the actual source. I would definitely have it checked out.

Regarding laser jammers, they do work. Formerly I owned a Ferrari 355b with a K40 (including the laser jamming feature). my dad had it installed and he chose that feature. When he passed I was left with it. I got used to the K40, it was excellent, range incredible and reliablity 100%, false alarms few and far between. For a K40 with the laser jamming feature expect to pay over 2k installed. No longer do I own the 355. I am driving around my 2003 986 S with a very old Passport that has a defective power cord. Sounds like the V1 is the way to go but I'm still deciding. I have law enforcement background, regarding lasers. I agree that the jammer is the only true protection. The beam is very focused, a detector will probably go off only when it's hit. Having sharp eyes is the best defense agains those. Watch overpasses, road signs, underpasses. Look for a man, that's it. Multiple cops, a shooter and some chase cars is noT uncommon. I travel frequently and have seen that across the country. Moogle, if money is no object get the K40, and yes there was a small black square in the grille, that's the attena/jammer.

I may be mistaken, but I think that the logic modes only affect X band. Since you disable yours, it should make no difference whether you run in All Bogeys, Logic, or Advanced Logic.

Moogle, Mike is a regular contributor to rennlist, in addition to being a quite accomplished engineer Here is his sig, quite an impressive car collection: '01 996TT - Tip, Signal Yellow '04 996TT Cab - 6-speed, Lapis Blue ------------------------------ On to new owners: 914/4, various 928's, 914/6 2.8 (Signal Orange), 911 2.8 TwinIgnition, Airport gears, Turbo brakes (Signal Yellow), 962-113 (used to be 962-102 until John Paul T-boned it at Charlotte, #5, Coca-Cola Red), 964 C4 (Signal Yellow), 993TT (Signal Yellow), 996 C2 Cab (Zenith Blue), 911RS/IROC - Light Green (9114600040), McLaren BMW 320 race car (ex-David Hobbs), Alpina B6, Alpina B7 (5er)

Do Rennlist members receive a discount when buying the V1?

I can't live withut the arrows. But be careful when traveling with a chatty passenger. Ignored a warning when passing a Supermarket and sure enough it was a cop in the parking lot. He let me slide with a non-points ticket but the moral of the story is you have to use the V1 it won't do all thinking for you. p.s. You must get the concealed display, tailgaters are dangerous

Love the V1... Have 2, one in my P-car and one in my work car. Also have that 8500 thing in my wife's car. The V1 is hands down the better detector. And I have the X band off on all three.

Can you explain further? I looked on the website, but could find nothing regarding programming the X-band "off". Thanks,

Try this: http://www.valentine1.com/lab/MikesLabRpt3.asp

Didn't Valentine 1s used to have totally remote setups? I don't mean like the remotes they have now - it seems like they used to have some setup where you mounted sensors around your car and the whole thing was hidden. Maybe I'm mistaking it with something else, but I think it was back in the eighties(?). I just want one that I can setup once and not have to worry about mounting that big black box out in the open.

I've used one since '99 and bought a 2nd unit for my non Porsche car and had to send the 2nd unit back because it wasn't working right. It happens. The replacement has worked flawlessly and I wouldn't want to drive without one.

Nice web page, good info. I just got my hidden display today. Any slick places to hid it in a C2?

I wouldn't think of driving my car without the V1. But as many have said the cops are smart and instant on or laser is hard to beat. I got stopped by a cop once who said he nailed me on radar even though the radar detector never went off until he had turned around to chase me. I challenged him on the radar hit and the speed he said he had me on. (I was doing 60 in a 50 and he tried to say I was doing 70.) He took one look at the V1 and my determined attitude, went back to his car, saw I had a clean record, came back. Only told me to be careful pulling backout. Didn't even say slow down. So I definitely credit the V1 with avoiding that ticket.

Any discounts?

Never discounted, one sales channel. If someone wants to try to negotiate a group buy with Mike, I'm in. I need one for the Yukon.

Mounted my remote display on top of the steering wheel - just in front of the gauges but not touching; this way can check to see if any of those lights are on.

you can call them and ask for B stock and get a 10% discount. the product has a new warranty and is as new.

what is B stock?

Units that have been returned and cannot be sold as new.

Moogle, The V1 works different in different cars, depending on what type of glass is used in the windscreen. In my Peugeot 307 GTI the V1 was useless and I was pissed off until I found out that the windscreen was of UV block type, which also filtered the radar/laser signals. UV block glass is commonly used by BMW and Merc. You can tell because it has a purple/blueish shade. Ciao,

This is a pretty old resurrected thread. I think Moogle first posted it with a blonde avatar. Moogle you there?

I read that the belltronix xl something got the highest ranking...so I bought one...waiting for delivery will update if it is really that good.....

Tried group buy once, he won't do it, period! Good businessman, nice guy, and a rennlister - more power to him!

As they say, if you own a French car nothing can happen to you... it already has.