Radar detector question

I bought an old radar detector from a friend of mine, I mean olddddie, it only cost me 40 euro but it is useless. The prob is it picks up BTS signals from mobile phone masts. It is really unreliable and not worth having the bleeping all the time when on a long journey. Do the new detectors take into account all the different signals we have these days in the wireless world? I want something that bleeps only when Mr plod has his laser weapon aimed at me. Last year I paid about 600 euro in fines and would like to avoid that again plus have some really cool gadget in my car.

You can pick up almost any modern radar dector and you'll be happy. The leading choices are Passport, V1, K40 and Bell.

There are several models now that are programed to differentiate between true radar and "falses." There are also jammers that can reflect laser. Radar is easy to detect because it dispurses very wide. So a detector can pick up a beam shot at a car in front of (or behind) you. Laser beams only spread about 1 foot wide. So a detector will not pick it up until you are hit. The jammers cause a delay in the gun's reading...so it may buy you a few seconds to hit the brakes. Take a look at this website: http://www.radardetector.net/

My V1 tends to pick up automatic door entry systems near gas stations and shopping malls, but otherwise very few false alarms.

Valentine 1.

Passport. Very rare to have a false alarm on the country driving roads. Do get them around grocery stores in town. It actually picked up radar from a cop about a mile behind me last weekend. Cop was driving same direction I was and either shooting vehicles in front of it or coming from opposite direction. The instruction booklet said it would pick up cops from behind, so it was cool to have it happen.

I have the Passport, and it does seem to go off quite often sometimes. I'm not sure if it's picking up radar from cops that are hiding hear freeway exits though. It has saved me a few times on long drives down the coast.

Beltronics RX-65......................................almost no false alarms so far, except for X-band everytime I pass a shopping center.

There was a post about this some time ago. I believe there are frequency differences between European radar and US radar. AFAIK, Bell is the only one among the known US brands that specifically have a European configuration. Me, here in the US, I have A Passport in the C4S and a Valentine in the 987S. I made a mistake and believed the Valentine hype. Too many false alarms. Wife rarely drives over the limit, so the Valentine is in her Boxster glovebox.

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Palting: I am looking for a replacement for my aging Passport. I borrowed a V1 for a roadtrip. I loved the information, but hated all the falsing. I knew you could change the settings, but did not know how to do it. Had you tried to tried difference program settings and, if so, did it make a noticeable difference?

You can set it to logic or superlogic mode by holding down the volume button for one second. That cuts down false alarms a lot.

V1 and never look back.... (You can select setting to avoid the gas station issue raised above).....

Seriously...... Valentine 1...... I have never met anyone who was like "My V1 Sucks" but have heard that on Passport, Bel, whatever... You also never hear someone saying, "I want to get rid of my V1 for an Escort." Right W8MM??

V1! It has paid for itself over and over and .....

Another vote for V1

V1 tells you WHERE the signal is from.

About 2 years ago I made a 2 week trip to the Netherlands and Germany. I took my V1 (version 1.7) with me. It worked like a champ. I never knew before that those overhead signs in Germany had speed cameras in them. I detected a few near intersections in the Hague too. The V1 would detect them almost 1 Km ahead. The secret to getting rid of the false bogeys is to set the mode. I use mine in Advanced-Logic mode, big "L" mode. If you leave it in All mode, big "A", it will drive you crazy. The V1 also has a nice feature in that you can get a remote display that you can wire into the car. If you were to get stopped in some of the countries where radar detectors are illegal, it blacks out the display and allows you to mount the unit more covertly. Since I have multiple cars, I have a remote dispaly in each one and I can quickly swap the unit between them.

What's the best price for V1 and where?

Buy the V1 directly fromt he company (I think it's valentine1.com). You can find them on e-Bay for $450 or so, but you have to wonder what schmuck would pay that much (plus shipping) when the factory sells brand-new, no-doubt-if-it-works units for $399.

I've tried different settings on the V1, and I honestly can not tell you whether they made a difference or not on the high false rate. Regardless, I felt that if you had to "desensitize" it to decrease the false rate, you are also desensitizing it to the "true" signal. I just gave up on it. Anyway, for those that like the V1, make me a fair offer, and I'll sell you my V1. It's less than a year old, original box, receipt, etc, included.

Palting, You have a PM

Do your research - things change quickly in this marketplace - and V1 was matched, and maybe even out gunned by Passport X50 in the last few years. speedzones.com test They have very similar performance however: V1 triggers on more false positives X50 detects Ka POP where V1 fails to do so (Instant on RADAR) X50 detects at greater distances and over the hill, giving you greater time to react Then look at cost and installation (ie number of pieces you need in the vehicle) There is a definite 'snob' value to the V1, as it's more expensive and was top dog for so long - but the reasons for it being that way have been eroded over time, and you may do better with the X50. I came to that conclusion personally - and use the X50 It's paid for itself many many times over already - so I'm happy with it. Chris.

All new V1s come with POP detection LINK and you can send an older one in for an upgrade. After using a V1 with the arrows, I'd never use anything else. Plus Mike Valentine is a frequent Rennlist user and (multiple) Porsche owner.

Understand that V1 has POP detection, it's just inferior to the X50 in tests. Detecting Ka POP 33.8 GHz, V1 scored 0/3 against X50 2/3 in the Speedzones test That sounds like a potential speeding ticket right there. That's why I suggested people do their research - just having a feature is not a guarantee that it works as well/better than other detectors on the market. As POP is now a genuine threat, with many forces using the new POP guns to get an initial hit on a target vehicle - knowing about that threat becomes important for protecting your license. Detection is more important than direction in all cases - if you don't know you've been hit - you're toast. Chris.

Anyone have experience with the Escaort Solo S2?

I'll second the support for the Passport X50- A friend of mine has a V1, and the damned thing drives me crazy! False alarms all the time, even in superlogic mode (or whatever they call it). I went with the X50 because of that- fewer false alarms, more information (except for the direction thing). Expert mode or advanced modes on the X50 rock... One setting will show you independant strength indicators for each signal up to something like 8 or so, which is definitely useful. The other mode shows you the actual frequency of the signals as they come in. If you're familiar with detectors and are up for learning the frequencies, this means you can see EXACTLY what's going on. This makes it a lot easier to spot the false alarms that occasionally get past the filtering...

I have an Escort Solo S2 - I like it quite a bit, but I wish it had a bit more range (which is why I PMed an offer on the V1 above). The cordless design means it is very unobtrusive, and if you want a "steady stream of juice" (or the batteries are dying) you can use the optional smart cord. When I am out of town, I bring it t use in the Hertz Renta-Racer.

Thanks for the reponse. Been doing some research after getting 2 tickets . I like the idea of having a cordless unit. I plan on using rechargeable batteries. the Escort X50 does have my interest.

V1 is like having a toaster oven on your dashboard, could it be bigger and uglier? I submit it cannot.

Been reading some favorable stuff on the Beltronics Pro RX65 lately, any experiences? I have to admit that I have a slight snob discrimination factor against Bel equipment. Maybe unwarranted.

V1 ... Don't leave home without it!!!!

My V1 install - I modified the visor clip so it mounts under the headliner. It's positioned so that if I want to go stealth, all I do is flip down the visor and the sensor is still exposed.

dude. dont. sell. your. v1. i have re-programmed my V1 and finetuned it so much, that i dont even hear it unless i get real problems. here is what i have: X-band: off K-band: mute first 10 seconds, always mute rear K band etc, etc... check out: http://www.radardetector.net/K-Band-...ies-11240t.php all V1 owners MUST hang out here: http://www.radardetector.net/viewforum.php?f=23 trust me, you can re-program your V1 to do just what you want it to do. it takes a little effort and playing around with, but not a rocket science.

yeah, its big because it needs to show you where the signal is coming from AND it needs a detector on both front and rear. on the other hand, you have to understand that looks do not equal functionality. if anything, it only goes to show that at V1 it is engineers and not marketing people who are in charge. btw, newer models are much smaller compared to older (3+ years) models. mine fits just fine in my line of sight above the dash in the 7er. you can always get remote display which is much smaller and hide your V1 installation somewhere so people can't see it at all.

you can configure it to mute first N seconds of those K-band alerts.

V1 has european support for Ku band, its just not on by default. anybody using V1 (be it in USA or Europe) without programming it for their needs is not going to get even 50% of V1 capacity or what it has to offer.

After you have had a V1 for a while you can pretty much tell when you are getting a false signal. A real radar signal tends to build as you get closer, much differently than burglar alarms and the like. The V1 is providing you the signal strength, direction, and number. After awhile you can use all of that data to help sort out the false signals. It gives a nice signal on a laser hit, but with instant on and a direct hit, nothing much is going to help unless you get lucky and get a stray signal before you enter the kill zone. Still I would not drive without one. I have one for each car and can not count the number of times it has saved me over the years. If there is a cop sitting there shooting radar, you will know well in advance.

Why get used to something that's faulty?? There are better radar detectors out there.

i dont think there is anything better out there. (that is my opinion, so please no flames). but you right: you should not get used to something that is faulty. as i mentioned in my previous posts: learn how to custom programm your radar detector and reprogramm it and tune it so that it wouldn't false. mine is near perfect at this point. i'll be happy to try and help you with any questions. you just need to do a bit of research as to what detectors are used in your area. for example, highway patrol in california uses only Ka band and nobody uses X - so the only one that needs tweaking is K band.

Marketing is indeed an amazing thing. Despite independant evidence to the contrary, you can still get people to state that your product is best. The same poeple then explain how they try to work around the issues with that product, rather than buy a product which doesn't have those issues. Amazing! Either way - if it keeps you happy and ticket free - rock on. Chris.

I had the same superficial reaction. The RX-65 and the X-50 are built by the same manufacturer, however the RX-65 is equipped with the European Ku band that some police departments are starting to use in the U.S.

Valentine 1's give way too many alerts when you get them, IMO. I turned off the X band. I also made it give a reduced volume alert on weak K for 20 seconds. It is much better and it's easy to tell which alerts are real. The arrows are very useful. It's easy too tell when a radar drives by going the opposite direction. I believe that the tests on some internet sites may be biased. I remember hearing that the site asks for payment from manufacturers, and Valentine refused to pay them. In the past, I've used Escort detectors and they were excellent high quality units.

Try this: PASSPORT SRX INSTALL Front and rear laser, stealthy install and works perfectly - hear it and slow down.

Just got a new V1 with the upgrade and a very cool concealed directional alert module that fits away anywhere you want with an automatic cut off button that fits on the backside of the steering wheel. Very stealth. Can't wait to install and try it out. But I'm in VA. Have to go to MD or NC to make a test run... Right!

I wondered when this FUD would pop up. I guess Escort must have paid off Motortrends, BackRoads, Speedzones, Forbes.com, etc etc.. And Bell paid off RadarBusters.com as well.... That must be why Valentine1.com don't reference any 3rd party testing to show how superior their product is over the competition. They didn't want to pay anyone to say their product was the best...that must be it. Why else would they have no links to independent testing of their V1? Chris.

That sounds perfect, can you post pics? Perhaps the best of all worlds...