Valentine One Concealed Display
 

Hi All -

Just sold my Cobra radar detector on Ebay. I opted for the Valentine One because I was sick of playing "Where's the cop" when it would go off. I also opted for the concealed display module ... just wondering if anyone else on here has done the same, and if so, where did you mount the concealed display?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

If I told you i'd have to... well you know :p

j/k I don't even own a detector, because I never speed on public roads :D

man I kill myself sometimes :dance:

the concealed display is a must have...keeps the tail gaters away.

I used a piece of double sided stick tape and placed the display directly below the digital speedometer. I ran the telephone wire thing under the dash and wedged the wire in the gap between the radio and the cubby hole. I'm going to take it to a speed shop and do a proper install one day.

p.s.
you don't need to be a speeder to get a speeding ticket. Those small town cops will you over if your doing 10 miles over the limit in a hurry. Although with these gas prices I find myself actually driving below the speed limit. Hey I'm in a Porsche I want to spend more time in it!!

I have to ask, is a radar detector worth it?

I can normally see any cops that are parked ahead of me with their speed guns out. The cops I am concerned about, are the ones that pull up behind you while driving. They don't have a speed gun on, for the detector to pick up.

Rick ... I think you raise a very valid question. I considered this before ever buying one. After getting a ticket at night though, my whole perspective was changed. I went from not having one for a year -> having a cheap one and enjoying it -> getting one that will help me out just that extra bit more.
Reasons to have one:
- Ability to "see" cops at night.
- More awareness of hidden cops ... I don't know about you but here in NY, they looove to hide. Often I won't know until the detector goes off ... I start looking ... locate them and go "damn", I would have never seen him there.
- A small amount of reassurance on days with an open back road and no signal anywhere.

Reasons NOT to have one:
- If you are a person who constantly drives way above the limit because with a detector, you will start to think of yourself as invincible. People such as these will inevitably get nailed at one point or another and taught a very expensive lesson.
- Added reason to have car broken into (besides stereo).
- Good luck getting a warning: I heard somewhere that getting a ticket from a cop while having a radar detector visible is like giving them the middle finger and announcing I LOVE TO SPEED!

Keep in mind that I am not a person who speeds excessively, but I do enjoy my car. ;) ... I have listed a few pros and cons but in the end, this is my own reasoning and I just enjoy having the detector. That's it, that's all. :cheers:

I have considered one for road trips in the middle of no where but it does justify the cost for the few road trips I take. Plus, I don't drive at night to often. I guess it all depends on the habits of cops in your area.
Thanks for the pro's and cons. :cheers:

Also, to answer your original question, I have seen people mount the radar detector screen in the center console batwing (the lowest trim piece). You might be able to find a picture if you look on renntech.

I've got a concealed display for my V1 and find it only to be useful at night. The thing is only 20 inches away from the unit.

Everyone's different, but it's an audio visual aide, and should probably be higher up than on the batwing. After all, when you hear and see a radar threat, you want your eyes on the road, not on the remote display.

I'm for putting it in front of the digital speedo and wiring it in right. The main unit needs to be high up enough on the glass to get a good reading from behind with an unobstructed view or the directional arrows for the sides and rear will not work well.

Quote:

"I've got a concealed display for my V1 and find it only to be useful at night...The main unit needs to be high up enough on the glass to get a good reading from behind with an unobstructed view or the directional arrows for the sides and rear will not work well."

Posted by RandallNeighbour.

Please excuse my ignorance, but doesn't the second statement mean that the detector is not really "concealed" at all?

Just wunderin'.

You cannot really "conceal" the V1 main unit. The secondary display you can buy can be concealed though.

It's good for night driving so people don't ride your butt attempting to read your detector going off. It's also good for not notifying police that you're using a detector while driving at night.

Spend some time on the V1 web site and you'll see what I'm talking about.

If you want a truly concealed system, then head to a Porsche dealership and plunk down your $1200-1800 and they'll install a K40 system in your front and rear license plate frames and put some LED's in your cluster.

Has anyone had any experience with the k40? is it just as good as the Valentine One?

I know essentially nothing about the k40 units, but my first thought was that they wouldn't be as sensitive, if they are mounted in the license plate frames. From everything I've read, the higher the better when it comes to reception of signals.

Plus...I'd have to get a front tag!

Thanks, Randall, on the "concealment issue"...as typically happens, I figured that out more or less immediately after hitting the "Submit Reply" button. (Too lazy to delete!)

The V1 is worth its weight in gold to me. I do not, however, have the concealed display (have mine mounted just below the rearview mirror, with the wiring tucked up inside the pillar). I'd like the concealed display, just not entirely sure where to mount it for a clean install.

There is a guy in the UK who will etch the markings into your rearview mirror glass and install the module there. I think this is very slick, though pricey.

Patrick

I'm too cheap to pay the cost of the concealed units and - though I may be wrong - I'm under the impression they have less range.

I have an Escort and glued non-slip material to the bottom of it. I laid a flat, black non-slip pad on the far left end of my dash and the RD sticks to it very nicely. Were I to get pulled over, it's easy to lift off and slide under my seat. It leaves no marks on the windshield for anyone (thief or cop) to see, and it's legal in California.

All that said, I didn't get it to speed. Mostly. I got it because if I'm not paying close attention to my speed and going along with the flow of traffic, I think my speed yellow Box is more likely to get pulled over than others. So I like to have a little warning.

Not sure how big the V1 remote is. But, that said I bought a blank batwing ($7) and mounted my RX-65's remote in it after some Dremel hole cutting.

I can hit the mute button by my right knee easily. With the visor mounted main unit in stealth mode (no lights) I still get audio and flashing light by my knee.

Thanks everyone for the great responses. I have certainly gotten a few good ideas. Does anyone have pictures of this installed handy? It would be awesome to "see" how it would look in various places. The unit just came in today so I think the install will be happening relatively soon. For now I'll just do a basic hook-up until I decide. Thanks again.

There's a guy on this forum from the US who makes them too. I decided not to get one because it's only 4 inches away from the main unit and defeats the purpose of having a concealed display as the arrows can be seen at night from behind.

I have heard that the K40 system is great, but doesn't have the arrows so you know you're getting hit, but not from which direction... which means you can't single it out and get back up to speed right away when you visually rule out the threat. This is one of two major functions of the arrows... they help you visually determine whether you can ignore the sound you're hearing and hammer down. With all other detectors, you keep the speed down until the beeping stops and then ramp back up to speed.

The other function of the arrows is to show multiple threats, which has happened to me twice (Kband and laser in front with stationary vehicles and Ka band from a cruiser crawling along the service road allowing traffic to pass, thinking they'd moved past the threat). That saved my arse big time. The cop in the unmarked vehicle shooting laser at me looked very surprised when I rolled past him going 54 mph.

The first front arrow said Ka, the second front arrow said K and the laser warning went off and then the rear arrow showed Ka again and I knew what I was getting into.

I know the newer detectors would have sounded off with these various threats, but they would not have shown me where they were located.

in my opinion, the remote display on the V1 should be near the top of the dash (but out of sight from cars behind you) and not buried down by your shifter.

I feel the radar detector is a must. I am in Oregon and we have a lot of open road and the cops are either hiding in a bush along the road or they are driving at you in the other lane. I like the driving toward you because the detector sees them about 15 seconds before I do and I can sense them coming. I slow down and then I see them drive by and then I get back to my normal. The sitting at the side of the road cops are harder to detect because they sometimes turn off their guns between cars and then pull the trigger when they see you and then it is too late. Most cops are lazy and will just sit there with the trigger pulled and they are easy to detect.

Whatever detector you get you want the ability to pull it out of site, even if a cop is driving along side of you and don't get pulled over with one on your dash! one reason why I like the battery powered one...easy to stash.

Has anyone tried the Beltronics STI Remote radar detector. In Virginia we need shielded detectors like the STI and the remote version of this detector is very expensive (1K) but looks like it would make for a very stealth installation. I am a little concerned about mounting the sensor low in the front of the car and not being able to respond to laser from the rear. Any thoughts?

Ed

:cheers:


Belltronics STI Remote

I always wonder why somebody (with more money than me) doesn't take one apart and mount the components separately. That way you could conceal everything, yet still get all the functions.

good question. I've seen the concealed display dismantled and mounted separately (i.e. the lights and arrows in the tachometer or rear view mirror and the mute/mode switch on the back of the wiper stalk, etc.). But never have seen the core unit taken apart and mounted separately. I wish someone would though :)