Jeph, I was waiting for you to join this thread
1. If someone has never used a V1, that person really cannot discuss a valid opinion about having the arrows vs. not having them in a detector. Jeph, you said that when your passport goes off, you slow down regardless of the source. I
do not do this. I look at the arrows and then decide if it's a threat. When I see side arrows that quickly move to a rear arrow,
I speed up most of the time or resist the urge to slam on my brake. Without arrows and what Valentine calls "situational awareness", you have no choice. You must slow down and start looking through all your windows and mirrors because you have no situational awareness of the radar threat. It's really quite simple. I've been on both sides of this situation and the awareness of the directional source has
dramatically changed my reaction to an alert. If you've not used both kinds of detectors on short and long trips, you can't comment on the arrows the same education as a V1 user who has used detectors with and without arrows.
2. The Passport cannot be upgraded. You must buy another one when the technology changes or purchase the upgrade option which knocks $50 or less off the price of the new one. I believe the Valentine upgrade path is part of the reason why the V1's sturdy metal enclosure has not changed through the years. When something new is invented for radar use for law enforcement and widely used, Valentine is committed to existing customers enough to upgrade their equipment for a small fee. All the others? Sell your old one to someone for a fraction of what you paid for it and shell out another $399 or more or take Escort's pitiful $50 "trade in" value of your old one.
3. The bogey counter. When I see a 2 or 3 (or even a 4!) on the big LED display, I know the noises I'm hearing and the bars I'm seeing represent more than one threat and not to speed up after I pass the first cop. This is a huge advantage combined with the arrows. It has saved me a half dozen times in complex radar traps. I pass the first cop shooting Ka and the arrows go to the back but there's an arrow forward with a new threat on the counter and the K band indicator is also lighting up. The Escorts probably show both kinds of radar on the display, but without those numbers combines with the arrows, you just don't know how many threats you should be aware of and the directional source of the radar.
If anyone is reading this thread and debating which unit to buy, BUY BOTH just before you leave on a driving trip. Return the one that you don't like under the 30 day, money-back guarantee. Buy a double socket to power them both up on your dash, and run them side by side. Then, do a second test on your own reaction to each unit. Run them alone for a day per unit to see how you react and then decide for yourself. This is the only real way to have a solid comparison of which one is best for YOU. Many V1 users swear by the arrows, upgrade path, and bogey counter. Many Escort users, especially the owners of the newer GPS models swear by them for their connectivity to satellites and the internet for speed camera updates.
2004 Porsche Boxster S
1966 VW Bug/Type 1
1999 Harley-Davidson FLHTC
Future Volksrod
Hybrid Mode
