radar detectors

[Rodger]

I've got a V1 and have considered selling it twice on Ebay, as I only get to use it while traveling through Canada during the summer.

Then I come to my senses. It's saved me from many a ticket. I always have plenty of warning, too.

[UroTrash]

V-1 Baby!

[bagwell]

I've had the Solo S2, the X50 and V1.

the solo doesn't compare (its cordless)

the X50 and V1 are close.....each has its advantages...currently running the V1, its my 2nd one....the first one seemed defective, this one is great rangewise.

[Iatros]

http://www.radartest.com/article.asp?articleid=9090

[djomlas]

i have the escort. got it from my friend for 100 bux.
wow does that thing work
we did a little comparison of our own when he got his V1, and they both were getting signal at about the same time and in most occasions escort was picking up better

[NickCats]

Originally Posted by bagwell

I've had the Solo S2, the X50 and V1.

the solo doesn't compare (its cordless)

the X50 and V1 are close.....each has its advantages...currently running the V1, its my 2nd one....the first one seemed defective, this one is great rangewise.

bagwell,

I have the Solo S2 and I love it !

I agree the V1 is a great radar detector, but I was wondering why do you like the X50 better than the Solo ?

Nick

[Perfectlap]

the big difference between the x50 and the v1 is sensitivity.
You will get allot more alerts with the v1 and most will be false alerts.
But I think that's a positive, not a negative.
After a while you know right away what a real threat sounds like, its hard to confuse. So you learn how to "tune out" the false beeps.

THe other difference from the testing I have seen is that the V1 is the best at picking up lazer from a trailing vehicle. Lazer from a stationary vehicle (cop on the side of the road hiding behind trees) seem to be about even in x50 vs. V1
In other words you've got somewhat of a chance at eluding a state trooper following cars from behind with the V1. This is the hardest type of signal to pick up of all the radar situations and the V1 has come up many times as the only one to succeed at this. I've had two instances where a state trooper was lurking from behind the V1 fired off Lazer and a minute or two later he was speeding after another car.

There are some neat installs of the V1 on Renntech.org
One 911 guy mounted it above his rearview mirror (the best spot) and hardwired it so it fires up on ignition with all wires hidden under the pillars.
Get the attachment display box that keeps the V1 from flashing on the windshield.
Helps to avoid tailgaters looking to mooch off your $400 and keeps the five-O from noticing flashing lights in your cockpit. I've been yelled at by cops several tiems for having a radar detector.

[RandallNeighbour]

There are three reasons I chose my V1:

1) I can program the dang thing to turn OFF X band. It's only used in Ohio if I'm not mistaken, and is the cause of most of my false alarms (Walmart, Kroger, etc.)

2) It is upgradeable. Hopefully, it will be the last radar detector I must buy. I have a drawer full of noisemakers that I've retired and can't get a dime for now, even in a garage sale.

3) The arrows. Just last night, it was very comforting to know it was a cop on the other side of the barricaded tollway with his radar blazing... when I got side arrows then a rear arrow, I punched it back up to my "normal" driving speed. No worries that he's lurking ahead of me.

One gripe though: The V1's laser settings seem to go off randomly or when a newer SUV with LED tail lamps taps their brakes on the freeway. It's frustrating.

[Dr. Kill]

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

I can program the dang thing to turn OFF X band. It's only used in Ohio if I'm not mistaken, and is the cause of most of my false alarms (Walmart, Kroger, etc.)

You are right about this being a useful feature, but be careful, I think there is a lot of misinformation out there about where X is used and where it isn't. My experience is that it is more widely used than a lot of people think. A lot of Jersey cops use this, and you can always count on small town cop outfits running older equipment (X band).

I run with my 8500 X50 and slow down every time the thing goes off - it doesn't happen that often, so I just don't worry about false alarms - better safe than sorry + it is always fun to speed back up again later.

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

There are some neat installs of the V1 on Renntech.org
One 911 guy mounted it above his rearview mirror (the best spot) and hardwired it so it fires up on ignition with all wires hidden under the pillars.

I mounted my Escort 8500 using the guide there and I love it. Mine mounts to the right of the rear view mirror and with no wiring visible, is almost unnoticeable. Having it turn on automatically is a real plus, but getting the power outlet back under the glove box was a real boon also.

As far as the sensitivity? Man, some of it is quite subjective, imho. All I know is I've had it in my Dakota before i got the Boxster and it paid for itself first time. Laser radar is the worst. By the time you get a signal, you have most likely been spied. No scatter is the big problem. It's a very concentrated beam.

[David N.]

Nice motorcycle mounting UroTrash!

Although a good biker friend of mine stands behind an interesting statistic concerning bikes and speedtraps, that of all the bikes that are flagged and chased for speeding, only 15% actually get caught. Which with a decent sport bike is certainly possible, if a ZX-14 wants to lose a Crown Vic, there's not much the cop can do short of calling for a block or a chopper or something.

Ghostrider anyone?

-David

[ukchris]

[QUOTE=Perfectlap]"There are some neat installs of the V1 on Renntech.org
One 911 guy mounted it above his rearview mirror (the best spot) and hardwired it so it fires up on ignition with all wires hidden under the pillars."
[QUOTE]

Boxster:


911:

[Adam]

Originally Posted by UroTrash

V-1 Baby!

Aparently radar detection is more of a priority than have a clear view of the tach eh Euro?

[SD987]

550, I see you live in Socal as do I, so the number one concern is Ka detection as that's what the CHP and municipalities use out here. It's nice as you can ignore all the other warnings.

There are rumors of laser usage starting in LA County although I haven't encountered it myself (and I'm up there alot). I have run into laser out of state and I'm in the "if you get a real laser warning, it's already too late" camp. One more point I'll add is that with my particular unit mounted low on the windshield I get alot more false-laser warnings from LED tail-lights in the Box than my other cars due (I believe) to the particular curvature of the Boxster's front hood.

That being said, I've been running the V1 for about four years and it has come in handy many-o-time. Ka detection is strong with unique sound warning as well (as with other detectors) and once you've lived with the arrows...

But stealthy it ain't, however, running in a top-down convertible neither are the other ones.

[jci-joe]

UKChris,

I would love to see more pictures of your V1 installation. I like the idea of the mirror lights for the V1. Is the main unit hidden? Did you have it professionally installed or did you do it yourself?

Also, what was involved with the footwell lighting hack? This would be great. I still can't believe a car that cost over $53k only has one interior dome light.

Any more info on the installation would be appreciated.

[ukchris]

Originally Posted by jci-joe

UKChris,

I would love to see more pictures of your V1 installation. I like the idea of the mirror lights for the V1. Is the main unit hidden? Did you have it professionally installed or did you do it yourself?

Also, what was involved with the footwell lighting hack? This would be great. I still can't believe a car that cost over $53k only has one interior dome light.

Any more info on the installation would be appreciated.

There are pictures of the bracket I fabricated in this thread http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=10453&pid=58759&st=0&#entry58759 which show it from different angles, I only engraved the logos on the first one I made though, I think they're too much and would also be a copyright issue. I designed the bracket and had it fabricated from acrylic.

The remote display is in the mirror, the mutew button is small and mounted in the back of the mirror so I can easily reach it and there is the jack plug to connect it to the main V1. The display is unobtrusive and IMHO in about the perfect spot to view.

Once I decided I wanted it in the mirror I found out the places that used to make them seemed to have stopped and also they were very expensive ($600 - $1200). Instead I decided to try and do it myself which turned in to a bit of an epic trying to figure out the best way to prepare the glass. After several failed attempts I think I have a multi-stpe process that now works well and have made a few mirrors for other people too.

[ukchris]

Originally Posted by jci-joe

Also, what was involved with the footwell lighting hack? This would be great. I still can't believe a car that cost over $53k only has one interior dome light.

Missed this one... I used two triple LED lamps and mounted them under the dash, the wiring goes under the dash, up the A-pillar to the dome light. Once you get there you can either tap in with wire taps or solder the ends of the wires to the light. It really is quite easy, I have some spare lights if you want some then all you need is a couple of yards of wire.

This picture makes them look much brighter and more defined than they really are because I had to take it with a long exposure so you could see them, the effect is pretty subtle and I really love it.

[mjw930]

V1 all the way. I've been using one ever since Mike Valentine left Escort and created it. The arrows as well as the bogey counter are indispensable and after a short while you'll know just from the sounds what's up around you.

There was a period about 3 years ago when Valentine gave into the POP radar craze (he can be stubborn) and their first 2 attempts at it were a software flop. These have been resolved and the latest units work flawlessly.

I have 2 units, one that goes between the Boxster and the Cayenne, depending on which one is being used and another that stays in the Mazda since the wife uses it everyday to commute to work. One of the units is about 18 months old, the other is over 10 years old (it's been upgraded 3 times and patched once for the POP glitch).

BTW, the "upgrade" actually gets you a brand new unit for a fraction of the cost.

[pteam]

What do you guys think about something like this http://www.radarscramblers.com/product_C450.htm ? Its the new version of what I have now which is the phantom 2 . Its supposted to scramble radar and laser, and although you never know if it works in 5 years having had a lamborghini, ferraris, viper, porsches, I've never had ONE speeding ticket!!! ::knocks on wood:: although my phantom 2 is on its last legs and I'm gonna have to get something new now, I'd rather have the scrambling ability than just the detection, cause like nick said above you get hit with a laser or a radar over a hill or similiar and u have no time to slow down your already hit.

[Dr. Kill]

Originally Posted by pteam

What do you guys think about something like this http://www.radarscramblers.com/product_C450.htm ? Its the new version of what I have now which is the phantom 2 . Its supposted to scramble radar and laser, and although you never know if it works in 5 years having had a lamborghini, ferraris, viper, porsches, I've never had ONE speeding ticket!!! ::knocks on wood:: although my phantom 2 is on its last legs and I'm gonna have to get something new now, I'd rather have the scrambling ability than just the detection, cause like nick said above you get hit with a laser or a radar over a hill or similiar and u have no time to slow down your already hit.

The phantom, like the complete line of "passive jammer" products from Rocky Mountain Radar is a scam. Do a quick search on sites that are note selling the product, or check out radartest.com. They opened it up and found out that it had "just enough electronics inside to make the lights blink," and worse, aside from the product not actually jamming anything, the antenna made the vehicle easier to detect via radar. Further, if you read their speeding ticket guarantee, the fine print says something like they only pay if the ticket was for less than 10% over the posted speed limit.

Passive radar jamming is simply false – it does not work. Active radar jamming works but is illegal (and I don’t think anyone has every built a Ka unit anyway). Your best bet is to just pick up a good V1 or Escort. For some extra $$, you can spring for a laser jammer – those actually work (when from a reputable company). I did this and am very happy with the purchase.