radar detectors

[Jeph]

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

Then he started turning his radar on and off to monitor the oncoming traffic, which I saw had a rear arrow lit.

Now if I didn't have those arrows, I would have been looking for another threat ahead of me because he was out of sight in my rear view mirror.

Since the arrow was pointing behind you, did you speed back up to your cruising speed? No, you probably waited until the signal was gone, right?

Again, it satisfies curiosity. Arrows aren't saving. If you are in range of a threat, you lay low -regardless of where the signal was.

Think of a smoke detector and imagine if it had arrows. It goes off. Do you exit the burning building, or do you check forward, to the sides, or behind for smoke?

I dig the V1. I'd probably have one if it wasn't so ugly (what can I say, I'm a designer -and my X50 hasn't let me down yet). I'm curious as to the source of the signal. But the fact is, it alerts, you slow down. Not "where is it, should I slow down." Maybe my point is one of semantics. Is this making sense to anyone?

[Wonko The Sane]

Originally Posted by Jeph

But the fact is, it alerts, you slow down. Not "where is it, should I slow down." Maybe my point is one of semantics. Is this making sense to anyone?

That's exactly my take on it too Basically, regardless of direction, if my little Beeper goes off, my arse is suddenly going the speedlimit I assume that if I'm in radar-range, I'm in visual range, and I behave when johnny-law is around..

[ukchris]

Originally Posted by Jeph

Think of a smoke detector and imagine if it had arrows. It goes off. Do you exit the burning building, or do you check forward, to the sides, or behind for smoke?

If my smoke detector had arrows I'd make sure I took the most appropriate exit to avoid the fire, unless there was an obvious and immediate exit available of course

At the end of the day it's all personal preference and I think we all have a tendency to justify what we have to ourselves. The best defense is to drive at or under the speed limit of course but let's avoid that option for now at least!

My V1 came with my car, if it hadn't I might very well still be driving with no radar detector to be honest.

[RandallNeighbour]

Originally Posted by Jeph

Since the arrow was pointing behind you, did you speed back up to your cruising speed? No, you probably waited until the signal was gone, right?

Again, it satisfies curiosity. Arrows aren't saving. If you are in range of a threat, you lay low -regardless of where the signal was.

I concur and you make all kinds of sense about the arrows alone. However, the arrows allow me to get back up to my driving speed when I can easily see that an oncoming cop has passed me and is well behind me shooting others. If I always had a visual, it wouldn't be important, but many times, especially at night, I do not have a visual sighting and the arrows are very good about telling me that the threat has passed and I can run it back up to 80 and set the cruise control again.

With previous detectors, it was an intuitive move on my part to do this. Now I can verify my intuition and have a little more peace of mind.

So do the arrows actually prevent a ticket? Mr. Valentine would probably argue yes... I would say the arrows bring a far greater awareness of who is where. The other option the V1 has over all other detectors (if I'm not mistaken) is the bogey counter. Knowing there are two or more threats ahead, combined with the arrows WILL do you some good and save you from getting a ticket. That has happened to me personally and I can attest to it. I jammed on the brakes to avoid an unmarked car with laser, all the while the V1 was saying there was a second threat nearby shooting Ka at me... I would have been nailed if it were not for the multiple threat meter AND those arrows showing me I had not passed the 2nd threat yet.

My bottom line is that the combination of what the V1 offers is superior to the normal readouts of the other detectors and I won't be trading mine in for anything else anytime soon.

[Jeph]

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

The other option the V1 has over all other detectors (if I'm not mistaken) is the bogey counter. Knowing there are two or more threats ahead, combined with the arrows WILL do you some good and save you from getting a ticket.

I think the Escort has something similar. Tell me if it's different (aside from the arrows)... check it, yo:

It's called ExpertMeter. It simultaneously tracks up to 8 radar signals. It's actually a miniature spectrum analyzer that shows what band each signal is and its signal strength.

[RandallNeighbour]

U-G-L-Y ... That's how I'd spell that display! I'll keep the numbers on my V1.

Even if someone came out with a better detector, I wouldn't buy it. I have no more radar detector cash left in the Porsche fund!