$415

[blueillusion97]

$415......I hope it pays off.........few people keep telling me that i need a radar detector....I dont think im driving fast, i respect the law and speed limits, i always follow them ........So i ordered V1 and i hope it will be a good guardian angel for me.... Any good or bad experiences with V1 ?

[70Sixter]

It will pay off the first time it saves your butt.

V1's are very sensitive and false too often for me. Others swear by them. I think you did fine. Most high quality detectors are worth the high cost.

[Perfectlap]

ok when you first get it, don't stare at it every time it goes off.
When you have a real threat it will make a certain sound that is almost always the Five-O. Sounds something like this:

beep........beep.........beep.......beep...beep!be ep!!beep!!beep!!beep!!

After a while you learn how to listen to a V1.
The only problem is that the headlights from Inifinti Wagons always show up as Lazer.

p.s.
I think the V1 has probably warned me of a sneaky cop hiding behind a bush oh maybe a few dozen times. Its driving fast without a peep from the V1 that makes you enjoy the drive.

[Jeph]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

After a while you learn how to listen to a V1.

Can you listen to the arrows?

[Perfectlap]

Well as the V1 gets louder you look at the arrows.

but you have to be careful. One time I had a passenger who was yap yap yaping away and I completely ignored the V1 even though it was screaming.
Sure enough the five-O comes out from a supermarket parking lot and chases me down. The cop was my age so he only gave me ticket for something other than speeding but one that still required a court visit. He said he wouldn't show up so that the ticket would be thrown out.

But the V1 did its job. I was just being stupid.

[Hops]

I have a V1 and a Bel RX65. They both work well. The V1 is the best detector you can buy for highway use due to the sensitivity, the arrows, and the bogey counter. Unless you can turn off x band where you live (which is most of the country) and sometimes filter k it can drive you nuts driving in commercial areas of cities. The RX65 and Escort models are much better at filtering off axis signals, which helps make them more city friendly but can compromise always finding the cop.

I have driven a many, many miles with radar detectors since 1989. Just drove 10,625 miles around the US last summer. No tickets since 1992, but let me explain why. You have to view the radar detector as a source of information but you cannot let your guard down at all. Between instant-on, laser, and shooting you blind from behind (like an overpass or entrance ramp), there are still plenty of chances to get caught.

The four keys, IMO, to not getting tickets are 1) watching far ahead and in your mirrors at all times (if you react immediately and slow down when seeing the cop, it almost seems as if you get credit for being attentive), 2) watching for disruptions in traffic that signal clocking activities (brake lights, clustering of cars, people diving out of the fast lane), 3) making it hard for them to single you out (keeping traffic between you and the cop), and being aware of (slowing down a bit for) hiding spots where they can ambush you from front or back.

So, yeah, doing all these things is a lot of work. Sometimes it's better to just go with traffic and stick to 5-7 over the limit. But, on our trip last summer we probably averaged more like 12-15 over, especially in the western states. Our CB alerted us to a few traps, my eyes picked up a few, and the detector picked up a few. Had I relied solely on the detector we may have gotten nabbed a few times. But, the detector probably saved us a few times as well, the cases where it finds the threat before your eyes pick it up. There was a very well hidden local sheriff (SUV) in a little town in Wyoming that would have been awfully tough to pick out. He was on the opposite side of the road parked under a low shade tree, naturally right after the limit dropped from 55 to 25. Even with the detector going bananas it took me some effort to locate him. A pick-up was passing me right at that moment and got nailed.

[RaDaRkInG]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

After a while you learn how to listen to a V1.
The only problem is that the headlights from Inifinti Wagons always show up as Lazer.

It's not the headlights of the Infiniti that is making your V1 alert to laser.

http://valentine1.com/lab/Previously7.asp

Laser False Alarms

Why am I getting laser alarms when I follow some cars?
- J.J., Michigan


Red neon is occasionally used for the CHMSL (Center High Mounted Stop Lamp) on new cars. We know of these models: GM Trailblazer and Envoy, the Lincoln Mk VIII and the latest BMW 3-series convertible.

These lights use a neon-plasma light source. The red lens allows red visible light to pass, and also invisible energy near infrared. The source is powered by a pulsating voltage on a frequency that happens to be similar to the repetition rate of legitimate laser-gun pulse trains. In other words, the CHMSLs have an invisible energy leakage that’s nearly identical to the beam used by traffic laser. If we suppress the interference, we’re likely to damage laser sensitivity.

Another source of alarms: a few new cars have cruise controls that use laser to measure distance to the car ahead. This feature is available on the Lexus LS430, Infiniti FX35 and FX45. This, of course, is real laser, not a false alarm.