Valentine 1 vs. Bel 980 - Page 2

TortoiseAWD · 12-02-04, 05:27

Quote:

Originally posted by gto78
www.radartest.com lots of very useful information, non biased

A Google for "Craig Peterson radar biased" will turn up quite a few links. Craig is the guy that runs RadarTest, and he and V1 have had ongoing issues for a long time now. When it comes to the V1, IMO, radartest.com is FAR from being unbiased.

Tort

Guess My Name · 12-06-04, 10:01

Valentine..... I own 2 and have had them for years....

The direction arrows are incredible....they really do help a bunch....

velobard · 08-07-07, 09:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by TortoiseAWD

A Google for "Craig Peterson radar biased" will turn up quite a few links. Craig is the guy that runs RadarTest, and he and V1 have had ongoing issues for a long time now. When it comes to the V1, IMO, radartest.com is FAR from being unbiased.

Tort

This is an ancient thread, but I dug it up while doing a search on radar detectors. Tort, you might be interested to know that Peterson is apparently still stirring things up. Check out this post.
Radar detector jammer forum: View topic - The Truth Behind That Weird Ka

From a later post in another thread on that site, a settlement was reached but the court mandated that the parties involved were not allowed to discuss the details.

jesselyons2002 · 08-07-07, 09:15

I been to alot of different car forums. Everyone always say the V1 is the best.

azifukare · 08-07-07, 09:43

V1 is the only detector choice
with all its shortcomings like no true stealth remote install, always on windshield
it has one purpose
tell you where the radar is intelligently
it seems all other detectors are noisemakers compared to a V1
also it can be used visually unlike others because of it's format
if you listen to music but have it mounted in a sightline you do't have to hear the v1 to use it
I have a 30 mile commute down to 23 minutes door to door
if it warns k or Ka or Laser I trust it and STAND on the brake no tix since 1991
(knock, knock, knock)
just do yourself a favor and hard wire power to the unit
i mount all 4 of mine right under my rearview where my eyes automatically go
then get someone that wants to go even faster then you (there always is)
pull over, let them go by on the left, keep them in sight and watch your V1 when they get lit up & ticketed
drive smart + v1 = no tix

Booyah · 08-07-07, 11:03

V1 is not remote mountable--

I own a V1 as well and will never let it go--ever

Go here: Radar detector jammer forum: Index Lots of Great guys here and good reading on all detectors

velobard · 08-08-07, 10:25

I'd love to have a V1, but I'm pretty happy with the Escort 8500 X50 Blue I just picked up. Got it second-hand from a guy for $150. It's working great and served us well on a recent long road trip.

Anywho, my purpose in ressurecting this old thread was mainly to point out that Peterson is apparently still stoking the fires of rivalry, trying to sabotage folks he considers his competitors. Not cool.

inov8ter · 08-10-07, 02:46

V1 all the way.

Accumulator · 08-11-07, 10:27

At some point I think familiarity is gonna factor in here...I've been running V1s for so long that I can interpret them at a near subconscious level. Even if some other detector offered some real benefits, I'm just *so* accustomed to the V1 that I wouldn't want to start back up the learning curve and I suspect that I'd make enough mistakes during the acclimation period to counterbalance any benefits from better technology.

The only times I get popped any more are instant-on/laser incidents where the guy hasn't been clocking anybody ahead of me (for my detector to pick up). In cases like that I simply don't see *any* detector saving me...it boils down to how I respond and how the LEO feels about citing me vs. letting me slide.

Oh, and I too like mounting them right under the rear-view, but on some vehicles I stick with the visor-clip so as to not mark the windshield. On all my remotely modern cars, the suction cups react with the polymers in the windshield and leave a permanent "ghosting", not something I want on the Jag or on vehicles I'm gonna sell off after a little use.

Heh heh, hard-wiring some vehicles is a pretty big PIA these days...on the Audis they had to R&R an airbag and otherwise do a *LOT* of work to run the wires up the A-pillar...not something I'd even *think* of DIYing.

velobard · 08-12-07, 03:55

I believe there's really no dispute that the V1 has been one of the top choices for a number of years. I'd love to have the arrows and from what I've seen it's sensitivity, at least for most straight-on situations, is amazing. It would be great if one radar detector had all the bells and whistles, but of course patents won't allow that. The Bel 9500 allows you to mark known locations by GPS for falses from door openers and such so you aren't bothered repeatedly, the Bel STI offers absolute stealth against even the latest radar-detector-detectors, the Escort 8500 X50 displays up to 8 different simultaneous threats.

There's precious little you can do to avoid instant-on radar, but if someone is really serious about LIDAR (LASER) traps there are options for passive and active counter-measures. There's Veil coating for headlights and license plates and at least one or two other covers for plates. For people interested in slightly more aggressive measures, I know there's the Blinder LIDAR jammers. Keep in mind that LIDAR is not actually LASER, it's infrared light. The beam is tight, but from what I've heard at 1000' the beam is about 3' wide. For anymore with more interest in good reasons why to take precautions against LIDAR, search on problems with "slip effect" or "panning error" and how the guns can return false readings.

Accumulator · 08-13-07, 11:08

velobard- My conversations with LEOs make me reluctant to try the various countermeasures available. For every cop who'll just shrug and clock somebody else, there seem to be a lot more of them who would decide the driver they couldn't clock is the most interesting person they're gonna see on that shift. They can always use their "visual" to pull somebody over, and then things are pretty much in their hands (yeah, I know the arguments, but fighting it in court is still a long ways off at that point).

I've had a few say that they'd be, uhm..."serious" about a person who went to such lengths to get away with speeding. Most are pretty cool about radar detectors, but that's about as far as it goes IME.

Given how my instant-on/laser/LIDAR experiences have gone, I'd rather take my chances on the LEO letting me off after getting gets a reading.