Help me choose base on my situation

[gadgetF1]

I am new to the forum; hopefully I can find some good advice here.

I have done a lot of research and concluded the V1 was best. However, after some more research, I am now having doubts as in some ways the Bel Sti appears to be better.

I'm sure this has been discussed to death and don't want to start a V1 vs. Bel Sti war.

Rather, since this is a large investment, I'd like advice on which detector would best fit my needs?

The cops in my area use:
Cincinnati: KA, K, Laser[Ultralyte]
Clermont County: Instant On Ka, Instant on X, Instant on K, PL III, Ultralite Hwy 32

Which of the two is better for these conditions?

Thanks in advance

[guit123]

v1 for sure. for its lower price than sti, better sensitvity and the mighty arrows.

dont expect v1or sti to save u from laser though. v1 is great detecting laser but it might be too late by then to react.

[Kayrac]

do you need the stealth of the sti?

ever travel to virginia/wash dc/canada?

if not i'd prob suggest v1 if those are the only two your looking at


+1 to not hoping for laser saves, but the v1 is your best bet for laser

i just purchased my second v1, should be here tomorrow morning , i had a 9500i just before this, loved that one to, always wanted to try an sti myself, that stealthness just seems sweet

Oh btw, do you live/goto texas at all either? i see alot on these boards about the state troopers using the radar detector detectors to I/O radar detector users while they do commercial vehicle enforcement

[gadgetF1]

i don't need the stealth of the Sti, are there better options than these two that you would recommend?

Thanks for the help thus far

[Kayrac]

as far as the big dogs, for window mounted, you got the sti, v1, and 9500i

v1 being the cheapest and best sensativity out of those, it's chatty as hell, but it can be toned down, the 9500i is INSANELY quiet

i really want to get the new 9500ci, but it's 1600bucks

do you live in the city, or like country?, drive to the city much?, ever had a RD before?, any good with electronics?

all these questions come into play in a choice between a v1 and another rd

[Kayrac]

okay i gotta sleep, but i'll leave you with this before everyone else chimes in

if you don't need the stealth of the sti, or want it, look at the 9500i and v1, 9500i is 50bucks more

I've used both, there both amazing, 9500i super damn quiet, v1 not so much so, but you can customize the v1 quite a bit

programming the v1 is much harder than the 9500i(it's not all that hard to do the v1, but the 9500i is wicked easy)

both have extremely good sensativity, honestly man, it's all about preference, check out each of the two's features

main things being

9500i: truelock, never false alerts anymore(read cjr's sticky in the escort forum about this)

v1: Arrows, perhaps a slight edge on sensativity

both track multiple signals, those two items are the true selling points, atleast i think

my own personal opinion? the v1 mounts much better, 9500i tends to bounce, i could never get my 9500i right, and believe it or not it's wicked annoying bouncing up and down in the corner of your eye, but thats more of a personal thing, haven't heard anyone else say the same thing, so very easily just me


But at this point, it's just preference, they both offer 30day free test drives, i would suggest that, buy factory direct, (escortradar.com, or valentine1.com), speak to them, let them know you want to try it out for the 30days, you have to pay first ofcourse, but they will refund if you return it, they are very legitimate companys

Anyways, at this point for you, there all about the same sensativity, and it's going to goto preference to you

Although i will say the v1's have a very high resale value

[gadgetF1]

do you live in the city, or like country?, drive to the city much?, ever had a RD before?, any good with electronics?

all these questions come into play in a choice between a v1 and another rd

I live in the suburbs an do drive though the city from time to time, I've never had an RD before. And yes I'm ok with electronics (hence the name gadget) I plan on doing a hardwire instal in my car with a windshield mount.

I am getting a new (and very fast car) hence the need to finally get a RD

[Kayrac]

Well the 9500i has the ability to be VERY quiet

i honestly would probably suggest the 9500i over a v1 for city goer's, not to say the v1 would be bad, but it has the tendancy to pick up everything along the side of the roads

All being said and done, i just sold my 9500i, and ordered a v1 again myself

All in preference my friend, all in preference

sleep time, good luck with your decision, hopefully some others will chime in for you also

[djrams80]

I own both the 9500i and the V1. I personally like my 9500i slightly better, but I live in an area with tons of false alerts. The 2 RDs are basically equal. The best feature that each one has is:

The V1 has the arrows. They are awesone. Knowing the direction of the LEO is pretty sweet.

The 9500i is super quiet. I live in an area totally different than you, so my threats are way different. At least 99% of my true police radar hits are Ka. Because of that, it makes it easy and quite safe to have every false alert locked out. Basically, my 9500i only makes a noise when it is a LEO. You would have to be much more careful about what you lockout than I do.

There are lots of differences between the 2 RDs, but basically it's quietness vs arrows. Both will save you from radar equally, IMO. Living in Ohio, you need a jammer real bad, since the laser reports from there are quite frequent.

[CJR238]

X2 with all the above, but i might add.

Since you never had a RD before once you get one of the top 3, V1,9500I or STI. You will be more than happy. Doesn’t really matter which one.

Personally if you don’t need stealth the V1 and 9500I have equal real world results. V1 has the arrows to help weed out falses and where the LEO is but the 9500I has almost the ability to only alert to real threats.

Yes the V1 initially may be difficult to program un like the 9500I. However some thought needs to be done if you are going to use TrueLock.

I would probably say that if you have the budget to buy another RD in a few years start with the 9500I, then get the V1.

In the end both companies give a 30 day trial, and the only way you are rely going to know if you like a RD is to try it.

So 30 day it, or pick one and never look back.