Hi, I posted earlier on introducing myself to the forum. Now that i've been playing with the unit for a couple of week here are some of my initial driving impressions of my new Valentine One Radar Locator version 3.863, also affectionately known as the V1, for short.
First off, I live in Queens New York. My new V1 is extremely sensitive to everything, not only do I pick up all valid radar sources I pick up every single X and K band door opener or alarm in between. A big problem for city use espcially if you're driving down Queens Blvd is that they're so many speed signs and other falses that it makes this (and most any other) detector not very useful for K band alerts. When driving in the city I put the V1 in Advanced Logic Mode (the BIG "L") which is quick and easy to switch on and off. That significantly helps reduce the X band alerts (which aren't used by local LEO's) while i'm in the city.
I love the Arrows and it's fun and useful to know where all of the alerts are coming from. Some opponents of the V1 may ask what's the point or usefulness of the V1's arrows, just slow down when you hear a beep. Watching your speed when you hear a beep is all well and good, but with the arrows we don't have to be paranoid for miles slowing down for a radar source which may be inconsequential, such as radar that's to the side or behind us at a non-threatening distance. With those nifty arrows V1 users know when and where the radar is coming from, and can make informed decisions on when to disregard it. That's something that you can't do with any other unit.
The overall radar detection prowess of this unit is unsurpassed. I pick up X, K and Ka band radar from miles away, through turns, curves and slopes, in all cases being notified in more than enough time to slow down should they have been law enforcement as opposed to a speed sign or some other source. The only police trap's I've come across so far have been in New Jersey. They used constant on X band radar which I picked off from miles away, and through a turn in the highway. They had their car tucked away nice behind the bushes on the left, but with the V1's arrows I knew not only that I was approaching the bogey from the front, I knew when I was passing him further giving away his location for future reference. I've also picked up a couple of laser sources as well though I'm not certain if it was from law enforcement or not.
In conclusion. I think the V1 has great detection capabilities. It's picked up radar sources from miles away, and it's always kind enough to let me know where the radar is with those nifty arrows that help me weed through inconsequential alerts. The unit looks nice and is rugged, though I would prefer multi-colored LED's and / or Voice Prompts. This unit is best suited for highway driving as city driving can be overwhelming with all of the non-leo alerts. If you were in NYC for example and wanted make this unit more useful for local city driving, I'd suggest turning off X-Band and Programming K band to work with the Logic and Advanced Logic modes so you can switch it on and off when you're going from local streets to highways. Just remember to re-enable X if you leave NYC.
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