V1...Really worth it?

[dwillis77]

Hey,

As some of you may know I have had my V1 for about 5 days now, and performance has been less than stellar. Granted it is miles ahead of my old RD, i'm wondering if it is really worth the extra 100, over the x50.

Reasons:
#1. The arrows are a great feature, but really necessary? Its good to know whether LEO is infront or behind you I supose, but shouldnt you slow down anyways? Also, as Mike V says on his website, you cant get radard from the side (mine doesnt even really pick up side anyways) so whats the point of the side arrows? Isnt it speculated that the arrows also might slow down response time?

#2. From what I have been reading on various website (http://www.speedzones.com/Laserdetection.html to name one), the V1s KA detection is worse than the of the x50, rx65, and even some $200 dollar models. For most people, isnt KA going to be the biggest threat? I mean sure V1 has the best laser, but as stated on the website about, V1 didnt even pick it up on the car infront of it...so when you're hit you're hit and there isnt much you can do about it. In my opinion I would rather have excellent KA than excellent laser...wouldnt most agree?

I love my V1 but im wondering if I really made the right choice. The one thing that is making me hang onto it is the $75 upgrade thing they have going on, But the results I have been seeing on various websites is very disapointing to me. Perhaps they are just bias towards one particular RD and just swung the results in favor of that one? I hope this is the case, lol. Because although part of me knows that V1 might not be worth the extra cash, another part of me wants to keep it.

[carlito]

v1 is worth every penny in my opion front and rear arrows are the only important thing for me when i get a weak alert from the rear i speed up and lose the weak alert i never slow down hardly i actuualy speed more
anyways you also get a rear antenna which is like haveing 2 radar detectors in 1 unit also laser cant be touched on the v1 no other unit offfers this
its full upgradeable in software so u think for a second do you think its really worht it?.I say it is.

[carlito]

ka detection is not problem with the v1 even on older models the ka detection is good more than 1 mile is allways good in my opion.
oh ya lets not foget v1 picks up very quick burts of instant-on hits 100% x50 wont alert all the time v1 will :wink:

[f_399]

very much worth it!

[JTW]

yeah, it's worth every penny. You're in good hands with Valentine :wink:

[Hessen]

yeah, it's worth every penny. You're in good hands with Valentine :wink:

X2....... :wink:

[allyoops]

It's a very good detector. I'd say stick with it for a wee while then after another month or so try being without it for a day and go back to your old one. (Pepsi taste challenge)

That's when you'll notice the difference.

I agree about Laser - you're better with a jammer - it's all about the right tool for the job!

[GTO_04]

I can't think of any $200 RD with better Ka detection than the V1. IMHO I would not attach a lot of weight to the Speedzones tests. GOL tests have more credibility. They do show the higher end BELs as slightly better on 33.8 and 35.5 GHz Ka band and V1 as the best on 34.7 Ka band. V1 did better everywhere else.

Whether Ka band is the biggest threat depens on where you live and drive. Where I drive K band is the biggest threat and V1 is best there.

The best thing to do is buy an RX-65 (or an X50) and compare it to the V1. Then you can decide for yourself.

Doesn't an RX-65 cost $329? That makes it $71 less than a V1 not $100. Just something to think about.

I like BELs, I've owned a lot of them. I like the V1 better than the BELs and from my experience their performance is more consistent from unit to unit. I have friends and relatives with V1s and they all perform the same. I cannot say that about the BELs that I've owned. I tried a 995 and it wasn't even close to the V1 on any of the Ka bands. Others here have had very good performance from their 995s. There's just more variation. You may get a really good one, or you may get a dud! I have a 985 and it has turned out to be very good. The Ka did quit on it and I had to pay $85 to get it fixed, but it's working very well again.

GTO_04

[RacerX]

well,
ultimately it's whatever is best for you. to answer your questions:

reason #1:
not necessary but a good feature. if you watch the strength meter of, say, the X50 and it gets stronger, you're approaching the source or it's flying up your back. that strong and you're slowing anyway.
if it peaks at some point and starts to drop, you're passing it.
side arrows don't matter. they just show that the strenth is about equal on the front and rear antenna. they could probably get rid of them and flash front and rear together to get the same effect. then it flashes whichever one is strongest. i don't believe the arrows slow down response time. the V1 is very fast, especially k band.

Now for myself, i liked the arrows. they make it quick and easy to see what's coming from where, but they are not 100%.
a strong hit and i'm slowing regardless, a weak hit and i'm looking at my detector for signal strength and if it's a V1, arrows too.



reason #2:
do some reading around here and you'll see that the top 3 all perform equally well. there are more than enough people here that combined have the top 3 and each unit has given someone great performance.
no detector owns the others on radar performance.

now laser is different. i can confidently say 100% the V1 owns everyone on laser. however, you are still likely to get a laser ticket without other countermeasures. the V1 does decrease that a bit, since it can pick up scatter from other vehicles, but don't rely soley on it for laser protection, or we'll be seeing a thread titled "V1 warned of laser, but i still got nailed"


so to summarize, yes i feel it is a worthwhile detector. read what everyone here has to say, do some more resading around here, look at different test results, including GOL. see what threats are in your area, look at your budget, and see if you "like" the way the V1 looks and works, feature wise.

then decide if you'll keep it, or send it back, get something else and maybe put the $70-$100 towards a jammer, Veil, Lasershield, etc...

either way you'll find lots of opinions, but in the end it's what works for you.

good luck and welcome to the forum.

[Rottman]

I think it's worth every penny and then some. 8)