If the V1 didn't have the arrows...

[ES13Raven]

If the Valentine One didn't have the arrows - and no rear detection - would people still buy it for $400? Would it still be worth $400?

Or would the features of some other detector now stand out as the best feature on a radar detector?

I posted this in the General forum because I want non-V1 owners to vote on this as well.

[AV8TOR]

I am a long time Passport user and when I bought my first V1 that made all the difference in the world. One road I drive a lot has patrolling State Police and this road has some curves and hills so you can’t see ahead very far. With my V1 I love it when I pick up instant on Ka pulses and it’s pointing from behind. I simply go faster and put some distance between him and I then. No way can you do that without direction information.

[AirMoore]

No.
It would then need a 'facelift' IMO.

[AirMoore]

I am a long time Passport user and when I bought my first V1 that made all the difference in the world. One road I drive a lot has patrolling State Police and this road has some curves and hills so you can’t see ahead very far. With my V1 I love it when I pick up instant on Ka pulses and it’s pointing from behind. I simply go faster and put some distance between him and I then. No way can you do that without direction information.

Be careful, the V1 arrows have been known to be wrong, had I done exactly what ur describing, I would have sped head-long into a speedtrap.

Don't be overconfident in them, they can be wrong... and all it takes is one time.

[whiterabbit05]

i voted no =)

arrows and rear antenna are what make it great

[Vahomboy]

I started out years ago with Fox brand (POS) and road with a friend that had a Whistler Q2000. Loved it, bought one. Had that for a while, then later on a friend's dad was a truck driver and he had an Escort, the big black one with yellow light and meter. Bought me one. Then out came the smaller version Passport, sold the Escort and bought the Passport. Ended up selling that one and bought another version. Then I found out about the V1. Bought me one and have been hooked ever since. The one I have now is my second one. Upgraded to their latest and greatest. I send it in occasionally for a checkup/upgrade and it's usually sent back to me at no charge. I just wish now it was invisible to the Spectre...... :?

[ES13Raven]

i voted no =)
arrows and rear antenna are what make it great
I agree... its what brought me to the V1 in the first place. Without them, the V1 seems feature-less.

Just like the 9500i is not worth $450 without the GPS lockout working correctly, the V1 is not worth $400 without the arrows.

[Buz]

Let's just say, I would be much more cirtical about it's shortcomings.
Don't forget the V1 has the always upgradable platform.
For now, the arrows and upgradability far outweigh the slight lacking of preformance in certain areas IMO.

[animal4l]

I voted no, but that was assuming no arrows, nothing else about the display changed, and the unit remained $400.

I would have voted yes if the price was dropped to $330, had a text display like the Belscorts, and had a remote (concealed) text display.

I ordered a V1 over a RX65 because the remote display is more than just two lights and a mute button. Can't wait to get my V1! Might false more than the RX65, but it can't be any worse than what I have now.

[<<JAZZY>>]

The V1 is still worth it without the arrows.

I would still prefer magnesium and not plastic, excellent rear detection and not weak rear detection, excellent instant-on radar detection and not filtered silence, every laser gun detected in every situation and not marginal laser detection that doesn't see the stealth mode, true upgradeability and not a lie, real concealed display offered and not a lighter cord with 2 bulbs, bogey lock tone and not silence, direct wire kit and visor mount for free and not optional, excellent resale value and not a paper weight, and on and on.

[ES13Raven]

I voted no, but that was assuming no arrows, nothing else about the display changed, and the unit remained $400.
That is correct...

[ES13Raven]

excellent rear detection and not weak rear detection
You don't know if the V1 would have "excellent rear detection" without a rear antenna. It might be bad due to the whole "side lobes" thing.

And the V1 might not have "excellent resale value" without the arrows. :wink:

[V1 Dave]

One way to tell, cover it up w/foil and do a test.

[nomore55]

I'd really miss the arrows. I frequently move between 3 cars, two equipped with Escort detectors, the other with the V1. It drives me crazy to not know whether I am approaching or moving away from a threat.

[Buz]

<<JAZZY>> wrote:

The V1 is still worth it without the arrows.

I would still prefer magnesium and not plastic, excellent rear detection and not weak rear detection, excellent instant-on radar detection and not filtered silence, every laser gun detected in every situation and not marginal laser detection that doesn't see the stealth mode, true upgradeability and not a lie, real concealed display offered and not a lighter cord with 2 bulbs, bogey lock tone and not silence, direct wire kit and visor mount for free and not optional, excellent resale value and not a paper weight, and on and on.

I agree with everything you said Brent. :wink:

[ES13Raven]

I agree with everything you said Brent. :wink:
LOL :lol:

[AirMoore]

I agree with everything you said Brent. :wink:
LOL :lol:

:lol: :lol: :lol:

[V1 Dave]

Not sure if it would be $399, remember the first V1 was non laser for $299
I like the tones, volume, upgradable, magnesium, phone cord, better.
Controls on the front is a big one for me as I visor mounted an origanal Passport for ten years,
and it is still my favorite mounting position.
IMHO the competition needs a facelift because you cannot use a visor if chosen.
My first V1 was in 94' but I reluctantly sent it back after 30 days because I felt my original Passport was sufficient and Ka was not yet used.
Bought V1 again a year later and use it daily, probably 750,000 miles on it.
I think a better vote for me would be what if V1 was never made,
I would use an Escort not sure if it would be an X50 but it is closer to the V1 or Cincinnati Microwave tones and ramp up.

[ES13Raven]

Not sure if it would be $399
This is just a "what if" question about the V1 not having the arrows & rear detection. Price and all other features are the same.

[Spinner55]

:shock:

Hello,

I have been known to take down a non-V1 detector and turn the detector around and direction find the source. Now if it had a mount like the VG2 RDD would make things a bit more easy. :roll:

My thoughts on improving the V-1:

Update the V1 to at least a different color for each band LED and auto muting. Plus some changes in filtering for K and X bands.

V-2 Lower price a bit less features:

I would like to see them come out with a 'standard' detector. One horn, no arrows and digital read out for the bands and bogey counter with great K and Ka range and great filtering for K. X band with a option to decrease the range down a bit, since LEO X band alerts are fairly 'rare' in most places of the country except for NJ. Maybe limited upgradeable ability for that detector only. Kind of like a advanced 'beginners' detector and promote the V-1 as a Mercedes of the line.

Take care,

Spin

[jwardell]

I would absolutely buy it.

The arrows are just the most obvious feature that sets V1 apart.

More valuable is the higher sensitivity, higher quality software that shows itself in things like a stead ramp-up, the bogey counter, and honestly one of my favorites is the simple volume knob.

[Ace_Racer]

Well I would still purchase one without arrows because I look at what is really important and that is sensitivity. Knowing the direction of a threat helps very much, but the most critical thing it already has.

Paying $400 for no arrows would be really expensive for a lot more people. One major reason that people buy the V1 is because of the arrows. I mean it is the only detector out there with them. Without them I think the sale of V1's would have a drop of course, but still sensitivity is most important when considering a radar detector.

Now between a V1 with no arrows and a Bel Pro RX65 I really would have a hard time because since KA is a threat for me and the Bel does have a high reputation for sniffing out KA (34.7 GHz) I might just use the Bel.

So there it is folks.

Have A Nice Day 8)

:lol:

[bart99gt]

I voted no, but it is purely on price grounds.

If it didn't have the arrows or rear antenna and was $100-125 or so less, then I'd probably still buy it. I had an RX-65 for about 6-7 months just to see what it was about. To me, the V1s simplicity is what made it most appealing to me. One control, a simple display and great performance. I found it annoying that the Bel expert display wasn't "smart" enough to realize you had disabled X band and didn't shift the K and Ka band displays, nor give them more real estate on the display. Also, the spec display is good for geeking out when you want to see what Ka band radar the cops are using, but is relatively useless when driving.

If I come into another situation where I actually NEED a detector again, I'll buy another V1. However most of the departments in my area use almost nothing but laser, a detector really is nothing but a ticket detector.

[Jon_Doh]

If it didn't have arrows then it wouldn't cost $400. Arrows only work with two antennaes and you don't need two antennaes if you don't have arrows. So the price would be less. Gadgets cost money. The Passport sure went up in price when they added GPS. But, back to the subject, I would still buy it because it has the best overall range of any detector arrows or not. Range is what is important.

[crazyVOLVOrob]

If the detection ability was still the best I would still purchase the V1

[GTO_04]

I would probably not pay $399 if the V1 had no arrows and no rear antenna. I would expect a lower price if it did not have those features.

GTO_04

[ES13Raven]

I would probably not pay $399 if the V1 had no arrows and no rear antenna. I would expect a lower price if it did not have those features.
x2

[lowkey]

no way i would not even buy the v1 if it did not have the arrows even if it cost around $250 no way man but like someone said you need the rear antenna for the arrows to work.. :wink: anyway v1 is top dog!.but if any of the bel/escort radar detectors had those features i would pick one of them

[Arashi666]

NO........... the arrows are the only reason im presently contemplating on buying one

[proudNMAmember]

X2 to yah GTO. Arashi666, go ahead and take the plunge and try it out for 30 days. If you don't like it (which I hope you do), just return it and get a full refund. What do you have to lose?

[JadeRaven]

The arrows really were not a factor in making the decision to switch to the V1. I had seen V1's in action in other folks' cars a lot, but I was not used to it enough to realize what I was missing out on. The arrows sounded nifty, but they were not really a consideration.


However, now that I have them, I would never go back. . . . :)

[aust3333]

I would probably not pay $399 if the V1 had no arrows and no rear antenna. I would expect a lower price if it did not have those features.

GTO_04

X3, these are the features that made me bite on the V1.

[DogGod]

Yes I would. IMO the ramp up and sensitivity of the V1 are better than the X50, and from what I have heard the RX65 has a horible ramp up. I have used the X50 and in reality the arrows really arent essential, I like the fact that with the V1 I can track up to 9 signals, be it 3 Ka or 9 K in a shopping mall parking lot. When ever I use the X50 I feel a little unprotected with out knowing if there are more than 2 signals of the "important" bands around. I do however like the display of the Escort units, without Lifespeed's remote I still find it hard to visually distinguish what band is being reported, but with a text display there really isnt much of a chance in not being able to tell what you are getting hit with. Without the cornerstone of VR(arrows, rear detection) I am willing to bet the V1 would not be $400, if it were still $400 then no I wouldnt buy it, if it were competitive with the Escorts then I would.



If it didn't have the arrows or rear antenna and was $100-125 or so less, then I'd probably still buy it

For that price you cant even get a top of the line Cobra, I HIGHLY doubt an arrowless V1 would be that cheep.