Testing V-1 on K-band, need input.

[RacerX]

Okay, I’m working on a new test/review.
This one involves the V-1 and k-band. The test will include all 3 modes, in city as well as on highway. The main purpose of the test is to see the effect that the “automute” feature (7) has when being hit with strong and weak k band signals at given distances.

I’m putting this out to get the test parameters figured out and help avoid the “should have done this, or that.”
Once all the parameters are figured out, I’ll put it on an Excel sheet, for an easy fill in the blanks, so this test will be a little more structured. Any Excel pros feel free to offer your services.

Here’s a brief breakdown of the main points, and I’m sure the final tests will be very involved. Each test will include 3 passes and if any test has too large of a difference for these passes, then I will add passes or change location, since 3 passes should average out pretty close.

1. Open road test to determine max range of the radar gun I’ll be using, around an area with no falses. This will include all 3 modes with constant and instant on, along with specific distance tests with the Advanced Logic mode and different time limits on the automute. (5,15,30 second).

2. City test near falses to test all modes. With same time/distance parameters.
3. City test without falses to test all modes. Also same time/distance parameters.
As you see this will be a lot of testing, once you add up all the passes, and combination of modes, etc.

I will also detail what settings I have the V-1 on, and the radar gun used.

This is just a brief summary, so feel free to put your 2 cents in.
Thanks.

[RacerX]

See below.

[RacerX]

This has been edited/updated as of today 6/1/05

[dcbikerrick]

Racer,

This is great. Impartial data is always nice.

Thanks,

Rick

[cjs180]

RacerX I am very interested in what you find out with the different modes on the detector. THank you in advance for your work!!!

Chris

[V1 Dave]

RacerX,
Since I am a big fan of section 7 I can hardly wait for your results I only wish I was there to help you.
What you have looks good only thing that I might change is adding a 1/4 mile around the corner trap.
A lot of people put down automuting K band but it is mostly about how many miles you drive. I drive a lot so it is all about peace of mind vs reward.
I know when it is time to switch to A mode.

[RacerX]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

V1 Dave,
How about if i have the radar unit 1/4 mi from the corner trap? i have the perfect slow S curve out here, with miles of open area on both sides.
I'll start on one end, several miles back, and drive through the curve, with the radar gun 1/4 mi ahead of the curve.
Come on down. with everyone working during the day, i'm mostly limited to weekends, and early evening for the tests.

Just to preview, it appears that I lose about 1/2 mi of warning when it is in "L" mode with a 15 or 30 sec. delay, on the highway with instant on.

I'm going to rework some of the test parameters, here's what and why.
Any feedback would be appreciated.

1. I'm going to do the above test again, and also with constant on, to see if i lose the full 1/2 mile, or just part of it. Since i was doing instant on at 1/2 mi increments.

2. Small l mode doesn't seem to do much beyond alerting about the same as A mode, just at the muted volume, so i'm going to drop that part of the test.

3. I'm going to do all the tests with instant and constant on, since some areas around the country use constant for k band.

4. I'm also going to do these tests with option "G" on and off. I personally would not trust the V1 on the highway with it enabled, but middle of city driving may not be as big of an issue for someone wanting the V1 quieter.
Depending on how the tests come out, that will be a personal decision per individual user.

5. Options "E" and "F" have to do with unmuting at 4 or 6 lights.
The V1 is quite sensitive on k band and it can hit 4 lights fairly easily, while being quite a ways from the source, so i will also test with Option "E" on and off.

Now that i've been doing these tests, i think the bottom line question is, for those who feel it falses too much, how quiet can i get it and still be protected?

Having played with just about every combo of settings i can get mine real quiet, more so than my 8500, but at what loss of protection?
Well when i'm done, i hope to have the answer.

As you can see, this is a lot of driving and passes, but i'll try to get it done as soon as i can. Once i redo the the spreadsheet, i'll post it.

Oh, also If my highway runs show no real difference with POP, then i'll just leave it enabled for the tests.
I will also list all the settings and what i have mine set to, with only the settings changed that pertain to each test.

[RacerX]

well, i've modified the parameters as you can see above.
I condensed the test sheets for preview purposes. Each of the bolded tests on the 2nd page will have the 3 test run boxes for a fill in the blanks.

As you can see, this will be a lot of passes. The only other one i will probably add, will be some type of city test with E and G disabled.
For some, k band coming from behind may not be an issue, but for others, including myself, who has experienced this in my area, it could be.
I'm trying to make this as broad a test as possible, without driving for days at a time, so everyone can apply some or all of it to where they drive.

I'm hoping this will cover most of it. If someone has something specific to add, let me know.

[RacerX]

Wow, that was a lot of driving yesterday.
I am almost done. It seems every time i think i am about done, i find something new that i need to add or modify.

Let me give some preliminary reporting because i found out a few things that you need to know.

1. DO NOT enable/change option 'F". Leave it at default. It will not break the barrier until it's way too late. This one is worse than changing "G" which i will talk about in a minute. With "F" changed, in Big "L" mode, i lost all warning front and rear. At best, with a 5 second delay set, you know you're getting a ticket. With a 15 or 30, you'll know when they pull out. Driving away from the radar gun i got no warning at all. Driving towards i got no warning on the front with 15 or 30 set. I got warning with a 5 second delay as i was passing the source, problem is i was clocked over 1/4 mile back and it was quiet. This was at 40 mph. Now this was with constant on in the city. Using instant on it never alerted.
Now on the highway, a quick test showed similar results, but i will do a more structured highway test before reporting that.
Also, option "F" is supposed to break at 6 lights (out of 8 ) but it doesn't. it breaks at all 8. Problem is at 6 lights i can be in range and clocked.

2. Option "G". This doesn't just "mute" a rear alert, it completely blocks it as in not reporting a signal. With this one changed/enabled, i got NO rear warning, and this is driving 5' away from the gun. (City and Highway) the front did not even pick up the signal. Now driving towards, it did not seem to affect it, as it still alerted as though "G" was not changed. Passing the source also is affected. Instead of front, side, then rear warning, as you pass, it shows front, sides, then goes silent.

3. Option "E" seems likes it worked pretty well. 4 lights is an easy barrier to break with enough warning. I will elaborate more later.

Now in Big "L" mode i lose about 1/2 mile of warning on instant on, and about 1/4+ mile with constant on. (With E,F,G at default). 15 and 30 sec. delay seem to act the same, since at driving speeds you quickly come into "barrier" range. 5 sec is a bit quicker, but not enough to make any significant difference.

Now this portion of the city test was with no falses around. Doing the two tests with falses around has a bit of a problem associated with it. My V1 has a tendency to "ghost" k band signals some times, making some of the testing around falses invalid, since the bogey counter would jump back and forth sometimes. The good side is that most of the falses i come across don't go much above 4 lights, so any stronger signal seems to be legit. I'm going to change locations to something not quite so "crowded". I do notice that the areas with the most falses also seem to be the heaviest travelled, so traffic is slower anyway. the only time this could be an issue is late at night.
The other thing i need to note, is that i will try to find a new location with no lights in between. 2 miles of no signals is not an easy task. Even 1 mile is hard. The reason for this is that if i get stuck at a light, which happened. I would occasionaly pick up a weak signal that if i were driving i would not pick up.

Well back to the drawing board, sort of. At least i know my V1 inside and out.

[sethy]

Very informative post, good work!