Newbie new v1 3.872 impressions
I am a retired engineer. I have been reading these forums for a few years. Didn't have time to participate before but now that I am retired, its playtime;)
I don't travel much but have a tendency to pass everyone on the road. Had bought a rx65 a few years back after looking at the GOL results from Jan tests of 2006.
Recently I have been stopped/warned a couple of time with I/O and realized it was time to upgrade. Returned to GOL and v1 was the clear winner in every test. So I bought a new one from mike:D
V1 is attached right below the factory tint parallel to the road:p. The tint keeps v1 out of the sun but gives it a clear view of the road. I have been around long enough to know not to test 2 detectors at one time. I have more time than anything else these days so I was ready and compared rx65 with new v1 3.872.
x and k band tested on grocery stores, laser tested on the sun:D
Laser- Almost too sensitive:). I live in the country and I don't have a big laser problem here, mostly ka band. I did get a laser alert to the setting sun.
X- band v1 almost twice the range
K-band v1 almost 1.5x range
ka band.. we have 35.5 where I live and I found it a toss up with very slight advantage v1:confused: I mean within a few feet, nothing like the x and k advantage.
I tested against a parked county cruiser facing a fast food restaurant. So it was perpendicular to the road that I was testing on. Since I had been running rx65 in usa mode so tried various modes on v1
Turning off pop on v1 increased the range on 35.5 slightly about half a block. Turning off x didn't help any further. Running both detectors together gave a rx65 slightly longer range but didn't effect v1 any:eek:
I had made several passes around the establishment and figured I better stop before I get stopped for circling the joint. Will do some more testing and report back;)
Re: Newbie new v1 3.872 impressions
Welcome, fellow retiree! Where are you located?
Every RD user ought to get out and do tests like that. It gives you a real appreciation for the nuances of the performance that greatly helps your situational awareness. Of course, no detector even comes close to the V1 in the situational awareness department, so you start off ahead of the curve.
Re: Newbie new v1 3.872 impressions
I am in arkansas. Hey I lived in altamonte springs /orlando for years back in the day. I moved out of Florida about 10 years ago. Was too busy for old man like me but the weather was awesome. The cops used to drive the old ford mustang 5.0 with k bands and a few planes monitoring I-95. Nothing like the mad rush now.
Re: Newbie new v1 3.872 impressions
Welcome to the forum. What kind of engineering is your specialty? Nice to see you doing comparisons. Funny I was doing the exact same measurements with my Escort 8500X50 to my 3.872 V1 and got similar results. non-enforcement Ka is hard to find around here.
X band = 0.47miles V1, 0.41 miles X50 Tested with Publix grocery store door shooting perpendicular to the road
K Band = 0.14 miles vs 0.09 miles X50 Tested on Walgreens
Ka tbd...no numbers yet
Re: Newbie new v1 3.872 impressions
I have a great friend in Altamonte Springs. I grew up in Cocoa Beach. I've got land and kinfolk in NW Arkansas, bout an hour east of Fort Smith. Mostly I'm in the Dallas area now, but I still spend a lot of time around West Palm Beach.
Re: Newbie new v1 3.872 impressions
Electrical Engineering but had been mostly doing computer stuff since the dot com days.
I believe your x50 is a little newer than my rx65. Mine is more of the age of old 8500s and that is why I was surprised that v1 didn't totally crush it.
Its hard to find constant ka that you can test against. I live a few miles from a county police station and can find someone with their ka band running once in a while. I am going to New Orleans for a few days next week and will probably test v1 more extensively. I did notice that if you run v1 with rx65, v1 falses on k band so they are definitely not playing good together.
Re: Newbie new v1 3.872 impressions
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Stealth Stalker
I have a great friend in Altamonte Springs. I grew up in Cocoa Beach. I've got land and kinfolk in NW Arkansas, bout an hour east of Fort Smith. Mostly I'm in the Dallas area now, but I still spend a lot of time around West Palm Beach.
No ****, you are pulling my chain now. I went to school at FIT in melbourne many centuries ago.:o
Re: Newbie new v1 3.872 impressions
Quote:
Originally Posted by
bilybob
I am a retired engineer. I have been reading these forums for a few years. Didn't have time to participate before but now that I am retired, its playtime;)
I don't travel much but have a tendency to pass everyone on the road. Had bought a rx65 a few years back after looking at the GOL results from Jan tests of 2006.
Recently I have been stopped/warned a couple of time with I/O and realized it was time to upgrade. Returned to GOL and v1 was the clear winner in every test. So I bought a new one from mike:D
V1 is attached right below the factory tint parallel to the road:p. The tint keeps v1 out of the sun but gives it a clear view of the road. I have been around long enough to know not to test 2 detectors at one time. I have more time than anything else these days so I was ready and compared rx65 with new v1 3.872.
x and k band tested on grocery stores, laser tested on the sun:D
Laser- Almost too sensitive:). I live in the country and I don't have a big laser problem here, mostly ka band. I did get a laser alert to the setting sun.
X- band v1 almost twice the range
K-band v1 almost 1.5x range
ka band.. we have 35.5 where I live and I found it a toss up with very slight advantage v1:confused: I mean within a few feet, nothing like the x and k advantage.
I tested against a parked county cruiser facing a fast food restaurant. So it was perpendicular to the road that I was testing on. Since I had been running rx65 in usa mode so tried various modes on v1
Turning off pop on v1 increased the range on 35.5 slightly about half a block. Turning off x didn't help any further. Running both detectors together gave a rx65 slightly longer range but didn't effect v1 any:eek:
I had made several passes around the establishment and figured I better stop before I get stopped for circling the joint. Will do some more testing and report back;)
As you'll see from the GOL tests the V1 isn't the best at off axis 35.5. It sort of has 'tunnel vision' on that frequency; and as MEM-TEK has said all they have to do is redesign the radar horn to pick it up better - but redesigning the horn may compromise the other bands.
Re: Newbie new v1 3.872 impressions
maybe try a STi with 35.5 Ka? but the arrows are great
Re: Newbie new v1 3.872 impressions
I understand the off axis argument and it maybe valid to some extent but I am more inclined to think its the variances in production that is causing this (micheal B reports). I have looked at many videos that happya$$ posted on youtube comparing v1 to his escort and if you look at his newer videos 3.872 seems to be getting its butt wiped. I know its not apple to apple comparison of a dash mount compared to a remote install but was his older v1 just a production anomoly?
There are many v1 users that are surprised when you tell them that v1 is not performing as expected. They don't believe it because they don't see that in their units.
Having said all that, I have very little experience with v1, but I already feel more comfortable riding with it on my dash compared to my old rx65. I don't think I ever realized the radar awareness that comes with v1. Whenever I had an alert before, it always seemed that it was something ahead of me. V1 has changed all that. I will continue to learn this new arena and appreciate all the feedback from you guys.
Re: Newbie new v1 3.872 impressions
I just changed from a v965 to a v1, its like night and day! Very happy to be a zombie now :D
Re: Newbie new v1 3.872 impressions
Quote:
Originally Posted by
OPTiK
I just changed from a v965 to a v1, its like night and day! Very happy to be a zombie now :D
Agreed on x and K band. I don't have much experience on ka yet. But if I can avoid any of the I/O ka, I will be the zombie cheerleader:p
Re: Newbie new v1 3.872 impressions
Quote:
Originally Posted by
bilybob
I understand the off axis argument and it maybe valid to some extent but I am more inclined to think its the variances in production that is causing this (micheal B reports). I have looked at many videos that happya$$ posted on youtube comparing v1 to his escort and if you look at his newer videos 3.872 seems to be getting its butt wiped. I know its not apple to apple comparison of a dash mount compared to a remote install but was his older v1 just a production anomoly?
There are many v1 users that are surprised when you tell them that v1 is not performing as expected. They don't believe it because they don't see that in their units.
Having said all that, I have very little experience with v1, but I already feel more comfortable riding with it on my dash compared to my old rx65. I don't think I ever realized the radar awareness that comes with v1. Whenever I had an alert before, it always seemed that it was something ahead of me. V1 has changed all that. I will continue to learn this new arena and appreciate all the feedback from you guys.
V1 3.813's were the last of the V1's before POP was introduced, which many blame to be the reason the V1 sensitivity went down a bit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
bilybob
Quote:
Originally Posted by
OPTiK
I just changed from a v965 to a v1, its like night and day! Very happy to be a zombie now :D
Agreed on x and K band. I don't have much experience on ka yet.
But if I can avoid any of the I/O ka, I will be the zombie cheerleader:p
Rabbits are your friend.
Re: Newbie new v1 3.872 impressions
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Cips
V1 3.813's were the last of the V1's before POP was introduced, which many blame to be the reason the V1 sensitivity went down a bit.
Sorry for my ignorance but did the antenna design change compared to the older units or has it been mostly software upgrades.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Cips
Rabbits are your friend.
Agreed but the part of country I live in there is not that much traffic and sometimes I am the only rabbit. But luckily the roads are straight and level so you can spot the LEOs and usually get some kind of radar hit. I could spot the leos back in the day, but now they are usually following an 18 wheeler so close, it seems they are cleaning the back doors of the trailer.
Re: Newbie new v1 3.872 impressions
You need to find out exactly what radar bands are used in your area.
No point of running X-band, if you determined for sure it's not used. Same goes for K.
Defenitly leave Ka and laser on.
Re: Newbie new v1 3.872 impressions
Quote:
Originally Posted by
bilybob
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Cips
V1 3.813's were the last of the V1's before POP was introduced, which many blame to be the reason the V1 sensitivity went down a bit.
Sorry for my ignorance but did the antenna design change compared to the older units or has it been mostly software upgrades.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Cips
Rabbits are your friend.
Agreed but the part of country I live in there is not that much traffic and sometimes I am the only rabbit. But luckily the roads are straight and level so you can spot the LEOs and usually get some kind of radar hit. I could spot the leos back in the day, but now they are usually following an 18 wheeler so close, it seems they are cleaning the back doors of the trailer.
From what I know it's been mostly software changes. The 3.872 was a hardware change but I believe all they did was change vendors. Maybe there was a little difference between vendor supplied hardware that we don't know about. I have no clue if the design of the antenna was changed or not.
Ooh, sorry to hear that. Where I live there's so much darn congestion everyone's a rabbit. :D
Re: Newbie new v1 3.872 impressions
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Cips
From what I know it's been mostly software changes. The 3.872 was a hardware change but I believe all they did was change vendors. Maybe there was a little difference between vendor supplied hardware that we don't know about. I have no clue if the design of the antenna was changed or not.
If the design of the antenna has been the same meaning they got it right the first time, then why worry about redline now. A little software tweak or a few new options like option 6 in v1 programming and you will have comparable range again. These are just exciting times in radar detection world;)
