is mike v a member on here

[ersin]

I don't think my V1 has better laser reception than my 9500ci, although I'm not sure that's a good thing. All the falses seem to be desensitizing me to laser alerts. I tend to think that Belscort could easily be on par with the V1 for laser sensitivity if they wanted to, but it's more "compant policy" that tends to lean them towards the "avoiding false alerts" side of the spectrum.

Hmm, I hardly ever get laser falses with the V1. Maybe one or two a year and it's always from a Chevy SUV in front of me. As far as falses in general, since I turned off X-band I rarely get any.

Stealth is definitely a possibility and if I had to guess, this might be the big breakthrough that the Veil Guy is pretending to know nothing about. Truelock is a fairly new Belscort feature that is patented, so there will be no following in this direction for quite some time.

Yea, I'd like to know what he knows.

There is probably a way to get around the patents. For example, I'd find some method to wire the V1 to a GPS unit or the OEM vehicle nav system. Then have the GPS unit store the locations and communicate with the V1. Maybe.

Without new customers, very few companies succeed. IMO, loyal current customers will not be enough to sustain VR. I think they need some new breakthrough in a relatively short time frame.

We'll see. But you won't succeed without loyal customers either. I know I'm responsible for at least two people buying a V1. Word of mouth is good advertising.

What people perceive as being a static design is really not the case. If you read this forum you see that they come out with software tweaks and changes periodically. What has stayed the same is the form factor. After all these years it would seem like the word is coming to an end if they should ever change it. This is what people see so they think that it's the same unit from years ago. If they would just change the case, maybe offer a different color, idk, people may perceive this as a big change.

I'd like to see a V2 that is just the head unit -- streamlined, symmetric and no controls or display -- but that comes with the remote display and control/audio unit. I know a few people that have a V1 and they all seem to use the remote. So, this type of change seems to make sense.

These are just a couple ideas that aren't very dramatic but will keep the V1 fresh, IMHO. I think that would be all that is needed.

[SuperSalad]

I don't think Mike V will ever sell. He started VR from the ground up and to me selling something like that would be bad. If I were him I would hate to sell and then see changes that all the new people are making, since they would probably be going in a different direction than he planned. That would hurt me at least.

I think that Mike V will own VR until the day he dies unless something drastic happens(maybe the patent thing that ya'll are talking about).

All I know is if belscort got the bogey counter and arrows I would still go with the V1. I think the V2 idea would be pretty cool though!

-SuperSalad

[FoolishOne]

Completely off-topic, but I will chime in.

Somebody said it a little while ago in another forum. Mike wants the user to be the main filter, look at their site and their whole total awareness. Competitors are all trying to filter out all the crap. These are 2 different mindsets.

Personally, I will probably always be a V1 fan strictly because I agree with Mike V's mindset and it also doesn't have all the fancy gizmos or huge logic behind it. Now, it can, but notice V1's BIGGEST selling point is NOT a logic feature; not SS, or TrueLock, etc.

Its a fantastic product from a 'mom and pop' shop; a hand full of people, 1 product line. I will be a loyal customer to the end, if/when that is.

[SuperSalad]

...Its a fantastic product from a 'mom and pop' shop; a hand full of people, 1 product line. I will be a loyal customer to the end, if/when that is.

X2

[ersin]

I don't think Mike V will ever sell. He started VR from the ground up and to me selling something like that would be bad. If I were him I would hate to sell and then see changes that all the new people are making, since they would probably be going in a different direction than he planned. That would hurt me at least.

I think that Mike V will own VR until the day he dies unless something drastic happens(maybe the patent thing that ya'll are talking about).

All I know is if belscort got the bogey counter and arrows I would still go with the V1. I think the V2 idea would be pretty cool though!

-SuperSalad

I don't know if he'll ever sell or not. I've seen small businesses that were thriving get sold because the owner/founder just got tired of it and retired. Mike V could do the same, but it's anyone's guess. How old is he anyway?

[djrams80]

Hmm, I hardly ever get laser falses with the V1. Maybe one or two a year and it's always from a Chevy SUV in front of me.

I'd say I average a laser fault a day with both my V1 and 9500ci. I live in the LA area and those Infiniti SUVs are a dime a dozen.

As far as falses in general, since I turned off X-band I rarely get any.

My V1 and the SRX I just sold both have X band turned off, because the false alerts are just too much to handle. Both my 9500i and my 9500ci, on the other hand, have X band on, but with all the X and K band false alerts locked out. If any my locals decided to buy an old X band radar system just for the fun of it, my Escort RDs would still alert me. That gives me peace of mind, however unlikely.

Yea, I'd like to know what he knows.

Wouldn't we all! I think he knows something.

There is probably a way to get around the patents. For example, I'd find some method to wire the V1 to a GPS unit or the OEM vehicle nav system. Then have the GPS unit store the locations and communicate with the V1. Maybe.

The Cheetah GPS mirror does allow the user to mute radar below a certain speed, but I think if they set it up to store false alerts, that would probably be in violation of the Belscort patent. That's just a guess on my part.

We'll see. But you won't succeed without loyal customers either. I know I'm responsible for at least two people buying a V1. Word of mouth is good advertising.

True for sure. A good mixture of both new customers and loyal customers is the best case scenario.

What people perceive as being a static design is really not the case. If you read this forum you see that they come out with software tweaks and changes periodically.

True, but Belscort has come out with a few truly innovative features and designs in recent years, along with dramatic improvements in sensitivity, closing the gap considerably with VR in this regard. Meanwhile, VR has made some tweaks and minor improvements, but nothing dramatic IMO. Lots of forum members here swear by their older version V1s. Both mine and happya$$'s 3.864 have ghosting problems not seen in earlier versions, while the notable added feature has something to do with Euro mode, so not each version is a noticable improvement.

What has stayed the same is the form factor. After all these years it would seem like the word is coming to an end if they should ever change it. This is what people see so they think that it's the same unit from years ago. If they would just change the case, maybe offer a different color, idk, people may perceive this as a big change.

I'd like to see a V2 that is just the head unit -- streamlined, symmetric and no controls or display -- but that comes with the remote display and control/audio unit. I know a few people that have a V1 and they all seem to use the remote. So, this type of change seems to make sense.

These are just a couple ideas that aren't very dramatic but will keep the V1 fresh, IMHO. I think that would be all that is needed.

Those are some decent ideas, but to keep up with the Jones's, I think they have to come up with something pretty dramatic, or they risk falling into the catergory of budget RD.

Hey, my V1 kicks butt and I love using it as kind of a change of pace RD when i travel. That doesn't mean however that I don't see some trouble brewing for the company down the line. If VR were to sell to Belscort, imagine how studly the next RD design would be! I'll say it again: Arrows, bogey counter, spec display, Spectre immunity and Truelock! Wow, I'd buy it! That thing would rule the RD world!

[SuperSalad]

...If VR were to sell to Belscort, imagine how studly the next RD design would be! I'll say it again: Arrows, bogey counter, spec display, Spectre immunity and Truelock! Wow, I'd buy it! That thing would rule the RD world!

Can you say monopoly? Yea that would be one bad@$$ RD but imagine what they could charge for something like that. Since escort, beltronics are now VR owned by the same company then it would basically be Cincinnati Microwave and Cobra as the main RD companies. And on top of that if I were Cincinnati Microwave and owned Escort, VR, and Beltronics then I would probably merge them all into just escort and build the ultimate RD you guys talk about.

Then if you wanted anything more than a paperweight on your dashboard then you would be looking at paying whatever the new "escort" company feels like pricing their new RD.

just my 2 cents...

-SuperSalad

[djrams80]

Can you say monopoly? Yea that would be one bad@$$ RD but imagine what they could charge for something like that. Since escort, beltronics are now VR owned by the same company then it would basically be Cincinnati Microwave and Cobra as the main RD companies. And on top of that if I were Cincinnati Microwave and owned Escort, VR, and Beltronics then I would probably merge them all into just escort and build the ultimate RD you guys talk about.

Then if you wanted anything more than a paperweight on your dashboard then you would be looking at paying whatever the new "escort" company feels like pricing their new RD.

just my 2 cents...

-SuperSalad

I think Cobra already sells more RDs than all the other RD companies combined. What difference would it really make, monopoly wise, if they actually did combine. The price concern is probably legitimate though.

[SuperSalad]

Yea the point of my post was concerning the pricing. It's true though that cobra probably does sell more but for a decent detector it would be pricey I think.

-SuperSalad

[strangeknight]

Yea the point of my post was concerning the pricing. It's true though that cobra probably does sell more but for a decent detector it would be pricey I think.

-SuperSalad

Problem with that is Cobras are not made in the U.S., Valentines are. I doubt if Mike is willing to see his child in the hands of a Chop shop operation in Myalashiawhatever.
My opinion is one of two things will happen. One, Mike V. made his money and will sell the company to the highest bidder, inside the U.S., and enjoy a nice phat retirement. Or two, he already has something made and ready to go but is not ready to release it until his patents run out. He has been around a long time and knows this field well. I bet he has a couple of prototypes locked away in waiting.
Also, you either want a radar detector or a dash information computer. The 9500 is nice but I believe, my opinion, that one could get lost in that much info all at once. I like the simplicity of the V1. It gives me what I need to know and quickly.