Questions about v1

[Red Turbo Tegg]

Hi, what's up. I'm obviously new to the forums, and radar detectors in general. I'm about to be picking up a new (new to me) v1 on Sunday, but I had a few questions and wanted to hear some opinions before I close the deal.


I know V1 is supposed to be the best, and by the way people talk about it, and the tests I've looked at seem to support it, but I was wondering how user friendly it is. I hear it falses a lot, which isn't that huge of a problem as long as I can easily tell falses from real possible threats. Is this done easily. Do you get a chirp or what not and it stays on a weak streangth so you know that it's probably some doors or something, or is it so sensitve that when you pass the doors it's gonna light up like hard core radar blasts?


How usefull and accurate are the arrows and bogey counter? I would assume that they would be useful but I'm not sure how useful it is to the end user? I don't want it to tell me the threat is in front of me when I already passed it or something like that. Do you guys use the arrows and bogey counter alot, or enough to make it a feature that you guys wouldn't want to be without?


I live in Ohio, and although I don't usually speed daily driver, I have another car that I get "frisky" with on the weekend doing some competitive driving. How useful is a radar/laser detector in this state? Do they use lots of radar or is it mostly laser? What really peaked my interest is that I heard that the valentine is the best at detecting laser and Instant on radar which is what I'm afraid of untill I get the blinder m25 and some veil, and then only instant on will be a worry. Is it really as good as they say, or just a little better than the rest. To be honest, when I first started researching detectors, I started my research looking at a passport 9500i, but during that research it lead me to valentine. I do like some of the more user friendly features that the 9500i has, especially voice alerts. I like them a lot. I know some people think they're annoying, but I like it more than trying to listen to tones. If it's only a little better, I may spring for the passport, but if it's as good as they say, V1 for me. I can deal with less userfriendly for way better performance, but not slightly better. Thanks in advance for advice, and insight. RTT.

[jdmcivic25]

first of all I hope your nice teggy is JDM (I have a 2000 em1 turboed si ). Ok so I will start this off by giving some info about ohio the buckeye state and LEOS...

bands in use would be x band k band laser and ka.

Ohio:

Adams County: Instant On X,Instant On K, Ultralite Hwy 32
Beavercreek: Laser, X
Brown County: Instant on X,Instant On K, Ultralite Hwy 32
Centerville: Laser, KA
Cincinnati: KA, K, Laser[Ultralyte]
Clearcreek: KA, X, K, Laser
Clermont County: Instant On Ka, Instant on X, Instant on K, PL III, Ultralite Hwy 32
Cleveland - Beachwood Township: Ka constant
Cleveland - Highland Hills: K C/O and I/O, Laser (@ TriC campus--Richmond & Harvard)
Cleveland - Lindale Township (off I-71): Ka constant
Cleveland - Orange Township: Ka C/O and I/O (35.5 and 34.7), Laser; note that they'll typically have a K-band drone out for appx. one to two weeks before they selectively enforce that same stretch of roadway
Cleveland - Shaker Heights: Ka, K C/O & I/O, Laser (LTI 20/20, possibly UL), please add "K I/O" to current threat list.
Cleveland - Warrensville Heights: Ka
Cleveland - Woodmere Village: Ka constant
Cleveland (city): K, Ka, Laser
Cleveland Heights: K CO, Ka IO, (possible) POP
Copley: Laser
Dayton: K, KA, X
Fairborn: X, KA
Fairview Park: Laser
Grandview Heights: Laser [PLIII, LTI]
Hamlton: K, KA
Miamisburg: K, KA
Middletown: K
Moreland Hills: Laser
North Olmstead: Laser
Parma: Ka constant
Richfield/Bath: K, Ka (BEE III, possible POP), Laser[Stalker]
Russell: Laser
Springboro: K, KA
Springdale: Laser
Washington Township: Laser
Williams County: Laser
Winchester: As soon as you hit the boarder of Adams they use Instant On K from a small town on 32 Hwy

Now as for the v1 im limited in that area because im an escort guy but from what I hear the newer v1 have bogey counter issues where it "ghosts" and adds more bogeys on to an initial target.

Obviously without a doubt I believe it is the best radar detector for the money and once you get your lasers jammers you will be safe. It's ranger and performance is superb and im sure you will not be dissapointed.

Some people say the 9500i is the new king but I still believe for the price the v1 still reigns champ.

[Red Turbo Tegg]

Thanks for the info, do you have any info for Columbus, franklin county or the surrounding citys? I'm in Reynoldsburg (just outside of Columbus). Unfortuanatly, No JDM stuff. The car is actually down for right now, but I'm gearing up for the summer. I'm doing a built top and bottom end LS/vtec turbo set up. I like the passport because I like voice alerts, but it's really no big deal if the v1 gives superior protection. I don't give a **** about the gps lockout really. If the v1 just had voice alerts, it would be icing on the cake to me. Any other opinons/advice?

[jdmcivic25]

I can browse and try to find more information on those specific counties. To be honest the GPS lockout on the 9500i can be iffy and TBH i would never trust it. So for me that would make me throw the idea of the 9500i out of the window. A member stated it the best, he wrote to one of my threads talking about sensitivity.

"my 9500ci > my V1 > my 9500i > the SRX I just sold last week"

of course if you wanna spend 1.5k on the ci then lol um go for it. But here are some testimonials of how well the v1 works.

"Mine was when I was on I-20 to Dallas at 11:30 at night and hardly any cars but some 18-Wheelers upahead and some local cop decided to blast them with I/O Ka on 4 pack of them for no reason and I was going 80 to 85 in a 65 and I was on the road by myself with no rabbits against I/O Ka so you know that would be a great save and he had the best hiding place I ever seen and I know I would not have saw it if I didn't have my V1 with me (In the high grass with trees around and some objects around too like rails next to him). This was maybe 1/2 of a mile warning by the way"

here are some videos of it in action just to prove it rocks haha (ericpheonix has very nice v1 vids on youtube):
YouTube - V1 high and center sniffs out Constant On Ka band
YouTube - Valentine 1 ownes the SR7 real world Ka detection.

[Gothenburg]

The arrows alone are worth it. It is great knowing if the threat has passed by or not, which direction it is coming from, etc. Others keep you guessing and searching the mirrors. Can be dangerous.

Also (I've had it many times) when you pass one officer you see the arrow goes behind, but many times there may be more than one. In this case the V1 still points behind, but blinks ahead, indicating the more severe threat still coming. Again, with just a beep, you assume you passed the alert and resume your speed... bummer.

Don't get me wrong, the Escort's expert mode is really close (indicating the # of threats and strength), but you are still lacking the arrows.

The arrows DO make a difference, and for many of us that have tried other detectors before, they make the sale. Just read some of these:

V1 Moments

[Red Turbo Tegg]

thanks, any more opinions?

[hockey005]

Bein from Ohio laser is a major threat..the v1 will is the best at detecting laser and has saved me a couple times with picking up laser scatter from other cars but the only way to be safe is to get a jammer...also turn pop off when u get ur v1

[Red Turbo Tegg]

Why turn pop off? Doesn't Ohio use pop radar?

[hockey005]

no, no one does..leos cannot give tickets with pop...it says that in the radar units manuals...also it makes the v1 false on Ka and "J out" way to much

[Cips]

...but I was wondering how user friendly it is. I hear it falses a lot, which isn't that huge of a problem as long as I can easily tell falses from real possible threats. Is this done easily. Do you get a chirp or what not and it stays on a weak streangth so you know that it's probably some doors or something, or is it so sensitve that when you pass the doors it's gonna light up like hard core radar blasts?


How usefull and accurate are the arrows and bogey counter? I would assume that they would be useful but I'm not sure how useful it is to the end user? I don't want it to tell me the threat is in front of me when I already passed it or something like that. Do you guys use the arrows and bogey counter alot, or enough to make it a feature that you guys wouldn't want to be without? ...

It is user friendly, it just doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles; it comes with everything you need, a device to detect radar.

Determining falses from threats is easy due to the bogey counter, arrows, and strength display. If you've used a detector before, you should know a thing or two about the strength of falses.

I use the bogey counter a whole lot, in my opinion it may even be a little more worth it than the arrows, but the arrows are also very helpful.

The arrows are very accurate with real threats. They may not always tell you the physical position of the LEO, but they accurately tell you where the radar is being shot at.