V1 purchase, now buyers remorse?

[partsfreak]

do what I do, keep the V1 for the highway and enjoy it for what it is. Use a lesser detector for the city, the beltronics 955 is cheap and still does great at detecting real police cars while not being so sensitive that it goes off all of the time.

Best advice I have seen yet. I agree 100%

[partsfreak]

All we need now is for RadarKid to jump into the fray.

you called?

[RadarKid]

All we need now is for RadarKid to jump into the fray.

you called?

[Red Turbo Tegg]

Well is sounds like you made up your mind up. The V1 isn't for everyone. It doesn't sound like you really speed that much, so having bkazing sensitivity and awareness of the arrows is probably more than you need. The V1 is pretty much for people who know what they're doing and need what it can offer. Not everyone can handle it, that's why there's the 9500ix, it's almost as good at detecting and isn't as chatty.

You say you did a lot of research before buying. Did you not find anyone who had anything negative to say about how chatty the V1 is? Anytime I see this discussion on any forum of any kind, it seems to come up pretty quickly.

I did do research on both the V1 and the passport. However, it wasn't as extensive as I researched my recent car purchase.
I asked a few people who have the V1 and or owned a V1 in the past about their experiences ( not here but on other forums ). I did browse this forum a bit, did a few searches. Finally, the the members at my other forum have told me once I got the arrows I would understand that V1 would be superior even though the V1 would pick up more false threats. So I purchased it to see for myself. Although I did research my purchase, it doesn't guarantee that I know exactly what I am buying. Is this my fault? absolutely..

So I have had it for a week now and not impressed.. I didn't think it would pick up this many false alerts. Perhaps my idea of a radar detector is different from other V1 owners? Or maybe the area where I live is just loaded with radio waves everywhere.

I assumed that the technology had advanced a little further since the 1990s and we would now have detectors that don't pick up SO MANY false threats.. I guess the passport is actually what I am looking for in this regards. I do like the arrows pointing out where the false threats or real threats are located, and I found out recently to me that its not important since as I said if I hear an alert on a detector I'm going to react.

Just to let you know, I'm not upset or angry. Just dissapointed.

As for the arrows, if you have not yet realised their potential, then you honestly have not spent enough time driving with it to do so. Did any of your pre-purchase research include reading the V1 website? There are multiple examples there of how the arrows work for you that make it pretty clear. You say you don't care where the threat is because you just slam on the brakes anyhow. That's a false alert! Why slam on your brakes for an alert that is of no threat to you? If you know where it is, you know if it is a threat to you or not. Isn't the point of an RD to facilitate speeding? If so, then slowing down for a cop a mile behind you on a divided highway is worse than a false alert from the liquor store across from your house, when you're not even driving at the time anyhow, isn't it?

I've read the V1 website and found the examples of how an arrow would be useful. Of all those examples, I found only one to be actually useful and thats pointing the arrows for multiple bogeys. However, this is kinda pointless to me because like I already said, if I hear an alert, I would slow down.. ( not slam on my brakes, as you put it ) just slow down to the speed limit. On the passport if it filters out false alerts better than the V1 then I wouldn't have to worry too much. And if the Passport blocks out a real threat like some of you claim that it might, then it would be the same as if I was driving without a detector And I've done for the past 10 years with no tickets.

Bottom line, I will give this detector a full 30 day try and in the end if I still feel that its not what I wanted, I can always return it. My first week with the V1 so far has been bleh.. But as I said before, the real test comes when I take my road trip on I95 south for 500 miles.

Thanks for everyones comments here.

[Stealth Stalker]

That's cool. I would never suggest that any one detector is for everyone, any more than I would suggest one car is for everyone. False alerts are annoying, without a doubt. I don't know if you have considered the Cheetah that I suggested or not, but it makes all the difference in the tolerability level of V1 false alerts. With it, you'd never hear that liquor store again, without losing the unique benefits of the V1.

The arrows certainly aren't always essential, especially in the city. But on the open highway, they are worth their weight in gold. Of course, I did not mean "slam" literally about your brakes, but the point is that if you slow down for something you didn't need to slow down for, that is a false alert, even if it was really a cop. A cop who is not a threat is a false alert. And with the V1, that is one kind of false alert that I rarely have to worry about. With any other radar detector, that cop running constant K band a mile behind me is going to drive me crazy with a steadily beeping 3 bar signal for miles before I finally realise I probably don't have to worry about him. And even then, I'm going to be nervous about it because I won't know if a second K band signal is now ahead of me.

Driving down the highway a few weeks ago, I got Ka up ahead of me. First win is knowing that it is ahead of me, not behind or beside me, and not a threat. Then I top a hill and see the red and blue lights of a trooper with someone pulled over and figure I'm safe, right? Wrong! Because with the V1 I saw that there were two Ka bogeys. Second win was knowing the first trooper's partner was right on the other shoulder, still clocking people!

Just saying, you have to do some real road trips, and not just your normal daily commute to realise the potential of the V1 or any other detector.

I dunno, maybe you don't want that much interaction with your detector, and just want to plug-and-play it. That's cool. I'm not a car guy. You're not a detector guy. Different strokes. Nothing wrong with that. But if you want the perfect balance of sensitivity, reactivity, situational awareness, and quietness, there simply is no better solution than a V1/Cheetah combination set-up. Before you give up on it, I would like to suggest that you read my review of this set-up at this link to see if it might meet your needs.

Whatever you choose, best of luck! At least you can say you tried everything.

[BMW Guy]

Well is sounds like you made up your mind up. The V1 isn't for everyone. It doesn't sound like you really speed that much, so having bkazing sensitivity and awareness of the arrows is probably more than you need. The V1 is pretty much for people who know what they're doing and need what it can offer. Not everyone can handle it, that's why there's the 9500ix, it's almost as good at detecting and isn't as chatty.

I don't know what you consider speeding, but I tend to do 15 - 30 miles over the limit and have continued to drive this way even without a detector and I have not received one ticket. I guess one lucky bastage...
However, I only speed on highways, interstates, freeways, etc. On local roads I tend drive the limit or below since there are too many pedestrians walking around where I live. The NJ turnpike has a speed limit of 55 and I do about 70 - 80 mph and have done this without any issues. What I normally do is follow faster car and let him/her be my detector I do this with long distance drives without a detector.

The purpose of getting a new, good detector is to keep me alert and more aware when there are cops around with radar & lasers. I don't expect to be immune to getting a ticket by having a radar detector in my car. But as I said, I will give the V1 a month of test drives before I make my final decision.

[BMW Guy]

That's cool. I would never suggest that any one detector is for everyone, any more than I would suggest one car is for everyone. False alerts are annoying, without a doubt. I don't know if you have considered the Cheetah that I suggested or not, but it makes all the difference in the tolerability level of V1 false alerts. With it, you'd never hear that liquor store again, without losing the unique benefits of the V1.

The arrows certainly aren't always essential, especially in the city. But on the open highway, they are worth their weight in gold. Of course, I did not mean "slam" literally about your brakes, but the point is that if you slow down for something you didn't need to slow down for, that is a false alert, even if it was really a cop. A cop who is not a threat is a false alert. And with the V1, that is one kind of false alert that I rarely have to worry about. With any other radar detector, that cop running constant K band a mile behind me is going to drive me crazy with a steadily beeping 3 bar signal for miles before I finally realise I probably don't have to worry about him. And even then, I'm going to be nervous about it because I won't know if a second K band signal is now ahead of me.

Driving down the highway a few weeks ago, I got Ka up ahead of me. First win is knowing that it is ahead of me, not behind or beside me, and not a threat. Then I top a hill and see the red and blue lights of a trooper with someone pulled over and figure I'm safe, right? Wrong! Because with the V1 I saw that there were two Ka bogeys. Second win was knowing the first trooper's partner was right on the other shoulder, still clocking people!

Just saying, you have to do some real road trips, and not just your normal daily commute to realise the potential of the V1 or any other detector.

I dunno, maybe you don't want that much interaction with your detector, and just want to plug-and-play it. That's cool. I'm not a car guy. You're not a detector guy. Different strokes. Nothing wrong with that. But if you want the perfect balance of sensitivity, reactivity, situational awareness, and quietness, there simply is no better solution than a V1/Cheetah combination set-up. Before you give up on it, I would like to suggest that you read my review of this set-up at this link to see if it might meet your needs.

Whatever you choose, best of luck! At least you can say you tried everything.

Thanks for your great advice Stealth. I appreciate the above post and this was actually what I was expecting to read from you

I've never heard of the cheetah that your referring to but I will take a look at it and see. As I said earlier I have a great road trip coming up this Friday and I plan to use this baby and test it out.. If the V1 works great, then I will probably pick up a passport 9500ix and use this on local roads / daily drives and plug in the V1 for long distance drives.

[Red Turbo Tegg]

Well is sounds like you made up your mind up. The V1 isn't for everyone. It doesn't sound like you really speed that much, so having bkazing sensitivity and awareness of the arrows is probably more than you need. The V1 is pretty much for people who know what they're doing and need what it can offer. Not everyone can handle it, that's why there's the 9500ix, it's almost as good at detecting and isn't as chatty.

I don't know what you consider speeding, but I tend to do 15 - 30 miles over the limit and have continued to drive this way even without a detector and I have not received one ticket. I guess one lucky bastage...
However, I only speed on highways, interstates, freeways, etc. On local roads I tend drive the limit or below since there are too many pedestrians walking around where I live. The NJ turnpike has a speed limit of 55 and I do about 70 - 80 mph and have done this without any issues. What I normally do is follow faster car and let him/her be my detector I do this with long distance drives without a detector.



The purpose of getting a new, good detector is to keep me alert and more aware when there are cops around with radar & lasers. I don't expect to be immune to getting a ticket by having a radar detector in my car. But as I said, I will give the V1 a month of test drives before I make my final decision.

I'm talking 120+ mph where every little bit of detecting power is needed, and arrows can be the deciding factor in slowing down or to keep trucking to find an exit ramp. Although the V1 only has a slight detection edge over the 9500ix, every little bit is needed at those speeds. As I said, for the kind of speeding you do, and if the V1 is bothering you, then I would deffinatly try the 9500ix. Whichever one you choose you'll be ok.

[Stealth Stalker]

Yeah, two miles of detection range sounds awesome until you're going 120. Then you realise that you cover that two miles every minute, and that's not a lot of reaction time. Suddenly, 2.3 miles sounds even better, lol.

If you're hyperspeeding, you need both a V1 and a 9500ci or STi-R.

[Red Turbo Tegg]

Yeah, two miles of detection range sounds awesome until you're going 120. Then you realise that you cover that two miles every minute, and that's not a lot of reaction time. Suddenly, 2.3 miles sounds even better, lol.

If you're hyperspeeding, you need both a V1 and a 9500ci or STi-R.

Looks like you know what I'm talking about! LOL.