Upgraded my old V1 (bought in '98) to a new one..impressions and questions

[dizwiz24]

I work in sales and put on 35000 miles a year. I also live in ohio, where the most common threats are X (yes, the highway patrol re-fitted newer patrol cars with their old x-band equipment), K, and laser (HUGE presence in ohio). Some newer municipalities use Ka equipment, however mostly what I want to detect is X and K. I dont worry much about detecting laser because if you are had, you are had. Instead, I pay attention on the road and scan usual highway patrol spots. Many times, I hit the brakes about a second before a laser alert..... Im driving a 2010 chevrolet silverado. w/ the radar laser detector mounted high - next to the rearview mirror.

Based on that above synopsis, I knew going into this that updating my v1.7 valentine to their latest-and-greatest wouldnt be a night and day improvement. However, I still wanted the best out there.

The paperwork valentine one sent me said they upgraded me to a v1.8 ? which causes me some confusion because, according to website, the latest and greatest is v3.872. Is that number a hardware update, and the v3.872 a software update? The serial number's last 4 digits are 1041.... I tried following the procedures to check software version, but doing so did not yield a result (I must have missed something).

Anyways, Ive had my new valentine one for a week and heres what I notice:

What I like:

1. indicators for each band - which light up simultaneously in case of multiple band bogeys, my old model just had a decimal point where the greatest threat (in case of multiple alerts) dictated what decimal point behavior would be present.

2. smaller, thinner unit size

3. the same radar performance (X and K, not enough experience yet with Ka)


What I dont like:

1. still get laser false alerts from certain vehicle brake lights. I thought those had been eliminated.

2. even though I heard the laser warning was improved tremendously over my old model, I STILL dont always get alerts when I pass by a cop using laser. Today I purposely changed lanes into the line-of-sight of a cop, who had his window down and a laser unit in his hand. I got nothing.

3. arrows still arent always accurate (just like before). I had a highway patrol open up on me I/O with K band, coming at me from the other side of the highway, and the arrow pointed rearward when the threat was clearly in front. This was in a rural area free of false alarms.

Anyways, does this all sound right? If anyone could give me any tips on how to check software version, Id appreciate it. I want to make sure it says v3.872.

I'll try to add to this as I get more miles under my belt with the latest and greatest from valentine one!

[chrisridebike8]

Sounds like you need a laser jammer as well. Look into the Blinder M-47 or the Laser Interceptor Quad. That will help a lot with the laser threats.

[th3 factory freak]

V1.8 is the hardware version.

3.872 is the software version.

[Won Hunglo]

Your 1.7 was worth much more than the upgrade credit but that is done. Sad to see it go away instead of sold to a 1.7 fan.

Expect much more laser falses as that comes with great laser detection. Don't expect ground breaking radar detection improvements as they won't be there. If you had the old no band display, it would have made the upgrade worth it.

Forget laser detection and get a LI or Blinder if money is tight.

[noTe]

2. even though I heard the laser warning was improved tremendously over my old model, I STILL dont always get alerts when I pass by a cop using laser. Today I purposely changed lanes into the line-of-sight of a cop, who had his window down and a laser unit in his hand. I got nothing.

He didn't shoot your car then.

[mujjuman]

Your 1.7 was worth much more than the upgrade credit but that is done. Sad to see it go away instead of sold to a 1.7 fan.
.

please explain?

[focalcivic]

Your 1.7 was worth much more than the upgrade credit but that is done. Sad to see it go away instead of sold to a 1.7 fan.
.

please explain?

Typically, 1.8 is for POP I believe which the 1.7 did not have. Hardware is the physical, software is the written code. Since you do not have a serious ka threat maybe a simple tune to save the money and then invest in a laser jammer might of been better. The newest models are killer on ka and quick trigger. As for the arrows I would wait for more encounters the 3.872 arrows are known to be most accurate of any V1 to date. For your info the 3.872 has been around for over 1 and 1/2 years, that says something.

[mujjuman]

Your 1.7 was worth much more than the upgrade credit but that is done. Sad to see it go away instead of sold to a 1.7 fan.
.

please explain?

Typically, 1.8 is for POP I believe which the 1.7 did not have. Hardware is the physical, software is the written code. Since you do not have a serious ka threat maybe a simple tune to save the money and then invest in a laser jammer might of been better. The newest models are killer on ka and quick trigger. As for the arrows I would wait for more encounters the 3.872 arrows are known to be most accurate of any V1 to date. For your info the 3.872 has been around for over 1 and 1/2 years, that says something.

if the newer models are better at ka and QT, then why did he say that 1.7 is worth alot and even implied that there are 1.7 fans around?

[spartcus]

Your 1.7 was worth much more than the upgrade credit but that is done. Sad to see it go away instead of sold to a 1.7 fan.
.

please explain?

Typically, 1.8 is for POP I believe which the 1.7 did not have. Hardware is the physical, software is the written code. Since you do not have a serious ka threat maybe a simple tune to save the money and then invest in a laser jammer might of been better. The newest models are killer on ka and quick trigger. As for the arrows I would wait for more encounters the 3.872 arrows are known to be most accurate of any V1 to date. For your info the 3.872 has been around for over 1 and 1/2 years, that says something.

if the newer models are better at ka and QT, then why did he say that 1.7 is worth alot and even implied that there are 1.7 fans around?

Good question because I bought one also but I'm on vacation so I can't see what kind of software I have. I know that I have the 1.8 but don't know what software I have until I get home from vacation. I want to know so if I need to send it in for a tune or a upgrade.

[V1 Dave]

I am a 1.7 fan, there is no excuse for K band ghosting up to 3-4 bogies on a single K band source like most 1.8's do, this makes the bogie counter completely useless and does not happen on the 1.7 and possibly pre pop 1.8, my counter is accurate.

Ka is supposed to be a little better on 1.8 but I could not notice a difference, only to find out later from Mike B that 1.8 was only improved on 35.5 Ghz.
Fortunately I don't have this frequency where I live.
(Pre 97-98 have weaker Ka, no mode memory, there was a compleate gut swap upgrade)

Laser detection has always been the leader on a 1.7 with six forward diodes, two at a 45 degree angle.
Newly improved 1.8 laser is overkill and just causes many more falses.
My 1.7 can pick up red neon signs close up, older Chevy Trailblazer/GMC Envoy, it does not pick up laser cruise control or toll plaza's when going through like the 1.8 does, yet has never missed a direct laser hit,

I don't know of a single glitch accept for the bulbs were not very good prior to the 99' band LED ID upgrade.

With 1.8 you have continuous attempts to fix the "J" alert on real threats, ghosting, K-Band Muting problem on one version, K-Band bogey lock tone problem on one version, "E" error.
1.7 has no yearly tune ups, although it has had repairs it has never fallen out of tune.

I would put my unit in a GOL test anytime!

Did you know that 1.7 has a mode to sample X and K band tones in both regular and muted volume?