Valentine 1 Users, Chime in please!

[-=Hot|Ice=-]

I ordered a V1. V1 owners satisfied with it?

[ThunderMoose]

very

[schnell325]

Very much.

Just watch out for "instant ons"......twice in the last 1.5 years I got nailed.

[J08M3]

Yes, very happy with mine

[Time]

yep

[mamadub]

Love mine too!

[-=Hot|Ice=-]

Can someone give me an overall review please?

[GregW / Oregon]

Originally Posted by -=Hot|Ice=-

Can someone give me an overall review please?

Depends on your local conditions. With more Lidar in use radar/lidar detectors without lidar jamming are of limited use where I live. I haven't bothered to hardwire mine in the the E92; use it for trips only. The sensitivity causes quite a few falses, but they become easy to identify with experience. The directional arrows are very useful. You can tell if a unit is coming up behind you or is still ahead.

[SchnellM3]

With the V1 I like how it points to where the signal is coming from. Gets a little annoying for me sometimes with false alarms but you get used to it and can tell whether its a real threat or not.

They are in the process of installing Red Light and Speed Cameras around here so my current one that I use is the 9500ix, just got a new one in Red over the blue to match the cars

[smmmurf]

LOVE MY V1

[-=Hot|Ice=-]

That's reassuring.

[zhp2m3]

Love the V1. Hardwired it to the sunroof motor and it's very clean. You will get used to the false alarms(cruising by grocery stores ,etc) and will notice the difference when there are radar guns waiting for you.

[W Cole]

Yes, once I turned off all alerts except for Ka and Laser. Tempted to turn off laser since I get so many false alerts but I do a lot of city driving so I've left it on for now.

[DevJ]

I was so satisfied and I bought two more..you'll love it.

[MA///M3]

the best out there. take it over any passport.

[SirSpeedy]

I did a fair amount of research. I purchased the v1. There are one or two other equally capable detectors on the market, each with their respective strengths. I typically drive the same routes and have learned where false threats are sounded. I check my speed, hit the mute button, and reference the boggie counter. I disabled the X band which eliminates false alarms because that band is not used by law enforcement in the cities I frequently drive. I installed my V1 using the fuse tap method described on this forum. It's my favorite mod because it changes my driving behavior and increases my level of awareness. It's an instrument like a fuel gauge or altimeter.

The Valentine owner's manual is available online and is a good source of information. Lastly, it's American made, has a generous return policy, and valentine offers future hardware and firmware upgrades as they become available.

[dbjb]

Can someone please explain the recent hardware update in laymens terms? It Just happened within the last two weks I've heard it has something to do with possible iPhone integration. Is this true?

[-=Hot|Ice=-]

Originally Posted by dsbj

Can someone please explain the recent hardware update in laymens terms? It Just happened within the last two weks I've heard it has something to do with possible iPhone integration. Is this true?

Basically, V1's will be able to talk to each other if you have the smart cord. If you're V1 alerts, you send that info out to others in your area with a V1 and the iPhone app. Thanks for all the reviews everyone! I can't wait till it comes in!

[Ateam]

I don't know where people live but for the large majority of larger cities, instant on is the standard and the V1 or any radar often does nothing to catch this in time unless you have a car in front of you down the road getting "read" with his gun.

I had one but IMO it is more of a risk having one. When you have one you tend to speed more thinking your V1 will protect you. However there are many many times that it just simply does not work and various lasers also get around the V1 in addition to V1. So if you then feel comfortable to speed more than you normally would because you feel "safe" and then you get busted, you are usually quite a bit over speed and possibly dangerously so in a cops eyes.

Without one I found I just drive at less speed and do not get tickets. I actually have gotten no tickets without a V1 whereas I got 2 ticketes with one!

Better than a V1 is very defensive driving in regards to police. Of course this cannot always eliminate every risk but if you generally know the routes you drive and where cops tend to hang out with their guns or just hang out waiting then you obvoiusly take it easy in those zones. I constantly am looking in all my mirros and ahead of me at the cars coming on the on-ramps on the freeway making sure its not a cop, or not a cop somewhere in the distance behind me lurking. You get to be good at spotting a cop cars appearence in your rear view, even if its unmarked. Now there are some complete unmarked cops in normal vehicles that are impossible to tell but that is not the norm.

I personally only speed in the routes I know there is zero-low chance of a cop being around given experience driving that route tons of times. To me this is much safer than gambling with a V1 in unknown territory.

[-=Hot|Ice=-]

Originally Posted by Ateam

I don't know where people live but for the large majority of larger cities, instant on is the standard and the V1 or any radar often does nothing to catch this in time unless you have a car in front of you down the road getting "read" with his gun.

I had one but IMO it is more of a risk having one. When you have one you tend to speed more thinking your V1 will protect you. However there are many many times that it just simply does not work and various lasers also get around the V1 in addition to V1. So if you then feel comfortable to speed more than you normally would because you feel "safe" and then you get busted, you are usually quite a bit over speed and possibly dangerously so in a cops eyes.

Without one I found I just drive at less speed and do not get tickets. I actually have gotten no tickets without a V1 whereas I got 2 ticketes with one!

Better than a V1 is very defensive driving in regards to police. Of course this cannot always eliminate every risk but if you generally know the routes you drive and where cops tend to hang out with their guns or just hang out waiting then you obvoiusly take it easy in those zones. I constantly am looking in all my mirros and ahead of me at the cars coming on the on-ramps on the freeway making sure its not a cop, or not a cop somewhere in the distance behind me lurking. You get to be good at spotting a cop cars appearence in your rear view, even if its unmarked. Now there are some complete unmarked cops in normal vehicles that are impossible to tell but that is not the norm.

I personally only speed in the routes I know there is zero-low chance of a cop being around given experience driving that route tons of times. To me this is much safer than gambling with a V1 in unknown territory.

Who said anything about speeding? A radar detector isn't so you can speed. It's so you are aware of your surroundings. Information is power and the more information you have, the better decision you can make.

[Ateam]

Originally Posted by -=Hot|Ice=-

Who said anything about speeding? A radar detector isn't so you can speed. It's so you are aware of your surroundings. Information is power and the more information you have, the better decision you can make.

Give me a break

[1sikbmr]

absolutely love it