IceY2K1

iTrader: (3)

Valentine 1 = Full Alert "A" mode(most sensitive)
Passport 8500 = "Auto" mode

The Valentine CLEARLY picked up signals SOONER especially for the REAR zone by a minimum of 3-4 seconds.

The V1 around town was alerting to false signals(bank alarms, automatic door sensors, etc..), which got annoying, while the Passport remained silent. So, I switched the V1 to 1/2 logic mode and it stopped alerting audibly, but still flashed visually. I didn't try the V1's full logic "L" mode. The Passport "Auto" mode eliminates having to manually switch for "city" driving, I believe, which was nice. However, I still feel the V1 arrows and bogey counter are a MUST have.

I don't feel I got a good comparison on long-range sensitivity, since NONE of the cops I passed had their radar on that I could visually confirm. I did get a couple of good hits that both detectors alerted too, but I would have liked to get one while I was out on the hwy, since that's what I typically use my detector on.

I plan on borrowing the Passport again and performing some more "tests", hopefully in a couple weeks.

asu174

iTrader: (11)

I love my Passport. It saved me from a motorcycle cop using laser last week.

FrankTheBunny

To be fair, if you have the V1 in it's most sensitive mode you should probably put the 8500 in highway mode (it's most sensitive).

I love my 8500, but I always leave it on highway, as I'd rather sort out the difference myself - plus with x-band turned off I get very few false-positives.

Thanks for the comparison though... those kinds of post are always good to see!

PoLo

iTrader: (7)

How to program your V1 (disable x-band, etc...)

this may help you...i always got annoyed with x band, that is until i turned it off

btw, i'd say about 99% of X-band is doors, microwaves, and sensors of that sort.

IceY2K1

iTrader: (3)

What is "Auto" mode?

IceY2K1

iTrader: (3)

V1 saved me 4-times this weekend alone.

One was 100+mph.

IceY2K1

iTrader: (3)

Thanks! The "power line transients" probably explains why my V1 acts funny and has laser alerts in the middle of nowhere when I rent some vehicles or use it in my company POS Chevy Astro.

I always wondered what the hell was causing it to flip out.

Same here, however I've ran into SEVERAL cruisers still using X-band, but definitely nothing to get worried about.

Also, ran into ANOTHER damn azzhole with a "jammer", however this one put out a Ka band signal vs. K-band.

PoLo

iTrader: (7)

anytime wanksta

IceY2K1

iTrader: (3)

Check edit Polio.

brianc

I'm curious how the unit saved you from a laser reading. It is my understanding the eye and accompanying bleed factor are very small with laser. For your detector to go off you had to be right in the eye.
In my opinion the laser warnings are simply so you know to pull over so the officer doesn't have to chase you.

Ma><iManiac

I was thinking that exact thing this weekend. I have a BEL 980, which saved me TWICE this weekend from conventional K-band radar. I never understood why people blow so much money on a radar detector like the V1. You can get one for half that cost that will be just as effective with conventional radar bands. I don't care what you've got. If the cops using laser and it goes off, he's got you. If he doesn't pull you over it's not cause you avoided it. It's cause he chose not to pull you over.

h2kFrosty

iTrader: (3)

HAHAHAHA, Mine did that in my company's Chevy Astro as well! I was like, WTF... The laser alert goes off the whole damn time its on the windshield, but if I take it off the windshield and move it back a couple feet to where I'm holding it in the air, it stops... It's some weird ****...

Bryan

PoLo

iTrader: (7)

i dont think it's more for the laser detecting advantage, but the option of seeing what band is being tagged, the # of bogey's (i know of 1 interference bogey by shea stadium, if 2 shows up, i know 1 is something curious)
and the big thing is range. at half the cost, you get one that is TRUE, just as good, but it's reaction time is far less than the V1. like was mentioned above, "The Valentine CLEARLY picked up signals SOONER especially for the REAR zone by a minimum of 3-4 seconds."

i didn't really look at laser as an advantage, as i knew the same thing, zap and you're done. it's flexibility of letting you filter out what's real and what's not as compared to JUST some beeps. that's my opinion though. someone may be happier with less.

brianc

The first time my laser alram went off it wa slike 6:30am and I was blowing to the airport, sunroof open, listening to tunes and all of the sudden a noise I never heard before. Look up and laser light is on. look in mirror and see a B&W rolling down the on ramp. 83 in a 55!

FrankTheBunny

That's not ALWAYS true. Yes, Laser is very narrow and has little scatter - but still does widen with distance, and while test have shown that if a car directly in front of you gets hit even the best detectors won't pick it up, that doesn't neccesarily stand true for cars beside/around you.

That aside, it does seem to be pretty well known that there's no over effective method for laser detection - but I'd still rather have some than none... and if I drive by a police car without any alarms, it means I'm safe - whereas if I didn't have laser detection I'd be paranoid and keeping my eye in my rear-view to see if he was coming.

Besides - even if you think laser detection is useless, it's still worth it to pay more for a detector to get the best K & Ka detection, isn't it?

Maximax2

Auto mode is described by Passport as letting the on-board processor decide what the signal is, and whether or not to alert. I always leave mine in Auto and it works great.

The 8500 is the best detector I've ever owned (and believe me, they're something I invest in...), and it saves me at least a few hundred a year in missed tickets.

Might try a V1 next, but it's so huge? The thing looks like a tank - how big is it in real life?

IceY2K1

iTrader: (3)

Blow? I wouldn't say that....as PoLo said, not all are created equal.

At least ONE save this weekend with my V1 was where SECONDS made a difference. A cop was sitting in the median with a point-and-shoot radar. Luckily, he hit the car infront of me that I was ACCELERATING towards. I jambed the brakes and scrubbed off a CRITICAL few mph before he lit me up. That CRITICAL few mph I scrubbed off is the difference between a ticket. He had to have clocked me at 78ish mph, since I figure I was going 85, scrubbed off 5mph, and the speedo reads at least 2mph fast at those speeds. So, he had to decide if a 3mph ticket was worth pulling out after me for vs. 8mph. Lets just assume the cop is going for the heavy offenders not just anyone who's slightly over, so that few seconds is considered worth "blow"-ing twice as much on IMO.

IceY2K1

iTrader: (3)

Funny you should ask...next to the 8500 it looks small.

I thought the V1 was monstrous, however although it's thicker then the 8500, the 8500 looks bigger and feels heavier IMO.

We went on a road trip to Sedona Sunday and my mom rode in the middle between my step-father and myself. She kept complaining about all she could see was the two damn radar detectors and the mirror the WHOLE time we were sight seeing.

CCS2k1Max

iTrader: (2)

It's supposed to "learn" the conditions you drive around. That's why I think if the Passport Ice checked out had been used mostly in the city, it would have behaved as if it were in City setting. More than likely the reason for the 3-4 second delay vs. V1.

The more I drive with mine in the city in Auto mode, the slower it seems to react. When I am forced to visit my inlaws in the boonies, I try to leave it in Auto mode to "purge the memory" as much as possible (one good thing about the boonies). BTW, mine is set on Expectmeter, but I do wish for the arrows.

IceY2K1

iTrader: (3)

It came out of the box(hwy before that if it remembers that long), then hwy, then city, then hwy driving. Pretty much any signal they both lit up on was slower.

So, leave it in hwy for best sensitivity next time, right?

CCS2k1Max

iTrader: (2)

Yup, apples to apples. BTW, what do you mean by out of the box, Escorts's box or the guy's you got that off Ebay? The learning on Auto mode has got to do with background signals (strength/number of them), and not whether you had it on Hw or City last you used it. It supposedly learns what the typical background noise is in the areas you normally drive and adjusts the sensitivity. How often this is done, who knows...

IceY2K1

iTrader: (3)

Sorry, out of the carrying case, ie unpowered.

Hmmmnnnn....had it in "Auto", while parked at a Wal-mart and it didn't learn while we were sitting there. All kinds of different signals setting it off, so I muted it.

Next time I'll only use HWY mode.

Ma><iManiac

My BEL 980 saves me like that all the time. I just can't see justifying spending over $400 on a detector when you could spend half that and still be nicely protected. I'm sure the V1 is great, but at least for me, the cost effectiveness of it just doesn't sit well. Maybe if I had a Ferrari or something, and money was no object. But $200 will buy a few nice mods.

Ma><iManiac

The V1 is great, but there are others like the BEL 980 series that have actually rated higher and cost half the price...
http://www.radartest.com/article.asp?articleid=1024

Ma><iManiac

Interesting...Got this right from radartest.com...

"Accordingly to one manufacturer's ads, testing radar detectors is easy. Winnow down your choices to two models, put them up on the dash and start driving. Then see which one gives the earliest alert to a radar trap. Here's one Valentine ad seen in several car mags recently:

Justin Kremer, with both a V1 and a Passport 8500 in his windshield, was south-bound on I-85, heading uphill. "The V1 chirps a light warning on Ka band, says 'ahead'" he remembers, "8500 says nothing. I think for a second about radartest.com's test. I decide not to trust it.

"As I get closer to the top, 8500 finally starts to chirp...and there's an enforcer's Camaro hiding in the bushes. The V1 warned me a full 3-4 seconds before 8500..."

Pretty convincing evidence, right? Uh, well, not really. Anyone familiar with radio frequency technology knows that one of the cardinal sins in testing any RF device, radar detectors included, is to power-up two of them at the same time. Do this and their local oscillators, little microwave generators contained in every superhetrodyne detector, will create RFI, radio frequency interference. . (There's a reason why airlines insist that all electronic devices be shut off during flight; even a cellphone's RF emissions can potentially affect sensitive navigation electronics.) Due to variations in local oscillator frequencies, physical design and construction materials, no two detectors react alike to this phenomenon. Some will sound an alert (one model we tested could detect a second unit from a quarter-mile away), others will remain silent but only after their microprocessor dials back sensitivity. And different combinations of detectors react differently to each other.

To illustrate this point we recreated Mr. Kremer's rather unscientific test. We placed a new V1 (version 1.8) next to an Escort Passport 8500 and fired them both up. Next we drove toward a popular model of Ka-band radar concealed just over the crest of a hill. Then we noted the point at which each barked a warning. Next we repeated the test but with only one detector at a time powered-up. The result: the V1's microwave emissions interfered so much with the Passport 8500 that the Escort's detection range dropped by a whopping 38 percent. This is why testing is best left to the professionals."

IceY2K1

iTrader: (3)

That extra notification *MAY* save you one ticket, which will make that $200 look small compared to a fine + raised insurance + hassle of pulling over and being delayed + 8hrs. driving school. Driving school alone is like $90+, so $200 for the BEST protection money can buy isn't a hard decision IMO.

Will a V1 keep someone from getting a ticket over a BEL, maybe/maybe not, but I don't care to find out for $200.

IceY2K1

iTrader: (3)

Alrighty...I'll test that too. JESus everythings got to be a PITA doesn't it.

JCW915

Since we're talking about radar detectors...

I'm very happy to read that everyone in here knows that by the time your rader detector reads "LASER" it means time for you to pull over if you're speeding. I learned the hard way. Went 110+ in a 65 zone once. I had a passport 8500 and it flashed laser. Slammed my brakes and passed the cop. Phew...got away that time. So I speed up. From 80 all the way up to 100 again. BLAH. Next thing I know I was blinded by blue lights.

Cop comes up to my car, "Didn't your radar detector alert you?" Yup! I thought I slowed down by the time you got me. He replies "Oh I had you a quarter mile back and kept on getting a speed from you for a good 10 seconds."

That ruined my day.

I hope we won't get these idiots telling people to buy a radar/laser jammer...or saying how their jammer saved their ***. They do not work. I don't care if it's illegal or legal; it will never work.

Ma><iManiac

LOL.

IceY2K1

iTrader: (3)

PLEASE keep thinking that...I need more rabbits out on the road.

IceY2K1

iTrader: (3)

Anybody have a JAMMER?

It would make things easier for my tests.

Ma><iManiac

https://radartest.com/eshop/10Expand...uctCode=033031

Check it out...You can hook it up to your high beams and it will alternately flash them, like a cop car. Is that legal?? That would be awesome if you were in the fast lane and the person in front wouldn't move over.

IceY2K1

iTrader: (3)

I've seriously thought about making something like that, but I don't know if people would react friendly or unfriendly to being given a heart attack.

I thought blue lights were ONLY considered illegal.

JCW915

I don't think it's illegal in Georgia but I may be wrong; however, someone behind me had lights that would do that one time. Black pontia grand am, about 5% tints. just driving down the highway; scared the *hit out of me. let him pass, didn't have a government license plate...but there was a lot of cb radio attenna on that car...

IceY2K1

iTrader: (3)

Yeah same here....but it's a 'Road Rage' undercover cop. I think it was a Chevy Lumina though.

MaxAtack

Very informative thread, thanks!

.45

1. I've researched here (searched many threads) and elsewhere to include the above reference: www.radartest.com
2. I've determined my choice is between V One and Passport, that said;
3. Radartest's 5 ratings category's for 2003 place the Passport above the Valentine across-the-board (the 2 critical ratings for me, Ka Radar Sensitivity & Laser Sensitivity are equal at 5 stars)
4. For those that have purchased either (not looking at any other Mfgr.) help me decide. In searching I've noted comments such as "V1 triggers sooner" etc., but...?
5. Lastly, cost is not a factor in my final decisoin.

Thanks in advance.

IceY2K1

iTrader: (3)

BOTH are more then adequate protection, so IF the additional $100 doesn't bother you, go V1. I've used both and the V1 is still my pick. Once you learn the V1 sounds, arrows, band type, and bogey counter, nothing else compares(currently that I know of).

Bluesbrekr

iTrader: (4)

I've got the Passport. I'm very pleased with it. Cost was a consideration when I bought it. Both are very good. Go with the Valentine if you have the extra $100.

jjames

i have the 8500 and love it. contrary to what i have read, i HAVE been warned of laser w/out being he target. busy freeway.)

if i had to do it over, i'd prolly get the 8500 again, but the arrows WOULD be nice.

i really don't think you can go wrong w/ either. save the hundy for mods, or a night w/ you chick.