bamasae, save your breath, or fingers as the case may be. sorry but you wont win this one against mike. he admitted its solid, thats a victory for you in itself, take that and be happy

-kevin

 

It is a solid detector for the money...just nowhere near the best.

 

the 8500 can detect multiple radars in expert meter mode...or what do you mean by bogey?

 

Ive tried the unit, and it only tracks one at a time

 

It weighs a ton? 12 oz is a ton? The weight is no more an issue than the width of the V1 taking up more of my windshield space. I don’t have an issue with lifting 12oz especially since it’s on my windshield most of the time. If 12oz is killing you, I invite you to pick up a couple of 12oz beers and lighten up. Get it? Lighten up?

Yes it WILL track multiple signals, I have had 3 Xs, 2 Ks and 2 Kas all going at once before, all with different intensities on each one. This statement alone is based solely out of ignorance and makes me wonder if you even actually did try the 8500. The very Car and Driver story you provided even states this on the 8500 page:

"We found the ExpertMeter option quite informative. That feature identifies and tracks the strength of up to eight radar signals, using multiple columns of LED lights, each representing a separate signal."

How could you miss that if you truly wanted to make an objective argument? Did you even read the whole story, or just the parts that gave you your daily V1 affirmation? The V1, although it will track multiple signals, does not give you a separate intensities for each signal at the same time. This is a very big feature over the V1. No matter what you say, it is as equally important as the all important arrows.

Quite honestly, I think you have done what most V1 zealots have done, they read the things they wanted to read, see what they want to see, and then base their arguments on those things. Even your point about not being able to use two superheterodyne devices in the same vehicle is a relative point for you. Valentine’s own site has anecdotal evidence of THIS VERY TYPE OF TESTING BY USERS! Check it right here:

http://www.valentine1.com/lab/testresults.asp

Mike Valentine didn’t seem to have much issue with people doing the same thing I did when it goes in his favor. And if you noticed the end of the URL, it is even under the moniker of TEST RESULTS!

Do I lean toward the 8500, well sure, but I don’t make unfounded statements or ones based out of ignorance. My initial post was completely done out of personal observations, never making a point to state it was out of fact. All the facts I have made have been proven, and in many cases, by using your own resources. You however have made statements based solely on bias and ignorance with a flair of playground "yours sucks, mines better" undertones.

Here’s the important part, in the two years I’ve owned the 8500 it has provided me with AMPLE time to slow down for a cop and I haven’t gotten a single ticket in that time; you will say the same thing about yours. So there we go, the proof is in the pudding. They both work the way they are supposed to work. Except I didn’t pay an extra bill for mine just so I could say I have a V1.

 

That is simply untrue, and you kill your credibility each time you make the statement. Read you own resources won't you? At the end of the fifth paragraph:

http://www.caranddriver.com/article....rticle_id=1997

 

umm..not really. Put the radar into EXPERT MODE.. you can track 2-K, 2-Ka, and 4-X bands.. all at once! I was skeptical to use it but it does help. You have to get used to it.

Andy

 

Thanks for your concern Kevin, but I won't be bullied just because someone has 2700 post and makes comments out of ignorance. It's easy to skew anything if you use information out of context, make broad generalizations and unfounded assumptions...just ask Dan Rather.

 

post count doesn't mean anything really...it's just...to..well count the posts.

anyhow...i keep my 8500 on expert meter as well. comes in handy when there's speed traps and such nearby.

 

just like you can find statistics to prove any point. i applaud your persistence. i wish my solo could track multiple bogeys.

 

+1 on applauding your persistence. I wasnt saying your being bullied, i just said it because I know Mike, and know you wont get him to change his opinion.

 

I've only had my V1 a couple weeks, but I love it so far. I was running very late for work yesterday so I was doing 60+ in a 35 and it picked up a cop around a corner with plenty of time for me to slow down.

I've realized that if I did most of my driving in town a radar detector would not be that beneficial, because of all the false alerts, but out in the country or highway it works awesome.

So far, it has been well worth the $400 I paid for it.

 

60+ in a 35?!

 

1) who is bullying you?
2) How are my comments out of ignorance
3) What info did I use out of context
4) what broad generalizations and unfounded assumptions did I make

Lets see whos pulling what out of where..ok?

 

1) Your comments were right on target with the playground bully. Little short one liners with the arrogant know it all flair. But whatever, that’s not even important.

2, 3, & 4) Your comments are surely out of ignorance. I'll repeat myself one more time and maybe you will read it this time:

Ignorant Comment #1: (several variants of) “I’ve tried the unit, and it only tracks one at a time”

As I have stated before, this is simply untrue. It DOES track multiple signals, all with different intensities on each one at the same time. The very Car and Driver story you provided even states this on the 8500 page read the end of the 5th paragraph:

http://www.caranddriver.com/article....rticle_id=1997

Where it says:

"We found the ExpertMeter option quite informative. That feature identifies and tracks the strength of up to eight radar signals, using multiple columns of LED lights, each representing a separate signal."

This is not only ignorance, it is selective reading. You tried to back up your argument pushing a Car and Driver link out there hoping no one would read beyond the V1 page (you obviously didn’t). This whole thing also falls into the broad generalizations and unfounded assumptions group as well.

So since you didn’t know it actually did track multiples, means you either didn’t really try it, or you didn’t know how to operate it. I don’t believe you even tried the 8500, I think you just read about it somewhere. If you did actually try it for 30 days like you said, then I think even less of you. Someone that seems to know so much about radar detectors and superheterodyne devices, but doesn’t know how to operate them, should never be misconstrued as an authority on minimally complex device.


Ignorant comment/ unfounded assumption #2: “every published test (not by craig peterson) shows that the V1 is significantly better in ALL areas.”

This is untrue as well. Before this argument, I didn’t even know who Craig Peterson was, after finding out, I certainly understand why a V1 zealot would hate him. But to the point of your statement, I found several articles placing the 8500 ahead of the V1, such as this one:

http://www.motortrend.com/features/c...ar/index7.html

Motor Trend is certainly no fly by night rag, and yet it has the 8500 ranked at the top. Further exploiting your V1 bias to read only what you want and research only the things that validate your argument.

Ignorant comment/ unfounded statement #3: “Invalid test, you cannot place two superheterodyne devices in the same vehicle....the one with poorer shielding will interfere with the other…”

Although I am by far no expert on superheterodyne devices, I find it very concerning that this VERY TYPE OF ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE is used on the Valentine One site RIGHT HERE: http://www.valentine1.com/lab/testresults.asp

How can this be a valid point if Mr. Valentine himself saw fit to place it on his website? Does the premise of not using two superheterodyne devices at the same time only fit when it’s your side that doesn’t win? Certainly he knows this is an “invalid test” but chose to call it “testresults.” Interesting to say the least.

You can blow off a few more V1 is the “best of the best” comments if you want, but there is way too much information out there for anyone, including yourself, to make that call…except from the gut.

Funny thing in all of this is that I bought my radar detector at Bestbuy on the advice of a friend. Up until this weekend, I had not done a lot of research on this topic. But after only 2 days of research, I seem to know more about both devices than you do. If I don’t, I certainly haven’t made any crazy statements of fact like you have that have subsequently turned out to be DEAD WRONG.

So there you have it Mr. V1 zealot…NOW READ EVERYTHING THIS TIME SO I DON’T HAVE TO REPEAT MYSELF.

 

True

On the road that I tested it on, where I know there are exactly 2 Kband radar signs, it only showed one in the so-called expert mode. I tried it from every single angle that you can approach them from (in a car) and it would only pick up one of the two transmitters. Basically, when I tried it, their claim proved false. The valentine picked up both from 3/4 of a mile away in either direction. Go ahead and find something similar in your area and do the same test, im pretty sure your results will be the same.

I stand corrected, i did not know that motortrend had done this test. However, they did not publish numbers to show their results. In the Feb 2k2 issue of c/d, they have bar graphs for every test. Im going to call them and get a physical copy to see whether or not they actually tested the devices and published numbers or they just went off of opinion. As for craig peterson, you do know that he is the owner of Escort Radar, therefore rendering any testing he has performed invalid.


I do agree that the putting reader stories testresults.asp is quite concerning, to tell you the truth I never read this page on his site until just now. Now the two detectors in the same windsheild test doesnt work whether V1 or 8500 or whatever comes out on top. Two devices that emit FM and IR signal chirps (some of the radar they see bounces back off of the radar bell, and the FM chirp is from the internal circuitry) will most certainly throw each other off with the interference that each generates. Its kinda like putting a cell phone near a speaker wire.


I never skipped any reading in the first place, you simply assume I did. I have performed my own tests and found that the expertmeter did not work. Perhaps I got a defective one, perhaps I didnt. The fact remains that it did not work. Another thing is that the fact that you think that I am blind to other things. Every time someone has come out with something that claims to have toppled the valentine, I have purchased and tested. Thus far, none of the MFG claims have been true. If you dont believe me, get yourself a v1 and do a similar test.

The 8500 is a solid detector, I have admitted that already.

 

This is why the Valentine One is the best:

You will see a guy trigger a Stalker ATR on 34.7ghz Ka band and hold a tuning fork so you can see the fast acquisition time of the Stalker and hear the difference in reaction times of his V1 with POP2 and an 8500 X50. Both units were purchased new in mid-December 2004. You will hear the Valentine consistently outperform the 8500 in reaction time and notice that the 8500 can easily be defeated by a quick press and release of the trigger, and the Stalker still obtains a reading from the tuning fork. You will see the "xmit" icon in the lower left corner of the ATR's display each time the trigger is pressed. The 8500 did have its POP mode activated and even though the units were positioned close to each other, this testing indicates running each unit individually made no difference in the reaction times.

You can either save or open this file:

http://www.we-todd-did-racing.com/we...ZmQzMXk1NDE%3D

Here is a quote from the 2003 SML test done by Carl Fors, "When officers were told to quick trigger (approximately one second) their radar guns against the Escort 8500, it did not see, nor report, the use of Stalker’s ATR, Stalker Basic, Kustom Directional Golden Eagle, Kustom Talon, and Kustom Falcon. The 8500 did not see any MPH POP transmissions."

The Valentine One beats the 8500 by 2 miles in rear Ka band radar detection according to SML. Rear radar detection is crucial because cops can sneak up on you and tag you and the V1 excels in this area because of its 2 antennas.



The picture isn't the greatest so here are the detectors in order from top to bottom: Valentine One, Bel 985, PNI Traveller, Passport 8500, Bel 940, Cobra 9210, Cobra 9230, Uniden GPS, Cobra 9860, Whistler 1750, Passport SRX, Whistler 3300

 

Whatever E55, it seems you are going to maintain your faulty arguments regardless of the evidence. What evidence you will say? THE FREAKIN ARTICLE YOU GAVE ME SAYS IT TRACKS MULTIPLES. I know that it does because I have one, so I DO test it everyday! Just because you supposedly didn't get yours to work doesn't mean it doesn't. Jeez, do you not get that? Stop with that lame comment every time, it works regardless of what you say.

As for the Motor Trend test, don't try to toss doubt into it because they don't have graphs listed and assume they didn't test it. That seems to be a problem with you, you assume anything pro V1 to be credible and anything pro 8500 to be questionable. You assume the 8500 doesn't track multiples, because supposedly yours didn't. You assume every test shows the V1 better, and we have established that is incorrect. Tell me how your form of arguing this point is any better than that of Craig Peterson? You are obviously only using information that YOU find to be credible.

If I used your mentality on things I would say, "but the Motor Trend article is from 2004, the C&D is from 2002." Or something like, "I'd probably question C&Ds advertising dollars from Valentine." I didn't assume there was anything incorrect about the C&D article, but I could if I didn't want to be objective and take all information into account. Why don't you try it sometime, being objective.

I still maintain that Valentine has no business putting that info on their site as evidence if it is invalid. When he pulls it off of his site as propaganda, I'll let you tell me my test is invalid. Until then, I guess I have as much right to my version as they do. There, I'll play by YOUR rules.

You are not going to railroad your religious beliefs on me based on your selective information. It just doesn't fly. Have you ever once tried being objective? Say whatever you want, but if you are objective then you have to realize there is way too much information out there, saying one thing or the other, to declare a definitive winner. At least I am objective enough not to make such a bold statement regardless of how many websites I can dig up to support my claim.

Objective, look it up.

 

I have the Bel 980 and absoloutely love it. I got off of Ebay for $113 shipped and was Bel's top model two years ago. That sucker has saved me at least four or five times. I know its not the V1 or Passport 8500, but for the money it's a hell of detector. Here's a link comparing all of them with the 980 scoring 94 and the V1 scoring a 77!! Anyway, take it what it's worth, but you don't have to spend 300-400 bucks for a nice detector.

http://www.radartest.com/article.asp?articleid=1064

Also, here's a link to it's outstanding reviews on Epinions: http://www.epinions.com/elec-Car_Ste...splay_~reviews

just my $.02

Ben

 

this thread is getting ugly.

let's all agree that both the V1 and 8500 are great detectors.

 

That's all I ever wanted...without all the, "it's not the best of the best" crap.

 

Don't ever believe Radartest.com because Craig Peterson is a big liar that hates the V1. Here is an actual somewhat unbiased test of the V1 versus the Bel 980 in the year 2000. The Bel wins by .1-.2 miles on X and K band and the V1 wins by .7 miles on Ka band.

 

Here is the 2002 Car and Driver test between the Bel 980 and V1:











The V1 wins 97 to 61 in overall points.

 

the v1 has inexpensive repairs (50 bucks) and they upgrade your unit at a low cost. WHo ever heard of a company upgrading your product.

 

I have both..and my 8500 saved my butt today. Caught the cop almost 1/2-3/4 mile away. He was shooting K band. After him, Laser!!!!!!! wow.. luckily I wasn't speeding after the first cop. Its just so cool to see LASER on the 8500.

V1 saved my butt also.

So I'm with AscendantMax. They are both good detectors.

 

Valentine really worth it?

 

Go to http://radardetector.net which is the best radar detector forum in the world and learn about the best radar detectors out there. Also, go to http://jammertests.com and see videos of the V1 beating the X50 in laser and radar detection.

 

Has anyone tried an actual radar jamer?

 

Go to http://radarbusters.com and http://radardetector.net and learn about the Scorpion Ka radar jammer. It will cost you $1500 but it does actively jam radar according to SML who independently tested it. It is the only radar jammer that really works unlike all Rocky Mountain Radar products or Phazer or RMR or whatever they call that rip-off bull$hit.

 

V1>all

1.You know how many radars are being detected, this way if you know the area, you know which doors do what, ect ect, and if you see an extra number, most likely there is a cop using the doors as a speed trap.

2. It tells you which direction the radar is coming from. This and #1 comes in handy together for speed traps, lets say you pass a cop has his radar on, and the arrows show he is behind you now... yet there are TWO radars, and both the front and behind arrows are lit... hrmm.. speed trap?

3. You can upgrade. With escort and any other radar detector company, when they come out with a new model, they make buy a whole new radar detector, and get rid of your old one. When V1 comes out with a new version, they give you the option of sending your old V1 in to get the new updates for a price MUCH lower than buying a Brand New radar Detector.

These are the 3 main reasons why i chose the V1 over all the other detectors. I love the sensitivity on it, and the three options, i usually keep mine on the little "L" looking option which basically shows all the x/k bands but if its a weak signal, it wont make a noise, if it gets stronger than it makes the noise. Its basically the mute function for the V1, there is also the big "L" option which is basically highway mode where the X and K bands are basically blocked out unless strong.

Well thats my view on the V1 and i love it, saved my *** many many times

 

Ooohhh... this article shows that the V1 put the smackdown on the 8500....
http://www.radartest.com/article.asp?articleid=9090
For WINDSHIELD MOUNT Oh yeah, it also won for laser sensitivity - of which lasers are no where near as prevelent as radar, due to their prohibitive costs...

I know that people (V1 lovers) say that radartest.com is biased against the V1, but if you read this article, they gave just as much praise to the V1 as they did the other 2 detectors....

Another thing that stands out to me, and I'm definitely no superheterodyne expert... but as far as not being able to place the two of them together in the same car cuz they interfered with each other so much, wouldn't that contradict the whole VG2 invisibilty they both claim to have? I mean if they were so leaky that they interfered with each other, wouldn't VG2 easily pick them up?

I do own the 8500 x 50 but I was also thinking of getting the V1... but the truth of the matter is this, neither detector is going to guarantee that you never receive another ticket. In fact, I got one a few months ago (beat it in court though) from LA's finest, LAPD... He waited until I was less than 2 blocks away before hitting the trigger - and by the time I could start to react, it was already over.

It wouldn't mean squat to me if the V1 can detect a signal, on a straight road on a clear day with no line of site interference a mile sooner than the 8500 because the truth is, neither the V1 or the 8500 can do crap when the po po start using their brains...

Oh yeah, the CHP always leave their Ka band radar guns turned on... even when they've pulled someone over - you know why? Cuz everyone with a radar detector is gonna slam on the brakes and drive the speed limit when their detectors start going off... It's a cheap and easy way of slowing us speeders down...

One feature on the 8500 that absolutely KILLS the V1, and no one ever mentions it, is the fact that the 8500 can display the actual frequency that the radar signal is on.

What does this mean to us, you ask? It means that if you know that in your area, the cops use Ka radars in the frequency range of 33.4 to 36.0 GHz, and your escort is showing you a frequency of 36.5 GHz, you can be sure that it's a false alarm. Same for any of the other radar types - X, K, whatever. They're all regulated to a specific frequency by the FCC and if you get a signal outside of the valid frequency range, it's guaranteed to be a false.

Let's see the V1's pointy arrows do that...

[edit] In case you all didn't know or didn't remember, Radar doesn't work from the SIDE. So the only things the side arrows on the V1 are going to tell me, is that I've just passed a grocery store with automatic doors... [\edit]

[edit2] and to all of you that hold on, like michael jackson holds on to little boys, to all of the stupid car mag reviews... both the V1 and Escort have a whole slew of reviews to back their claims of being the best... 8500 so why bother quoting all the reviews saying the V1 is the best or the 8500 is the best... they can both dig up 'reviews' backing up their claims. I would much rather listen to someone who has actually done a side by side comparison, like bamasae did - and let's not start that 'you can't compare them side by side cuz it's not accurate' crap - see my comments above about VG2, than believe these so-called 'unbiased' testing reviews that both side can point out. [\edit2]

[edit3] And one more thing... this statement that radartest.com made sticks out at me: I remember looking at the V1 site before and actually reading the anti-pop radar propaganda before. It doesn't show a lot of integrity to 'slip this in' to the V1 without admitting that he was wrong about all his anti-pop banter. Now, with all this said, is there anyone out there willing to give me their V1 so I can do my own side-by-side testing? Please? [\edit3]

 

First off, I've owned by V1 for over 5 years now, and still love it, but I have to point out some things that you said that may not be that great.

Yes, you can get an upgrade, but it still costs a bunch. It'll cost me $300 to upgrade mine [at some point, they just say send me your old unit and we'll send you a new one for $300]. At that price you could just keep buying the latest of the 'other' brands, so yes, it's nice that they will upgrade it, but at some point it's not that great a deal.

As for the sensitivity, I think it falses way too often. I haven't tried another detector, so I don't know if it falses more or less, but I would guess more. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I find it inconvenient.

Again, I love the V1, it's arrows & the number of hits it shows, but at the price it sells for, it is not necessarily > all.

dh

 

it doesn't matter what kind of radar detector you have. If cops wait till the last minute to pull that trigger, you are screwed. Although, cops around here leave their radar on and my V1 saved me whole bunch of times.

 

Go to http://jammertests.com and look at the videos of the V1 beating the X50 in radar and laser detection. The X50 won't even alert to some laser guns and quick pulses of radar but the V1 alerts every time. Don't believe what other people say bad about the V1, look at the real proof on the videos because they don't lie.

 

radarking...just out of curiousity...did you register just to post in radar threads?

 

LOL....

 

To add on, I freaked out one day when my 4 month old detector wasn't powering up. I called them up and they diagnosed that the plug was broken so they immediately sent out a new one free of charge and I got it a few days later. That and the ability to upgrade means I'll be a V1 owner for a long time as long as their product is still among the best in the market

 

wow so much info and it all helped order my V1