A followup to the RadarTest of the toep end detectors-->
12-21-2000, 12:49 PM
#1
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this fellow actually went out and bought the Escort to perform a side-by-side comparison to the V1. In his own car, on a regular road test. Pretty interesting to hear what an "average guy" has to say about it.
Valentine 1 vs. Escort 8500. And the winner is...
Posted by A4agarwal on 2000-12-21 14:26:58:
After the recent review at http://www.radartest.com, I decided to test out the 8500.
I have been using the v1 for over a year now and I love it. It amazes me every week.
I know it has saved me from countless tickets. When the review said the 8500 was
better, I wanted to see for myself. Of course I didn't care about the volume of the
detectors or their appearance (which gave points to the 8500 and not the v1), as
much as their actual capabilities in detecting radar. The review actually claimed
the 8500 was slightly better than the v1 even in this.
My setup:
This wasn't the most accurate testing but I think it was good enough. I placed both
radar detectors high on my windshield, one on each side of my rear view mirror. v1
was wired directly into the car, escort was using the smart cord plugged into the
lighter.
I drove from Stanford to LA (400 miles on the 101, 5, and 405 freeways) as well as
street driving in the South Bay, and Hollywood areas. For some time I would have
both detectors on so I would see which went off first. However, the detectors may
interfere with each other so I also would turn one on at a time, and as soon as it
made a sound, i would turn it off and turn on the other. This is what I found:
X band: The v1 would definitely go off sooner, stronger, and more often with x band
signals. This could be because of better range, or also because of better filtering
on the escort (since x band signals are almost never cops). Either way, I would go
with the v1 because I would rather be told about the signal and then it's up to me
to decide if I want to slow down or not.
K and KA: On the 5 freeway, the v1 consistantly went off 3-5 seconds before the escort.
And when I had only the v1 on, when it went off and I flipped it off and the escort
on, it still took a couple of seconds for it to register and beep (a couple seconds
after its startup procedure). I know this isn't accurate testing, so maybe it's best
to say they were nearly identical for these radar signals.
However, while driving down Sunset in Hollywood, there were many times when the v1
went off and the escort was silent (K and KA band). There were tons of cops all over
the place, and the escort wasn't picking up any of them. Maybe it had something to
do with the city filtering. I don't know, but that's what made me decide I didn't
feel as safe with the escort as with the v1. I took down the escort and never put
it back up.
Laser: Who the hell sees laser signals? My v1 goes off with laser whenever I go through
the Krispy kreme drive-thru.
Overall:
V1 ($400)- *****
http://www.valentine1.com
Good- Works great, Awesome range. Can't beat it for K or Ka radar. Arrows and bogey
counter.
Bad- Expensive. Big and ugly.
Escort ($300)- ****
http://www.escortradar.com
Good- Pretty good range and detection. Looks nice and sleek. Includes smart cord.
Bad- No arrows for location. Not as accurate as v1.
Recommendation:
V1 owners...Keep your v1 and enjoy. The detector can't be beat. The radar locator
and bogey counter are great. New shoppers: this is a tough one. The v1 is the best
in my opinion, but the escort is pretty close, costs $100 less, and has some nifty
features. However, the thing that makes a huge difference for me is that the V1 is
a radar LOCATOR. It actually tells you where the signal is coming from. Seems like
it may be unnecessary, but after you have it for a while, using a detector without
the arrows seems crazy. I mean, how will you know if you should slow down for the
cops ahead of you, or floor it for the cops behind you?
The 8500 is going back in its box and back to escort.
Valentine 1 vs. Escort 8500. And the winner is...
Posted by A4agarwal on 2000-12-21 14:26:58:
After the recent review at http://www.radartest.com, I decided to test out the 8500.
I have been using the v1 for over a year now and I love it. It amazes me every week.
I know it has saved me from countless tickets. When the review said the 8500 was
better, I wanted to see for myself. Of course I didn't care about the volume of the
detectors or their appearance (which gave points to the 8500 and not the v1), as
much as their actual capabilities in detecting radar. The review actually claimed
the 8500 was slightly better than the v1 even in this.
My setup:
This wasn't the most accurate testing but I think it was good enough. I placed both
radar detectors high on my windshield, one on each side of my rear view mirror. v1
was wired directly into the car, escort was using the smart cord plugged into the
lighter.
I drove from Stanford to LA (400 miles on the 101, 5, and 405 freeways) as well as
street driving in the South Bay, and Hollywood areas. For some time I would have
both detectors on so I would see which went off first. However, the detectors may
interfere with each other so I also would turn one on at a time, and as soon as it
made a sound, i would turn it off and turn on the other. This is what I found:
X band: The v1 would definitely go off sooner, stronger, and more often with x band
signals. This could be because of better range, or also because of better filtering
on the escort (since x band signals are almost never cops). Either way, I would go
with the v1 because I would rather be told about the signal and then it's up to me
to decide if I want to slow down or not.
K and KA: On the 5 freeway, the v1 consistantly went off 3-5 seconds before the escort.
And when I had only the v1 on, when it went off and I flipped it off and the escort
on, it still took a couple of seconds for it to register and beep (a couple seconds
after its startup procedure). I know this isn't accurate testing, so maybe it's best
to say they were nearly identical for these radar signals.
However, while driving down Sunset in Hollywood, there were many times when the v1
went off and the escort was silent (K and KA band). There were tons of cops all over
the place, and the escort wasn't picking up any of them. Maybe it had something to
do with the city filtering. I don't know, but that's what made me decide I didn't
feel as safe with the escort as with the v1. I took down the escort and never put
it back up.
Laser: Who the hell sees laser signals? My v1 goes off with laser whenever I go through
the Krispy kreme drive-thru.
Overall:
V1 ($400)- *****
http://www.valentine1.com
Good- Works great, Awesome range. Can't beat it for K or Ka radar. Arrows and bogey
counter.
Bad- Expensive. Big and ugly.
Escort ($300)- ****
http://www.escortradar.com
Good- Pretty good range and detection. Looks nice and sleek. Includes smart cord.
Bad- No arrows for location. Not as accurate as v1.
Recommendation:
V1 owners...Keep your v1 and enjoy. The detector can't be beat. The radar locator
and bogey counter are great. New shoppers: this is a tough one. The v1 is the best
in my opinion, but the escort is pretty close, costs $100 less, and has some nifty
features. However, the thing that makes a huge difference for me is that the V1 is
a radar LOCATOR. It actually tells you where the signal is coming from. Seems like
it may be unnecessary, but after you have it for a while, using a detector without
the arrows seems crazy. I mean, how will you know if you should slow down for the
cops ahead of you, or floor it for the cops behind you?
The 8500 is going back in its box and back to escort.
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