Radar Detector

elitesoldier357 said:

I need help with getting a radar detector as well. I was looking into buying the Valentine One. I've never used or owned one before, but I liked the conceal-ability of the valentine as you can put the main unit under your passenger seat cover and then run a concealed remote module to the front of the bike. I was under the impression that the new versions of Valentines will tell you how frequently you pick up a detection at a given location? To keep from having false readings. Any advice or help you can give me into this would be great. I plan on buying one VERY soon. I should be getting my bike back from the shop for the repair of the fire damage within the next week probably and I plan on throwing on a radar detector ASAP.

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anthem said:

Not sure if you are mistaking the V1 with another radar detector. My knowledge of V1's are that they have no GPS capability which means they have zero knowledge of whether you have picked up X/K bands in a particular location. There are several units with GPS false-signal lockout made by several manufacturers but I do not believe Valentine is one of them (Beltronics/Escort 9500etc and STiR etc).

Also, if you locate the V1 behind something, you will be nullifying a lot of its scattered light/laser detection. It needs clear front view for that. Although if its just fiberglass it won't affect X/K/Ka band very much. You're better off trying to figure out how to mount it with some frontal view in that regard - though laser is very tough to pickup and almost automatic when used without corresponding jammers.

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elitesoldier357 said:

When I talked to a guy I know about the V1 he said that it will tell you how many times you have picked up a signal at a given location. Ive never used a detector before, but he said it displays a number at that location. So Idk. Just tryin to get a good detector that isn't too expensive (around $500) and is concealable.

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anthem said:

Then you're definitely mistaken about how the V1 works. The V1 tells you how many signals are in a particular location (an integral number). It does not tell you "how many times you have picked up a signal" as it has no gps and does not store it. It doesn't care if you picked up 10 signals at this point last year, yesterday or today. The counter is for that moment in time as to how many signals are present - thats it.

The V1's main claim to fame is that it tells you from where it is picking up the signal. It has two horns (front/rear) to indicate whether you're being hit from front, rear or sides. It is an exceptional detector in that regard - but it is lacking in some "features" that others have. I believe the patent for the directional arrows actually ran out last year or this year but haven't seen other detectors release a version that uses it.

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Kam said:

Always found detectors to be pointless. I had a V1 here in the UK and apart from all the false alerts, it was only usefull at alerting you that you have been caught.

If your looking for real protection then a Laser Jammer is the only option paired with a good GPS based device. The only issue is that Laser Jammers are illegal so if you get caught then your in the poo.

I've been looking at the Blinder HP-905 with two heads but the main unit is not waterproof so mounting could be an issue.

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AntiHero said:

V1 has saved my ass (and my license) several times. Never driven in the UK, but I imagine radar there works the same as here. When there's a lot of beeping it's prudent to slow down. If you get a lot of false alarms, filter out the x and k bands.

Laser Jammers are legal here in the US, but don't seem to work. Radar Jammers are anything but legal and will get you into serious trouble.

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anthem said:

Couple of incorrect statements here - Laser jammers are not legal in the US.

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elitesoldier357 said:

Laws | RadarDetector.org

Might wanna read that. There is no federal law against laser jammers. Just state laws. Also if you look around on Radar Roy's site, you might find which laser jammers and radar detectors are effective and which ones aren't. I may not know a whole lot about how they work because I have never owned one, but I do my research before I buy.

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anthem said:

Dude, I know my radar detectors and most regulations surrounding them. I said exactly what I said - there aren't regulations in most states but at least 9 or 10 of states forbid laser jammers. Just because there isn't a federal law against them doesn't mean they can be used in the US. They /might/ be able to be used in some parts of the US but not all. They are explicitly illegal in many states. Even saying radar detectors are "legal in the US" would be incorrect as there are states where radar detector use is not legal. Just because there isn't a federal regulation doesn't mean there aren't other regulations elsewhere.

And if you want to know which units work and which don't you should go to radardetector.net. RadarRoy is just a vendor and while he knows his stuff and carries most units - the actual data of what works is on that forum.

And its great that you do your research before you buy because you really do need to do that. But you're talking about someone who has has a valentine 1 for over 10 years (first version upgraded over 4x). I also own the 9500x, Redline and a couple STiR Plus units. For laser jammers I have 3 installed units of various version of Laser Inteceptor and LI/HP. I have installed units of Laser from over 5 years ago when laser guns started popping up. I have more actual laser jammer and radar experience than you have knowledge of them, so while you are doing your research I'm not sure why you're questioning what I know - even after I politely corrected your lack of knowledge in a specific model of a radar detector and its operation.

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