[EastCoast335i]

Originally Posted by The Cleaner

CHP use Ka and they like to leave it on. Had my V1 point out 2 CHP on the way in to work today. your friend is wrong

+1
I have an Escort 9500 and the cops are lazy by me...
They just leave their radar on so its saved me a few times
Think about it this way.. If it saves you from 2 tickets it basically pays for itself in terms of the fines, insurance surcharges, and time spent fighting in court...

[DPritchett]

Originally Posted by tjnptel1

this is a lie.

Rd's ARE still illegal in Virginia, although a bill to undo that did get out of committee this year, but lost on a floor vote.

The law says you can have it in the vehicle (but not operating) if it is not accessible to you ... like in the trunk. I thinks its up to the discretion of the officer whether to confiscate (hold for evidence) or not.

[21729]

Originally Posted by EastCoast335i

+1
I have an Escort 9500 and the cops are lazy by me...
They just leave their radar on so its saved me a few times
Think about it this way.. If it saves you from 2 tickets it basically pays for itself in terms of the fines, insurance surcharges, and time spent fighting in court...

i have 9500ix and got saved doin 120 couple days ago. i think the best thing about it is autolearn, where it remembers false alarms. so when my RD beeps, i know its a real threat.

for OP: V1 is one of the most sensitive RD's out there. u made a good choice. LEO's can only get ur speed instant when they use laser. If the they use radar, V1 should cover u.

[RoundelM3]

Regarding LIDAR: if your detector can pick up laser and your windshield has a "tint band", your detector won't pick up a laser signal if the detector is mounted behind the tint band. You have to mount it where the lens on the detector is just below the bottom edge of the tint. Also, LIDAR is usually aimed at the front license plate, so the lower your detector is mounted, the more effective it will be against lasers.

All that said - the principle these things work on is detecting a signal from radar or laser before it is within close enough range to bounce back to the source. At longer distances, you can pick up the signal but it's not strong enough at that range to get all the way back to the source emitter, which allows you time to slow down if necessary. If you don't see the source and the operator turns it on when you're inside the max range of the device, they've got you. Best thing is to try not to be the "leader of the pack" and leave a car or two in front of you.

[FLA 335]

Originally Posted by EastCoast335i

+1
I have an Escort 9500 and the cops are lazy by me...
They just leave their radar on so its saved me a few times
Think about it this way.. If it saves you from 2 tickets it basically pays for itself in terms of the fines, insurance surcharges, and time spent fighting in court...

+1879875657 thats how i look at it... paid itself off about 3 times... im making money...!!!

[ENINTY]

Originally Posted by tjnptel1

They have to return it though.. it clearly states "shall be returned to the person charged with the violation.."

confiscate would mean to permanently take something away. two different things.

from the law dictionary:

confiscate
v. to take one's goods or property without legal right, although there may appear to be some lawful basis. In the case of a government seizing property, it may include taking without the just compensation as guaranteed by the Constitution. There are some acts of legal confiscation, such as taking an automobile used in illegal drug traffic.

So, for the period the court system has your property and until they give it back to you (and just hope they don't loose it in the process) the Commonwealth does not compensate you for the loss of use of your property; i.e. they've confiscated it.

[jopa489]

Use your eyes, knowledge, and brain instead. Around here, the troopers hide under bridges, in the median, and sometimes even in the trees off the road. After a while, you know where they hide and know what to expect. Watch the flow of traffic and look ahead (as you should do anyway) - people always hit the brakes after passing cops. Simply paying attention offers more protection than any detector can offer.

I drive between 25-30k per year, almost all highway. A V1 (or any detector) seems pointless to me these days - it's all laser. I used to be a strong proponent of detectors, but not so much anymore. They're great for the local town cop running K-band, but useless for anything beyond that in my opinion. I drive many, many miles at a pretty good clip, and have yet to be pulled over.

[BlackHot]

Has saved me several times. Great investment.

[Wosby]

Originally Posted by Marcus-SanDiego

The V1 works well. Where it doesn't work is with instant-on laser. You get zapped; V1 can't help you there.

My V1 has paid for itself several times over. It's so good that I have one in every car we own.

What you need in this case is a laser jammer!

[Wosby]

Originally Posted by chazzz

I just got a new V1. A friend of mine said the problem with radar detectors, is that when it beeps, most likely the cop has already caught you on radar.

Not true! Radar puts out a very wide beam. In fact, the V1 will detect the signal even before there is line of sight with the source. What your freind mentions does however apply to lasers. Lasers put out a very narrow beam, allowing the officer to isolate a vehicle at over a few hundred yards. Radar isn't as accurate.

[E90Graphite07]

Based on my readings and online reviews, it looks like the best protection is with the Laser Interceptor and V1 combination, or the Escort 9500ci combination. Skip the ZR3 and K40 ...those are weak/outdated.

[Wake27]

Originally Posted by tjnptel1

they can't confiscate it. it's your personal belonging. Yes, you can get a ticket for it.

A friend of mine got pulled over for his Bell detector, the cop took it away but said that he can get it back once the court case hearing is over. The cop was really friendly on the day of the case hearing and informed my friend that they can only give tickets but not confiscate it.

I live in Virgina, two of my cars have V1 for three years now and never once have i been busted for it. They are hard wired to the map lights above so it's sits high and out of sight.

Since radar detectors are illegal in virginia, cops don't do instant on (pop) with their radar and leave them on all the time, this gives the user a lot of time to slow down inconspicuously.

Hardwiring doesn't make it invisible to radar detector detectors though does it? Don't VA cops have them since detectors are illegal?

[spdy330]

My V1 has also saved me many times over the past 5 years.

[michael1284]

mine has also saved me numerous times in the month that i've had mine, but the other aspect of it is that i use it to know when cops are around so that i'm extra careful with my stops and signals for lane changes, ect. i'm always paranoid driving a modded car because i've gotten pulled over one too many times for really stupid stuff just because they think modded car = opportunity to cite.

[ctuna]

Passport saves me once or twice a year
It also makes me aware of where they sit
It even worked for laser a few times
I go with the flow of traffic still thats about 10mph above the limit
on most cali highways

[Ron1n]

My V1 saved me this morning from a CHP behind me....worth it's weigh in gold, if it saves you just once.

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

The valentine 1 is more then enough but people forget Radar detectors are only as good as the user behind them.

The BASIC concept of radar detector is if another vehicle is in front of you speeding, and a cop shoots that car with radar, if your radar is good enough it will pick up the signal way before you even get in sight of the cop.

Radar detectors are never a 100% bullet proof way to go 100 MPH down the highway and get away scott free.

Again, the user plays a stronger role then the radar itself to deter getting pulled over for speeding, however if your going to get a radar detector you mine as well get the best one, Ive had cheap ones and they got my nailed because they cant compete with the distance the good ones can.

I've had a v1 for about 7 years now and never looked back.

Half of my friends followed my lead and got the V1 and the other half use a passport or something similar.

The passport users all say the samething, its just as good it just doesnt have arrows, I dont need arrows I just slow down.

Bullshit! I say.

The arrows are one thing, but how bout the the ability to detect more then 1 signal?

Yes Ive had instances where my radar goes off and there is something in front of me on K band for instance.... then at the sametime I signal of Ka comes from behind me and now I have 2 signals coming in... which one is real? which one is fake? Do I mute them both?

Turns out a real cop was coming up from behind me and in front of me was a false alarm from a store.... Let me know when your passport differentiates more then 1 signal and the direction its coming from.

Another real scenario.....

Ka signal from the back....

1 mile goes by nothing...

2 miles goes by nothing...

Im like Man this is ridiculous...... Was it one signal the whole time? or 2 signals the whole time?

No turns out a cop was just driving the speed limit behind me, almost out of the range of the radar.

Now if I had a regular radar detector I would have passed it off as nothing or slowed down the first time, and realized nothing was there after a couple miles and sped back up.... but since I knew it was behind me (arrows), I knew that the cop had to be moving the same direction as me cause the signal never got worse or better.

[e90prelci]

@ Eninty since you dont use your V1 any more can I buy it off of you?

[IlChengis]

JPSlick: well said.

Driving with a V1 in the car makes every commute like a videogame, seriously it makes every drive so much more interesting. Just like a videogame, you need to be a good player to avoid losing, you need to pay attention and look ahead, drive strategically. Adding the V1 to your arsenal is like getting the badass double barrel shotgun in Doom, it greatly increases your chances of winning the game, but you have to aim and pull the trigger, simply running around carrying it isn't going to get you far.

I guess we could say that a Laser jammer is like getting the BFG-9000.

After doing my research and deciding to go with the V1, I disliked them for selling only out of their site and for being more expensive than comparable units like the Bel STi, but I am so glad I went with it, I don't know what I would do without the arrows or the threat (or bogey) counter.

Needless to say, it has repaid itself multiple times.

To symphatize with fellow V1 owners, I'll start:
I HATE Infinity SUVs driving in the opposite lane (or behind me)
I HATE sitting behind Trailblazers
I HATE stores with doors that broadcast uber-powerful X signal... wtf are they trying to do, open the door when the squirrel on the tree across the street takes a dump?



Learn how to drive with your V1 and read the enclosed manual, it's very well written.

Good luck,

-Walter

[ello888]

question guys, does BMW windscreen have a reflective tint that prohibit operation of V1?

I just have the standard windows package with no dark tint.

I had the V1 on a mercedes and it beeps everywhere.... on my new bimmer, it hardly beeps except driving pass Infinity SUVs!

[d_adviser]

@JPSlick..i agree with you.. the RD is as good as the driver behind the wheel. my first ticket was $300. i bought a V1 the following week..i've never had to pay another ticket since. btw v1's can be attached to the visor and if connected to the remote dispaly it will be out of sight...means u can turn it off if u get stopped without looking like your turning it off .