[youyou]

Hi guys,
So here goes...
As I am awaiting the delivery of my 335 coupe within the next 2 weeks i have slowly but surely over the past 3 month wait been getting all the little things i want to mod.
I now have in my possesion the M-Tech steering wheel, Ipod Most Adapter, Oem short throw shifter, Angel Eye bulbs.
The one thing i overlooked was a Radar detector. But now i think that i should definitely get one.
To be honest i have never had a Radar detector and have no idea how it works or which one is good. I hear everyone talking about the V1.
Can someone please clarify how it works and how accurate it is?
I mean i owuld love to know if there is cops around...
But doesn't the police have anti detector systems ( hope you understand what i mean) . How about cop cars that have Laser's...
Will the system warn me enough time in advance for me not to be clocked by whatever the cops are using?
Does it work only on the highway or in the city as well?
Is the V1 or any other system undetectible?
And is there a way to install a v1 or anything else without it showing anywhere in the car? Say in the glovebox or armrest. And is it detachable?
And lastly how much does a V1 cost? And is the installation process long and costly?
I thank you all for taking the time to read this and hopefully enlighten me.
Thank you

[youyou]

Anyone???

[Shinchan]

try search hardwire v1

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...hardwire+radar

[Ghunger]

I like my V-1 but there are certainly other detectors out there that work well also. (see http://www.radarbusters.com/ for some reviews) They work well and give you enough warning in many, BUT NOT ALL cases. All the top models have similar quality for detection and such. Last time I checked they were similar at least. I chose the V-1 for the arrows.

Only place you can buy a new V-1 is http://www.valentine1.com/

There are several hardwire threads on the boards so you can choose which way you want to install yours. The standard cigarette lighter method takes less than 5 min. The hardwire to the fuse box only took me about 30 min. Dunno about how long it takes for the hardwire to the sunroof power.

Most detectors are held on by suction cups so they're easily detachable.

No detector is completely undetectable, but some are probably better than others.

[youyou]

Originally Posted by Ghunger

I like my V-1 but there are certainly other detectors out there that work well also. (see http://www.radarbusters.com/ for some reviews) They work well and give you enough warning in many, BUT NOT ALL cases. All the top models have similar quality for detection and such. Last time I checked they were similar at least. I chose the V-1 for the arrows.

Only place you can buy a new V-1 is http://www.valentine1.com/

There are several hardwire threads on the boards so you can choose which way you want to install yours. The standard cigarette lighter method takes less than 5 min. The hardwire to the fuse box only took me about 30 min. Dunno about how long it takes for the hardwire to the sunroof power.

Most detectors are held on by suction cups so they're easily detachable.

No detector is completely undetectable, but some are probably better than others.

Thankx Ghunger for the info...
But i'm still pretty much lost on all the other questions i asked.
I guess maybe i should just call Valentine directly and ask them.

[Josh49]

But doesn't the police have anti detector systems ( hope you understand what i mean) . No. Detectors are legal most places. Check your local laws.

How about cop cars that have Laser's...Will the system warn me enough time in advance for me not to be clocked by whatever the cops are using? No. If you are hit with laser, the V1 will tell you that you got hit with laser. If you were speeding plan on pulling over.*

Does it work only on the highway or in the city as well? Everywhere. They excel on highways in my opinion for long trips.

Is the V1 or any other system undetectible? Don't understand what you mean here. A detector is a detector. It does not transmit anything, it's like you listening to sound. So can someone detect that your ear is working?

And is there a way to install a v1 or anything else without it showing anywhere in the car? Say in the glovebox or armrest. Nope, it's gotta be on the windshield looking forward. It's like eyesight. You can't see anything while hiding in a closet. There are (for $$) clean installs of other systems where you can't see anything. The hardware is in the grills, etc..

And is it detachable?
Yes, unclip phone wire, push button on top, it's off in 2 seconds..

And lastly how much does a V1 cost?
$400

And is the installation process long and costly?
Free, follow the hardwire DIY.. I can send you a link if you need

I thank you all for taking the time to read this and hopefully enlighten me.
Thank you
Feel free to ask more questions if you have them..

Go to their website by the way. Tons of good information there..
http://valentine1.com/

Good luck

[Josh49]

*As you drive around you will begin to learn where laser traps are, and areas you should definitely not be speeding. Drive smart. They need direct line of sight, and usually are holding the gun outside the car, or in the driver's seat. They tend to hide behind hills, offramps, onramps, bridges, etc. Anywhere they can hide really. Sometimes they'll even be parked in the shoulder with it out.. Be careful with Laser out there..

[Lassaxi]

Just a couple of additions/clarifications, which are underlined below:

Originally Posted by Josh49

But doesn't the police have anti detector systems ( hope you understand what i mean) . No. Detectors are legal most places. Check your local laws. Some police have radar detector detectors, but this depends on whether the detector is legal in your area. I know there are some issues in parts of Canada.

How about cop cars that have Laser's...Will the system warn me enough time in advance for me not to be clocked by whatever the cops are using? No. If you are hit with laser, the V1 will tell you that you got hit with laser. If you were speeding plan on pulling over.*Conventional wisdom is that the laser beam is too narrow for any detector to pick up when any car other than yours is being lasered. In reality, there is a bit of debate on this point. It depends a lot on the weather conditions and on the angle of the beam. It is possible that you will get some advanced warning when another car ahead of you is being lasered, but it's much more the exception than the rule, and I certianly wouldn't rely on it.

Does it work only on the highway or in the city as well? Everywhere. They excel on highways in my opinion for long trips.The main issue with city driving is false alarms. Lots of other devices transmit in the same band as police radar- thing like door openers and alarm system motion detectors are prime culprits. A good detector can sort out most falses from true radar, but you'll still get some from time to time, expecially in cities.

Is the V1 or any other system undetectible? Don't understand what you mean here. A detector is a detector. It does not transmit anything, it's like you listening to sound. So can someone detect that your ear is working?Most detectors are superhetrodyne receivers, and therefore do emit a small signal themselves. This signal can be found by radar detector detectors. Look for a model with VG2 immunity. Those are less detectable, but still not perfect.

And is there a way to install a v1 or anything else without it showing anywhere in the car? Say in the glovebox or armrest. Nope, it's gotta be on the windshield looking forward. It's like eyesight. You can't see anything while hiding in a closet. There are (for $$) clean installs of other systems where you can't see anything. The hardware is in the grills, etc.. What he said.

And is it detachable?
Yes, unclip phone wire, push button on top, it's off in 2 seconds..What he said.

And lastly how much does a V1 cost?
$400

And is the installation process long and costly?
Free, follow the hardwire DIY.. I can send you a link if you need

I thank you all for taking the time to read this and hopefully enlighten me.
Thank you
Feel free to ask more questions if you have them..

Go to their website by the way. Tons of good information there..
http://valentine1.com/

Good luck

On a personal preference note, I prefer the Passport models to the V1. I think their range is nearly as good, but the Passport has much better false alarm immunity.

[13307]

I don't want to get into a radar detector war, I prefer the Escort, but whatever you think gives the best result you should buy.

As far as my point of clarification, most new detectors are now invisible to VG2 radar detectors, but unfortunately Radarbusters has reported that Virginia and DC are now using Spectre II and III which has not been officially beat by anything except the Bel STI(Bel is now owned by Escort so i guess they will have one soon as well). I believe alot of Canada is Detector Illegal as well, but you would have to read up on it to be sure which areas are and are not. If you don't live in an area that forbids detectors, you don't need to care about VG and Spectre, my experience has just been that cops will give you less breaks if they see the detector, but experiences will vary, I find I get noticed alot less in the BMW coupe than I did in my G35 coupe, maybe it's the car, or maybe I'm just starting to look old!

[Josh49]

Yep. Good stuff. Some quick additions.

Radar v Lidar.

Radar bounces far down the road, so if aimed down a straight highway, you can sometimes pick it up from miles away, giving you tons of time to slow don't. Lidar does not do this. Sometimes you'll pick up some scattering like Lisaxxi said, but it is not usually enough to react. On windy roads, you will not have much warning with radar either obviously..

The biggest thing with these things is to drive smart, know your surroundings. If you are going through a school zone, drive exactly 20 (besides for obvious reasons). Be smart, and pick and choose your battles.. You'll know the areas that you should be doing the limit, and they are strict and enforce you doing the limit, and some areas where you can open her up a little. Most importantly, drive safely..

[Josh49]

Hmm. Read up more on VG2. I never really cared because they are legal here. From the valentine website if you are bored:

The real question is, can V1 be found by an instrument called a "radar-detector detector?"
Good radar detectors, like good AM/FM radios, are super-heterodyne receivers, and they all share a common trait. They receive, but they also transmit a signal; it's called "local oscillator emissions." This transmitted signal can be found by another radio if it's tuned to the right frequency. A radar-detector detector is merely a radio tuned to the right frequency range for most detectors.

VG2 is the most famous of the radar-detector detectors.

A little history: Escort was the first X-K super-heterodyne detector. Jim Jaeger and I invented it, working out of his basement in the mid-seventies. Since then, other detector makers have taken the easy way and copied Escort's frequency scheme, which means they have the same L-O frequency. So VG2 knows right where to tune for them.

The one detector that's apart from the pack is V1. I didn't copy myself. So VG2 misses Valentine One. In our tests, Valentine One is better than all others for VG2-proofing. Our best competitors are pretty good, maybe good enough. Some others resort to a dubious strategy; they switch off their radar protection when they sense VG2 nearby.

Recently, we've been hearing of another radar-detector detector, the Spectre RDD. Used first in Canada, enforcers of detector bans in Virginia and Washington, DC, and the nationwide ban in heavy trucks, surely have this tool on their must-have list. It claims to have been designed specifically "to detect the latest state of the art stealth-type radar warning receivers." Does it find V1? Very likely, according to reports we've been hearing from a few V1 users. One participant in an internet chat room, who claimed to be a Canadian enforcer, said "I've snagged a Valentine 1 already." We've been unable to acquire a Spectre RDD for testing. Until we can do so, be advised that no super-heterodyne receiver is perfectly undetectable, and that includes V1.

[Lassaxi]

Originally Posted by Josh49

Yep. Good stuff. Some quick additions.

The biggest thing with these things is to drive smart, know your surroundings. If you are going through a school zone, drive exactly 20 (besides for obvious reasons). Be smart, and pick and choose your battles.. You'll know the areas that you should be doing the limit, and they are strict and enforce you doing the limit, and some areas where you can open her up a little. Most importantly, drive safely..

Quite honestly, this is the best advice anyone can give. You have to drive alert and be aware of what's going on on the road ahead of you. That's good advice not just for speed traps, but for driving generally.

[youyou]

First off thank you all for your help and replies.


How about cop cars that have Laser's...Will the system warn me enough time in advance for me not to be clocked by whatever the cops are using?
No. If you are hit with laser, the V1 will tell you that you got hit with laser. If you were speeding plan on pulling over.*

So then what exactly is the point? If the v1 notifies you once the cop has already clocked your speed...
Nowadays it seems as though more and more cops are using Laser's.

I am not a crazy driver and don't plan on doing lots of speed but the reason i was looking into a radar detector is for those " once in a blue moon " occasions when the highway is clear , where i would like to use a little power from my car...
Here in Canada Radar Detecctors are illegal so if they have as you guys were saying the radar detctor detector then i'm basically fu...d.

So all in all i think that the v1 doesn't really help much.

[Josh49]

Originally Posted by youyou

First off thank you all for your help and replies.


How about cop cars that have Laser's...Will the system warn me enough time in advance for me not to be clocked by whatever the cops are using?
No. If you are hit with laser, the V1 will tell you that you got hit with laser. If you were speeding plan on pulling over.*

So then what exactly is the point? If the v1 notifies you once the cop has already clocked your speed...
Nowadays it seems as though more and more cops are using Laser's.

I am not a crazy driver and don't plan on doing lots of speed but the reason i was looking into a radar detector is for those " once in a blue moon " occasions when the highway is clear , where i would like to use a little power from my car...
Here in Canada Radar Detecctors are illegal so if they have as you guys were saying the radar detctor detector then i'm basically fu...d.

So all in all i think that the v1 doesn't really help much.

I guess my advice for your situation based on the above response is to save your money, and drive smart like I said above. If it's 80 degrees, sunny, and you can see everything on the highway for a straight shot of a few miles, no cars around, sure, give it some gas. If you're driving at night with limited visibility, or on windy roads where cops can be around any corner (not to mention pedestrians, deer, etc), it's probably not the right place or time.. Again, look down the road as much as possible, and look for those areas that cops like to hide, or even just parked cars on the side of the road. On the mass pike, they love to sit on the side of the road with laser, ticket, set up, ticket, resetup, ticket. Just by sitting in the shoulder.. They never turn around to go to another spot and they never don't hide either..

In summary:
Enjoy the new car, and drive safely..

[Josh49]

Originally Posted by Lassaxi

You have to drive alert and be aware of what's going on on the road ahead of you.

I found the one other driver in Boston who knows this!!!

[khafner]

there is a site on the internet where someone in canada has posted all the detectors they have snagged with the spectra. There are many V1's in the bunch. So where-ever the spectra is used and detectors are illegal turn it off.
Otherwise you could loose it. Re: laser. If you want protection get a laser jammer. They work but then they double your cost as now you have two pieces of equipment. A lser detector with rare exceptions will only tell you when you have been caught.

[canuck335i]

Originally Posted by khafner

there is a site on the internet where someone in canada has posted all the detectors they have snagged with the spectra. There are many V1's in the bunch. So where-ever the spectra is used and detectors are illegal turn it off.
Otherwise you could loose it. Re: laser. If you want protection get a laser jammer. They work but then they double your cost as now you have two pieces of equipment. A lser detector with rare exceptions will only tell you when you have been caught.

any url to that site?

tx

[Lassaxi]

Originally Posted by Josh49

I found the one other driver in Boston who knows this!!!

Yeah- we are definitely the exception and not the rule!

[Ghunger]

From my reading, comparing the V1 to other models like the beltronics and passport models, it seems to me like the V1 chooses to give you more of the information and let you sort out what "threats" warrant your attention. The other models use more processing and try to determine for you which "threats" are important. Depends on the type of person you are. Presonally I like being told everything that's going on and deciding myself. I'm sure others though, would like the detector to do more of the work so they don't have to bother.