Ever considered laser jammers as well?
the best way to go is Lidatek, and I have a set on ebay as we speak.
(I know...shameless plug)
www.lidatek.com
the best way to go is Lidatek, and I have a set on ebay as we speak.
www.lidatek.com
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Best Radar detector
- Thread starter TSD
- Start date
Cool beans.
Turns out you can not only enable auto mute, but also adjust how long it takes before auto mute kicks in, AND override auto mute depending on signal strength.
To go directly to this part of the V1 website, click here and scroll down to the chart where the first three columns are labeled b, c, and d, plus the charts that follow.
Thanks!!!!!!!
What it really boils down to is the fact that no radar detector eliminates all tickets and that if you get a ticket with 8500 the V1 would not have helped out either or vice versa. Both are great units. The 8500 is easier to use and less quirky. Best of all, the 8500 is cheaper especially at my NSX Prime special price.
Anyone looking for a great deal, feel free to call me at (813)961-5578.
Andy
Anyone looking for a great deal, feel free to call me at (813)961-5578.
Andy
I should have both by Friday. I picked up an 8500 today and ordered my V1. I will put it through some tests and see what is what. I promise to post results here.
Tim
Tim
I live in the SF Bay Area and there are tons of false alarms -- enough to make a typical radar detector pretty annoying. Unfortunately, they aren't even all X band (Safeway doors aren't, for example). The V1 has significantly more false alarms than the 8500 from the tests I have read. See http://www.speedzones.com/falsealerts/false.htm for an independent false alarm comparison. Key sentence from it: "The clear champion in false alert suppression is the Passport 8500...". Again, where I live, that is pretty critical as a feature -- more than the arrows.
However, if you want to hide the radar detector from view, either to avoid it being stolen or to avoid looking like a habitual speeder should a cop pull you over, you will want a move covert hidden system. If so, the Valentine 1 is far better than the Escort, as it puts its full display on the remote system while the Escort's just has a single red LED that comes on for any alert. So if you have that requirement, then Valentine 1 is the only real answer, false alarm issues or not.
Chip
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Chip Alexander
'97 Blue/Tan NSX-T with Tubi Exhaust, Fiamm Horn
'92 Green/Tan Lexus SC400 Coupe
'02 Blue/Tan BMW 325iT Sportwagon
[This message has been edited by calexand (edited 13 November 2002).]
However, if you want to hide the radar detector from view, either to avoid it being stolen or to avoid looking like a habitual speeder should a cop pull you over, you will want a move covert hidden system. If so, the Valentine 1 is far better than the Escort, as it puts its full display on the remote system while the Escort's just has a single red LED that comes on for any alert. So if you have that requirement, then Valentine 1 is the only real answer, false alarm issues or not.
Chip
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Chip Alexander
'97 Blue/Tan NSX-T with Tubi Exhaust, Fiamm Horn
'92 Green/Tan Lexus SC400 Coupe
'02 Blue/Tan BMW 325iT Sportwagon
[This message has been edited by calexand (edited 13 November 2002).]
This is what I get for not surfing the boards as much as I used to!
Throw the 8500 in the trash! Even with its "vaunted" Ka band sensitivity, it is still not as good as the V1. I own both. Bought both on the 30 day trial last year, and found the V1 better within the first two weeks, sometimes by a city block on Ka. Liked the arrows, etc.
Found a cheap 8500 (now I know why!) with two vehicle wire in setups, thought this would be great for my Lexus. Tend to drive a little slower in it, so should be fine. Switched it over to the Mini when I got it a month ago, and have now received my first ever speeding ticket from an X band trooper, no less. I do know the V1 would have caught him much sooner and given me time to slow down. But I was lazy and did not want to swap the V1 from car to car to car. For the price of fixing this ticket, I could have bought another V1, plus I am out the "savings" from buying the used 8500.
Take my word for it, buy the V1 and never look back. You still cannot drive 120 and be by yourself, but you can feel more comfortable in traffic and run 10-15mph over most posted limits and be fairly safe. I love the partial logic mode where all signals are alarmed, but the less likely ones are beeped at the lower volume setting. The auto mute on the 8500 is nice, but it literally drops the sound to nothing, which allows you to forget it in traffic, then boom, there is the cop coming over the hill. Plus, the arrows are the most important part!!!! P.M. me if you want more real world testimony, or if you want to buy an 8500 with two car direct wire kits cheap!
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Gary Yates
1995 Red/Tan
Throw the 8500 in the trash! Even with its "vaunted" Ka band sensitivity, it is still not as good as the V1. I own both. Bought both on the 30 day trial last year, and found the V1 better within the first two weeks, sometimes by a city block on Ka. Liked the arrows, etc.
Found a cheap 8500 (now I know why!) with two vehicle wire in setups, thought this would be great for my Lexus. Tend to drive a little slower in it, so should be fine. Switched it over to the Mini when I got it a month ago, and have now received my first ever speeding ticket from an X band trooper, no less. I do know the V1 would have caught him much sooner and given me time to slow down. But I was lazy and did not want to swap the V1 from car to car to car. For the price of fixing this ticket, I could have bought another V1, plus I am out the "savings" from buying the used 8500.
Take my word for it, buy the V1 and never look back. You still cannot drive 120 and be by yourself, but you can feel more comfortable in traffic and run 10-15mph over most posted limits and be fairly safe. I love the partial logic mode where all signals are alarmed, but the less likely ones are beeped at the lower volume setting. The auto mute on the 8500 is nice, but it literally drops the sound to nothing, which allows you to forget it in traffic, then boom, there is the cop coming over the hill. Plus, the arrows are the most important part!!!! P.M. me if you want more real world testimony, or if you want to buy an 8500 with two car direct wire kits cheap!
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Gary Yates
1995 Red/Tan
Is the partial logic mode the best mode to have it on? I've kept mine on Advanced Logic ("L"), but if most are using "l," please explain to me what the advantages are. Is it reasonably safer to put it on partial logic?
Thanks. -Thomas
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'94 Brooklands Green Pearl/Black NSX
5-Speed
#157
Whoever mentioned the "jammer" above be careful. Don't know about other states of course but here in Florida Radar/laser Jammers can land you a serious fine or jail time....I know I'm a cop. I don't have a detector myself and I admit being a cop has gotten me out of a couple jams. However, the car itself (being driven by a yound black guy) usually gets me stopped in the first place. Learn the laws in your area before going the jammer route.
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'91 blk/blk NSX
'96 Green Integra GSR
'02 CBR F4i Yellow/Black
Honda rules
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'91 blk/blk NSX
'96 Green Integra GSR
'02 CBR F4i Yellow/Black
Honda rules
Thomas,
The full logic mode reduces sensitivity to X band signals, and possibly to K (not sure about that one), where the part. logic only decreases the volume to where you set it on those "less likeley" signals. Those "less likely signals may just be a cop a little farther away. It just makes me pay a little more attention, without getting on my nerves.
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Gary Yates
1995 Red/Tan
Based on my wanting to have a remote display for my radar detector, and the strong recommendations here for the V1, I bought a V1 to try. I am about to figure out how to send it back.
I bet it is great in most rural areas of the country, but here in the Bay Area, it went off constantly. I tried using little L mode, big L mode, turning off X band completely, then finally turning off X band completely combined with big L mode. It still went off every few miles with false alarms. And that becomes more than an annoyance -- if you stop paying attention to it, you will not notice the real alert.
All along I kept my Passport 8500 hooked up, and it goes off about 1/10 as often. That in fact matches up with the test report I posted earlier. But I really wanted to try for myself since I wanted a remote display (and those arrows). Now I've proven it to myself -- if you mostly drive in a place with lots of false alarm sources like the SF Bay Area, you should get a Passport 8500, not a Valentine. Otherwise it's like the boy who cried wolf.
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Chip Alexander
'97 Blue/Tan NSX-T with Tubi Exhaust, Fiamm Horn
'92 Green/Tan Lexus SC400 Coupe
'02 Blue/Tan BMW 325iT Sportwagon
I bet it is great in most rural areas of the country, but here in the Bay Area, it went off constantly. I tried using little L mode, big L mode, turning off X band completely, then finally turning off X band completely combined with big L mode. It still went off every few miles with false alarms. And that becomes more than an annoyance -- if you stop paying attention to it, you will not notice the real alert.
All along I kept my Passport 8500 hooked up, and it goes off about 1/10 as often. That in fact matches up with the test report I posted earlier. But I really wanted to try for myself since I wanted a remote display (and those arrows). Now I've proven it to myself -- if you mostly drive in a place with lots of false alarm sources like the SF Bay Area, you should get a Passport 8500, not a Valentine. Otherwise it's like the boy who cried wolf.
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Chip Alexander
'97 Blue/Tan NSX-T with Tubi Exhaust, Fiamm Horn
'92 Green/Tan Lexus SC400 Coupe
'02 Blue/Tan BMW 325iT Sportwagon
I'm in the Bay Area too. Yeah, there are lots of things that set off false alarms, most notably stores. After about 9 months of living with the falses, and noticing that I've NEVER been hit by a trooper with anything other than Ka radar, I decided to change the settings. What I've done is kept it in Advanced Logic mode (big L), turned off X band and K band, and now I have ZERO falses, and still no tickets either. I'm happy with my decision.
I've heard that some troopers in Redwood City use K band, but I am rarely in that area. But just keep that in mind since you're in Belmont.
As for the falses, it's partially true that you'll feel like the radar is "crying wolf" and you'll be de-sensitized to its warnings. However, if you pay attention, you can begin to notice and distinguish which ones are falses and which ones are real threats. For me, Ka band is the telltale factor.
Hope this helps.
-CiaoBoy
I've heard that some troopers in Redwood City use K band, but I am rarely in that area. But just keep that in mind since you're in Belmont.
As for the falses, it's partially true that you'll feel like the radar is "crying wolf" and you'll be de-sensitized to its warnings. However, if you pay attention, you can begin to notice and distinguish which ones are falses and which ones are real threats. For me, Ka band is the telltale factor.
Hope this helps.
-CiaoBoy
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