Valentine One Radar Detector by Valentine
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Our Price: $499.95 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $469.00 (click here) Category: Car Audio or Theater See more digital camera details and other models |
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Digital camera reviews of Valentine One Radar Detector
Digital camera Review: A Waste of time and money
Summary: 1 Stars
First of all, if you do get sucked in to buying a Valentine One do not buy it from Amazon. Sorry buy why would you pay more than 500 dollars here and 399 from Valentine direct. I can't imagine how this seller even gets away with that. Most importantly do not buy this if you live, work or drive through a city of more than 2000 people. My detector went off every 30 seconds no matter where I drove in Southern California through Nevada and Arizona. I called and asked them about it and they said "Well what do you want, it's sensitive"!! They use the analogy of a fighter pilot on their website, well I doubt a fighter pilot's radar is buzzing at them every 15 - 30 seconds. I would use the analogy of a fault alarm system. After an alarm going off every few minutes with false alarms how much attention are you going to pay to it? I'll tell you, you will turn it off. This is not my first radar detector. In fact over the years this is probably not even my tenth radar detector but it is by far the worst I have ever used. Oh, and the arrows only actually pointed toward the threat about 50% of the time.Digital camera Review: A good radar detector, BUT...
Summary: 2 Stars
Let me first start by saying that I have used many different detectors over the years and consider myself an expert in the field. The Valentine One is a great radar detector - no question about it.
Pros:
-Long range detection
-Arrows pointing in the direction of the radar source
-Multiple bands detected at the same time
-Works in Europe, depending on the firmware version (although if you get caught having one of those in most EU countries prepare for a serious fine)
Cons:
-Doesn't give you the option of showing you the actual radar frequency that it's detecting and with its front and back sensor it many times will detect the same frequency twice (because radar bounces off of objects) and list it as two separate radar sources.
-Doesn't detect inductive loop systems. It's a system which consists of two wires buried beneath the road surface and a computer that calculates the speed between the two wires (usually with a camera waiting not far away). V1 doesn't stand a chance against those threats.
-WAY too many false alarms. This is a big one because you either have to reduce its sensitivity level (which is what most people do, but doesn't that defy the purpose or at least remove the advantage that this detector has over cheaper detectors?) or you end up ignoring the vast majority of alerts. And prepare to have A LOT of false alarms!
-The directional arrows are a mixed blessing because as your detector goes off, instead of concentrating on the road (what a concept!) you're looking at the arrows, trying to figure out if the threat is real or not.
-Doesn't protect you against against red light cameras (okay, that in and of itself is not a deal breaker and I'm not encouraging anyone to run red lights).
-Limited protection against speed cameras due to the positioning of their radar, which basically offers you very little advance notice, if any.
-Goes off even at low speed or if you're stuck in traffic (unlike some of the smarter GPS-enabled detectors - read below to find out more about that).
-You have to mail your detector to Valentine and pay them to update the firmware on it about once a year just to keep it up-to-date (with Escort, you simply plug your detector into your computer... and all the firmware updates are free!)
-Terrible customer service.
In conclusion, if you have the money and want good protection, get a Valentine One. BUT...IF you want THE BEST detector on the market (which doesn't have ANY of the problems listed above and has ALL the advantages listed, with the exception of the directional arrows) and if you have the extra $100, get the Escort 9500ix. It will blow your mind. The Valentine One was the best detector for years. But because they had the main advantage (at the time), the directional arrows, I think they became complacent and didn't work hard enough to find the next big thing that would revolutionize radar detectors. Of course, I'm speaking of GPS technology. GPS has made the Valentine One's directional arrows obsolete because now that false alarms have been completely eliminated on the 9500ix, if it goes off you KNOW it's a threat, regardless of where it's coming from. I know that some of the hardcore fans of Valentine One will have a hard time accepting the fact that Valentine no longer is number one (if you had spent $399 on a detector, would you be able to stay objective?).
Once again, the Valentine is a GREAT detector and you will probably love it if you decide to purchase it. But you get what you pay for...and if you want the BEST protection available, spend the extra money and get the Escort 9500ix. You won't regret it. It has a ton of other features, such as auto-volume control, which means it "listens" to the noise in the car and automatically adjusts the volume of the alerts. Also, because the 9500ix is GPS-enabled it knows exactly how fast you're going at any given time. So the faster you drive the further down the road it "looks" for radars, progressively increasing/decreasing its sensitivity as needed, further reducing false alarms. How cool is that? This thing is light years ahead of most detectors in my view. Sorry, V1 :(
Digital camera Review: A++ on INDIANA highways
Summary: 5 Stars
This detector is top of the line. Detects ISP (Indiana State Police) from long distances(mostly Ka). Distinguishes from Ka, K, X, and Laser bands. Most city/county LEOS use the k band (although I have detected Ka from Fisher, IN PD), and the valentine one is there as your friend telling you not only that there is a LEO (law enforcement officer), but whether the leo is in front or behind you. This detector also tells you how many different signals it is detecting. This helps when filtering out junk signals driving your normal routine. Instead of the 4 bogey count you get going past your local CVS, on this day you get a 5 bogey count. Right away you know something is off and slow down. Sure enough, there's a LEO sitting in guise of a junk "k" sliding door signal. That fifth signal was the law dog and you knew that because you were use to a 4 bogey count. I'll give you one more example of how legitimate this detector can be. Most ISP cars have Ka, but don't you dare ignore an X band detection. I was in Morgan county south of Indy when an X reading came up. I thought, "I've yet to see a LEO with x radar these days!" Well low and behold, just as I was rounding the corner on SR 67 southbound, North of Martinsville, here comes a county sheriff heading the other direction running x radar. I almost ignored the signal as junk. Then I slowed to be cautious. Saved my bacon from the local PD. Never take any detection lightly. You aren't going to beat all speed traps, but with this detector you get awareness of police presence, and which direction it's coming from.
The only down side: if you drive at night it's hard to distinguish the lights from which signal is detected(all detected radar signals display in red). There is a distinctive sound for each signal, Ka, K, X, and laser are all slightly different. However, if you are driving with the music loud you will not be sure which signal is being detected. This is big in Indiana because it helps you to know what threat is lurking nearby. (Ka is ISP 90% of the time, while K is local city/county.) Not too big of a deal. It would be nice if they color coded the lights differently for each signal.
Digital camera Review: Arrows are a huge help!
Summary: 5 Stars
Anyone that does any research on radar/laser detectors knows two things, a cheap one is worthless, and the Valentine V1 is always listed in as a top 2 detectors. Some people complain that it is over sensitive, but you can just switch it to Advanced Logic Mode (big L on the screen) and it will be quiet enough. This thing is super sensitive on the highway and can give you a solid 2 miles of warning if the officer has the gun on. Arrows help a ton in the city and it will tell you the direct of the strongest signal as well as the other signals simultaneously.Digital camera Review: Awesome
Summary: 5 Stars
First like everyone else way expensive but in the end worth no matter what. I read the guys comment on how it goes off every 15-30 secs well thats because it picks up all types of radar bands x-l l=laser.Also I know up in Reno our local police not NHP use K band where alot of states use K1 like the NHP. So if you get a K band signal which is also linked to businesses well you have to distinguish which sucks but since I use it every day I know how many K bands should be in any given area. Second I found that if it doesn't go off one its defective or two the guy doesn't have his radar on. The V1 is a superb unite. I and my dad use it every day, and neither of us have had a ticket while using it. I have done 150+ and it saved me on the run. if you have problems its either operator error or defective unite. I say buy if you want to avoid a ticket.