Directional arrows to point out where the unfriendly fire is coming from.
http://www.speedzones.com claims that the Valentine One has the following ranges X = 3.0 miles, K = 2.6 miles, Ka = 4.0 miles. At 60 miles an hour you cover 1 mile in 1 minute. At 120 mph you'd cover 1 mile in 30 seconds. So assuming you're doing 120 (hehe) you'd have 2 minutes to slow down for a Ka band reading.

In certain reviews, the valentine1 is claimed to have less range. According to www.radartest.com the valentine has 25,000 ft range on ka band. The Escort 8500 had a range of 40,000.

I am the type of person that drives 90mph all the time. I get tickets all the time. I decided that it would be cheaper to spend some money on a radar detector than on tickets and insurance. Actually I wanted a radar jammer and a laser jammer to solve my problem. I did some research and found out about 4 good radar detectors that people seem to recommend. I narrowed down my choices to the the two that seemed to have the most "fans". Those two being the Escort Passport 8500 and the Valentine1 radar detectors. There actually seems to be a full blown war going on between the fans of both products. There have been allegations of inaccurate testing/results by certain experts. I read ALOT of the flame wars about the two products. I found some peculiar things out.

1. Atleast 90 percent of the people who have something to say about the Valentine1, LOVE IT.
2. It seems that Escort 8500 users/fans seem to go out of there way to say that the Valentine1 is not as good.
3. The Valentine1 (yes I know you've heard/read it before) is the only radar detector that has directional arrows to inform you of where the radar source is in relation to your car.
4. Escort 8500 does seem to have a slight advantage in range when detecting radar from the front.

I have never tried the Escort 8500. I can not believe that all radar detectors don't have the directional arrows! Ok so the Escort 8500 has a slight advantage in range. SO WHAT!>@!#$@ If you don't know where it's coming from, you are as blind as a bat. Either that or you have no choice but to brake hard EVERY TIME you see K, Ka or Laser go off. Why? Well... WHERE IS THE SOURCE? If I knew it was behind me... I might actually want to speed up and exit. Or if it's to the left than, I can slowly slow down (since radar is of no real threat from the side).

Get this straight... The cops are the hunters and we are the hunted. Say you're standing in the woods minding your own business. You're relaxing and eating some grass. Your buddy, who can hear a little better than you, is with you. The problem is he only has one ear. BAM! (High Powered Rifle Goes Off) You're buddy freaks. He stops and looks around. You on the other hand haven't heard sh1t yet. But that's ok.... the hunter's WAY OUT OF RANGE to hit you. The hunter eventually closes in. BAM! (another shot) this time you look behind you because you know where that shot came from. Your buddy has no clue where it came from.

The point is... both products have their strengths and their weaknesses. It is up to you to determine which you would rather have. Personally, I would rather take a hit on performance on range of Ka band (remember Valentine1 still has a range of 4.0 miles at best or 25,000ft at worst) than not knowing where the source is. This simply gives you more information about the enemy.

Valentine1... ROCKS but can't wait until Ka range is extended. Valentine1's are upgradeable everytime an improvement is made... another good thing.

Similar Products Used:

Radio Shack X, K, Ka, and Laser detector. The Radio Shack and other radar detectors made me drive like a crack addict. I was always FREAKED OUT and BRAKING at every little beep. Now I know where to look.

range and knowing where the radar is

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After reading the test from radar test I bought the new Bel 980 for my wife"s Jag...I have a Valentine in my Ferrari and Suburban......I think the Bel is OK but a pain in the butt...Its goes off (but unlike the Valentine it has no arrow to show where the cop is) so I slow down and stay slow cause don't know if the guy is in front.,past me, in back with the radar off clocking me,or a false alarm.. ect...Most times I never see anything..With the V1 I know

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Bel 980

source ("bogey") counter, directional information, rear and forward facing antenae, easily removable windshield suction cups, use of regular phone wire for power supply

having to hit the mute button, somewhat bulkier than other kinds, laser (only seems to go off when it sees neon or highway flashing signals

Personally, I think 80% of these detectors are all pretty close in terms of sensitivity and vary only slightly in the amount of warning time they provide. Thats not to say that more time equals less tickets, I'm sure it does. But day in and day out driving I've found that several other detectors also warn me in time to avoid most tickets. However, and this is the big one, what sets the V1 apart from the others: knowing the number of sources (ie "bogey counter") and the direction. Here are two real life situations that really highight the weakenesses in all the other detectors by not having counter and directional information. Its the reason you pay the price you pay. Its the reason once most people use it, they would never use anything else. Its the reason I'll say its the best overall detector to help you prevent tickets (may be not the most sensitive).

Ex. 1
Driving on 2 lane highway about 80 mph. Road has a gradual slope with some dips and turns. Its driven everyday, so you know where the bogus blips happen. You get one blip. You tap the breaks to go down to about 65. Blips pic up and up ahead you see the cop with someone pulled over. The source counter tells you there are 2. It could be the cop was shooting radar out the front and back. You pass the ticketing cop doing 60 and the directional tells you that one source is behind and one is in front. Sure enough, up ahead about 1000 feet...is another trap. Without knowing A. How many sources and B. What direction it was (one in front and back as opposed to 2 in back), my instinct would have been to speed right up after seeing cop 1 and probably get a ticket.

Ex. 2
Driving a 3 lane parkway, very flat, some long winding turns, doing about 85. Let say there is a cop 3/4 of a mile ahead, stationary, doing instant-on as cars pass. Lets also say there is an unmarked car traveling up the rear doing a moving instant-on to cars in front. In any other detector, you'll get the warning that there is radar. The alarm will go on off getting stronger as you approach the first cop and he zaps people in front of you. You slow to pass him....and figure that your continued blips from the regular detector is the cop you just passed, so you speed back up. Without knowing there was a cop coming up behind you, you'd probably have gotten clocked from behind. With the V1, you'd know there were two sources. You'd also know that once you passed the stationary cop, that you were still getting fairly strong readings from behind you.

Sorry this is so long. I've read some of the bad reviews and for the most part dont agree. I know I cannot say its the most sensitive and provides the most warning. I dont know that. I can say, it has helped me avoid more tickets, in more ways, because of the features it has, than any other detector could. IF you have one, you know what I mean, and if you want one...you'll realize one day what I mean.

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Passport 7500, Whistler, etc

solid masculine look, arrows stealth option a must considering the thefts of detectors out there.phone line makes it very accessible to other cars in household.

laser is picked up although you will already hAVE gotten a ticket when it goes off. but ther is no defense for that technology even woth paying for especially if you live in the state of ohio.

going from michigan to pennsylvania through ohio i got hit with laser a dozen of times and was able to locate the troopers every time. the radar is very effective at giving you ample amount of time to slow down. i like the bogey counter and after haveing the unit for a while you will be able to diferentiate the false alarms from the real ones.

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cobra, bell, uniden although they were outdated you still can not go wrong with a valentine.

Superior X and K. Arrows very accuarte. Multi-Signal pickup. Rear Ant. pickup

Higher Ka band weak.

The Valentine One has lead the detector industry for over 10 years. Its simple design from day one serves it's purpose, but yet old. The Valentine One's X and K band has lead the industry since production. The internal update was done in 98', for the newer Lower band Ka guns. Here again the Valentine had it.
This is now 2001. There is newer guns like the Talon 35.5 GHz DSP (Digital Signal Processing.) The Valentine One needs updating in this field.

On a trip in Virginia, my Bel 970 and Valentine One in combat on the windshield. In K band the Valentine in a straight and mid-curve killed the Bel in distance for early warning. But, both more than ample time. In Ka band, at 34.7GHz the Valentine gave earlier warning than the Beltronics. BUT, at 35.5GHz the Bel 970 killed the Valentine in distance. Both gave warning on continuous. At night, instant-on the Bel gave the early warning to slow.

Again, the Valentine was geared for guns between 33.8-34.7GHz. The Bel does much better at 35.5Ghz.

The Valentine is not out of the game yet. And the Bel 980/970 are not top dogs either. There is a draw on Ka band sensitivity at what frequency is the question. Valentine has better X and K pickup. But, Bel give more than ample still though. Bang for the BUCK is the Question.

radartest.com, I really don't give the two Sh!ts for. They do not give ample testing as what is displayed here. Plus, I have been following Craig Peterson Articles and I have been displeased with his evalutions.

Similar Products Used:

Bel 980 and 970. Whistler 1595se Etc. Etc.

The absolute best product on the market! The different tones are easy to learn. Very few false alarms. It will pick up radar from over 1 mile away easy!

It is a hot target for car thieves! (got mine stolen) performance wise there are no weaknesses at all

it is a bit pricy but if you drive fast like i do and many other people do it is a wise investment and if it doesnt prove itself to you within 30 i think you can return it for a full refund. the best product i ever invested my money in for my car!

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didnt even ever try any products i went for the best on the market and i wouldnt settle for anyless!

Outstanding sensitivity, good false alarm rejection in Logic and Full Logic modes, directional arrows are very effective in locating the threat radar source. The auto dimmer always seems to pick just the right illumination, day or night. Excellent customer support. Factory upgrades available.

It's not the prettiest detector out there :-). I sometimes wish Valentine would use different colored LEDs to identify different radar bands.

I have owned my Valentine 1 for six years now and it has never let me down. I live in a region where the state and local police rely heavily on radar traps - not a single ticket in 6 years. Coming back from Atlanta early one morning at warp speed I was ambushed by a laser radar and maxed out the ABS - at the time I was sure I'd been nailed - NO TICKET. The V1 is expensive, and not as stylish as the competition, but it is the best there is! I give it the highest recommendation. P.S. - $399 is a lot cheaper than an insurance rate increase!

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Cobra - no comparison to the V1.

Unsurpassed Sensitivity and Selectivity! Awesome LOCATOR Arrows!! Some people complain about the "looks" of the unit...I personally like it as all the others on the market are starting to look ALIKE!!!

Really, the only thing? A "dark" button!

I have noticed a few, just a few, people really ripping apart the V-1. These could be bogus reviews as look at the other 98% of the reviews out there...personal AND in magazines!

1) Directional arrows indicating WHERE the radar is coming from!!!
2) The NUMBER of radar sources coming in..and the strength of each one!!
3) Logic, Advanced Logic and All Bogeys Mode!
4) INCREDIBLE range..with minimal falsing!!

Plain and simple...if you want the best, spend the money on this unit. Go to www.valentineone.com and check out EXACTLY what the V-1 is about! And no, I do not work for Valentine Research...I just love the product Mike Valentine has produced!!

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I have tried them all...as I am a radar/radar detector buff! V-1 compares to none! Spend the $$$ for the best!!

Ergonomics, Directional signal, Bogue count, less false alarms, better range, great accessories

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After purchasing the Bel I started thinking that detectors were useless and a waste of money. It produced so many false alarms that after awhile I just started to ignore it. Anyhow, I decided to pay up for the best and if I was still unhappy, then I'd give up on detectors all together.

The packaging alone speaks volumes about the quality of the product. After installing it, I decided to go for a drive in the usually places. Right away I made some enlightening discoveries. The reductions in false alarms were huge. Even when there are false alarm, they are usually easy to spot. The arrow will point to the side or the bogue count will be high (indicating that you're probably passing by an automatic door opener) The difference in signal strength between false alarms and legit alarms is significant. Being able to see an alarm go from front to side to back is very telling. As opposed to just beeps the whole time where you don't know if you should be worried or not.

With the V1, you truely feel the piece of mind that you're not going to get caught in a speed trap. That piece of mind is worth more than the difference in price between the V1 and the cheaper models.

Anyhow, what good is it to save $200 on a cheaper model to than be unhappy and end up not using it or trading up later on. Save some money and buy the V1 from the get go. I wish I had.

Similar Products Used:

Bel 840

Val-1 has been rated #1 in every test ever done. You can send it back to factory for upgrades--it gives very few false readings. Has a true rear directional antenna--it's just the best!!

Somewhat big and styling coul be updated.

THE BEST!!!!!YOU CAN"T SAY ANYMORE!!!!!

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I used several top of the line Bel products--and had nothing but problems--finally made the switch to Val.