directional arrows are invaluable
ease of use
sensitivity is excellent
very easy to attach to windshield and adjust angle

no carrying case (I remove mine from the dash every time I park)
goes off whenever I have someone behind me with a cheap Uniden

I think it's not quite as compact and sexy-looking as other brands.. looks aren't important at all, but I wish it were a little smaller

I also purchased the remote display unit and I'm really glad I did.. at night you wouldn't have a clue I had a radar detector if you were behind me

It tends to pick up Uniden detectors due to the crappy design of their units.. they leak K band so bad cops can pick them up over a half mile away with their VG-1 units (radar detector detectors). The Valentine One is totally undetectable.

But the truly unique and necessary feature is the directional arrows. You'll become addicted to them within days and never want to go without them again. The Valentine One website gives great (and realistic) examples of their importance.

If you can afford one of these, don't hesitate for a moment to get one. They are the BEST. You might think you don't need the best, but if you think you need a radar detector at all, then you don't want to settle for anything less. It would be like buying condoms that work 'most of the time'.

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older Cobra (which was quite good at the time)
Uniden (completely worthless)

Best radar on the market. Period.

size and price. Way to expensive if you are not gonna use it all the time.

I love this unit. It is by far the best radar on the market. It is a bit bulky but who cares. The unit has saved me so many times from getting a ticket.Check this one out!!!

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Phantom and Bel 855Sti..Junk compared to the V1

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You won't see a single negative review about this radar LOCATER. It's phenomonal. I've never received a speeding ticket in the many years that I've driven with the V1 in my windshield. I've detected "bogies" as far away as 2 miles in the mountainous terrain of Kentucky, and it has saved me many a speeding ticket.
It comes with a $400 premium, but I've paid it twice (one has been stolen).
Highly recommended to anyone with a 'heavy' foot, or even anyone trying to avoid speed traps.

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Arrows,sensitivity and quality build

??

This is the best unit I have ever tried. Alot of my buddies own either a Uniden or Passport. After seeing my Valentine in action they actually got pretty scared for seeing that they werent getting the same level of protection as I have. In other words they relied too much on these CHEAP units.
I dont care what anybody say this is simply the BEST you can buy! $399 is not alot of money if you tend to speed alot. It´s also fun to put the Bel or Passport on the windsheild next to the Valentine and see hands on the big diff in performance. If you plan on buying a radar detector in the price range of $100-$250 as yourself first if it is worthit driving around without total protection.

Also the V1 adds alot of fun to your driving, on long trips this is the best companion you can have. Bats use radar to navigate for they have bad eyesight. You can compare the Valentine to a bat with 20/20 vision the other detectors are blind as bats!

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Escort solo, "Passport, Bel, and Uniden with my buddies"

This detector works incredibly well on all bands. The range is incredible and after getting familiar with the unit I don't even have to use the filter modes. I can typically just tell when it is the "Man" or a false alarm!

If it has one, I haven't found it yet! I've heard others complain about the detector being too complicated, but for the right amount of protection you have to have equipment as sophisticated as the other side.

$400.00 and it has been more than worth it, even the additional $200.00 dollars in upgrades.

The only tickets that I have gotten with this unit were ones by air (no protection there, but I'm still hoping for the future), when I wasn't paying attention to the road (i.e. I should have been looking for "Johnny Law" while driving like a low flying missile) or when I wasn't paying attention to the various chirps and squawks from the detector/locator. On the other hand, I can't count the number of times I've picked up a signal and slowed down when someone else kept on going, just to find them pulled over further down the road receiving a ticket from some form of law enforcement official.

The machine has paid for itself several times over since the original purchase. If I get something to replace this unit, it will more than likely mean that Mike Valentine has come up with something even better. If you spend a lot of time on the road, don't gag or gawk at the price, just spend the money and be glad later!

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Passport by Cincinnati Microwave. The Passport was good and it should have been considering Mike Valentine was one of the cofounders of the company. However, I can see why Mike left. Obviously to make a better product and he succeeded.

This is simply the best thing since the radar gun was invented

The ugliest thing ever, but who cares?

This is the only review on this site you'll see where 25 people are in agreement that this thing deserves 5 out of 5. It very expensive, but it pasy for itself very quickly. I have a 2000 camaro SS and has the valentine for 2 weeks it's saved my @$$ 3 times already. If you don't want to get pulled over yous this detector.

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No need, I did it right the first time

locators
awesome range
logic mode
bogey counter

can't triangulate(needs another antenna, but two is better than one)
sound gets annoying in the city
can't really help against instant-on(nothing can)
laser feature is useless, kinda cool when it goes off, but basically useless
bodey counter only goes up to 9

I bought this knowing it was the best and it hasn't proven me wrong yet. The only true weakness with this detector are the false alarms, but using some common sense will help with that. The range on this detector is awesome. I've picked up radar about 5 miles away with it on straight stretches of road. The only thing you really have to watch out for is instant-on radar which is a big problem where I live and semi-trucks are a problem too. If a trooper is behind a semi-truck(or you), most of the signal is blocked and the range is greatly reduced from lack of signal. If you're driving through a city, even in logic mode, false alarms are a problem, but then again you don't need to be going that fast anyway. The bogey counter is great on this thing. Once you learn stretches of road you can ignore most of the bogeys if you know where they're coming from, but you still need to be alert. All in all, you can't go wrong with the Valentine as long as you use common sense and good judgement.

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it's the best out there, that's all you need to know

everything, i cant describe what this has done for me. The protection this provides is outstanding.

other than its appearance, which is totally insignificant, i have no complaints

i paid $400 for it online, i got a great deal. even though this is expensive, it will save you from getting a ticket, all the time you have it on, totally worth the buy

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this is my first radar detector, as well as my last- i will never buy outside of this company

All ( See the web site WWW.Valentine1.com )

The V1 needs an auto mute, but this also has some disadvantages. Most people dislike the size, but if you reduce the unit size you also reduce the super heterodyne horn size. This equates to fewer detections and weaker signals being lost. The reduced size is not worth it to me.

The Super Fox Vixen II was one of the first radar detectors made (1984) and it detected X and K bands. I still have not found anything that can compare to the ranges of that detector on those bands.( 15 to 45 miles and more on a clear day in the flat desert. 1.5 to 12 miles in combination cty/hwy driving.

Bel radar detectors belong to Bel-tronics, a division of Bel Howell. Bel Howell makes most of the Radar and Lidar guns sold in the world. Bel-Tronics designs the detectors to detect there manufactured guns. When I compare detectors rated in a magazine, I look for matched year models with the top of the line for the brand names being compared. I have found that when certain magazines did there comparison of detectors, the winner had been chosen before the testing started. They would test the top of the line detector of their choice against a mid range Bel or battery operated detector. For that reason and magazine ratings I have exclusively used Bel detectors until recently.

I first found out about Valentine One in 1993. I knew that this detector was better than a Bel within the first year or two due to the fact that Bel never tried to compare the two detectors. No other brand has tried to compare there product to a Valentine One either. The lack of advertising comparison from different brand names tells the story. I will settle on upgrades to my current detector every few years from now on.

One of the features I thought was nice but nothing to get excited about was the quick release from the wind shield. On fathers day I was driving back to the Houston area on a two lane road in the middle of nowhere at 11:35 pm. This is a straight road in the middle of some rice fields. I could not see any cars in front or behind me. Normaly a detector is usless in this situation. I was running three digits on the speed ohmmeter and had Ka blink with two lights. I slowed down and within two minutes of driving I saw headlights comming toward me. I knew this could be a cop so I set the cruise control. The car came to within approximatly 400 yards and nailed me. To my surprise he turned around. I turned off the cruise control and coasted down to 68mps. I also immediately used the quick disconnects and put the V1 in the back floor board with a towel over it. The Texas State Trooper checked me for DUI and wrote me a warning for over 65 in a 65mph. I was clocked at 74 mph. My cruise control is evedently correct. Had I had the detector up I would have received a ticket. I have driven this location many times over the past six years and I know from this experience the signal on the detector can pick up Ka from at least 6 to 8 miles away on a clear night with no interference. As most people know radio waves travel further at night than in the daylight.

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1. Super Fox Vixen II ( Stolen )upgrade
2. Bell 620i Plus ( Power surge killed it )upgrade
3. Bell 745 STi Plus Upgrade
4. Valentine One ( This is the last radar detector I will ever have to buy. )

Multiple bogey tracking, front and rear coverage, signal strength indication, remote indicator, range of unit, upgrade policy.

it's a bit large/obtrusive. The 'perfect' solution would be removable front and rear sensors that aren't quite as obvious.

Paid $425.00 including the remote indicator direct from www.valentineone.com

Would recommend it to anyone who wants a detector that truly works. THis is the best there is.

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Passport and older Bel. No comparison. I'd been thinking about buying a V1 and did as much research as I could, with the result being literally everyone admitted the V1 is simply the best unit out there. I got the chance to drive around with one for a while, and was picking up signals from .5-1mile away that turned out to be very real signals. That was enough to convince me, as most of the other detectors I've had in the past either never signalled until you were on top of the radar being clocked(oops, too late..) or only caught all the X band from alarms etc. The V1 in full logic mode around town is great, and on all signals mode on the highway really gives a high probability that anything you come across is 'real,' and with enough warning time to do something about it!