Which radar detector do you recommend?

 

V1 because of the directional.

 

V-1 has the directional arrow which are unique and many of the laser jammers can be directly plug and play wired into it. On the down side, it is the chicken little of detectors as it does not have built in GPS to block out known false signals like shopping centers, hospitals, airports, military bases, were the thing goes nuts. You can reprogram it to not pick up X band which will cut down on the senseless beeping. They also will do software upgrades to the unit which is made out of metal as opposed to cheaper plastic.

 

I had a V-1 for years in my E55 and loved it. I had it hardwired just underneath the rear view mirror. I also had the stealth adapter hardwired which sat on the drivers side A-pillar. The adapter was pretty slick. I'm pretty sure it payed for itself many times over.

I'm not making too many Vegas runs on the 15 freeway anymore so I basically gamble when speeding!

 

I've never used the escort, but have used the V1 since 2002 and love it. Very early warning and I always use the directional arrows to help pinpoint and identfy the source...it'a a very nice system and works great! I also use the remote display with the "mute" button, so you don't have tell tale lights flashing at night and a quick push mutes the alarm to a predetermined volume, muting the loud beeping to a more comfortable level until it disappears.

 

V1 > Escort. I've had both and now only use the V1. The directional arrows are far superior as well as the ability to see how may boggies are around.

 

FYI
https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...50-ticket.html

In my opinion the Valentine's are not worth a dogs dinner, but that is just me.

It you want a non built in Vs a built in it all changes things. For a portable without GPS interface there are only 2 to consider. The Escort Redline and the Bel STI Magnum. So if you are considering the V1 I take it you want a portable.

The Redline and the Magnum far exceed the V1 in long distance dection for Hi-way use and false way less then the V1 in the city.

 

Have both.. The gps in the escort is a great feature. Less false alarms and red light camera alerts along with laser jammer in the 9500ci.
The V-1 will pick up the signal faster and the arrows do help out a lot. The v-1 is less expensive I believe
Either way both are good for warning you, it's just how fast you can slow down before your caught.

 

for myself, radar detectors are aids to help us identify potential or known speed traps on freaquently travelled routes. seldom has a detector saved me from unknown threats because 1) by the time a signal is received from laser frontside or fixed camera rearside, 9/10 times it's too late. The directional helps a lot because one can eliminate false alarms and confirm real threats. Once identified, we know to slow down before the signal is received.

 

SF Bay area has hundreds of radar traffic flow speed sensors on all the main freeways that pulse on/off like instant on radar. From nothing to max signal instantaneously. Without the GPS lockout on the Escort it would drive ya crazy or you'd just tune it out and miss the real bogeys.

It's not too hard to deduce based on the ramp and duration of the signal if the cop is coming at you, stationary, or moving in same direction. In the last case it would be nice to know if he's ahead of you or behind, but the proper action is the same, no? Don't speed if you are picking up a real speed radar signal!

 

Escort Passport 9500ix, works good (only had it for a month or so).
My Escort Passport 8500 x50 (which I have been using for about 2 years) has false alarms, but on the highway after you get to know its behavior it's does the job.

Went on a 2000mi road trip last year, the x50 worked great out of the city.

 

I have a V1 and my friend has the escort, he wants to sell his and get a V1. The directional arrows are what really drew me to the V1 and I love being able to know where the source might be coming from. I reprogrammed mine and i get maybe 2-3 falses a WEEK in the city, which is extremely low, and on the freeway its far far less than that, practically no falses on freeway. The key to the V1 is programming it the right way

 

Mind sharing how you reprogrammed your V1? I have one as well as the escorts.

 

The guide is located here on the V1 website: http://www.valentine1.com/Lab/TechReport3.asp

What you'll want to do is figure out what bands your local police use. Here in California the CHP pretty much only use KA and Laser. So I turned K and X bands off completely, those bands throw falses like there's no tomorrow over here. My KA is set to only warn me when signal is at 6 bars, that's enough warning to slow down in time and high enough that you won't get alarms from false KA's that might be coming from things other than police. POP is also off due to not being used/illegal here in America. You have to play around a bit and research your area to figure out what works best for your location

 

I just ordered a V1. Just happened to borrow my Father in Law's GT3 and his did point oout a few cops straight ahead (not a speed trap) on a residential street. They were just driving by. Otherwise it seemed to beep a lot!

I am planning a trip out of town, i suspect it's much better on the highway. Will report back