Valentine One Radar Detector Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've had a Valentine 1 since the early 90's.Over the years, it has been upgraded and has consistently been a top performer.Since those early days, these new V1s offer laser, a reinforced power cord (fixing a former Con), slightly modified/improved interface (see Pros) and new detection capabilities for instant-on radar.

Pro:
-Incredible detection range that always amazes my passengers... consistently voted #1 in the rankings in laser and radar tests, usually only dinged for price (see Cons) or styling. (Are they serious? Who care's if it's boxy?)
-Able to track multiple targets at one time (9), which at first sounds silly, but it helps you filter threats.With other detectors you may think "I must have passed him by now" while with V1 you'll see that you've transitioned from 2 overlapping signals, one may be false one may be real.
-Able to tell that you've passed a target.Signal in front will shift to side lights and then to rear helping you ID where the signal is.
-Is he behind me?Front AND rear detectors I think makes this detector a one of a kind.Often gives you plenty of time to move over for him.Rear indicator light is super handy.
-Black color (unit, mounts and cables) blends into your dash and does not reflect as much light and glare as its shiny counterparts. I can't believe the competition has gone with the shiny titanium styling... silly!
-The longer power cord (four feet?) looks like a "phone cord" and is reinforced nicely, a vast improvement over the early V1 cords
-The shorter power cord (two feet?) is a coiled power cord... it is springy and has less slack than the longer cord supplied
-Also has pieces for hardwiring the unit, but I suspect you'll need to buy wire and an installer (not a typical do it yourselfer project)
-Comes with a mediocre visor mount, however the glass mount (with spare suction cups) is just awesome!After 15 years, the design is still unbeaten!
-Variable volume and mute settings, with one-touch mute (press once to switch from full volume to your preset muted volume).When new distinct threat is detected, audio alert is restored to full volume.
-Optional concealed display that plugs into the cigarette lighter (must be purchased separately)
-Display has one LED for each type of radar detected (laser, Ka, X, and K) supplementing the different audio beeps for each type (laser also has an additional visual warning as these are almost never false alarms and give you the least reaction time)
-Display will show a "J" when a signal is determined to be "junk", a false-alarm.When you get the "J" your V1 is telling you that it is retracting the warning from this signal.
-LEDs are arranged vertically, laser ("L") is on top, Ka next, then K, and last X, representing threats ranked from lowest (top LED) to highest probability (bottom LED) of a false alarm
-Nice muting feature that allows you to preset mute volume... Will return to full volume if muted and a new signal is detected
-You can buy spare pieces on-line (an extra cost, but reasonably priced)
-Lights are not overly bright at night... still very visible but not distracting either
-3 sensitivity settings: "all bogeys", "logic" and "advanced logic".Advanced logic filters the most for those who hate false alarms.
-Loudest setting is very loud, softest is off, with a nearly limitless number of levels in between.Mute can be any volume that you choose and does not necessarily have to be off

Con:
-EZPass (automatic electronic toll payment) sets off the laser warning, and the unit goes nuts (again the laser warning is intense).Also, laser can be triggered by close proximity (15' in my experience) of the tail lights to certain American-made cars when they hit their brakes (confirmed by the manual).
-Price... ouch
-Detectors aren't legal in some states/areas
-Some claim that's it's boxy styling is a turn off, but come on, it's all about having the best detection!
-Visor mount is not very good (too tight) on thicker sun visors
-L, Ka, X, and K next to their LEDs is stenciled on... at night it's hard to tell for instance if Ka is being located or X.There's no good reference and the letters are not illuminated.

Bottom line: Highly recommended/don't leave home without it.I liked mine so much that I have just bought another one for my wife.

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Product Description:
The Valentine One is one of the highest performing radar detectors on the market. One reason for this is multiple radar antennas! The only other detector with two radar antennas is the Bel STi Driver, but in the STi both antennas face forward. In the Valentine One, there is one forward antenna and one rear-facing antenna. Using this combination of antennas, it effectively tells you the band and strength of the radar signal, along with the number of "bogeys," or radar units being detected. It will also tell you what direction the signal is coming from, and provide the best rear detection out of every other windshield-mounted detector on the market. Even when this sounds too good to be true, there's more. The Valentine One has excellent laser reception, consistently appearing at the top of tests in this category. In addition to the super high-performance of Valentine's detector, this model will never become obsolete. The very first Valentine detectors from 1992 look identical to the ones today, and can be sent in to Valentine to be updated with the latest hardware and software (charges may apply). If you decide on a Valentine One, you'll be in good hands with the same detector for the rest of your life.

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