SharkSkin

I'm a V1 convert. It can't be built in, but that seems a small price to pay. It's more than a detector, it's a radar locater. Lots of good info here: http://www.valentine1.com and if you still have questions after browsing through that site feel free to ask.

Thaddeus

I did a lot of research and it seemed as though, from what folks were writing, that the V1 gives a lot of false positives... and the arrows seem of little utility to me. If the thing goes off, slow down, right? Who cares where the signal is coming from?

I also couldn't see spending 400 bucks... I felt my heart palpitate when I handed over the plastic for the Escort as it was...

SharkSkin

You can tell the V1 to always ignore X-band if you're not worried about it. You can do this by using full logic mode around town, or by switching off X-band for all modes. Around L.A., and around Silicon Valley, I get lots of false X-band positives around town, where I really don't need the V1 anyway. Out on the open road, false positives are very rare. There is one shopping center around here that gives me K-band signals, but aside from that I have never had a K or Ka indication when there wasn't a bear with a radar nearby. I for one appreciate the bogey counter, because I know there is always an X-band signal emanating from the airbase on my way to work. On two occasions I have seen the bogey counter increment to 2 in this area, with the second signal showing up on Ka. In each case it was a bear. Other detectors might have had me thinking it was the same old signal, but in each case I was aware of the threat.

Also, I find the arrows helpful in understanding alerts. If I'm on the highway and a signal hits me from the front, then the side, then the rear, and there is nothing in sight but a shopping mall, then I know that there is no threat. If the detector just gave me an on-off indication I would feel less informed and less capable of figuring out what's really going on.

I guess it comes down to preference. Best of luck with your new toy!

Ed Scherer

I mounted my Valentine 1 right below the mirror. Since I've got a fancy Donnelly mirror that needs some wires run to it anyway, I also ran the wire for the Valentine 1 in the same bundle and hid it above the headliner, then down the right-hand-side A pillar, and then down to some connections to the left of the central electric panel.

Looks like this from the driver's perspective:


Another thing that really helps make it really easy to attach it and detach it is to hang a modular RJ11 female/female coupler right behind the mirror. Then use a short (a few inches) cable terminated with RJ11 males at both ends. I can attach/detach it with one hand this way (it's very easy to detach the RJ11 male plug from the coupler). I do the attach/detach thing at least once a day in the summer, when I detach the V1 during the day when my shark is out in the sun and I put the windshield sun shield on. I leave the bracket with the suction cups attached, but just slide the V1 out. Even without the V1 attached, the modular coupler just hangs free behind the mirror; you can't see it from inside the car. All this stuff is pretty hard to see from the outside, too, unless you look really carefully or really light it up like I did in the photo below.

Here's what this looks like from the outside:


Hmmm... the camera flash sure shows how pitted my windshield is!

Thaddeus

Nice install, Ed. Thanks for the ideas and the pics!

Also, the explanation about the V1 makes sense, Dave.