ApexCars

Yeah but I'd rather have a detector that gives plenty of warning for cop radar and doesn't go off for everything else. Not saying that V1 does before the V1 cult attacks, just saying that would be the perfect senario for me. As it is, when my wife rides with me, she gripes about the radar unit going off. Weird thing is here in FW, the FW school district installs 2 Ka guns in all of the school buses. I don't know if they are speed guns used to scare people running radar or some type of collision avoidance system or what but everyone of them shows up as 2 Ka sources on mine and everyone else with a good radar that I know of.

DanG

Hehe, V1 cult, I like that. No coincidence the guy's name is "valentine" as he seems to be the valentine of all of his "followers". Us Escort owners should unite!

Also, on the subject of all the controversy over biased testing reviews and personal vendettas... have you ever heard about any whiny complaints from any of the other radar manufacturers? Any "fecal roster" type pages on their websites? I don't think so. The reality is that most of the $200+ detectors are so darn good at what they do that the differences between them is insignificant. Its like saying I have 372hp and you have 381.

False alarms are just as bad as late alarms. Too many false alarms and you get desensitized and react less quickly or not at all. I've used the arrows for a few thousand miles. They were cool, they did work. I've driven about 70k miles without them. I don't cry myself to sleep.

User 41221

Out of curiousity, have you tried switching it to full logic mode ("L" on the display)? I don't get the kinds of falsing that you are describing, altho the Blazers with the neon third brake lights do set off the laser. If you have it set to "A", it will probably drive you crazy.

Regards,

nize

considering that this may be true, the next thing you should look at is after-sale service and support. so far, only valentine provides this.

DanG

Nize, I 100% agree. I did get some "service required" messages from my escort and called to find out what it would cost to refurb/replace. I think it was about $75. So for that much, I'd have to do two warranty claims before the V1 was cheaper, as I only paid $250 for my 8500 (pre X-50) new.

But I also noticed the service required messages only popped up when I was parked 20 feet from my glass walled office building, pointing right at it. I stopped parking that way and haven't seen the service message since.

nize

wait, you have to pay $75 to get the unit serviced under warranty ? what kind of b.s. warranty is that ?

also, once it's out of warranty, you won't be able to get it serviced at all. i know this firsthand and have a broken escort at home to prove it.

valentine will always service your unit, regardless of how old it is. and if it's under warranty, the service is free.

DanG

Nope, the $75 was the non-warranty price. My warranty had expired.

BlueRiver86

All V1s go to heaven.

EdC

I run with my V1 on "L" all the time no complaints in 50% rural 50% urban settings. You can tell the difference usuallly by the sound and frequency of beeps that is a false alarm. Hit mute. Yes if I get up close to a LED third stop lighted SUV as at a stoplight, the laser goes off. I hit mute and that is that, no big deal. I am not speeding since I'm stopped. Sunlight through lite snow also sets off the laser, and that can be startling. After awhile you can tell what is real or false by the differences in sound.

LFA951

So what's the best one you can get for $200 max?

Mark-87-951

I have a v1 as well

I'd like to know more about this colored remote LED mod.

billindenver

The one thing I will say about the escort (it was a gift..I wanted a V1, but she did her best) is that you can shut off X-band. I like that a lot. It's been across the country and back and has saved my bacon many times. All in all, my only complaint is that the suction cups suck...

Bill

ApexCars

I agree about the suction cups. Do you have the X50 or the original 8500? The suction cups and arm are better on the new one and you can order the arm with the cups off the site. They reversed the holes on the arm and put bigger nubs on the back of the cups. Before with my old unit the nubs on the cups would pull through the arm and down it would come.

nize

colored remote led mod is available from a guy named clay, who goes by the handle 'lifespeed' and you can find out more info and order one by emailing him here;
http://tinyurl.com/pgnvm

if you already have a remote display, you can even send yours in and he'll mod it for you.

Dan87951

I bought my V1 3 years ago been ticket free ever since.