Sam CS 05

Last week driving alongside an Audi Q7 my V1 detector went crazy either approaching or getting away from it.

What is emitted by the Q7? is that the adaptive cruise control (not sure if this is the right term) ???
TIA.
Sam

wross996tt

So your V1 is an a**hole detector too....JK. Actually it's the 24Ghz ACC/ADAS System which Causes Most Radar Detectors to False with Very Strong 24 Ghz K-band Alerts.

V1 and ACC

1AS

If that means the Audi uses K1 radar band for it's lane monitor/blind spot nanny option, I agree. The auto mags are reporting it sets off radar detectors, making them unusable in such Audis, and screwing up the radar of nearby cars. Too bad. AS

Chuck Jones

The new instant on radars are making the V1 obsolete anyway...except for those areas where the police haven't upgraded and are still using older technology.

TT Surgeon

I've noticed that exact phenomenon, no idea but it's annoying as hell.

Dock

"New" in terms of what?

Mr. C4

Same with the BMW Celus brakelights.

Chuck Jones

New in terms of it's instant on and you have no warning that you're approaching a radar field. The gun stays off until the trigger is pressed so there's no transmission that the Valentine can pick up in order to warn you that you're entering a radar zone and are being "painted"...these warning usually come before you get close enough to be specifically targeted and tracked. The instant on are just that....they wait till you're in range, and hit the trigger and BAM...you're had. Any warning is post mortem....you've been tagged. What's the use of a Valentine that tells you you've already been had? Akin to closing the barn door after the horse has run out.

Mr. C4

You are better off with a V1 as you might have a car in front that gets hit and the radar bounces off this car and gets picked up by the V1

Dock

Instant-on has been around for years.

The key to using the V1 is realizing when you are in a single car encounter situation. In these cases, visual lookout elevates to the top priority. In a multi-car encounter with instant-on radar, as long as you are not the lead car, the radar detector will receive radar energy when the car(s) in front are illuminated. And you don't have to be close to the car in front of you to receive enough energy for the V1 to alarm...radar energy travels much farther than the radar gun's lock-on (speed reading) range. I've received warnings over two miles way from an instant-on radar that was shot at a car well (2 miles) in front of me.

pcartt

+1. I also have a V1 and I have this has happened to me from time to time. You just have to be on a lookout more.

Sam CS 05

I thought so and YES very annoying... next time I will really get really close to them to make the nervous.

BTW, in past year of using the V1, I have had lots of true radar warnings and I don't live in the boonies.

Chuck Jones

I live in a newer community that's recently adopted cityhood....so we have a new police department, and an aggressive city council that's provided the latest in equipment and manpower. Traffic enforcement is almost entirely conducted by motorcycle officers. They sit right off the main arterials in several spots with long approaches between lights....and target specific cars that are singled out from the "pack" so to speak. It is these situations I was referring to. In some of the other cases cited above, the V1 can be of use...if it does in fact pick up an instant on from over a mile away. That would give you time to adjust your speed accordingly....however law enforcement is gettting more proficient with the use of this technology just as the technology is getting more sophisticated....and V1 currently is, and will continue to become more obsolete....especially during a time when city revenues are being aggressively sought. The comment about being more visually alert is true. I've never had a V1 or any other sort of warning device...and I've only been stopped once (Thanksgiving day and was given a break)...and I do drive in a spirited fashion.

Dock

In other parts of the country the use of instant-on radar has a long history. Law enforcement has their easiest "kills" when using instant-on against a single approaching car. The key is that if you are the only car out there then visual lookout is one of your only hopes. If the officer waits until you are within radar speed reading range (approx. 1300 feet) and then lights you up with instant-on, the V1 (or any other detector for that matter) will not save you. Your only other hope besides visual lookout is that the officer will shoot out of range...allowing the detector to alarm and allowing you to rapidly slow before entering the radar gun's speed reading range.

The V1 has the ability to sense radar energy WELL outside the radar's speed reading range...it takes very little energy at the detector to trigger an alarm. I've had the V1 alarm many times at well over 2 miles in an unobstructed line of sight situation. In these cases the officer had illuminated a car approaching (well ahead of my position) with instant-on and the radar energy from that burst triggered my V1 alarm. I have also had many times when the V1 alarmed well in advance of a radar (instant-on or otherwise) in a "over the hill" or "around a curve" situation. Fortunately, radar energy bounces off trees, buildings, the ground, bridges, etc, and still keeps going. Unlike laser, radar has huge scatter, spreading, and bounce physics...all of which help the radar detector pick up enough energy to alarm and allow the driver to slow down.

Dock

V1 attributes story...

I was driving on an Interstate with a couple of other cars around when we approached a bridge spanning a river. There was an officer on the near side of the bridge using full time-on K-band radar. My V1 alarmed in plenty of time and displayed a "1". I slowed down to legal, and just after passing the officer...the V1 still blaring and the "ahead" arrow switching to a "beside" arrow...I looked over as the V1 alarmed again, this time showing an "ahead" arrow and "2" in the count window. I had just thought about getting back up to warp speed as this occurred, but I stayed legal. On the other side of the bridge there was another officer shooting instant-on radar at cars coming over the bridge...trying to hide in the energy of the other officer's full time-on radar and hoping to catch those speeding back up after passing the first officer.

Arrows and bogey counters are a GOOD thing.