LI's have been the benchmark for several years, but lately the new winner seems to be the AntiLaser Priority: http://www.alpriorityusa.com/

I think we'll see that about the same time that GPS autolockouts get integrated into the V1 hardware ;)

Each side has stated for years that their competitor's driving feature (Arrows / Lockouts) is unnecessary or even harmful. It would be interesting indeed to see Mike V. backpedal on that!

Thanks for the rdforum link, I'm surfing the V1 forum now.

What are your V1 program settings? I'm thinking some tweaking might be in order vs. running in All-Bogeys (A) mode.

http://i.imgur.com/ztfRedLl.png

http://i.imgur.com/EIZ8hlGl.png

Custom sweeps:

http://i.imgur.com/f2t3b5ol.png

Of course, I'm using these settings in conjunction with YaV1, to add in speed threshold muting and GPS autolockouts.

Just installed YaV1. I'll be busy shortly.

I know the 9500ci will tell me if it is using the front or rear laser shifter. But the 9500ci OR ix doesn't tell the direction of a radar threat.

I'm having trouble bringing it up, but I want to say that the V1 "arrows" patent was more specifically about a radar detector using two distinct antenna horns (front and rear) and analyzing the difference in received signal strength between the two to determine the signal's direction. So as long as that patent was enforced, Escort's products weren't able to determine direction. Now that it's expired, I'd love to see Escort take that idea and improve upon it - so that VR could then improve upon THAT later ;)

I love watching the cat-and-mouse games in such a competitive industry. :thumbup:

I have to admit, both AntiLaser Priority and LI have some good shifters. Makes me think twice about the escort since I haven't seen much for actual spread pattern like the two top ones. This page was pretty interesting to read. Thanks!

http://www.rdforum.org/content/ecctg...hl=en&&ct=clnk

Has anyone tried to install rear laser shifters in a completely concealed way? like is it possible to hide it inside a modified rear bumper light or break light?

I've seen folks with other cars install the jammer heads inside headlights and taillights; I don't see an issue with it as long as you make sure the heads are properly aligned.

Note that most rear laser shots will be targeting the license plate, so jammer coverage should ideally be focused there. To that end, I've seen some folks mount a rear jammer head on/near one of those license plate frames with a built-in reverse camera. The camera would likely attract the most visual scrutiny, and the head could maybe be explained away as a parking sensor to be used in conjunction with the backup camera.

I use an Adaptiv TPX detector on my motorcycle, and transfer it to the FR-S when I need 4 wheels and Air Conditioning! :P

http://www.adaptivtechnologies.com/g...radar-detector

Not as high tech as the units mentioned in this thread, but it works, and has prevented a few "Performance Awards" from being paid to the State of CA! :-)

WyreNut

I'm new here to the site, have been lurking around reading your posts and am picking up my FRS today, hopefully....

I wanted to chime in on the Radar Detector thread, hopefully to help....
My background brings me through several years as a law enforcement officer, and then onto an over the road truck driver, and radar detectors have been part of my life it seems like forever.

All the major brand detectors on the market do a fairly good job, and really depends on the bells and whistles your looking for, like options on your cars... A few of them are invisible to Police Radar, In places like Washington, and Virginia, their a must... In areas where Laser is used... requires detection to protect yourself.

Personally... I have installed, and run a V1. It's mounted to my rear view mirror with a very professional bracket made by Blend Mount. The higher you can mount the detector in your vehicle, the better off you are, the height improves reception. I chose the V1 for a few reasons.... First and foremost, The V1 has the best Laser Detection in the business, Bar-None.... The Passport Max doesn't hold a candle to Laser detection of V1, The V1 like the Passport Max has 2 Antennas, front and rear, and just a few weeks ago, while stretching it out through Mississippi, I kept getting a beep, beep, and as I looked at my detector, found the bear was coming up from behind me, although he was a few miles behind me, it took him a while to catch up, by that time I was in the right lane, moving with the flow of traffic. The arrows on the V1 are remarkable, whether meeting a bear head on, or whether he's coming up from behind, or if he's a non threat and on the side road somewhere. The V1 is also programmable, "X" band is a dinosaur, rarely in use anywhere, but causes a lot of chatter with every detector, I shut it off, problem solved... I pay attention to "K" Band, and am very cautious of "Ka" which is almost always a Bear, and the Laser is of course the objective... One reason why I passed over the Passport Max for the V1, is because the Passport, which is a GREAT detector, uses GPS, and after marking a door alarm 3 times, Mutes that alarm. Twice recently, I've met and got by a bear, who also knew sitting in those areas was easy targeting of John Q Public... I'd rather my V1 bark once to many, than Once shy.... Those tickets aren't cheap, and the insurance is ridiculous. A couple of other things I want to throw out there, is the V1 has an optional "Remote Display" let me explain, when I'm stretching it out across say Florida's I-10, and the car behind me sees the arrows and lights on my dash, e immediately knows he's safe to jump in behind me, and before long, you tend to be the rabbit with a line of cars following you.... So I run a concealed display, which causes the face of my V1 to remain blacked out but working, and on the shelf behind my steering wheel at the bottom of my speed meter is where my concealed display is mounted, and I do use Savvy also, mostly for city driving, which it keeps chatter to a minimum in the city, by beeping once at a signal below the set speed you have it set for, and by beeping again at an exceptionally strong signal, just to keep you alert. V1, also has an iPhone and a droid app for your cell phone, and through a blue tooth adapter, flashes alarms in real time over your cell phone. The base price of the V1 is a $150 less than it's strongest competition, which is the Passport Max, and I'm guessing the $150 should pay for the GPS incorporated into the max. Another Pro or Con however you view it, is the Passport Max also will blue tooth over your phone through a network which you pay for this service and I think it's $90 bucks a year, which it communicates with other detectors on this network and tracks bears in your area, speed traps etc.... Due to the cost of this Radar Detector, plus the additional $90 bucks a year for the networking, Users of the Passport have stated it hasn't caught on as well as they had hoped it would. Make no mistake about it, Passport Max is a Dang Good detector, as is the V1. The Redline on the market is also a good detector. My problem with Redline is it has been known to detect radar up to 14 miles away.... I often pick up radar in my area 3 to 7 miles off, ALWAYS.... in plenty of time to react and be behaving before meeting the actual threat. The problem with Redline, is it's barking at a signal its getting 14 miles away, your thinking it's a false alarm by the time you actually meet the threat.

Someone else also mentioned a good point about the V1, it's an investment. Every Radar detector on the market, if you read the reviews are comparing themselves to a Valentine. Valentine has set the bench mark for many years. While others are catching up, there something very important to remember. The equipment that Police are using is constantly changing. With a Valentine One, you mail the detector back to Mike Valentine, and he updates your equipment for a nominal fee and sends it back to you, with the other detectors, toss em in the garbage, their now obsolete.

Unbeatable combination is the Valentine One, and the HP 905 Laser Jammer.... Hope this helps some, or at least provides you with some ideas and choices. I enjoy your forum, Thanks for allowing me to join.

Best laser detection? Well thats fantastic, however to bad if your radar detector picked up on it you have already been clocked. A LiDar does not emit anything until the trigger is pulled, and once that trigger is pulled you are tagged. It's nice to know if you plan on running or want to prepare your bullshit excuse.

The V1 is a great radar detector, however I personally find the arrows/signal counter a bit gimmicky, sure its cool to know but really isnt going to change your game plan that much. Either way you're still going to slow down and be cautious.

Radar detectors are fantastic as an aide tool but never fully rely on it, don't let your senses dull and become lazy to your surroundings because you have a radar detector. Unfortunately a lot of people do.

Don't buy the Valentine. It will false so often you'll wish you were being tortured in a chinese prison instead. Something Car and Driver never told us for 20 yrs until their most recent test. Mike Valentine should be horsewhipped.

I couldn't agree with this more. I recently bought a BEL STi Magnum (twin of the Redline) after about 20 years of not having a detector, and though the Magnum is nice, I find I don't really need it that much. For that 20 years, my experience and judgement replaces a lot of what the detector is needed for. Sure, I still drive spiritedly, but there's a time and a place for certain behaviors. Like you say, the detector is a tool to provide you with information, but you should never rely on it 100% and you still have to have good judgement.
I do like having it when taking a long road trip into areas I don't regularly drive. That's when the detector is more useful, because the information it provides helps make up for lack of knowledge of the area.

I had an 8500 running well for about 8 years. Replaced that with an x50 a couple years back. I like having that extra layer of eyes for them sneakers. But ur toast against laser so keep your eyes peeled

If more people are interested, I suppose I could do a DIY.

I did this myself, took all of about 20-30 minutes. It was pretty easy. All that was needed was a razor blade and a piece of double sided tape. Doesn't look half bad either. Check out my build.

Ditto. Did it myself on a OEM mirror, I got on eBay. Two cars now. The 9500ci paid for themselves so many times over, I quit counting. I have both the old generation and new generation jammers and the yet to see a major difference. It's all in the way they are installed and adjusted. I feel for the Valentine fans, but this hardware has not been refreshed in Years. There is only so much that can be salvaged through firmware..

I'd love to see a DIY or at least quick overview of that install. I'm thinking about trying to do a similar mount for my V1's concealed display unit just for giggles.

I did not document mine but I found someone online that was doing an Infiniti mirror.. All in all, took me an hour..

OK, as I've promised others in the past, I will post a DIY in the near future.

I'll give you a quick overview now though as it is pretty simple.

Obviously, remove your homelink mirror. There is a plug in the back and a screw to remove, then you can pull it out of the car.

The trickiest part was getting the thing to pop open without scratching the plastic, which I failed at.

Once open, there are three main pieces. The mirror portion, the electronic board, and the white spacer. In that order from front to back. You want to separate the mirror from the other two components.

Looking at the back of the mirror, you will see a black film. There is a square cut out of the black film for where the compass shines through. Just below that, take a razor blade and cut out a corner of the film about the size of the radar display. Then peel the black film off and clean the newly exposed section with some solvent or whatever works to remove the adhesive.

Now, cut out a small piece of double sided tape, stick it to the front of the radar display, then to the mirror in the space you just cut out. Place the mirror in the front housing followed by the electronic homelink board being careful not to mess up the wires connected to the radar display as it is a tight fit.

Now, on the white spacer, you will need to trim off a section about the size of the display where the spacer sits directly behind the display. Once you do that, place the spacer in. Make sure the radar wire is routed to the pre-cut wire notch near the main wires. Now, pop the back of the housing back on, and Ta-Da. Done.

I will add pictures soon. But this gives you the gist of things for now.

Thanks for the description, @Enalband24. That's about what I figured, just wasn't 100% on how to get the mirror apart and all that.

Looking closer at it, I'm not sure that the V1 concealed display will fit inside there - at least not as-is. I don't use the CD on a regular basis, so I'll see if I can dismantle it a bit and rig something up. :D

Ah, forgot to mention, I did take the escort display out of its own housing. That way I was sticking just the electronic board of the display to the mirror. Hence why I said to be careful of the display wires as they are pinched at the connection when placing the white spacer behind them.

Sorry for the omission.

Has anyone had any experience with this? Vidvision 3 in 1 (radar, gps, dash cam)
After a recent ticket I have decided to pick up both a radar detector and a dash cam without trying to break the bank. Came across this and trying to find out if it's worth a damn or not. I don't really need the best of the best as I am usually a pretty conservative driver. Dash cam would just be nice for insurance or court if needed. + if I ever see something crazy happen.
I know you get what you pay for, just seeing if anyone has had any luck with it.
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourcei...dvision+3+in+1

The adage "Jack of all trades, Master of none" comes to mind.

It would probably be perfectly passable as a dashcam, but I definitely wouldn't want to depend upon it to help me avoid a ticket. I experimented with I think four different <$200 detectors before (finally) upgrading to a V1, and the difference in sensitivity and reactivity was enormous. After upgrading, it was easy to see that the cheap units really were just giving me a false sense of security - and by that time I had spent well over the price of a V1 on cheaper detectors.

For a budget-range detector that won't be entirely useless, I'd recommend looking at the [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Beltronics-RX65-Red-Professional-Radar-Detector/dp/B0009204RI/]Beltronics RX65[/ame] or maybe a high-end Whistler. You can also check out the aptly-named [ame=http://www.rdforum.org/content/which-radar-detector-should-i-buy/]Which Radar Detector Should I Buy?[/ame] article at rdforum.org - keep in mind that it's a little over a year old, so a lot of the prices listed there have actually come down a bit.

I don't want to just rain on your parade, as a 3-in-1 device does sound pretty cool, but I don't want you to invest in a device and then have it not perform as well as you expected.

Stealth install
 

In case anyone wants to completely hide their installation for the Beltronics/Escort models, check out my installation thread here:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=81704

I feel like the placement of the screen is much better there :D

Hi all,
Thought I'd let everyone know that there was a software update released for the Bel STi Magnum a few months ago. It adds the much-requested BS (band segmentation) & RDR (radar detector rejection) features! This makes the Magnum equivalent to the Escort Redline. :thumbup:

The update is free, but you must mail your detector to Escort (as opposed to updating with the Escort Live! cable). Call 800-341-2288 to setup the service and they'll give you an RMA #. You have to pay to ship to them, but they'll pay the return shipping (UPS Ground). Don't forget to insure the package.


:thumbsup: