Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I love mine. Makes driving on the highways fun, love finding them miles ahead.
I have gotten several tickets with it as well. Instant On is a beotch, not much you can do. Just don't speed coming over a hill and don't speed going around lots of corners (mountain switchbacks). The smart officers do instant on as you come over a hill or around a corner, BAM!
I would love to hear of actual reviews of the GPS systems that use your phone to know the active location of a police officer doing radar. Technology is going to definitely make it easier to know where police officers are hiding out.
I have seen people on other car forums that have all of the best radar detectors, laser jammers and what not. They say the CB radio is the best way to avoid radar.
Only problem is not many use the CB anymore. But every so often on the interstates the truck drivers will rat out where the speed traps are. But even that's dwindling since most trucks are governed anymore.
I have had a V1 since, about 1994 - still use the same one. The V1 stands alone as a "radar locator" while everything else is just a "detector". For me, driving on mostly empty blue roads, knowing if there is a cop out of sight ahead or one coming up from behind is quite valuable. The source counter is handy too, since there are door openers, etc. along my route in town, I pretty well remember how many sources are where, if there is an "extra" source, it just may be a cop trying to "hide" in the electronic noise.
It is a tool, not a get out of jail free card - if you use it skillfully, it can *help* you keep your license clean, while not having to drive like a "boy scout".
As PokerMunkee notes, instant on is harder to "see them before they see you" - laser is even worse, although laser typically requires a "classic" old school cop hiding behind a billboard type approach. You can get laser detection on V1, I have it on mine, but you need to realize the effectiveness of the laser detection is not near as good as radar.
Instant on at night is the worst - very hard to detect before they are on top of you, if traffic is light.
I love mine. Makes driving on the highways fun, love finding them miles ahead.
I have gotten several tickets with it as well. Instant On is a beotch, not much you can do. Just don't speed coming over a hill and don't speed going around lots of corners (mountain switchbacks). The smart officers do instant on as you come over a hill or around a corner, BAM!
I would love to hear of actual reviews of the GPS systems that use your phone to know the active location of a police officer doing radar. Technology is going to definitely make it easier to know where police officers are hiding out.
I have seen people on other car forums that have all of the best radar detectors, laser jammers and what not. They say the CB radio is the best way to avoid radar.
The fact that you've gotten several tickets while using a detector gives a decent idea of how useful they are, IMO.
The fact that you've gotten several tickets while using a detector gives a decent idea of how useful they are, IMO.
It may be more indicative of how watchful the poster was at the time, rather than a reflection of the technology's capability.
I haven't been harassed by police since September 2009 & a few things have changed since then for me. One, I'm older & allegedly more mature . 2. High gas prices put a crimp in one's desire for speed & 3. I've been to Germany. Driving at 120 mph in Germany definitely shows you that Germany is the place to do something like that, not the United States. So I don't even bother with it anymore. There's a secluded but extremely eel-maintained road close to home where I often "test out" a new car. Ice drivento 135 mph there once. But I haven't done it in more than a year: to an extent, the "thrill is gone", for the aforementioned reasons.
I've had a bunch of el cheapo $80-130 detectors before finally stepping up to a V1. I'll never go back, never use anything else. I've never gotten a speeding ticket with it, but then again I am very watchful and careful about my speeding. It DOES make long trips fun, or even jaunts arount the city interesting where I know there are traps. It is a great device.
I have owned three RDs - the last and current one is a V1. It is a superb unit. The previous one was an Escort Passport.
No radar detector can protect you in all conditions. Most of all - if you are the only car on the road you are highly vulnerable to instant on radar. But as soon as there is another car in front (or back) of you, within a mile or so, the V1 will detect the radar used on the other cars.
They use a bit of laser in Texas. The V1 definitely detects it, but your warning is shorter. Again - if there are other vehicles around you the odds are better.
I think it is worth every penny. The actual quality of the unit (hardware) is excellent.
Yep worth it. I've been nailed with a laser before, speeding on a lonely open road. But I've also been able to slow down fast enough before getting hit with a laser many times. In big flat Texas you can get 2-3 miles of radar warning. Definitely worth the small fortune, resale value is also very strong last time I checked.
The fact that you've gotten several tickets while using a detector gives a decent idea of how useful they are, IMO.
It's a radar detector, not a ticket preventer. The driver must learn how to interpret what the detector displays. Failure to do so = eventual ticket.
I have a Passport 9500, which is the only other detector consistently compared favorably to the V1. Never had a speeding ticket when using it, and I know for a fact without it I would have on several occasions. But had I not been able to buy the 9500 at half retail price, I would have a V1.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
. 2. High gas prices put a crimp in one's desire for speed & 3. I've been to Germany. Driving at 120 mph in Germany definitely shows you that Germany is the place to do something like that, not the United States. So I don't even bother with it anymore. There's a secluded but extremely eel-maintained road close to home where I often "test out" a new car. Ice drivento 135 mph there once. But I haven't done it in more than a year: to an extent, the "thrill is gone", for the aforementioned reasons.
