Why The Valentine 1 Radar Detector Is Stupid

By Daniel Miessler on January 17th, 2007: Tagged as Cars | Rants | Technology

If you’re into cars, driving fast, or just technology in general you’ve likely heard of the Valentine 1 radar detector. It’s widely accepted to be the premier radar detector on the market, and few people question this status.

I got to thinking about what makes it so great, though, and my conclusion was startling. Evidently, the entire reason the Valentine is supposed to be so good is because it can show you whether a cop is in front of you or behind you. The entire idea is to have the ability to respond differently based on where the radar is coming from. What?

Who in their right mind is going to respond differently based on the direction radar is coming from?
Seriously, what are the options here? You’re going down a road listening to some music and all of a sudden you get hit with radar from the front. What do you do? Yeah, slow down.

Ok, so now you’re on the same road and you get hit with radar from the rear. Now what? Is this the Dukes of Hazzard? Cannonball Run? You’re still going to slow down unless you participate in an alternate reality.

I fail to see how showing you the direction of the radar helps anything for someone not wanting to get tickets in the real world. The prospect of accelerating if you know a cop is behind you is just asinine in the extreme.
So sell me on better detection. Sell me on less false positives. But don’t put a big ugly arrow on the front and tell me that knowing where the radar is coming from matters. It doesn’t. If I’m speeding and I get hit by radar — I’m slowing down.

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Viewing 9 Comments

    • ^
    • v
    The purpose of the arrows is to help you discern false positives. If you pass a signal that causes a false positive, you can be aware of it and you'll know what to do if you see the bogie counter go up and the front arrow light.
    • ^
    • v
    Quite. Some stores (for some reason) emit waves that could be confused with the radiation emitted by certain radar guns. I rode with someone that had a radar detector once, and whenever we passed a CVS it would go nutso. He says it has something to do with their satellite radio system (or some shit).
    • ^
    • v
    Hmm, eliminating false positives...interesting...

    But to me, either you know something is false or not when it's a matter of familiarity -- case in point, every time you drive by a CVS in your town you know it's going to false. Again, how does the direction information help this?
    • ^
    • v
    because there is also a counter for the number of sources...So if you regularly pass a strip mall and get 2 sources every day, and one day you get 3, there might be a "surprise" waiting for you
    • ^
    • v
    No no no!!

    The "false" signals (they are not false after all they are radar) Are the automatic doors that you find in pretty mych any decent sized store.

    The system works by emmiting a radio wave, and when this wave is returned by a walking customer the doors are activated.
    • ^
    • v
    No no no!!

    The "false" signals (they are not false after all they are radar) Are the automatic doors that you find in pretty mych any decent sized store.

    The system works by emmiting a radio wave, and when this wave is returned by a walking customer the doors are activated.
    • ^
    • v
    I have used both the Escort 8500 and V1. My preference is for the V1 primarily because of the arrows. Let me explain. On one stretch of road near my house the police run radar. One day as I drove down this stretch of road I received a radar signal from the front. An unmarked car passed me and as he passed the signal changed from one to two, one from the front, one from the back. Soon another unmarked car passed me, obviously running radar. Had I been in a hurry, I might have sped up, thinking the officer had passed me and then been tracked by the second officer. Without the V1 I would not know how many signals and where they are coming from.

    On another occassion, as I turned onto a street with a 20 mph limit, there was an officer running radar in the direction that I was travelling though 2 signals were showing, both from the front. As I passed him, the arrows changed from front to one front one back. as I reached the top of the hill, I saw another officer taking radar of me coming up the hill. With detectors that don't have arrows, I would have only known there was radar in the area and after passing the trap, I would have thought I was ok.

    In a third situation, as I was driving in Illinois on the interstate, I received short signals from the rear. This told me there might be radar, moving in my direction shooting traffic in front of him (using instant on). I slowed down; sure enough, he passes me in an unmarked Camaro, shooting people as he's moving.

    I had the V1 at the same time I had the escort. When using the escort, I would slow down but then I found myself looking all around for the radar, only human nature I guess. Also, because if he gets you it would be nice to see where he is so you can get the thing off the dashbord ASAP, maybe decreasing chances a little, of possibly getting a ticket. Also in the first example, knowing one had passed me, I was only looking in front for one. I'm not saying V1 is better. It is just more useful for me. Just my experience.
    Steve
    • ^
    • v
    Like American Express, you should never leave home without it...V1 that is.
    • ^
    • v
    I am dumber from having read your blog about the V1. Seriously if you don't understand something why rip it apart?
 

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