Day 2:
Pretty quiet. Came accross a strong X band signal. I couldn't identify the source. The 8500 chimed in first. The V1 a few seconds behind. Later on the 8500 appeared to false twice with the Ka band (fairly strong signals). The V1 was silent.

 

Bonz - I love the arrows too. I pretty much totally tune out the X band. The K and Ka band signal tones catch my ear though. Has anyone done any custom wirings for them? I like how the you can get a wireless 8500 and you can mount it easily under the rearview. Has anyone been able to do any trick mountings for the V1 so that the wires don't show and it is pretty unobtrusive?

many thanks

 

Goose, do a search on that. Myself and others have posted pics of our installs with hard wiring both the V-1 and the 8500.

ZGolfer: Remember, there is a small chance that one detector can set off the other one. Try holding them up to each other while they are plugged in and you'll see what I mean.

 

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing Bonz.

 

THANKS for this thread. Please continue to post observations. Will be getting one soon despite spouse's objections ("will make you go faster").

 

Beat him with "will make insurance cheaper"! I escaped at least 5 sure-ticket-speedtraps since I've got mine 8500 in September

 

1st week:
Not much to report.
Both units perform extremely well. Both continue to false (albeit infrequently) about the same. My experience has shown that on both the K and the Ka bands the V1 chimes in a few seconds before the 8500. To my surprise the 8500 picks up X band a couple of seconds before the V1. Not surprisingly, the VI’s rear antenna makes a significant difference. I have not encountered police radar approaching me from behind, but after I pass a source the V1 continued to detect the radar for about 8-10 seconds after the 8500 releases its signal.

About falsing; I’m not sure if this means anything nor can I come to a more positive conclusion, but I think the V1 falses more on X band while the 8500 falses on the K bands more. I think it has to do with what types of radar the internal computer determines to pass along. The V1’s manual indicates that in full logic mode it will pass along extremely strong signals. The 8500’s details were not mentioned in its manual. I’ll see what happens if I put the 8500 in city mode. I will pay more attention to this in the weeks to come

 

You must have a lot of radar traps in New York.

 

I came across a maybe 5-10 police with radar in the week. Don't know what the signals could be when I don't see a cop, but I'm sure there are a lot of security systems & such around.

 

Keep the info coming. This is a good post so far.

 

great post. how are the 2 competeing with each other now?

 

I may not have read your posts carefully enough, but are you using them both at the same time? If so, they could be interfering with one another. I think the Valentine Web site advises against testing two detectors in the same car simultaneously for this reason.

You may want to try using one at a time and seeing if there are any changes in performance (good or bad).

 

Here's where I stand now. IMO the V1 has been performing a little better than the 8500. The exception is with rear sensitivity. The V1 clearly out-performs the 8500. I am finding that the directional arrows are helpful. Just last week when I entered a highway the V1 went off with the rear arrow indicating radar from behind. I immediately looked behind and saw a police car attending to a motorist about 1/4 mile back. In this situation the 8500 sounded off 10 or so seconds later.

As far as testing the 2 units together, yes I am. I do not feel that there is any interference. And as for one unit receiving false signals from the other I have discounted this in my observations. No one unit is falsing too much for my tastes. I have them at least a foot apart and am primarily concerned with which unit picks up the signals 1st. I don't think the 2 units being together would have an effect on that.

For those looking for my opinion, both units are great. I am preferring the V1 over the 8500. For me, the reasons are, in order of my personal feelings, (1) the rear sensitivty (2) the slightly better response it has been giving me over the past 3 weeks and (3) the arrows.

I hope this helps.

 

Thanks for the great work

 

yes, thank you ZGolfer. I started reading this thread when I was still deciding - based on this (and other observations), I decided to order the V-1 - got it in the mail yesterday! Thanks again!

 

Good Luck Iris and good choice.

 

New info. Vlad, you'd be intrested in this.

I had an over-the-hill encounter on my way home today and the 8500 picked up the K-band signal earlyer than the V1 (about 3-4 seconds). I wonder why the 8500 picked this signal up earlier considering the V1 has picked up all other K-band signals I encountered first. What is it with the over-the-hill signal that the V1 finds difficult?

Something to think about.

 

You mentioned the V1's quick-release lever. How difficult are the two to remove from the windshield? If I buy a $400 detector I wouldn't want to leave it exposed in my car.

 

sessions,

I have a V1 and it is very easy to remove from the bracket. I do it all the time, since I never leave the detector visible when I'm out of the car. (Note, the bracket stays on the window.) It takes me about 4-5 seconds to remove the V1, unplug it, and stow it in my armrest. And I do it one-handed.

-Favo

 

With the 8500, you press a button and the unit slides out of the windshield mount (the suction cups stay on the window). If you want to take the windshield bracket off the window you have to pull hard to un-suction them. The V1 has a bar attached to the suction cups that if you press down the cups lift off the windshield with no effort (the mounting bracket stays attached to the unit). I have not separated the V1 unit from the suction cups yet as favo has but it sounds right.

I would compare favo's 4-5 seconds with the V1 to 2-3 seconds with the 8500.

This is a non-issue. Don't make it a deciding factor on whether or not you purchase a particular unit.