• January 16, 2009
• Category: Reviews
• Written By: Chris
• No Comments

I’m always skeptical of ways to fool the traffic police. Nine times out of ten they have already caught you in the act of speeding before you radar detector even bats an eye at it and at that point you’re already done for. It would be great if there were a detector that could catch the threat of a traffic cop before you or they could make visual contact. Well I have to say, now there is!

The Valentine V1 Radar Detector provides the coverage you need to out fox the foxes and stay one step ahead of your local speed trap. I have been using the V1 now for over a year and I am still ticket free (knock on wood). The range of this detector is superior to just about anything else on the market, even those fancier GPS based detectors. I can start tracking speed traps over a mile out before I can see the police and they can see me.

One of the most valuable assets the VI has is the arrows. Yes, I was skeptical as to how accurate these arrows really would be and have come to live by them now. I’d say about 10% of the time they are inaccurate which is more than acceptable for me. It gives you time to start checking your mirrors, looking down the road ahead, or looking across to street to find out where the threat is coming from. This is a huge asset when you’re trying to identify the direction of radar and decide when and what type of maneuvers to make.

There are a few quirks to the Valentine, one is that it can be over sensitive in parking lots with sliding doors etc… Paying attention to what band the V1 is catching can help you identify whether or not you’re getting a false alarm, but still it can get annoying. Occasionally it’ll throw a laser warning at you when a vehicle with radar guided crash avoidance is approaching you which can throw you for a loop until you identify the offending vehicle.

I didn’t buy the V1 to be perfect and I didn’t buy it to be under-sensitive, I bought it help me find speed traps and avoid them and it does that like a true veteran. It may be one of the most expensive radar detectors on the market, but as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. I’ve tried lesser brands in the past like Cobra and never had luck with any of them. In fact, my cobra alerted me to a radar gun after the officer turned his lights on and pursued me. Needless to say the officer openly wrote me a more expensive ticket because of my radar detector and had a good laugh at it.

With the V1 however; I know about that radar gun long before I’m even within it’s range. This clairvoyance gives you more than enough time to safely slow down before you can even be tagged.

I would rate the Valentine V1 Radar Detector 10/10 for long range radar avoidance. This is a must have for anyone not looking to get a speeding ticket.

For more information on the Valentine V1 visit the Valentine homepage at: www.valentine1.com