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View Full Version : Damn fine radar detector.



McGary911
11-24-2005, 07:37 PM
I had worked in NYC for about 6 years, and took a train to my job. My job moved to west Jersey about a month ago, so now i had to drive about 52.4 (GPS :) ) miles to get there. I have to take interstate 195, which the state police use as a speed enforcement training ground. Time to buy a radar detector.

I got myself a Valentine One ( www.valentineone.com ) after a friend suggested it. I have had a few others over the years, but nothing compares to this thing. It tells you how many radars are operating in the area, and tells you whether they are in front, on the side or behind u. It has helped me out a bunch of times already. I usually keep it around 80, but half the fun is playing "find the trooper" on that long boring ride.

It isn't cheap, around $399, but it is a world above anything else I have seen. Anyone else have one???

BUIZILLA
11-24-2005, 07:48 PM
I had one hard wired into my C5 Vette and it was the ultimate MacDaddy of radar detectors.... takes a while to understand the different signals it picks up, and from where, but it rarely, if ever, missed a target.

JH

gold-n-rod
11-24-2005, 08:44 PM
My V1 has saved me at least twice its price in tickets. It's not perfect; sometimes, the best it can do is tell you that you're busted (especially laser) before the red lights come on.

Still, it gives you time think of a strategy for dealing with the peach-fuzz faced trooper who's coming after you!!

:cussball:

TMANN
11-24-2005, 11:22 PM
I have a Valentine One and an Escort 8500. I could not chose one over the other. The Valentine tells me where its coming from but the E 8500 picks it up a little sooner. Not much but a little. The Valentine is four years old and never had a problem. I love it. These are the only radar detectors to own. Period! I have not had a ticket in almost two years and not for a lack of trying...
TMANN

Team Jefe
11-28-2005, 10:55 AM
I'm with TMANN, I too have an 8500 and it's saved my happy a$$ about 500 times in the four years I've owned it......and driving slow is NOT something I do. that is for the sheep of the world.....and my mom, God Love her.:rolleyes:

The V1 is the top dog no doubt, but I gotta slow down when the detector goes off, regardless of if the man is behind me, beside me or infront. One thing not knowing does is keep me on my toes to try and find the police before the detector goes off (like I did before I could afford a detector).:wink:

roadtrip se
11-28-2005, 01:18 PM
of course the Valentine seems a bit pointless up here when everybody runs
80 mph plus, but once in awhile a blue crusier with the red cherry on top does appear out of nowhere.

Then, there is the communist state to the south aka "Ohio" where the state highway patrol makes a business of handing out tickets at five and over. The V-1 comes in quite handy there...

"The harried and hurried..."

Mr X
11-28-2005, 02:45 PM
We have four of them (Valentine one's)
I would not leave home with out it!
I got tired of trying to remember to switch it from car to car.......
I picked up two of them in Pawn shops for less than $30.00 each!!
Guess they did not know what they had.....

McGary911
11-28-2005, 02:56 PM
I picked up two of them in Pawn shops for less than $30.00 each!! Guess they did not know what they had.....

Guess what I'm doing next time I'm in Atlantic City (tons of pawn shops)? :smile:

BTW, after I posted this, I hoped I didn't jinx myself into a tkt. Still tkt free :biggrin:

Damn....hope I didn't just jinx myself now :biggrin: :biggrin:

This is getting pretty circular :biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin:

Carl C
11-28-2005, 03:56 PM
I've been using the same escort radar detector for 24 years now! The damn thing is indestructable and very reliable with minimal false alarms. The valentine has a great reputation but I'll have to stick with escort if this one ever breaks. (no laser protection)

boxy
11-28-2005, 06:21 PM
My Dad had one of those in his Corvette, but it was the remote mount type, the only thing it was good for was finding beer stores with automatic doors ...... :D :D

Chili 18
11-28-2005, 11:04 PM
Back in the days of the first escort detectors.... i had a 78 t/a 6.6 trans am. drove between chicago and denver frequently. Had a switch box set up so i could change the configuration of the tail and running lights. The idea was what the trooper saw before he made his turn [at night] isnt what he would see after steaming after me. Another fun trick... was if I knew he had to run a 1/2 mile before turning around to chase. I'd hit the gas hard if I saw an exit just a mile or two ahead. One time. Mark my word. As i was exiting from such an exploit. Another trans am was just pulling on. He got it. I can’t imagine that conversation... Priceless. Oh yes... have mellowed considerably from the 'good oll days'. Of course the limit had lots to do with that. Cross country at 55 mph was simply not an option... Now I do my speeding on the lake where it’s mostly still ok..shhhhhh

olredalert
11-28-2005, 11:54 PM
--------Geez,,,Carl C,,, That thing is a collectors item!!! Glad it has worked so well for you. I have had probably 20 Escorts all the way back to the bigger model (about the size of a toaster) even before the one Carl pictured. Was going to get a Valentine this last time but Escort had a model with really cool blue lighting. That, a better price and I guess a bit of brand loyalty as well........Bill S

Chili 18
11-29-2005, 01:09 AM
--------Geez,,,Carl C,,, That thing is a collectors item!!! Glad it has worked so well for you. I have had probably 20 Escorts all the way back to the bigger model (about the size of a toaster) even before the one Carl pictured. Was going to get a Valentine this last time but Escort had a model with really cool blue lighting. That, a better price and I guess a bit of brand loyalty as well........Bill S
Heres a photo of the fuzzbuster
http://www.radarbusters.com/support/choosing-detector/history.asp

boxy
11-29-2005, 08:32 AM
Heres a photo of the fuzzbuster
http://www.radarbusters.com/support/choosing-detector/history.asp

That's the one, sorry Carl it wasn't an escort like you posted. We had that fuzzbuster mounted in the grill of the Vette, with the remote panel in the interior.....

Carl C
11-29-2005, 02:34 PM
Fuzzbuster, Fox, Radio Shack etc. were all junk. Nothing but annoying false alarms. The Escort was the first truly usable radar detector. The one I pictured is the original model. Only those with serial #s above 400,000 have the anti-falsing circuitry. Mine is # 410,868. I paid $300 for it at least 24 years ago and it still works like new and saves my ass all the time. Anyone looking to buy a radar det. should consider only the Escort or Valentine. (IMO)

Chili 18
11-29-2005, 03:10 PM
Fuzzbuster, Fox, Radio Shack etc. were all junk. Nothing but annoying false alarms. The Escort was the first truly usable radar detector. The one I pictured is the original model. Only those with serial #s above 400,000 have the anti-falsing circuitry. Mine is # 410,868. I paid $300 for it at least 24 years ago and it still works like new and saves my ass all the time. Anyone looking to buy a radar det. should consider only the Escort or Valentine. (IMO)

I agree. The filtered early escorts rock. However they 0nly hit on X and K bands. Still, much better than nothing. I used the passport for a few years and that was great too.

Actually, dont use any today. Find i can travel at 65-75 with virtually no risk of tickets. A few extra mph isnt worth the added stress of playing the game. Of course i dont have to drive for my career eithor. That would change things...

CHACHI
11-30-2005, 06:40 AM
Fuzzbuster, Fox, Radio Shack etc. were all junk. Nothing but annoying false alarms. The Escort was the first truly usable radar detector. The one I pictured is the original model. Only those with serial #s above 400,000 have the anti-falsing circuitry. Mine is # 410,868. I paid $300 for it at least 24 years ago and it still works like new and saves my ass all the time. Anyone looking to buy a radar det. should consider only the Escort or Valentine. (IMO)Valintine use to work at Cincinnati Microwave, the makers of the Escort detectors. He went on his own decades ago and introducted the world to the Valintine detector. Ken

Rootsy
11-30-2005, 08:00 AM
man i havn't had a radar detector since i was like 20 or so... not to mention that in this day and age.. the wideband KA and laser and instant on crap that the blue geese of michigan use are pretty hard to circumvent... guess that i find that i can do 5 over and be safe from the law and be happy with it... besides... that extra 5 or 10 mph isn't worth the price of a ticket... for the 30 seconds of time saved in arriving at my destination... plus the extra cost of fuel burnt and the possibility of hurting myself or someone else...

hell i drive 50 mph all of the way to work and back each day now and i'm happy as a clam... guess i am getting "old"...

Carl C
11-30-2005, 10:04 AM
Rootsy, I am not a speed demon but I go to my north Michigan cabin nearly every week in the summer and, when conditions permit, I'll let my Mustang GT gallop. A radar det. is only part of the plan. You have to know where the bears hide and you can defeat instant on by picking up the sampling of traffic in front of you. This is where long range is helpful. It also works to hang a ways behind a "guinea pig" who is also speeding. He will get zapped - you will get a warning beep. Laser and ka are seldom used in Michigan but I do see laser sometimes. This is when the Trooper is standing outside the door and pointing a "gun" at you.:uzi:

Rootsy
11-30-2005, 11:27 AM
Rootsy, I am not a speed demon but I go to my north Michigan cabin nearly every week in the summer and, when conditions permit, I'll let my Mustang GT gallop. A radar det. is only part of the plan. You have to know where the bears hide and you can defeat instant on by picking up the sampling of traffic in front of you. This is where long range is helpful. It also works to hang a ways behind a "guinea pig" who is also speeding. He will get zapped - you will get a warning beep. Laser and ka are seldom used in Michigan but I do see laser sometimes. This is when the Trooper is standing outside the door and pointing a "gun" at you.:uzi:

that is pretty chancy... most of the time once i get north of clare the traffic is pretty sporatic... quite easy to get popped.. heading north a week or so ago we were traveling late in the evening... on a saturday night... and i must have seen 2 dozen cops between jackson and the bridge...

as for KA and laser... i drove from brooklyn (MIS) to battle creek.. every work day for nearly 5 years... the cops LOVE I-94 especially the stretch between parma and albion.. and again between albion and marshall... many a times, more than i can count i've seen multiple or singles shooting outside the car... don't be fooled.. cops have the best technology out there to defeat any technology you have available to you... tax payers see to it

no thanks... i have never had a speeding ticket.. don't plan to begin now...

Chili 18
11-30-2005, 11:35 AM
Here is a site to post and read about known speed trap locations.

http://www.speedtrap.org/

Carl C
11-30-2005, 11:50 AM
Here is a site to post and read about known speed trap locations.
http://www.speedtrap.org/ Cool!!!!!!! I added it to my "favorites".