Customer Reviews

Valentine One Radar Detector

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

I've had a Valentine 1 since the early 90's. Over the years, it has been upgraded and has consistently been a top performer. Since those early days, these new V1s offer laser, a reinforced power cord (fixing a former Con), slightly modified/improved interface (see Pros) and new detection capabilities for instant-on radar.

Pro:
+Incredible detection range that always amazes my passengers... consistently voted #1 in the rankings in laser and radar tests, usually only dinged for price (see Cons) or styling. (Are they serious? Who care's if it's boxy?)
+Able to track multiple targets at one time (9), which at first sounds silly, but it helps you filter threats
+Able to tell that you've passed a target. Signal in front will shift to side lights and then to rear helping you ID where the signal is
+Is he behind me? Front AND rear detectors (and matching light indicators) I think makes this detector one-of-a-kind
+Black color (unit, mounts and cables) blends into your dash and does not reflect as much light and glare as its shiny counterparts. I can't believe the competition has gone with the shiny titanium styling... silly!
+The longer power cord (four feet?) looks like a "phone cord" and is reinforced nicely, a vast improvement over the early V1 cords
+Also has pieces for hardwiring the unit, but I suspect you'll need to buy wire and an installer (not a typical do it yourselfer project)
+The glass mount (with spare suction cups) is just awesome! After 15 years, the design is still unbeaten!
+Variable volume and mute settings, with one-touch mute
+Display will show a "J" when a signal is determined to be "junk", a false-alarm. When you get the "J" your V1 is telling you that it is retracting the warning from this signal.
+LEDs are arranged vertically, laser ("L") is on top, Ka next, then K, and last X, representing threats ranked from lowest (top LED) to highest probability (bottom LED) of a false alarm
+You can buy spare pieces on-line (an extra cost, but reasonably priced)
+Lights are not overly bright at night... still very visible but not distracting either
+3 sensitivity settings: "all bogeys", "logic" and "advanced logic". Advanced logic filters the most for those who hate false alarms.
+Loudest volume setting is very loud, softest is off, with a nearly limitless number of levels in between. Mute can be any volume that you choose and does not necessarily have to be off

Con:
-Display has one LED for each type of radar detected (laser, Ka, X, and K) but they're all the same color
-EZPass (automatic electronic toll payment) sets off the laser warning, and the unit goes nuts (again the laser warning is intense). Also, laser can be triggered by close proximity (15' in my experience) of the tail lights to certain American-made cars when they hit their brakes (confirmed by the manual).
-Price... ouch
-Visor mount is not very good (too tight) on thicker sun visors, however the glass mount (see pros) is the best ever!
-L, Ka, X, and K next to their LEDs is stenciled on... at night it's hard to tell for instance if Ka is being located or X. There's no good reference and the letters are not illuminated, nor are LEDs color-coded

Neutral:
>Optional concealed display that plugs into the cigarette lighter (must be purchased separately)
>Detectors aren't legal in some states/areas
>Some claim that's it's boxy styling is a turn off, but come on, it's all about having the best detection!
>The shorter power cord (two feet?) is a coiled power cord... Not a con since they supply another, longer cord (see pro section)

Bottom line: Highly recommended/don't leave home without it. I liked mine so much that I have just bought another one for my
wife.

For years Valentine had Escort and the others completely trounced. Finally, with the X50, Escort came close to Valentine in some respects. Their new GPS detector the 9500i is also based on the 8500 X50 model. The thing is, Valentine keeps a commanding lead in four respects:
1. Yes, Escort now equals Valentine on K and Ka (but not X band); however, Valentine responds much better to instant on.
2. Valentine's laser detection is insanely good. No one comes close...and that's what you need with laser, because it is very hard to "spot."
3. Because of patent considerations, Escort can't have front and rear antennae on their unit and tell you what direction the radar is coming from. This is actually a VERY useful feature...and the rear antenna lets you know when a mobile instant on unit is creeping up behind you.
4. Valentine detects instant-on POP radar nearly 100% of the time. Escort just plain doesn't see it half the time.
I've driven with one since the mid 1990s, and never received a ticket while using it. It's the best investment you can make in driving peace of mind.

I've had a Valentine One for four years and am preparing to order another one for our second car, since I've just had the first one hard-wired into our new one. The hands-down "winningest" features are the arrow system to tell you where the radars are and the "bogey counter" that tells you how many different signals the V1 is receiving. My wife is very impressed that the V1 can see so far down the road and over hills. Some reviews snipe at the V1's boxy styling. I didn't buy it to make a fashion statement. I bought it for its unmatched performance. There is a very nifty option: a small lightweight plastic block called a "concealed display" that has the direction lights, type-of-radar lights, and a mute on/off button. I velcro-mount it to my steering wheel column near the dash, so I don't have to look up to see what's going on (my V1 is near the roofline). Think about how much a ticket would cost, adding in risk of an insurance premium increase. The V1 is the way to go. Recommend that if you hard-wire the unit, you have the tech leave the in-line fuse exposed or at least easy-to-access.

i did about 3 weeks of research and more thinking than i should have put into a radar detector purchase...but after using this unit...it was well worth it...there isnt a single thing i would change about this unit...it tells you where the signal is coming from...which has saved me SOOOO MANY TIMES...it tells you what band, how many signals, and it even detects Ku and POP...this might be the most expensive radar detector, but until you own one...you can't truly comprehend how vastly superior it is to all other brands and models,... my V1 has paid for its self many times over...esp on my road trip to and from nashville (i live in the harrisburg, pa area)...most people i know arent willing to pay the price for this unit...but the thing is...you can buy a crappy cheaper detector...and then in a couple years when new technology comes out you have to buy a new one...and so on and so forth...before you know it...you've spent more than you ever planned on...with the V1...if theres new technology...you send it in for an upgrade...the upgrade for the models that are one model older than mine is $85...which is cheaper than even the best low priced detectors....so how is this not worth it???

Combined with a little common sense, as well as just being alert to your surroundings while driving, this radar detector will NOT let you down. I did not get pulled over a single time in 7 years while using my VALENTINE ONE, up until I left it in my other car, and borrowed my brothers other brand radar detector, and got stopped by a state trooper. I could've kicked myself for that!! Also, there's nothing like being able to see which direction the radar is coming from! How many times do we see cops trying to sneak up behind us? With VALENTINE ONE, there's no guessing! The arrows tell you exactly where the radar source is coming from!
Simply the BEST radar detector you can get!

Now, my MAJOR beef!! I LOVE Amazon, and make many purchases on here, as they have terrific value. However, why in God's name are they charging over $700 for this radar detector, when you can buy it directly from VALENTINE ONE for $399??? And on top of that, if your radar detector malfunctions, VALENTINE ONE will not honor the warranty if it wasn't purchased directly from them! Makes no sense!! I almost bought it from here, and just happened to go on the VALENTINE ONE website, and saw it there for almost HALF the price!! Ridiculous!!

Ive been using Radar Detectors since the early Seventy's when I was driving over the road and alls I can say is the Valentine-1 is #1. Its saved my bacon more times then I can count, that must be the reason that its the radar detector of choice for the drivers who participate in the Coast to Coast Cannonball Race and also the reason why Mercedes Benz offers it as an option in thier big sedans. By the way Valentine sells their units factory direct for $399.00 which also comes with their full factory warranty, you should never buy from a reseller or pay more then the MSRP $399.00.

Pro: Phenomenal range. Direction arrows. Bogey counter. Actual laser detection, not just a laser-already-got-you signal. These all turn out to be way more useful than you think once you start using it.

Cons: Some LED brake lights now set off false Laser alarms. The markings on the unit are all silkscreened on and can't be read at night. The only way to tell X, K, and Ka from one another at night is by memorizing the different alert sounds. Some folks customize theirs with different color LEDs for each alert. The small volume and mute knobs aren't as good as other detector's solutions.

Not a Pro or a Con: No real false-alarm filtering. It reports everything it sees and lets you decide. It just adjusts how it reports the least-likely signals so they don't bug you as much, and the level and loudness of the alerts is adjustable. Wannabe fighter pilots probably think this is cool. For the rest of us it gets annoying after a while. Where I live, I can just ignore everything except Ka and Laser.

In short, this is really the only unit on the market worth the money. It delivers what you're paying for in spades, and you can live with its ergonomics in return.

As a side note, the reason you'd buy it here at twice the factory price is if you live in a country where the factory doesn't sell/ship. There are a lot of those, apparently. Otherwise, get it factory direct.

Anyone that does any research on radar/laser detectors knows two things, a cheap one is worthless, and the Valentine V1 is always listed in as a top 2 detectors. Some people complain that it is over sensitive, but you can just switch it to Advanced Logic Mode (big L on the screen) and it will be quiet enough. This thing is super sensitive on the highway and can give you a solid 2 miles of warning if the officer has the gun on. Arrows help a ton in the city and it will tell you the direct of the strongest signal as well as the other signals simultaneously.

Love this unit. Old school but beats escort hand down in my state where they still use X band and quick trigger instant on. My 8500 X50 escort warned me say 10% of the time. Police in my state don't keep their radar open and if they do, its X band which can be detected by my escort, but instant on or laser, no way. Valentine was amazing in catching laser deflected from cars way ahead of me when police use laser guns.

Oh yeah, the price of amazon and ebay is way higher than valentine website, because its directed towards European customers (because V1 has the euro mode). most of European countries ban the sale (but not the use) of detectors. And with the euro exchange rate, buying from the US is a bargain even at 700 dollars!! GOD BLESS AMERICA

so, people buy from valentine website at 399 with free shipping and sell it for double on amazon or ebay. valentine website DO NOT SHIP international.

The Valentine One (V1) is a radar detector that it seems those who know, don't settle for a lesser model detector. The thing has it's flaws of course, but the positive attributes are second to none.

I have had one of these for about 5 years now, and it LITERALLY saved me a ticket on the first day (other guy who passed me after I decided to slow down got nabbed over the next hill). I too wish it had better false positives detection, but despite all of them the true positives and direction indication is priceless. I'm envious of the GPS tagging option on the Passport 9500XT but the fact that it's just a beep with no idea where it's coming from is a show-stopper to me.

The only major flaw in my opinion are the false positives it has. I live in a neighborhood that has a radar monitored proximity gate outside, so every time I drive past, it lights up the V1. Annoying, yes, but at this point I'm practically robotically trained to either ignore it or mute it. With the false positives I will say I have a distaste for higher end vehicles that use laser tracking for speed etc. (Lexus, Infiniti), because it does trip a laser reading. It only happens when they're right behind or right in front, but still annoying.

The V1 has two volume knobs, one for alert volume and another for the volume it goes to when you mute it. I operate where I don't mute something until I can identify where the source is coming from, something that's impossible with other detectors. Once I spot it (cop, supermarket, gate) I mute it. The beauty is that in the event (and it does happen) where you're driving in a town with many ignorable signals from various bands, it'll STILL tell you when it finds Ka (which is 95% of the time a cop) by blinking Ka and blinking the arrow in the direction it's coming. The Ka band has a "di-dit" sound that stands out to me cuing me to know to have a look. It tracks up to 9 signals of all any combination of bands. You also have the option to push-hold the mute button to switch between sensitivity modes where it toggles between all signals at any strength and other modes where it ignores the lower bands until it hits a higher signal strength. I drive in town with it on the "L" mode and on road trips at full sensitivity or "A" mode.

As far as installation goes, hard-wiring is the only way to go. The V1 uses a normal RJ-45 telephone cord for power, so relocating it to a rental or friend's vehicle is a snap. In fact I forgot to grab my power cord on a road trip in a friend's car, so we stopped at a Radio Shack in Whoknowswhere Texas, bought a phone cord and we were in business. On the other hand, hard-wiring will take you (or an installer) maybe an hour to accomplish. I have mine mounted right between my rear-view mirror and headliner so the power cord uses the the little plastic tunnel my rear mirror uses for power. Quite smooth and you can't see it from outside the car without knowing it's there. The visor clip should be considered a temporary fix...especially if you hate having a coiled power cord draped over your dash.

I also own the hidden display adapter, but have never used it because I have no elegant place to put it. My cigarette lighter is just as far down as my rear-view mirror is up, so it's self-defeating. I have seen some really impressive solutions where people have stripped out one of these adapters and integrated it into their gauge clusters, but that was a bit much for me.

Aside from the false positives, the V1 has stunning range. It manages to read through wind shields and over hills (provided there's something for the signal to bounce off of). I have picked up cops from what seemed like miles away simply because there was light traffic on the road I was on.

Finally, I've read people's complaints about it having only red for LED colors. However, the need for multi colored LED's is really unnecessary and would (in my opinion) make this thing look like a cheap kids toy. The solution is simple really, I don't hardly have to look at it (unless for direction) because each band (X, K, Ka, laser) has it's own distinct sound.

In a nutshell, the V1 rocks and has more than paid for itself in avoided tickets. If mine broke today, I'd replace it again with a V1.