Halloween costume ideas

5 Responses to this post.

1. 

   Posted by Winchester of NC on 24.01.10 at 1:53 am

   Valentine sent me a new/refirbished factory unit- arrived DOA- I offered to pay the difference for a new unit- Refused- Ripped me off for 2 shipping charges- 67.00. Refused to allow me to speak with the owner. These people are POISON. Go to hell Valentine. Dont ever do business with these crooks- Their stuff is garbage and they DO NOT stand behind it.
   Rating: 1 / 5

2. 

   Posted by R. Dye on 24.01.10 at 1:53 am

   Valentine One Radar Detector is a big piece of JUNK. Two months old and had to send it back twice. Get this, they will not warranty the unit unless you bought it directly from them. In fine print in the back of the owners manual, it states the warranty is non-transferable. So, if you buy it from anyone else, YOUR WARRANTY IS NO GOOD. This company SUCKS. They know they are selling units to comapny for resale but will not warranty them. Go to HELL Valentine!!!
   Rating: 1 / 5

3. 

   Posted by Roman Michael on 24.01.10 at 1:53 am

   Let me first start by saying that I have used many different detectors over the years and consider myself an expert in the field. The Valentine One is a great radar detector – no question about it.

   Pros:
   
   -Long range detection
   
   -Arrows pointing in the direction of the radar source
   
   -Multiple bands detected at the same time
   
   -Works in Europe, depending on the firmware version (although if you get caught having one of those in most EU countries prepare for a serious fine)

   Cons:
   
   -Doesn’t give you the option of showing you the actual radar frequency that it’s detecting and with its front and back sensor it many times will detect the same frequency twice (because radar bounces off of objects) and list it as two separate radar sources.
   
   -Doesn’t detect inductive loop systems. It’s a system which consists of two wires buried beneath the road surface and a computer that calculates the speed between the two wires (usually with a camera waiting not far away). V1 doesn’t stand a chance against those threats.
   
   -WAY too many false alarms. This is a big one because you either have to reduce its sensitivity level (which is what most people do, but doesn’t that defy the purpose or at least remove the advantage that this detector has over cheaper detectors?) or you end up ignoring the vast majority of alerts. And prepare to have A LOT of false alarms!
   
   -The directional arrows are a mixed blessing because as your detector goes off, instead of concentrating on the road (what a concept!) you’re looking at the arrows, trying to figure out if the threat is real or not.
   
   -Doesn’t protect you against against red light cameras (okay, that in and of itself is not a deal breaker and I’m not encouraging anyone to run red lights).
   
   -Limited protection against speed cameras due to the positioning of their radar, which basically offers you very little advance notice, if any.
   
   -Goes off even at low speed or if you’re stuck in traffic (unlike some of the smarter GPS-enabled detectors – read below to find out more about that).
   
   -You have to mail your detector to Valentine and pay them to update the firmware on it about once a year just to keep it up-to-date (with Escort, you simply plug your detector into your computer… and all the firmware updates are free!)
   
   -Terrible customer service.

   In conclusion, if you have the money and want good protection, get a Valentine One. BUT…IF you want THE BEST detector on the market (which doesn’t have ANY of the problems listed above and has ALL the advantages listed, with the exception of the directional arrows) and if you have the extra $100, get the Escort 9500ix. It will blow your mind. The Valentine One was the best detector for years. But because they had the main advantage (at the time), the directional arrows, I think they became complacent and didn’t work hard enough to find the next big thing that would revolutionize radar detectors. Of course, I’m speaking of GPS technology. GPS has made the Valentine One’s directional arrows obsolete because now that false alarms have been completely eliminated on the 9500ix, if it goes off you KNOW it’s a threat, regardless of where it’s coming from. I know that some of the hardcore fans of Valentine One will have a hard time accepting the fact that Valentine no longer is number one (if you had spent $399 on a detector, would you be able to stay objective?).
   
   Once again, the Valentine is a GREAT detector and you will probably love it if you decide to purchase it. But you get what you pay for…and if you want the BEST protection available, spend the extra money and get the Escort 9500ix. You won’t regret it. It has a ton of other features, such as auto-volume control, which means it “listens” to the noise in the car and automatically adjusts the volume of the alerts. Also, because the 9500ix is GPS-enabled it knows exactly how fast you’re going at any given time. So the faster you drive the further down the road it “looks” for radars, progressively increasing/decreasing its sensitivity as needed, further reducing false alarms. How cool is that? This thing is light years ahead of most detectors in my view. Sorry, V1
   Rating: 2 / 5

4. 

   Posted by GoBoSox on 24.01.10 at 1:53 am

   Bought the Passport 9500ix and had buyer’s remorse because of all the great reviews on the V1. Tried them both out and it appears that V1 has to have a major fanboy club. Sensitive? Oh yeah, but who cares when the false positives are so outrageously abundant that you want to throw the thing out the window? Real life test was when I came upon an accident and the arrows kept switching and pointing and the whole detector became a red mess. Problem was, all of the emergency vehicles were stationary and there was only one cop. And it was doubtless picking up the usual chirps from automatic door openers on nearby businesses.

   No doubt, in its day, the sensitivity of this thing outweighed the awful falses. But with the GPS technology in the 9500ix that virtually eliminates the false alarms while giving up nothing (or being better) in sensitivity tests, what’s the point of the V1? Verdict: V1 is going back and I’m hard wiring the 9500ix.
   
   Rating: 3 / 5

5. 

   Posted by jray on 24.01.10 at 1:53 am

   This detector has great range. I use a solo s2 most of the time and the valentine for longer trips. The valentine has incredible range in comparison to the solo. It is very sensitive and picks up just about everything which is what you would expect with a unit of in this price range.

   What I do not like about it is the very cheap looking arrow displays (love the fact that it detects radar location though). This thing lights up like a Christmas tree particularly at night. For a unit that is priced at a premium the display could be a little more high tech. The arrows look like just red lenses with light bulbs stuck behind them and are of a size that even a sight impaired person would have no problem seeing from 20 feet away. Some high quality LEDs that dim down would be a major improvement. I know a remote display is available but for the cost the units display could be improved tremendously. There have been great advances in LED technology over the years and the valentine is still stuck in the 90′s. If it were not for the Christmas tree effect from the directional lights lighting up I would give this 5 stars. Modernizing the display of this unit so its not such and attention grabber for others outside of your own vehicle would be a tremendous improvement. That is one of the main reasons i dont use it everyday.

   I have owned many detectors over the years starting with the original escort which had a very sensitive display to light conditions as well as a range that would still be impressive decades later.
   Rating: 3 / 5

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