Kkranghkar

I want to buy one of these detectors (don't really care which, both of them claim to be better than other, probably leaning toward the V1).

Anyway, I can't find any place that sells them except the companies' websites themselves, that seems kinda shady to me, and sounds like price gouging....


Where did you guys buy your detectors and how much did you pay? Do any REAL stores sell these models so I can be sure I can return, etc?

Nashua_Night_Hawk

Get V1, new from www.valentineOne.com Or get a used one from Ebay.

Eggplant-EX

You can find new ones on Ebay.....

I have the Bel but it seems like the V1 is the way to go. Have heard good things about them.

love4s

i have v1 and my friend has passport.......seems like v1 works better...

EricS

Make the decision yourself about which to get. Look at the various features and decide. Which actually is better at the actual detecting can be debated for years.

Call around some local car audio install places. I know those can get you the Passports.

my2sense

i have the 8500. wutever.

BNut

The 8500 has one thing going for it... frequency display for the radar that's being detected.

Once you drive around town enough you can literally map out all of the common "false alarm" frequencies.

Like 24.142 is widely used by sliding doors and is in the K band which police still use for radar..

Having to slow down for false alarms is such a pain, not a problem with 8500.

The 8500 can also display over 5-10 different radar "hits" simultanesously so you can see the strength of each radar that's being detected grouped by either X, K or Ka.

As far as which radar detector has better range, I dunno. I always follow another car on the interstate when I'm doing serious speeding and the radar detector is just there to give me an edge.

fast_daddy_car

Both detectors are great.
The V1 can only be purchased from the manufacturer's web site.
Be careful on ebay, as they are usually much older models (that can be upgraded, but most times its cheaper just to buy a new one) Valentine does offer a no questions asked return policy.

The escort can be found retail at Best Buy, sometimes on sale for around $285. They have a great return policy.

I bought both last year and tried them for a few weeks.
For local roads, I found the 8500 falsed less, however the V1 gave me plenty of warning time for instant on traps. This was to the point I had a beep, silence, another beep, then I knew it was instant-on ahead. The 8500 only gave a single beep much too close to the source. For highway both are very good.

After trying both I found the direction arrows to be very useful (both have bogey counters)
For mounting on your windshield, the escort was passable. It rattled against the window, didn't have many adjustments (usually just had to bend the metal) and the unit is very long limiting some mounting locations. The V1 is great, had a rubber strip where it meets the windshield so no rattling or bounding.

The remote display on the escort is useless. It is attached to the power cord, and only has 2 lights (green power, red for alert) and a mute button.
The V1 remote display (additional purchase) has the full display and mute button. Great as I have my V1 hardwired and mounted to the right side of the mirror, and my remote on the dash so it is not visible to other drivers who tend to form a convoy behind you

Shawn S

There’s the V1 and then there’s everything else.
The 8500 comes close, but the V1 is worth the extra bucks.

Check my signature for some install pictures of the V1 hardwired into the ignition with the remote display on the steering column.

Shawn S

fast_daddy_car

I played with the freq display a bit. It was neat, but when you are in that display mode, you can not track/see multiple radar sources (like 2 x and a k) like the ones you normaly see around town.

When you are in multi-display mode, it will only track up to 5 sources of each band type. So the display can show 3 X, 2K and a Ka, all at the same time. It will also show the signal strength of each individual source. However, the screen is very small to give this type of info. In my example, the display would look
like " X .:| K :: Ka | " for 3 x's of different strengths, 2 medium K's, and one strong Ka. However I did find that this display mode was the best for town. In my test it saved me while passing a strip-mall that normally only showed "X |", one day it shown "X ||" and there was the patrol car in the parkinglot.

However, in another situation the V1 really shined through. Passing a strip-mall, it showed 2 X front. As I passed I saw the patrol car in the parking lot. As I passed, the V1 still showed 2 X, but now it said one in front and one behind. The car with the radar trap was three blocks up on a side street, the one in the lot was shopping. Saved me but not the guy next to me who took off!

JasonT

I have both. They work the same to me. If you don't care which one, save your money & get the 8500. Ebay is a good source for the 8500. Several good sellers on there. You could get a good deal on a V1 too, but I would prefer buying direct from V1.

Eggplant-EX

EricS : nothing wrong with gettiing some feedback from the Board, especially from some of us who may have the V1...
Besides, some of these install places know jack about what they sell..

Red Rider

V1 all the way ! Directional arrows alone make it worth the price.

simonsez

Mr Valentine worked for Escort and he made the Passport detectors.

now he owns his own company, obvioulsy V1 should out perform the Passports.

overall, both are good detectors

Technique

Only buy the V1 directly from Valentine1.com, they don't have any resellers so anyone selling one is selling a used one as there is NO WAY to obtain one for less than $399.99....

As far as V1 vs. 8500, there is no comparison, get the V1 and never think about it again...