You are a V1 fan, so you are obviously biased. Have fun with all your falses At least you know which direction the false is coming from.

 

I cheaped out and bought a 150-dollar Beltronics for the Subaru and I hate the fact that it doesn’t have arrows.
I really miss them.

 

Count me as another member that owns both detectors. I enjoyed the Escort X50 Blue for the last 3 years. Two reasons why I purchased a Valentine (and gave my wife the Escort) soon after purchasing the TL.

1. No good place for that springy cord...always strapped across the Navi screen.
2. Laser falses GALORE with the X50 and my TL. Funny thing is I can't get the X50 to Laser false in any other car I have tried it in. Current TL owners considering the Escort, do a search on this forum about TL's and Escort's falsing. By no means was I the only experiencing this problem.

Pros for the Escort:
1. IMO it detects faster than than my V1
2. The Automuting feature is AWESOME!!! Beeps loud, then automatically turns down - a very nice feature.
3. Falses less than the V1
4. Smart cord with Mute button in arms reach is great to have.
5. The Blue color is cool with the TL dash.

Pros for the Valentine:
1. The other V1 owners here are right - once you get used to the Arrows and Bogey counter, I don't see how you could go back to not having them. They make THAT MUCH of a difference.
2. Upgradable
3. Customer Service at Valentine is A1.
4. Use a regular phone cord wire for power so you can hide all the wires without hard wiring. Very nice not having to see that darn springy cord.

I was missing the Smart cord and Remote mute button on my TL but over came it by adding the audio alert box sold by Valentine. So now when the alert goes off I just tap the mute button down by the gear shifter...just like I could with the Escort. Seen here.





The new 9500i looks like it has nice features. Definitely seems like it will do a good job of getting rid of falses. In fact, it looks like it is almost perfect...but it needs the arrows and bogey counter. Doubt many V1 owners will switch until that happens. And if you don't really know the value of the bogey counter, let me share what occured just this evening for me.

Driving down the interstate my KA alarm started going off, arrow flashing forward (meaning that cop was either sitting in front of me or traveling towards me). BUT, the bogey counter said '2'. As I passed the first cop the arrow flashed to the side, but the forward arrow was still going as well. Then my arrows showed one behind and one forward. You figuring this out yet...that's right two cops. With the Escort, I would have seen the cop go by and would have likely assumed that my radar detector was still going off because of the one I passed. Had I sped up thinking I was safe BOOM...ticket time.

You should read the V1 manual on-line...there are SEVERAL uses and information coming across in those arrows.

 

OK so I dont own either of these and would never spend soo much for a radar detector I admit it I have a Cobra in the CLS and a Whistler in the Explorer and they do fine by me for the price.

Question for all the V1 fan boys....
Why does it really matter where the signal is coming from as long as you are alerted? If im speeding down the road and I get alerted I slow down, simple as that. I really care where the signal is coming from. Actually I can almost guarantee that its coming from in front of me since PA can't use moving radar

 

Thought I gave one good example as to why the arrows and bogey counter is handy. (all of about one inch above your posted question???) I also referred those questioning the arrows/bogey counter to read more at Valentine's website. The owners manual has about 3 pages of very good reasons to have them.

My question to those that don't have the arrows is...don't you see ANY value in knowing where the radar is coming from??? It's okay if you think the V1 is too expensive, but that doesn't mean it still isn't cool. I may be the weird one here but when I hear my detector going off I not only slow down...but I get curious. I just want to know if it is a store or a cop and where they are coming from.

See when you pass a store the arrow flashes forward at first, then to the side, and then behind you. You can quickly know that there is no cause for alarm. Whereas with other brands, you continue moving along waiting for the thing stopping to beep. PLUS...when you don't know you have passed it, then you have to consider was it an instant on situation, is the cop ahead moving in the same direction. My goodness I can keep going with situations like this and the one I posted previously. If it weren't for the cost factor I can't imagine any rational person saying..."Nope, don't need the arrows...I actually prefer not having a clue where the radar is coming from."

But in defense of other detector owners...I never missed the arrows when I had NOT experienced them. Like I said before the Escort is a great detector (I was happy with it until the TL decided to hate it...see above), but now that I have experienced arrows and bogey counters...NO WAY I'm going back. In about 3 years of message board roaming, I have found the large majority of V1 owners very loyal in their detectors. That can't all be hype.

 

He's basically saying, he doesnt care where the arrows are pointing from he's slowing down regardless and for as long as it takes and he values the accuracy of the warning over the convienence of the direction arrow. Hell, if I had a v1, I would probably slow down regardless of where it was pointing, what it was pointing at, and for as long as it was warning me.

 

I slow down (initially) as well when I hear the warning. But when I see the arrows go from pointing from front to side to rear as I pass a store front, then I continue on my merry way. With my old Escort X50 (without the arrows) I am left driving slow and asbolutely unaware as to what and where the radar is coming from.

Plus in my example above that happened to me yesterday there were two cops NOT ONE, and had I been using my Escort and after I saw the first cop go by and I would assume that the continued beeping was the cop that just passed and not been aware of the next one ahead. The V1 said (2) so I knew there was two cops and the arrows showed me when one went by and then when the second went by.

I'm telling you I was a happy Escort owner and said the same thing "who needs arrows, I'm slowing down anyway." I drank the Escort Kool-Aid. In fact I would have never purchased a V1 had my Escort not Laser false all the time in the TL(like others here have experienced). I considered turning off the Laser, but I also didn't like the springy cord running across my Nav system so I opted to give the V1 a try. And I'm telling you the V1 guys are right...once you go with arrows and bogey counters you wonder how you lived without it. I put it in nearly the same category of a cell phone. Who here can imagine going back to a world without cell phones? My point is (and I am speaking from personal experience here) is you haven't owned a V1 and experienced it for about a month or more then you simply don't understand why the V1 guys are so loyal. The Escort is a fine radar detector...because it detects radar well, but it ain't no V1.

 

Escort makes a hard wire kit for the passport with the concealed display


I get more falses with the V1 and laser than i do with the 8500 in both my TL and Expedition

Laser range with teh passport is better from my experience

And like stated above the arrows really dont matter. The whole idea of a detector is to slow down when it goes off. I dont find them any more usefull than not having them at all.

IF and i mean IF the V1 comes out in a better looking unit and can give me less falses than the 8500-9500 i might look into one again. But not until then. ( i have friends who are on the sheriffs dept that we test this stuff on occasion)

 

You can get the same with the 8500. It will show multiple signals and each of their strength and multiple bands with their strengths as well

 

Plus i like having the digital volt meter that the 8500 has

 

Another V1 owner here. I don't think I could live without the arrows either. The arrows really help me on my morning commute. I drive on I-5 in Cali which is a divided freeway. I always pick up CHP on the opposite side of the freeway coming towards me. We are on a divided freeway and there is no way they can turnaround to get me, so when I pick them up from the other side, I usually don't even slow down.

I use to have a Bel 985 back in the day. With that, whenever I would get Ka band I would always slow down, only to see the CHP coming from the other direction. I also like the arrows because then I don't have to scan all of my mirrors trying to find out where the cop is. It takes all of the guessing out of it.

With that being said, yeah Valentine needs to come out with a new Version already! I've been rockin' my V1 1.7 for like 4 years now!

 

I forgot to mention that. You can track bogeys in the "expert" mode.

 

I actually already posted (which agrees with you) that I found the Escort more sensitive, and I don't deny that the V1 falses more...well let me clarify that...the V1 falses more in the city, I see absolutely no difference in falses on the open road between the two.

When I said that the Escort falses I was referring specifically LASER falsing. Several here on the board (there are two threads about this) have their Escorts just blurting off LASER falses even when you are the only car out in the middle of BFE. The Escort WILL NOT false in my Maxima or my wife's Forester...ONLY the TL. The Escort and TL do not get along for many of us here.

No question the Escort wins on beauty.

Regarding your claim that you slow down when you here the alarm go off and see NO VALUE whatsover in the arrows. I suppose that is fine if you like slowly down by every bank and department store you pass. So if what happened to me yesterday when the detector went off and I saw the cop go by, you would continue to go slow even after you saw the cop go by??? If you do then great, most people I know would not. The V1 will tell you if there are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 bogeys and tell you their directions.

I gave Escort plenty of props...resposted here below. Regarding hard wiring...it is a great option for some. For me, I simply think plugging in the V1 is easier than splicing into stuff.

Pros for the Escort:
1. IMO it detects faster than than my V1
2. The Automuting feature is AWESOME!!! Beeps loud, then automatically turns down - a very nice feature.
3. Falses less than the V1
4. Smart cord with Mute button in arms reach is great to have.
5. The Blue color is cool with the TL dash.

Pros for the Valentine:
1. The other V1 owners here are right - once you get used to the Arrows and Bogey counter, I don't see how you could go back to not having them. They make THAT MUCH of a difference.
2. Upgradable
3. Customer Service at Valentine is A1.
4. Use a regular phone cord wire for power so you can hide all the wires without hard wiring. Very nice not having to see that darn springy cord.

 

The 8500 uses a phone cord as well. You need to get the "hardwire" kit in order to lose the spiral cord though.

 

Man, these threads always turn into a V1 vs Escort pissing match. Use what you like, neither is "better", there is just "better for you". I used a V1 for 2 years, I loved in in California but when I moved to Toronto I found I was getting *way* too many falses, like... every 10 seconds, super annoying. I tried an Escort and like it, I miss the arrows but it's very reliable and detects faster than the V1 for me. I hardwired it, so no wire worries. I didn't have to splice, I just ran the wire to the fuse box, got a fuse tap, and was all done.

 

now if k40 could do something like this i would be upgrading my radar reallll soonnn

 

Well "WHEN" i use it in the city i typically use the signal strength to help determine where the signal is coming from. I spend 50-70k a year driving and i used the V1 for a good year and a half before going back to the 8500. I spend enough time on the road to figure out where and when to slow down, and i use the expert meter so i also know if there are more than 1 signal. To me the arrows may be nice to the person who isnt behind the wheel 8+ hrs a day on average, but i can live with out.

I like the clean look with no wires draped across my dash. there is No need to splice into any thing for the hard wire kit. You can get a add a fuse, and (in my TL) there are open spots on the back side of the fuse panel to simply use a .25 spade connector and directly plug it in.

Both are good units, i just prefer the escort from my own personal experience


Must be a 3rd gen thing? I never get laser falses in my 2nd gen.

 

I actually did know this...but once again I wasn't looking to tap into anything. It also appeared that you were introducing two wires instead of one using that system. However, I will say that I would have pursued this route with the X50 (over the springy wire) were it not LASER falsing ALL THE FREAKING TIME in my 3rd gen TL.

 

We do agree on this both are great units. As I listed earlier Escort has VERY many cool features - the self muting is the BOMB and the color/style is cool too. I wouldn't have ever considered leaving the Escort to try out the V1 (not having experienced the V1 before) were it not for the LASER falsing in the 3rd Gen TL. But being a sales rep that lives in his car, I can't imagine life without the arrows.

I'm conceding easily that they are both quality - terrific detectors, but going without arrows AFTER having them is like giving up my Microwave for a conventional oven or dropping my bluetooth cell phone for a 1995 bag phone. It makes that much of a difference to me. If the Escort wouldn't false in my 3rd gen AND if it had arrows and bogey counter then I would buy the Escort OVER the V1.

The sensitivity is better in the Escort, the regular false alerts are less frequent with the Escort...in city driving, the style is better, the cost is lower, and the auotmute and smart cord rocks!

Regarding the which is better argument - I never claimed one was better than the other. But if you experience nothing but laser falses from one brand then your choice of two just became one. And for those wondering why a Laser false is worse than regular X and K band falsing, it is because when Laser is detected the unit SCREAMS instantly sometimes scaring the living crap out of you. AND it would also happen out in the middle of BFE when you would least expect it. At least when you get X and K falses it is in a town near a bank or store at lower speeds where you expect it to happen. That is a big difference.