The arrows make a big difference? Please man...once you know what to listen for you slow the hell down no matter what. If the blip doesn't go away it's because you're being tailed. I don't by the arrows for a second. I had an X50 for a long time and never once was confused as to where the threat might be.

 

you're driving along and you hear two beeps, then silence. is it:
a) a cop ahead of you with instant on, who just clocked a car
3/4 mile ahead of you
b) a walmart you're passing
c) a cop 1/2 mile behind you, whose radar bounced off the overpass
you were approaching.
with a V1, you can tell the difference.

 

Can you? First, I know the tones to the 8500 and now my X50 so well that in the past 3 years of having an FD RX-7 and the S2000 that I've never once confused a false alarm for the real thing...granted, that's just me and I think I'm very detail oriented.
Secondly, you're telling me that when the V1 sounds a false alarm a little arrow doesn't light up? That's incorrect...it does. Every detector has their own 'personality' of sorts...you learn what might be an instant on situation or if you're being tailed or what is likely a false alarm (although rare these days)...
If Radar Test.com hasn't been able to conclude which is the superior machine we won't be able to here. Both are capable and freakin' excellent at what they do. The V1 absolutely scares the crap out of you in a laser situation which I love (and it's louder) but I wouldn't argue one way or the other in terms of performance. If you like the arrows...by the V1...personally, I think it's a gimmick.

 

probably depends on where you drive. in Vermont, for instance, it's all
moving, instant-on radar. you don't get the luxury of steadily increasing
beeps (or of real radar always being Ka) - a single beep is enough to worry
me, if it's in front of me, even if it's X-band.
as for radartest.com, the founder is a consultant to Escort and others,
but not to Valentine. Doesn't mean he's biased, but it also doesn't make
him a totally disinterested observer. he tends to ding V1 because he
doesn't find the arrows useful, and he doesn't like its feature set, like lack
of "auto-mute." no way would I trade auto-mute for the arrows personally.
I've said it before, I'm sure there's someone who has owned a V1 and
prefers something else, but I've never met one.

 

Blue passport has the best range and radar detecting abilities...They need to make the v1 with blue display, that would help it out.

Heard good things about the beltronics 995, too.

 

13200 ticket free miles around the county on my bike in the spring. Passport 8500 works for me

 

If you are going to piss on a subject you clearly know nothing about, do it somewhere else. Dont insult other people's posts.

On top of that, the arrows make a big deal.

Want an example?

My friend has an 8500, not the X50, but for this example, they do the same thing.

We were on a mountain road, pitch black darkness everywhere that our headlights dont touch. I am in the right lane, ahead of my friend, who is about 3-5 cars behind me. After a while, we come to a nice LONG stretch of road, plenty to top the car out. Then, my V1 reads a steadily increasing Ka signal. My friend clicks me on the nextel (to tell me his radar picked up KA), and both our radars went off. After a while, the Ka band was at full force, and the V1 arrow indicated the cop is now on my side, not in front (means I passed him)....after it, the arrows goes to rear. The Ka still full force. 5 miles later, my friend clicks me and tells me its a really bad false alarm, because all he sees are the beeping lights, and has no clue where the cop actually is. Since my V1 is pointing to the rear, i know the cop is still behind me. 20 miles later, after a full Ka band reading, I see the cop flip on his lights and turn off to the nearest viewpoint on the side of the highway. My friend and I were the only two cars on the road, and we didnt see any cops. Later on, we both pulled over to chat about the incident. He even stated that he would have thought something was wrong with the radar 5 minutes later, and would have started to speed. The fact that I knew the cop was behind me made a big difference. My friend now has a V1.

So, you are happy with the 8500? Good for you. But dont say the arrows make no difference. Its enough to bail you out of a ticket.

 

I had the Bel RX65 and 8500 X50...I just recentley switched to the V1 and I will never go back..If anyone wants to check out a good forum for RD's, check this out: Radar Forums