Guess I was wrong! That's good! I was basing it simply upon a pictures that I saw of the new models and just looked plasticky and didn't look like the magnesium case that mines made out of.

 

I'm glad too - I'd hate to hear that (yet another) good product was cheapened.

 

IMHO, quality of build is beyond reproach. Nothing like it on the market. Almost like mil spec quality electronics.

 

Absolutely. I've owned Mike Valentine products (Escort, Passport and now V1) ever since he started Cincinnati Microwave in the early 1980's, then left it and started Valentine Research. Everything he builds is like Military Spec.

 

About a year I expect. When the V1 goes in for a firmware upgrade I'm pretty sure a new unit is just taken off the shelf and sent out. I'm in Cleveland and it's one-day USPS to Cincinnati and another day back. I've sent out on Monday and received the updated unit that same week.

The power cord for the V1 is simply telephone cord (phone to wall) and the same plugs. Getting rid of the coiled cord eliminates a lot of clutter in my cars. Cord can be cut to length and plugs crimped on.

-- Chuck

 

I like my 9500xi. As other mentioned, Ka has great range and is always a real hit (with the exception of one speed sign I've found that blasts Ka for some reason). K band is silenced a lot by the GPS. I block multiple false signals every drive because of that.

K band will still "false" a lot, but it's because many modern cars (especially Hondas and Acuras) are using K-band for their blind-spot detection. So any time you're on the freeway in traffic, K band will go off every few minutes when a new Acura rolls by. Nothing any radar detector can do to prevent that, though.

 

Not to seem like a Valentine shill but the blind spot detectors are filtered out by the latest V1 firmware. There's also a "Junk" filter as well that I think discards signals like these too.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol uses X-band and loves when folks with 3d tier detectors disable it!



-- Chuck

 

The cord thing is one thing I wish they'd improve. I've been through about 6-8 cords, both coiled and straight. The wires always start pulling out at the plug. You can use a regular phone cord, but it's gotta be a good quality one without much resistance. I've bought some cheap ones that reduced the voltage enough where the unit didn't work properly.

 

Anyone have one of these? Seems like it is a v1 competitor since it has arrows!

https://www.escortradar.com/max360/

 

To be honest, I haven't ever had Valentine Research update my firmware, and I rarely ever get a false alert on the freeway. I live in SoCal and drive about 30,000miles a year. I do get false K band alerts in the city, but it's not common, and I can almost always ID them as a door opener or something.

Interestingly, I do get false Laser alerts though from brake lights, and an occasional neon advertising sign. The sign thing happens only when I'm parked directly in front of a store with my detector pointed right at it.

The very first vehicle made with a brake light the would false on the laser was the GMC Envoy SUV. It was the first vehicle on the road with a fluorescent center brake light that was almost the exact frequency of the police laser radar. I wonder if a person every tried to use that as defense in court. LOL.


Luckily, here in SoCal, X band hasn't been used for anything related to police in many years. What you are saying though is something police will do occasionally with K band though. They'll hide where a regular K band course is, such as a supermarket, and try to nail people with radar detectors who get to complacent with hearing the same alert go off and the same place day after day.


This is why I'm not real comfortable with blocking out K or Ka band alerts based on GPS. If the cop tries to hide there, he'll pop you.


This is one reason why the V1 is better than other detectors. I'll hear the alert everyday...But....with the V1, I'll be able to tell how many sources are in the area.