I was thinking of getting a V1 Radar Detector and mounting it in a custom fabricated enclosure where the passenger sun visor is to deter theft (it will be hidden and only the antennas will be exposed, flush against the front and back faces of the enclosure). The goal is to get the enclosure to look like it is a part of the windshield frame at a quick glance.

The way it looks now, my V1 will not be mounted level, but at about a 15 degree angle sort of aimed down towards the street ahead of the car. Does anyone have any idea whether this kind of install (the enclosure, mounting location and mounting angle) will affect the unit's performance?

Thanks,
Chris

 

For radar detection, the angle won't matter that much. For detecting laser, it will.

I don't know what the effective angle for detection is on the V1, but to get proper detection, it should be mounted as level as possible as laser is line-of-sight only. Aiming it down 15 degrees will decrease its laser detection range.

This means that if you want rear laser detection with the top up, the only place to put the detector is right below the rearview mirror. If you don't care about rear laser detection, then anywhere is fine but mounting it on the dash in the center of the car will give the best laser detection.

EDIT:
See here:

http://www.valentine1.com/laserhowto/

 

Not to HiJack a thread here, but I'd be interested in hearing how people's experiences fair with Laser detectors mounted high like this... Especially if you were targeted whilst being ALONE (out front, as it were)

In response to rworne, I TOTALLY agree with Empedocles99 on this. If you were 2 or 3 degrees either way.. I could see it, but it's bad enough they are going to be targeting your PLATE which is really far away from your windshield top frame. And your mounted feet away.

I'm thinking that it's a HIT & MISS deal if your out front anyway. I mean the speed of light is something like 186,000 miles per second (give or take). If your hit all alone, it's all over but the screaming anyway.

 

Lasers may "pinpoint" but police lasers do not put a pencil-sized beam on an object hundreds of yards away. It's more like 3-5 feet across at those distances, and combined with hand shake, give a pretty good shot at detection. Police lasers are sighted with scopes and crosshairs.

Detectors also pick up "scatter". That is a beam passing through the windshield of the car in front of you, bouncing off the hood of your car, a wet road, the side of the car next to you.

Mine's never been hit with laser, but plenty of times with K and Ka. Even so, my V1's laser detector has notified me consistently of any approaching Infiniti SUV's, since their laser-based cruise control likes to put my V1 in spaz mode.

 

Does this imply that yours is mounted high up?

 

Yes, it is. Nothing fancy, but it's hard-wired:



You can barely make it out in the mirror, but that's a cop 2 or 3 cars back lighting up our convoy.

 

rick hesel did this modification and made a custom enclosure to replace the driver side visor. you may want to pm him for questions.