I agree with shiftright (also being a passport owner). If it goes off, im slowing down. I don't think the arrows are worth $150.

And both units have great range. True, the V1 has a little more range but both are good for like 2 miles and a bogey has to be within a half mile i think (line of sight) to get an accurate reading.

I guess it pretty much depends on how much you like arrows...

 

if you get one make sure you get a 360' system with a Laser Diffuser. I love passing a State Trooper at 85 in a 55 when they cant get a Laser lock on me! haha i have a Escort or a Passport "hidden system" in my Z car with a diffuser and havent pulled over yet!

 

whats the difference between the older 8500's (2001?) and the newer ones (2003)....arent they the same?

 

man you have to get a v1, they are expensive but you are paying for a quality product. i had a triple digit ticket before the v1 and i could have bought two of them for the ticket of the price. best thing i ever bought for the car, hands down.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by shiftright
After some looking into this I opted for the Passport 8500.

I picked one up for a total of $250 shipped to me; new in box, 2004 model.

The price alone saves you $150 which is like one traffic ticket.

The main advantage of the V1 is the directional arrows but I feel that if the detector goes off, any sensible person would become cautious until the threat disappears.

 

The reason there are so mamny "falses" has to do with the frequencies used for X-Band. They are shared with intrusion devices, door opening mechanisms, etc. So in an urban or suburban situation, the high sensitivity of the V1 will cause a false. The Logic modes attempt to use logic and strength signal algorithms to reduce the aliasing, but at the expense of sensitivity. The V1 will display all the bogies, and the strongest one. Usually, on your everyday drive to work or whatever, you can pinpoint when the alias signals will trip the V1, and the number of strength. One of the beauties of the V1 is that it will notify you of the number of bogies, and then display the strongest one's proximity by the intenbsity of the signal. So, if you drive by a strip mall, and alkways get two aliases, the V1 can save your tail if a officer is using that as a shield to nail you. If you 3 bogies, and higher strength, slow down - it is likely that the 3rd is a true adversary.

The V1 is also completely undetectable by the VG-2 detector detector. All quality detectors use superheterodyne (superhet to EE's) technology, which acts essentially as a tiny transmitter at the frequencies being scanned. VG-2 tries to pick up the weak signals - with proper layout and shielding (as in the V1), the metal case acts as a Faraday shield and prevents detection.

 

I have the V1. I also have the hidden display which comes in handy. If you look on the Roadfly E46 M3 site, there's more info on radar detectors. Most of the guys say the V1 is the best and some have fitted it very nicely into the dash, etc. with the hidden display.

 

Where can I get the V1???

 

valentineone.com

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Road Rage One of the beauties of the V1 is that it will notify you of the number of bogies, and then display the strongest one's proximity by the intenbsity of the signal.