My first Valentine one complaint in a long time.

[alpinestars_2002795]

Not always not against IO 35.5ghz radar on a v1 and not when the Leo is being discriminatory and only shooting YOU. Then your rabbit means Nothing. A rabbit alone is not totally a failsafe, although it can help, and is nice. A rabbit alone is not the answer.



AlPiNe~

[Spinner55]

Hello,

But they do help...like all things, nothing is 'fool' proof, detectors help, rabbits and Lidar and radar jammers but nothing is 100% .. that goes for doing the PSL...they could get a bad reading and still ticket you.

Take care,

Spin

[holla]

Spinner--6 years wow!

You really need to get that puppy in and tuned up whether you think it needs it or not

what software version do you have? Im sure you have the older 1.7 V1.
You still have the little laser dot on the right bottom of your case

If you send it in for a tune up it will be minimal $$ But if you go for an upgrade too its gnna cost a little more.

Plug in your serial number into V-1 upgrade page and it will tell you exactly

[RadarNutt]

I think there are a few issues here. The first one is how pertinent is side / angled Ka detection - period?

We all know that radar must be aimed within a certain angle of the target vehicle in order to avoid substantial cosine effect. The Golden Eagle has an alert for "Harmonic Distortion", which is what Kustom calls it when the return signal is obviously out of whack (to the radar's computer). I know because I have used the GE with both K-band and Ka antennas (mostly Ka).

Regardless of the Ka frequency, an off-axis shot is very difficult for a RD to pick up period. Yes, I also own a V1 and yes I have been disappointed at times on the detection range of off-axis shots. HOWEVER, it's also true that in each of these situations I was never threatened by that particular radar beam.

So, an important question is... does off-axis detection matter??? Would I like to know there is a LEO nearby shooting radar? Yes, of course. But does it really matter if that radar is not targeted in my direction?

First, to clarify my point... are we talking about "across the road" radar placement or "off-axis" radar? There is a substantial difference in terms of importance. I'll clarify my definition of the above.

By "across the road" I mean when a LEO has positioned their radar gun so that it sweeps across the road at a relatively wide angle. The LEO knows that due to the cosine effect the vehicle speed reported will be lower than actual speed, but this does afford a decrease in range for RD's. The reason for the decreased RD detection range is that the radar beam is not aimed head-on at oncoming traffic. A good, high end RD will pick up scatter PROVIDED that there is something reflective in the path of the radar beam which creates scatter. This could be other vehicles ahead of you, a concrete wall, a building, etc.

The disadvantage of an "across the road" speedtrap is that the officer has very little time to take a speed reading and make a judgement call. Which vehicle is speeding? Or which vehicle is going the speed being reported by the radar unit? That can often be very difficult when the officer only has 2-3 seconds to make that call (or maybe less... I've seen some bonehead speedtraps).

Now, by "off-axis" what I meant above is let's say that you are approaching an intersection, and there is Ka radar being used on a street perpendicular to the one you're travelling on. As you approach the intersection, you get a quick blip, then nothing, and then suddenly a high strength alert as you are crossing the intersection or perhaps on the other side. This is not the V1's fault. It's because the width of that radar beam is so narrow. And again, if there's nothing (or not much) in terms of objects to create scatter, then that's why the alerts appear that way.

There are only two ways to detect ANY radar or laser/LIDAR burst. 1) if it's pointed at your detector/jammer; or 2) scatter.

In terms of being pointed directly toward you, both radar and laser beams are wider the further away they are from you. Thus, they are easier to detect up to a point. Then beyond a certain point (which varies for each device), the beam spread becomes substantially larger yet weaker at the same time. That's where a good detector pays off in terms of sensitivity. A good detector will sense these very weak signals when you are well out of the effective range of the device. The other significant factor is how well your RD detects scatter.

Same thing with laser / LIDAR. A good laser jammer needs three essential components in order to be effective (sorry not trying to get off topic here, but thought I would throw this in). 1) Good detection of incoming threats; 2) good screening / software programming (e.g. not going off due to sunlight, oncoming car with laser cruise control, etc.); 3) strong return fire (i.e. laser diode).

Back to the V1.... The V1 has outstanding laser detection. I would say it's one of the best if not the best in terms of RD laser detection. However, that is not worth diddly because you're most likely to get an alert after you've been had versus any warning from scatter. Furthermore, every Infiniti or Lexus coming toward my car with laser cruise control triggers mine into alert, not to mention the infamous Chevy Trailblazer 3rd brake light. As a result, I have since turned off my V1's laser detection and now rely on my LPP, which is of course much more useful in that regard anyway.

Another problem with using an RD for laser detection is that the optimal placement of the RD is up high and the optimal placement for laser detection is down low. Given the distance between the average vehicle's front license plate and the top of the windshield, it's a wonder that any RD would alert to any laser encounter.

The V1 has always been first and foremost about maintaining "situational awareness," and I still believe that the V1 is by far the best tool for that. If it is not reporting a bogey to you, and that bogey is truly not a threat, then how is that a problem? IMHO, the V1 is doing it's job. It is not bothering you with something that is not important.

Anyhoo, that's my (long winded) $0.02, based on much experience using all of the above equipment (from both sides of the radar/laser gun).

RN

[alpinestars_2002795]

After encountering 35.5ghz here with a v1 i strongly disagree and sadly couldn't disagree more. The v1 definetly is not the best tool for that specific frequency. There is a problem. If you would like to visit sometime i'd be MORE than happy to prove it and show the problem to you.


Now yes you may have fiddled with GE 1's but probably not second generation GE's which have an even tighter beam and alot better firmware.

The other info you have posted from reading your post seems to be genunine and correct. Although the 35.5ghz info is incorrect, and he/she could get a reading more than quick enough to nail you. Also, This is extrememly deadly and becomeing ALOT more frequently done, so yes it is becoming an issue.

I have contacted Valentine Research about their problem with 35.5ghz ehf band radar repeatedly, they informed me they are working on it as we speak. We'll see about that?

Just as with the 33.8 bug everybody doesn't want to possibly admit there is a problem. We'll if you ever check out my signature on detector net i have some stats for you. All the Failures you see from the V1 on there have been from 35.5ghz radar confirmed after the inital hit with a belscort, these failures occured in an across the road type situation. I did not have time to even slow down. There where things to reflect off of as well, you name it buildings, trees cars. Yet no overage, even with 20 rabits infront of me. Now thats some deadly stuff, if you think your just fine, keep thinking so. You'll find out the hard way when you receive the cition. I just don't want to see that happen. Unfortunatly, i feel that i am going to be seeing alot of I told you so's. By the way the 9500i didn't pick up 35.5ghz off steep across the road radar untill i was right even with the gun. It's not just the V1.




AlPiNe~

[RadarNutt]

Alpine,

Well said. I'm listening. What you're saying makes sense.

I've seen a lot of complaining on other boards regarding what's often normal behavior of various detectors. Many people expect them to work miracles and with today's modern radar units and more frequent use of instant-on, it's just much tougher for detectors these days. At first I thought this discussion was in that direction.

What makes you certain that the problem is not just with your unit? It sounds like Valentine Research has discussed it with you to some extent, or is at least not just blowing you off. But I am curious about other experiences. You have me thinking that I should acquire an STi and try mounting them in the same car at the same time, and then find some good tests. Has anyone else tried this to compare?

I have the current software gen V1. I used to own a 1.7 version, but lost it. I have noticed that at times the older V1 seemed to alert better to Ka, but now that I've been using the 1.8 for a few months I'm not so sure.

The radar used in the areas where I drive frequently is 35.5 mainly, and occassionally Decatur (I'm not sure which band theres use).

I searched on rd.net, but didn't find your info there. The rd.net search does not seem to work on a combination of author + a text search term. Annoying. And (to your credit) you have many posts there. I did not want to spend all day searching for it.

RN

[Phillip559]

This issue has already been beaten to death (on the other site). Its not all 35.5 ka guns but its a specific gun ( I believe the Kustom Golden Eagle but I may be wrong). The GOL even tested this a long time ago (as I'm sure you remember).

It is also particular to off axis and doesn't tend to happen for straight line shots ( I believe the tests showed this also).

[RadarReviews_Net]

radar detectors are useless against Instant on radar unless you have some bait in front of you...I never speed when I dont have bait in front of me

[RadarNutt]

Originally Posted by Phillip559

This issue has already been beaten to death (on the other site). Its not all 35.5 ka guns but its a specific gun ( I believe the Kustom Golden Eagle but I may be wrong). The GOL even tested this a long time ago (as I'm sure you remember).

It is also particular to off axis and doesn't tend to happen for straight line shots ( I believe the tests showed this also).

Well, I think it is still worth discussing here. I for one avoid the "other site" now as I prefer the tone of this one.

I'm still puzzled by this issue and why the Bel STi supposedly alerts better to these type of situations (35.5 Ka, off-axis), versus the V1. I would argue the two are the best detectors on the market.

Personally, I use a V1 - basically I put up with the increased "sensitivity" (i.e. falsing) because I don't know how I'd do without the bogey counter, arrows, and having a rear antenna.

Anyway, so I have not seen the insides of one, but my understanding is the STi has 2 antennas in front versus 1 front/1 rear as in the V1. What puzzles me is... why is the STi able to pick up these Ka shots better?

Is it a hardware issue or software? If it's hardware, does it have something to do with the horn designs or STi's dual antennae? If it's software, shouldn't this have been rectified by now (unless it's not a problem with all V1's)?

I would think it's most likely a hardware problem as it's been discussed for long enough that you'd think if it was a software issue that we would have had a fix by now if it's truly a problem (which by all accounts it appears to be under some circumstances).

Another thought... could it have anything to do with the improved internal shielding in the STi versus the previous-gen shielding still found in the V1 (I'm talking about the shielding to prevent RDD detection).

I'm sure there must be some folks on this board with experience in this venue who would have some more educated thoughts/comments... please chime in if you do.

Thanks.

The key word of the radar/laser detector is "detector". As you know it will only detect when the leo turns on the radar and lidar gun. No one can predict when the leo will turn on the gun when it comes to IO.