Help choosing Radar Detector 2017 - V1 vs 9500ix

[centralcoaster33]

There are a lot of radar detectors out there and a lot of reviews and comparisons for them come out every year. I'm looking to purchase a new one here shortly to replace my 15 year old and cheap Escort unit. I do happen to like the old one and it's saved my tail a few times over. But, it's worn off all the labels, gotten quieter in beeping over the years, faded and never really had the great range of higher end detectors. So, I'm looking for a replacement that is also an upgrade. I've been through many of the latest reviews.

I've narrowed down my options to two choices. I'm interested in either the Valentine 1 or the Escort Passport 9500ix. I'd like to hear and learn from your experience with either of these. If there's another model you really like, well, I've already pretty much narrowed the list down and probably read reviews on it, but feel free to share your experience and opinion and I'll take a second (or third, or fourth) look. I'm pretty on the fence at the moment and just need some help either way.

I live in CA. I do have a Garmin GPS that is regularly in use. I do have a smart phone, but I don't use it while driving much at all yet. Both seem to have Apps and I'll probably end up utilizing some of those features. I'm not a big fan of subscription based services.

That's about it. Please let me know your thoughts and experiences. Thank you!

[szh]

While I don't have personal experience with the Passport (used an earlier version - their battery operated one, that was so-so), I like my Valentine 1 because of the forward and backward facing detectors and counters. Has been quite useful to me.

I suspect the 9500 is probably as good a detector as the Valentine 1 in most conditions.

One other thing I like about my Valentine 1 is the "remote" display. At night, the information is down near my cigarette lighter and does not tell the world outside that I am using a radar detector from the lights up high (on the windshield mount).

Z

[elwesso]

A good friend of mine recently bought a V1 and he had an interesting thought after a long road trip. He used the Waze app on his phone and the V1 during the drive, and according to him the waze app did a better job at actually determining where the cops are.. He noticed that unless someone seemed like they were going excessively fast, they wouldn't even clock people... no radar detector can do anything with the "instant-on" shenanigans.

[centralcoaster33]

I'm not sure how useful Waze will be for me during the Friday night drives I take, but I'm thinking about giving it a chance. I choose low traffic hours and suppose there would be less users on the road to report their findings. That's in addition to choosing road with less drivers on them already.

I wish there was a detector for vehicles that emit a ton of communication frequencies. Then I'd be able to spot police, tech savy car owners and truckers with lot's of equipment. Cop cars are emitting their lidar and radar, blue-tooth, wi-fi, CB radio and more. I think. I also think modern cars are having more and more of that on them as well, so detecting that may not be that useful.
That's just speculation of course. I'm just looking to detect radar and lidar for now.

[centralcoaster33]

Not too many people using radar detectors or perhaps even less using these two specific detectors?

[centralcoaster33]

Well, based upon the reviews I could find, I've decided to get the V1. It should be here shortly. I think I'll try to create a mount to the dash for more stability than I seem to get from a suction cup on the windshield install. I didn't get the bluetooth bit because it's not compatible with my phone, so I'm a bit bummed I won't be using the 'app', but I'll be okay. Less to play with means more time to focus on driving!

[szh]

Less to play with means more time to focus on driving!

Safest!

Z

[centralcoaster33]

Got it in the mail today, just in time for a Friday night drive!

[dasoupdude]

i came close to getting the 9500ci jammer. In SoFla some of the radars are clocked by eye in the sky (I guess the state can afford that) so you can get nabbed before your chime even goes off.



In the end i ended up just using the waze app which helped out alot.

[BusyBadger]

A V1 with V1 connect, the YaV1 app and, if your car supports it, an Invisicord to tap into your rearview mirror power supply will go a long way to making you aware. There's a reason that decades after its initial release the V1 is still in the top tier of window/dash mounted detectors.

Just remember, and I tell everyone this, it's not a magic carpet taking you to the no ticket zone.

What are you mounting it in?

EDIT:

So, I didn't read through the whole thread!

Anyway, you'll get better radar reception if you mount high (but with a clear shot out the back glass for the V1's rear facing antenna), and it'll keep your V1 from overheating (as well as keeping leeches from riding with you once they spot it). Just make sure that, no matter the placement, that you keep the detector parallel to the ground/direction of travel. Too many times, I've seen a car on a parking lot with decent detector that looks like it's aimed at the International Space Station or at lane marker lines.

[float_6969]

Update?

[aeleven]

V1 ! You need to know if they are behind you or in front!

[centralcoaster33]

Well, I got to run with it during my Friday night drive. I left the old one up there and put the V1 above it. Turns out my old one is a Cobra (sorry, it's been many years). I drove like that for a few hours. Most times, the V1 would alert me before the Cobra. Sometimes, just the V1, other times, just the Cobra. After about 3 hours, I unplugged and removed the old one. I wondered if interference was causing it to not alert when the Cobra was alerting.

I am getting used to the display and alerts. Honestly, it was a lot just to 'read' the thing and was a slight distraction. That's part of why I didn't bother with speeding around. Catching signal strength or bogey count was a little tough. Determining the type of radar is super difficult for now. Four boxes to light up for the four bands and I can't tell which lit up. The Cobra clearly lights up X, K, Ka, and L. I miss that clarity. Even as I've gotten more used to it, I still have issues. I try to line up the lit square with the point of the upper arrow, but if the alert is side or behind, it's tough to see the upper arrow point in the dark. Maybe seeing it in daylight will help with the eyeball training.

Out of the Box, the V1 says it has enabled a smart highway mode of some sort and that reduces false alerts. I didn't do much speeding, just regular driving, then taking on the backroads where speed matters less and there aren't really any 'speed traps' or patrol areas. The next day I learned how to turn off this feature. I wanted full alert and I got it! This time around, I'm catching all kinds of radar from all the adaptive driving cars around me. I got to learn the mute button a bit. I like how it still chirps once for a new one, then settles down with the noise while following all the ones around me. I might enable that feature again once I'm confident it's just a bunch of noise from proximity sensor things.

I'm going to be tapping into a power wire, grounding to chassis and stashing the wire. I have a phone that does not have a compatible blue tooth transceiver. I'm bummed about that. No App for me for now I guess. I hope they develop a different link device.

Does anyone use a V1 in their S14? I'm wondering how high I can go with it. Could it fit above the rear view mirror or should it be just below? I eyeballed level, but I might stick a bubble on there and see how flat I can get it.

So, I like the arrows and I like the sensitivity. More driving and more testing shall be done!

[szh]

Particularly when you have it mounted up high, the lights can be a signal to people behind you ... at night more so. For this reason, I got the remote display option for my V1.

This was a bit expensive, but kept all the brightness away from where it could be seen from behind. Some "officious officials" can claim it is violating "windshield blocking laws" and give you a ticket for that even if the detector itself is legal in that state.

Z

[szh]

Also, running two (or more) detectors close together can give you false information, and even lead to misreadings, because of rf leakage in the antennas and sensors and electronics.

I am not sure if you encountered that, but it may be a possibility.

Z

[BusyBadger]

I wanted to put my V1 just above the rvm, but it wouldn't fit & be level so I had to settle for this.

Still, not bad and it's hard to see from the front because of placement & reflected exterior light from the glass angle and from the rear because of tint and viewing angle. And for someone standing at the side window it's impossible to see without ducking down for a peek inside.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I've got the V1 in my Vette. Overall I like it, but it does do some funky things. Every now and then it will beep randomly and uncontrollably for about a second, and nothing will appear on the screen (or jibberish appears). I want to get a picture or video of it, but by the time I can do so, its done doing its thing. It also happens very rarely (like maybe once per month).
The other disappointment is that its supposed to have the junk filter, yet I still get junk signals no matter what mode I'm in. I work with a guy with a Chevy SS and a guy with a Buick Verano, and if we convoy to lunch, their vehicles emit 2 bogeys to my V1 if I'm within ~30 feet of them (such as at a light, or next to them on the highway).

[BusyBadger]

Smurf, your best bet to quiet down the V1 is to use the V1 Connection and an app like YaV1 to segment the radar bands.

Setting up custom sweeps will not only keep you from having deal with clutter from signals in wavelengths that aren't from a radar gun, but additionally because the V1 isn't sweeping those bands it will scan pertinent bands more frequently, increasing your alert time.

[centralcoaster33]

Mines just below the mirror for now, but I'm considering moving it up and over a bit. Still haven't tapped power. Probably a project for this weekend if I have time between chores and other home projects. I'm still running full alerts. I'd like to turn off the always on letter "A".

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Smurf, your best bet to quiet down the V1 is to use the V1 Connection and an app like YaV1 to segment the radar bands.

I guess the point is that its advertised as having all of that s*** already (and activated out of the box). I shouldn't have to download an app and have 2 friends turns a key like I'm launching a nuke in order to take advantage of something that should have come that way already.

If its going to be an option, it should be easy to switch between them, like holding the button down to switch between modes (which, btw, I haven't noticed any difference whatsoever between the 3 that come with it).

[centralcoaster33]

I might have to turn on the smart traffic filter again. There's a lot of X and K around the roads that I just don't seem to care about. I wonder if that's the setting PapaSmurk2k3 is thinking of. I don't seem to notice any "J" for junk, but I could be missing those.

I did get the wires into the ceiling liner and the detector sits nice just to the left of the rear view mirror. I'm getting used to the signals, though I wish the beeps for Ka were more discernible. L seems pretty unique. I still haven't found the source of the couple of Lasers detected though. I don't know if they were officers or not.

[BusyBadger]

Since laser can only be used from a stationary position it's usually easy to spot the operator. In all but a handful of encounters I've had its been a false, most likely sunlight reflecting at just the right (or would that be wrong?) angle off something like your hood or from a certain LED headlights.

In any case, don't rely on the laser detection as anything other than a ticket notifier. The only true laser defense is jamming, and it's illegal in a handful of states.



From Guys of LIDAR Laser Jammer Laws page.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

^yup.
I wish I could disable laser on my older escort detector. They are always false warnings, and it's the loudest alert on the whole damn thing.