Valentine One Radar Detector
by Valentine
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Our Price: $499.95 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $350.00 (click here) Category: Car Audio or Theater See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Valentine One Radar Detector
Customer Review: Measure Twice, Cut Once
Summary: 5 Stars
I have owned a Valentine One for many, many years now and it still works just fine. The case is not plastic, it is a quality metal build. Just the other night it picked up some police radar from an impossibly-long distance away (or so it seemed to me) - slowly building the signal over a couple minutes and several miles of highway, albeit in very flat terrain. I estimated the initial alert to be about 3 miles from the source, which is plenty of time (for me). The unit is a little bit larger than some models, and heavier. The windshield mount has two suction cups for redundancy, and it works fine, once you get the hang of inserting the unit and removing it with some minor articulation between the unit and the mount. I have checked once or twice with the Valentine web site to see if they recommended a software update and both times they pretty much recommended keeping the unit as it. There have been updates, but none that they felt justified the whole shipping it back and forth process. The V1 also utilizes basic telephone cords for the power - and I am currently using one after the little plastic tab broke off on the original phone-like cord.
One minor quibble is that the red lenses on the hidden display optional accessory have come loose over the years. I have used that accessory alot and can't complain.
I have owned a Bel and an Escort before this unit. Neither worked as well. It's expensive, but it is cheaper than buying new units every few years, and certainly worth the price of avoiding one or two tickets!
Customer Review: Obsolete, Undependable Company
Summary: 1 Stars
First of all, people claim that they have purchased faulty units and the company doesn't want to know them. That alone was enough to keep me from purchasing. Secondly, the unit is obsolete because it doesn't offer GPS. Camera red light and speed enforcement is taking over because municipalities don't have to purchase them. The companies trade free equipment and installation for a percentage of the ticket proceeds which is estimated to be in the billions per year. There are no court expenses for the municipality because there is a video of the violation. If this detector doesn't offer a warning for these cameras it is useless. Thirdly, it is so ridiculously expensive to purchase and maintain. $85 per year plus shipping both ways for upgrades. For under two hundred dollars you can purchase the new for 2010 Cobra XRS 9550G that covers every possible alert with 360 degree read and includes GPS with a lifetime subscription to Aura database included. It is updated every 12 hours and is a quick and free download so the unit will never be obsolete. Maybe Valentine used to be the best but now it is extremely outdated and overpriced. Welcome to 2010. I had a chat on the Beltronics website where I asked for a tech to answer questions, all I got was a salesperson throwing pitches and not answering questions. Websites claiming that these overpriced units are the best must be receiving a nice kickback! Beware and listen to dissatisfied customers before you become one.Customer Review: Cheaper and more reliable than bribing a judge
Summary: 4 Stars
Pro: Phenomenal range. Direction arrows. Bogey counter. Actual laser detection, not just a laser-already-got-you signal. These all turn out to be way more useful than you think once you start using it.
Cons: Some LED brake lights now set off false Laser alarms. The markings on the unit are all silkscreened on and can't be read at night. The only way to tell X, K, and Ka from one another at night is by memorizing the different alert sounds. Some folks customize theirs with different color LEDs for each alert. The small volume and mute knobs aren't as good as other detector's solutions.
Not a Pro or a Con: No real false-alarm filtering. It reports everything it sees and lets you decide. It just adjusts how it reports the least-likely signals so they don't bug you as much, and the level and loudness of the alerts is adjustable. Wannabe fighter pilots probably think this is cool. For the rest of us it gets annoying after a while. Where I live, I can just ignore everything except Ka and Laser.
In short, this is really the only unit on the market worth the money. It delivers what you're paying for in spades, and you can live with its ergonomics in return.
As a side note, the reason you'd buy it here at twice the factory price is if you live in a country where the factory doesn't sell/ship. There are a lot of those, apparently. Otherwise, get it factory direct.
Customer Review: Forget the rest.. this is all you'll ever need
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had the Valentine 1 with 1.8 software for about 5 years now and I don't drive anywhere without it. I've used this detector to drive cross country and for daily commute. It would probably have paid for itself about 5 times right now and that's not an exagerration. It takes out the guessing game out of the radar detection, and even with Ka triggers, it gives you ample time for you to react even when you're doing 60 and sometimes 80 MPH.
It had advanced filter that removed at least 85% of false alerts and when it "blaps" you know it's the real deal. Countless times it saved me from costly tickets and prevented those many sleepless nights waiting for the inevitable court dats; not to mention making "the" day a whole personal/vacation day off from work.
Many times, I received an alert for the direction, especially when the trooper is shooting Ka from the opposite side of the highway. And many times, it will tell you if they are stealthly following you from behind the traffic.
Initial cost was overwhelming at first but once you realize the potential and what it can actually to, you will never regret spending that money. If you're in the market for a radar detection, I would stronly urge you to spend the extra money and invest in the Valentine 1 instead of the Passport 9500iX - you'll be glad you did.
Customer Review: BEST RADAR DETECTOR on the market.......PERIOD!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Combined with a little common sense, as well as just being alert to your surroundings while driving, this radar detector will NOT let you down. I did not get pulled over a single time in 7 years while using my VALENTINE ONE, up until I left it in my other car, and borrowed my brothers other brand radar detector, and got stopped by a state trooper. I could've kicked myself for that!! Also, there's nothing like being able to see which direction the radar is coming from! How many times do we see cops trying to sneak up behind us? With VALENTINE ONE, there's no guessing! The arrows tell you exactly where the radar source is coming from!
Simply the BEST radar detector you can get!
Now, my MAJOR beef!! I LOVE Amazon, and make many purchases on here, as they have terrific value. However, why in God's name are they charging over $700 for this radar detector, when you can buy it directly from VALENTINE ONE for $399??? And on top of that, if your radar detector malfunctions, VALENTINE ONE will not honor the warranty if it wasn't purchased directly from them! Makes no sense!! I almost bought it from here, and just happened to go on the VALENTINE ONE website, and saw it there for almost HALF the price!! Ridiculous!!