School me on Radar Detectors

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RiverRatMatt

RiverRatMatt

10 Year
Joined
Feb 23, 2011
Threads
114
Messages
557
Location
Boise, ID
I've been thinking more and more about getting one for my increasingly frequent long distance trips.

What do I need to know? Recommendations per price? Probably don't want to spend more than $500 but if more money gets a much better detector... Well, buy once cry once.

Thanks!
 
Schooling first - once the detector goes off, they've got you! ;)

All kidding aside - I've owned a V1 (Valentine 1) for over a decade. It's saved my bacon more than once. For the instant on instant on radar traps, any detector is useless, but for ones left on, when you're cresting a hill, approaching a curve, have approaching LEO's from front or rear, etc. they will go off in enough time for you to slow down. What I like about the V1 is the multi-directional signal. It'll detect forward, backward and to the side. You can silence the annoying beep of it going off and just have the arrow indicators. It's been mounted just to the left of my rear view mirror to the point that I can see the directional arrows going off in my peripheral vision just fine.

No clue as to what they run now, but in ancient times they ran north of $400 IIRC. At that time if they upgraded the software, you could send your unit in for free upgrades. I haven't checked in years, but the only times I did earlier on in ownership it hadn't changed. I don't even know if they are still around. Reviews back then had this one hands down best in class, a lot based on the multi-directional capability.

Maybe Walton needed one of these leaving the PRK for Washington with his trailer speeding all the way. It'd have paid for his ticket...oh wait, he can't read signs telling him the speed limit here in the PRK is 55 for vehicles towing!
 
Another 100% satisfied Valentine V1 owner. Had numerous other high end detectors before taking the V1 leap about 15+ years ago and it still works great.

To add to Brentbba's comment: I, years ago when in route back to our then home in Reno from Pismo Beach, with the KK in tow...met up with a hard nosed state patrol LE at the Tracy merge. He couldn't get me for doing 70 so he got me for being in the non-most-right hand lane. But I can't say I didn't know I was violating either law :D And the V1 couldn't have saved me from that $350 fine anyway...
 
spressomon - towing a trailer, just like the trucks, you're allowed to be in the right most TWO lanes. Now if he was being an A** and got you for being in that 2nd lane instead of the rightmost because you weren't passing someone, then that is technically the law, but ignored here in the PRK with the large freeways we've got.

I was pulled over in Utah for being in what we call the #1 lane (left most) on a freeway (two lanes each direction). I wasn't towing, but was driving in that left most lane and there was NOBODY around. It was that 110 mile section in Utah on I-70 w/o any services, nothing. I was riding the #1 lane because the right most lane was really torn up at the time from big rig trucks. Local sherrif pulled me over. I wasn't speeding. Asked him why and he told me it was the law to stay in the right most lane unless passing only. He was nice about it when I explained the rough ride in that right most lane and just gave me a warning. Local LEO could have written me up for the $$, but didn't.
 
It was at the I-5 and I-205 combine...I was doing 70+, he couldn't get radar on me in time but knew I was well above 55 with the trailer in tow...and was trying to merge left since the RH lane eventually merges out anyway. So there I was left of an 18-wheeler in what effectively was the 3rd lane from the right. But I was there because the farthest RH lane was going away in less than a mile. Technically I was in the wrong lane...but trying to do the right thing at the moment for traffic concerns.

He was just an ass-hat...he took over 30-minutes to write the ticket...so my little touche for his dickheadedness was to carefully and slowly read the entire ticket, adding a question here and there, while he stood there impatiently. :D
 
That sucks! Kudos for making him wait to for being such an ass. You see truckers making those types of moves in advance of lane merges all the time because they know their routes well. Suppose you could have argued you were forced to the 3rd lane for safety.
 
Thanks guys! I'll add that to the list :)
 
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