ordering a valentine 1 soon i dont know anything about intstallations since i have not one handy man bone in my body.

should i get this installed professionally? and if so where to install it?

also i live in B.C Canada would this radar detector be effective and what exactly is it effective from jus radar guns or cop cars too?


thanks in advance.

 

You've gotta be kidding.

Uh, yeah, have you all heard about the new V1? It not only detects radar, but it actually detects the cop car itself. That's right, folks, you can now detect Johnny Law even when his radar is turned off!

 

It picks up on the officers badge,everyone knows the new V1 has badge detection

 

Mount it low in the center of the windshield.

 

I mounted mine high near the sun visor.

 

Kirby's right. The higher the better. Picks up more bogeys from further down the road.

 

Not true.

Radar bounces off most things...trees, gaurd rails, billboards, buildings, over passes, trucks, cars, etc. This is the reason you can pick up radar energy, and get an alarm from the V1 even when there isn't line of sight (LOS) to the radar itself. Ever notice how you will get an alarm when the officer is around a curve or over a hill before actually achieving LOS to the radar? Also, the difference in height between the lowest windshield mounting to the highest mounting is ~9". Do the math...that isn't going to allow any difference in detection range given the dynamic RF environment out there.

In the 996, there is *no* difference in detector performance against radar given either the low mount or the high mount positions (there *is* a difference between the two locations when encountering laser). Remember, at a half mile out the radar beam covers a circle that's over 140 feet in diameter... and at one mile it's over 280 feet in diameter. Think about how big those numbers are. And these circles only define the actual physics of the radar beam - it's 3db defined beamwidth. In reality the radar energy is bouncing all over the place, so you don't even have to be within the beamwidth to get an alarm.

Think about this in another way. You are standing in your yard with your wife holding a water hose...she's 15 feet in front of you. She has a nozzle on the hose that produces circular pattern. This pattern is 5 feet in diameter out at 15 feet, where you're standing. In this example, your face is the "detector". She aims the hose at the center of your chest and opens up full blast - your face, the detector, is soaked - it is alarming that it is in fact wet. Now while she continues shooting, bend your knees and lower yourself to a squat. Is your face (the detector) still getting soaked? ...You bet. This is just like the ever expanding circular pattern a radar produces.

Although radar produces an ever expanding pattern, just like the hose, the radar sprays electrons at the speed of light. They bounce off most things and continue on at the same speed ...in other words they are all over the place. The V1 does not require much radar energy to be detected before it alarms.

So take the officers radar at 0.5 miles and shoot it back at your car sitting parked on the road (aim the radar at the center of your car). Place the V1 on the ground in front of your car - it alarms. Now put the V1 on a pole and raise it 70 feet in the air above your parked car - it alarms. Now walk out from the side of your car and place the V1 on the ground 70 feet away - it alarms. Get the picture? See why there is *no* difference between mounting the detector high or low on the windshield?

In terms of laser (due to the laser's beamwidth), the closer the detector is to the officers "aim" point, the better the chance it has of picking up the laser's energy. Officers normally aim at either the front license plate (if there is one), or one of the headlights. Your best hope in a laser encounter is to be along the line of sight of the laser to the targeted car ahead of you. That way any stray laser energy (though it doesn't produce much stray energy, since the beamwidth is so small and there isn't much spreading of the signal going on) or poor aim by the officer might trigger a response from your detector and allow time for you to slow down before the officer actually targets your car. In a single car encounter your only real hope is that the officer's aim is bad (or that his hand isn't steady) and he wanders around a bit with the beam. In this case, the closer the detector is to the headlight(s) or front license plate the better your chances of detecting the signal. In a single car encounter, if the officer's aim is good, and he waits until you're well within range, you're toast.

 

From the Valentine One manual:

"Valentine One works best when mounted high in the windshield, and toward the center between the windshield pillars.
Detector performance is is enhanced by a high mounting position. Two reasons. For radar, a longer sight line to the horizon always helps. For laser, moving away from the hood and its sun reflections helps a lot."

Regarding laser get a Lidatek laser diffuser... it works like a charm!

 

Do the math on the sight line issue, read up on the physics of RF energy, and decide for yourself.

Also, let me know exactly what the math is that will confirm the sun angle-to front hood- to windshield computation dealing with laser energy.

 

Well Dock, since I don't have the time tonight to brush up on the physics of RF energy, I'll put my faith in Mike Valentine's instructions, if only that it keeps a clean windshield and line of sight. Your argument is that it doesn't matter where the unit is positioned in regards to radar correct? Then it might as well be out of the way. You say that the reason to position the detector low on the windshield is to capture the more direct beam of the laser.
However, everyone knows by the time you hear/see the warning with instant on laser/radar, you are toast. So what is the point, really?
Like I said, a good laser diffuser mounted near the front plate goes a long way!

 

You can search prior threads on Valentine to get some ideas on installation.

I installed mine myself. It is hard wired into the car, the radar is located by the passenger mirror, and I have the extra attachement "Concealed Display" wired underneath the radio into the little storage shelf.

The best radar in the world. I also have a Passport 8500 X50 but once I started using the Valentine, I havent gone back!

 

There is no difference in the V1's *radar* detection capability between the low or high mounting positions, so if it's just radar you're going against then mount it in either position. However, if laser is a potential threat, then the lower the mounting the better. As a matter of fact, mounting a receiver *inside* each headlight would give the best laser detection, since that's where the officer is aiming.

Ina mulit-car encounter with an officer using laser, your hope is that you will pick up some stray energy as the laser is fired at cars ahead of you - allowing you to slow prior to the officer targeting your car. In a single car encounter, your *only* hope (outside seeing the officer early via a visual pickup) is for the officer to shoot out of range and/or have a poor aim - allowing the detector to see the energy prior to the officer getting a valid speed reading. Since the officer will be aiming for either the front plate (if there is one) or one of the headlights, the "poor aim" will probably be just above these targets. Therefore, the lower the detector, the better the chance of seeing the energy before the officer adjusts to a better surface and gets a speed reading. The chances of the officer aiming at the top of the windshield is more remote that him missing to the low side. It's a matter of maximizing your potential of detection.

Check out this site and see what they found out about mounting locations...

Mounting location

 

So is the valentine or any radar detector for that matter worth the money in your guys opinion?

 

The Valentine One is the least detectable by all RDD's or radar detector detectors. These devices are used to detect radar detectors in states or countries where they are illegal like Virginia, D.C., parts of Canada, etc.

Check these tests:

http://radardetector.net/viewtopic.p...&highlight=rdd

The Beltronics STi is the newest radar detector that is completely immune to all RDD's and it is made of magnesium just like the V1 but it isn't for sale yet:

http://radardetector.net/BREAKING-NE...e%21-5263t.php

Yes, the $400 Valentine One is extremely useful and it will save you well over $1000 in traffic fines and insurance rates.

Here is some more testing that proves that the V1 wins:

http://www.kc8unj.com/radar/guysoflidar/