Hardwiring Valentine One radar detector

[uspurs]

I wonder if those dots have something to do with the rain sensor? I think that uses infrared, but not sure how / why that would set off the V1 laser.
Umbertob - understood re the reflections (though it was an overcast day and somewhat out in the country, so don't think there were any stray 'signals'); my V1 also gets set off by Audi Q7s - maybe a lane departure system, or something like that - but I think it's a Ka alarm in that case. A real nuisance, as that's what the state troopers use in this area of NYS. Grrr.

Thanks again, John

 

[jak167]

I believe many third brakelights give off infrared. Seems like it triggers behind all GMC Envoy/Chevy Trailblazers. Also, had triggers from the old Lincoln Mark VIII with the bid red swoopy tailgate light.

umbertob, the LR3 was identical to your pics. Same light panel, same plugs, same colored wires in the plugs.

 

[dantheman1]

Everything was the same except for the grounding point. The bolts in the LR3 are off to the side and were really hard to reach with a socket wrench. I ended up getting creating and "hooking" the ground terminal to the inside of a rubber plug pushed up against the metal plate.

 

[cdodkin]

Two points to note:

1) V1 is notorious for giving many false positives - Better units are available

2) Mounting high on windshield will almost certainly mean that you won't detect a laser hit on your vehicle, as a LiDAR beam is only 18" wide at opperating range, and the LEO is trained to point it at the reflective areas of the vehicle (the headlights and front plate). So with an 18" wide beam, the detector will be too high to pick up the LASER.

Saying you're dead if you get hit anyway is BS - many times the LEO will paint your vehicle before it's in range for a speed fix, and you have time to brake.

Also, they like to hit you coming out of slow speed areas, and try to catch you accelerating early - if you know you're being hit, you don't accelerate!

Good information on mounting detectors available here: http://www.radarbusters.com/mountdetectorproperlyarticle.cfm

And if you're in the market for spending hundreds of Dollars on a decent detector, then at least consider one with GPS, so it can cut-out the false positives for you.

https://www.escortradar.com/store/passport-9500i.html

V1 arrows were a good idea 10 years ago - but things have moved on since then!

 

[umbertob]

The Valentine One has been routinely slammed as yesterday's technology for at least 15 years, usually by companies and "experts" like Radar Roy selling every other brand but... Sure it's expensive and somewhat bulky, it's sensitive to a fault so it's prone to more false alarms, it lacks newer gee-**** features such as GPS and even some basic ones by today's "convenience" standards, such as auto-mute (I really miss that one), it doesn't talk to you in English, etc. But it's taken the elite competition 15 years and lots of obsolete models to catch up with its performance, amazing considering that the V1 is still the same basic detector it was in 1992, only the software (which can be upgraded) is different. In truly impartial tests the V1 still ranks among the best of the best in overall detector performance, not just the ability to sniff out this band or that band. It's always at the top or within a few percentage points of the best performers in just about every radar and laser test they throw at it. I've had a V1 for over 5 years and it has saved my butt so many times, that's all that matters I guess. I turned off the useless X-band detection the day I bought it, stuck it to my windshield and it's been working like clockwork since. I can live with the occasional false alarm.

http://www.speedzones.com/
http://www.guysoflidar.com/august-2007/radar-detector-test.html

My opinion is that laser jammers are the only surefire way to defeat infrared guns - but they are illegal here in Cali, so it's a moot point for me. Without jammers, it's a lottery and unless the officer is a ****** you can only hope on a misfire, a lucky bounce, etc. Mounting the detector low on the windshield helps, but we are talking an 18" radius at 500 feet, so it's still a lottery with just slightly better odds. I hate having stuff mounted on the dash since it's more visible to cops (and thieves), and the lower part of the steeply raked windshield on the RRS is so far away from the driver seat that reaching the detector while driving would require chimp arms. And again, the V1 tops just about any other non-jamming detector in sniffing out laser guns.

 

[cdodkin]

'reaching the detector while driving would require chimp arms' - you see, if you had a decent detector with a mute button on the power plug, you wouldn't need to get all chimpy! LOL

I know lots of people love the V1 - but it simply has no way of matching the new GPS enabled detectors.

Add to that the false alarms - which you have admitted means you end up switching detection bands off, and then ignoring other triggers - and V1 is just a nice note in Radar detector history.

It's had it's time - things have moved on.

As for LASER detection being a lottery - well it's saved me 2 tickets in the last 2 years, so how is that a lottery?

 

[umbertob]

2 ******** officers?

OT: The only speeding ticket I got in recent memory was in Cancun, Mexico, last summer. No V1 there, but I wasn't even speeding. The cop approaches my rental car and shows me a "radar gun" that I swear looked like something he picked up at the toy department of the local Target. The LCD shows I'm going way over the speed limit, big time. There was so much traffic in the Zona Hotelera that day - coming back from Chichen Itza - I couldn't have gone faster than 25 mph, well within the speed limit. He asks me when I am going back to the US (the following day.) In perfect English, he explains that can either give me a $200 ticket that I can pay for the following day at the police station, but since I am a tourist and a flee risk, he has no choice but to also withhold my driver's license until I go pay for this at the station. Or, if I pay right away he can give me 50% off and he won't take my driver's license away. I have the equivalent of about $73 total in Pesos, including coins, on me. "No problem. Here, put everything in this towel. Be discreet, please." "OK?" "OK, adios amigos!" It was like a scene from a National Lampoon Vacation comedy!

There are plenty of very good reasons not to travel anywhere in Mexico these days. But if you are going to Cancun for Spring Break anyway and you'll be driving, be forewarned. Zona Hotelera, the area around the Sun Palace resort. I think that on a good day they must stop a good 50-60 tourists with their toy radar gun.

 

[schafari]

I am in a major city, and the V1 was a joke. It wasn't a question of when it went off was it a cop or not. . .it basically always was on. In a major city, I am not sure how people live with it. I sent it back.

I did get the remote installed ****** with the laser shifters. This is the hidden custom installed unit. It is great. Still has a few false alarms, but it works very well and is completely concealed. Laser shifters work well, but not to much laser I have run into. I wish it had the latest/greatest ******/Bel GPS software however.

 

[foofighter]

I wanted to bump this as I did the same hardwire on my RRS (thanks Umbertob!!)...well now i have an LR3 did the same install...same green/white wire radar turns on however...if left alone and not locked/armed the radar stays on. Granted i didnt let it sit too long, i let it wait till the LR splash page on my navi went out and it was still on.

Does anyone know if this occurs with theirs?

**EDIT**
I let it sit and after 10 mins or so it did shut off.

 

[jak167]

That's odd. After I wired mine it does go off when the truck shuts down. Did you try locking car, thus cutting power and arming alarm. Does it still stay on then? If so, only thing I can suggest is double-check the wiring. The diagram posted does work correctly.