On my return trip from Ohio this afternoon and early evening the Valentine One really came into its own on the Western [portion of the] PA Turnpike.
And I have seen this now with each of my last three return trips from Ohio. Enough to know that it isn't by accident or coincidence.
I am referring to the use of K-band police radar in steady-state mode.
If you thought instant-on radar was lethal [and it is] steady-state when embedded in between radar drones is even more so, in my opinion.
With the Valentine, it is fairly easy to distinguish between mere weak "false" signals and approaching bona-fide instant-on radar—after becoming intimately familiar with the audio signal alert ramps and alerting quickness of the V1.
It is also pretty clear when one approaches a steady-state radar drone sign as well. The alert ramp is readily identifiable. Since PA state troopers use K-band radar pretty much exclusively in an instant-on mode from a stationery position, it is generally very easy to distinguish between a drone and a speedtrap.
Unless, of course, the police radar speedtrap is masquerading as a radar drone or speed sign.
In each of my last three return trips home from Ohio, I nearly blundered upon these sneaky traps at speeds which would most certainly land me a ticket. Fortunately for me, I stayed off the phone when in the left lane—a lesson learned that I hope will not be soon forgotten. As such, my situational awareness was not undermined.
For these types of encounters, the V1 again stands alone in its unique ability to provide the hardcore enthusiast driver with additional information that other radar detectors do not— such as bogey counts, directional information, and the best audio signal ramp in the business.
For some, this amount of information may result in overload. For others [the few, the proud] every additional piece of intel that can be gathered about one's environment is welcomed and appreciated.
Quickly flashing/changing arrows, increasing bogey counts [while annoying at mall parking lots] can convey essential information to the driver who is rapidly approaching a threat on the highway.
Don't get me wrong, other radar detectors would be alerting to such sources as well providing plenty of time and most [drivers] would be adjusting their speeds accordingly [if needed], but the level of information that Valentine provides about these kinds of tricky encounters is simply unmatched by any other radar detector—regardless of sensitivity—and its been that way for a long, long time.
These are some of the reasons the V1 will continue [for the foreseeable future] to be the standard against which all other radar detectors will be measured.
In my particular instance, I enjoy having the best of both worlds, so I like augmenting the V1 with the Bel STi Driver [in TEC display mode].
It used to be that my favorite pairing was the RX-65 Pro and the V1 together. It is now the V1 and the STi Driver. What a powerhouse combo*.
All told the mileage put on this long weekend was 1295.7. BMW is going to hate me.
Veil Guy.
*Again, don't get me wrong. I still love the diminutive Beltronics RX-65 Pro.
8 comments:
Hi Veil Guy, want to thank you for the very useful amount of information you are willing to share with others. I subscribe to your newsletter and because I live in Montreal, Quebec, Canada for the moment,I think of buying the Bel STI as it is undetectable. From your tests, it seems that it is excellent for radar detection but lacks somewhat in laser detection especially regarding the Laser Atlanta models stealth mode which only the V1 seems to be able to detect well. (I do not know what type of laser guns they use here in Quebec.)
Do you know if Beltronics are in the process of increasing the sensitivity to laser of the STI?
Can this be acheived with a new version of firmware on which they might be working on? Do you know if Beltronics plans to improve their STI driver in the near future?
If you have a moment I will appreciate your views on this.
Keep up the good work and thanks again.
Best regards,
Ginrad7
I know of no "updates" hardware or otherwise.
Honestly, I wouldn't be too concerned about LA or the LA in stealth mode.
As intense as that police laser is, the company currently has a small market-share as compared to the others.
I truly believe the chances for running into stealth-mode is very very slim, indeed.
If so, Veil does extremely well against it anyway and you would likely be able to visually spot its use (even without the warning of a detector). That's how effective we are against stealth-mode.
I believe one reason that V1's are so effective in spotting laser (beyond VR's engineering excellence) is because VR has stated that they will not get into the business of countermeasures.
As such, they have put a lot into getting their detectors to an extremely high level of laser reception performance.
The other major manufacturers have at one time or another produced or will produce a laser jammer which can be interfaced to their radar detectors.
I suspect they are relying of the efficacy of their laser jammers to detect laser, more so than their detectors. This is merely my opinion, but I think it is a logical one.
BTW, as evidenced by our laser detectors comparison of some time ago, the STi Driver is not blind to laser, not by a long shot (no pun intended).
It sounds like a good choice, to me.
Just please be aware that while it may defeat Canada's Intercept, a skilled officer can target you from the rear and watch your brake lights.
If they illuminate after the trigger-pull, you better come up with a damn convincing reason other than your undetectable "detector went off."
Good luck.
Ginrad7,
Forgot to end with this thought:
If and when you're driving with your new STi Driver, best to grow eyes in the back of your head. Copy?
Veil Guy,
In one of your previous postings, you mentioned that turning POP off on the RX65 can increase the other bands' sensitivity. If I turn off the SWS and Ku bands, do you think that may increase sensitivity further?
While I don't know the absolute correct answer (and I haven't actually tested the impact of doing so), it is probably fair to say that anything that can reduce signal processing overhead, can't hurt.
If you really like, I can run your question up the flag pole.
Veil Guy,
If you have a flagpole to run it up, that would be great. I called BEL today just to see what they would say, and I was told that the Ku and SWS bands are off by default anyways (even though in the manual it says all bands are on by default), but either way I was told that regardless of whether I have all the bands on, or if i have just one of them on, the sensitivity doesn't change at all. The guy said to use the city or highway mode to adjust the sensitivity, but it's on Autoscan which should pick it automatically.
Wap22,
Have run it up the flagpole...
Expect a direct answer from a senior Beltronics representative.
Stay tuned, my friend.
wap22, you are right that Ku and SWS are off as the default setting.
Ku is an international freq. (applicable in Europe) and thus not needed in the states.
SWS turned off means that the unit is not giving you one of the 64 specific SWS messages when/if detected. It is off by default because SWS was never adopted on a national basis.
Even if both were on it would not affect your sensitivity.
The BEL Guy
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