Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General Valentine 1 or Escort Passport 8500

I am going to be buying a radar/laser detector here soon, so i need to know which one is better. Valentine or escort. which one is easier to use and where can i buy it for the cheapest?

just got my new V1 in the mail last friday. its very easy to use and i love how it gives the direction of where the radar is coming from. also tells how many potential "bogeys." both from what i hear are great radar detectors but the V1 is more expensive than the escort. but just IMHO, id rather have a V1.

IMHO I would go for the V1, if nothing else, for the fact that the V1 offers the directional indicators and the counter for the number of signals.

Passport 8500 also tells the number of signals and the strength of each one. I have an 8500. I'm not gonna say it's better than the V1, But, It definetly does it's job and does it well.

Both detectors are highly effective!

The best defense is not to speed!

Valentine 1 One of my friends has the V1 the other 8500, I've seen the V1 win time and time again, but the 8500 still does the job. It just comes down to cost.

Eric

I have metalic window tint, so the Valentine1 was useless. You might want to check if you have tint. The metallic tint will totally confuse the V1 because of the reflection of the dual receivers.

I use a Bel 980, I think its in the top 3 with the V1 and 8500. It depends on which test you read. Also the Bel 980 is upgradeable and I send it back yearly to get it recalibrated and upgraded.

Metallic tint cuts the range of any radar detector not just the V1. But since metallic tint is usually not applied to the front windshield, it's a half-truth that the V1 is affected more. But a less sensitive antenna is still better than nothing at all, which is the case with other detectors.

My vote is for the V1. I haven't been pulled over ever since I got one, even though my speeding habits haven't changed a bit.

I second that

I have an Escort 8500 and it does the job quite well, picking up Narcs a whole mile before visual confirmation. I think it looks better and is smaller than the V1, but I think the V1 has a better K range. I know the 8500 is upgradeable like the Bel above, and I think the new V1's are upgradeable also. Now the 8500 doesn't have direction signals, but it does have a front and rear antenna like the V1, and I usually slow down when I get an alarm and don't care which way the Narc or bogey is coming from. Now the 8500 doesn't have an exact bogey counter, but in expert mode can display 4 X, 2 K, and 2 Ka bands all at once, so you can usually tell if they are bogeys or not.

In response to your questions, I just know from experience that the 8500 is very easy to use, and I don't know about the V1. The 8500 has an automatice mode which detects and adjusts to radar signals so I never have to switch between highway and city. I also have it set up to display my vehicle voltage when there are no radar signals detected and then to alarm with sound and visual alerts when they have been detected. There are many features that can be easily programmed and are fun to play with, but now I just turn my car on and never have to touch a button. Now for price, you can find the 8500 on ebay for new for maybe $230, but I just decided to go with the warranty and got mine from Best Buy for $299. Now the V1 from Valentine's website is $400.

All in all, I think both detectors are superb, it just depends on what features you want and how much you are willing to spend.

IIRC the V1 is the only detector with a dedicated rear antenna. I don't think the 8500 has one; marketing would jump all over that if it did. The Feb 2002 issue of C&D had a review of all radar detectors, the V1 trounced the competition by a long shot.

Personally I think the directional indicators are worth the extra $100...