Forum Index > Full Moon Saloon > Radar Detectors - Passport Max vs Valentine 1 (or others)
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tigermn
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PostWed May 14, 2014 1:03 pm 
First this is for opinions on specific radar detector use and what has worked (or not worked) for you. If you don't own one or haven't been recently researching, or aren't at least curious yourself, probalby better to find another thread. Also this is NOT a thread about whether speeding is morally wrong, or for the replies, that you shouldn't need a radar detector if you don't speed. So if you are from that crowd please just ignore this thread. The reality is I really want this to keep me honest/alert more than anything. Also there is a certain curiosity about who is using what and when out there to trap speeders. I'm not buying it so I can just go out and do 90 on the freeway or speeding through town. Actually my problem is more on arterials (especially with artificially low speed limits) where my speed tends to drift up sometimes. The Passport Max/Valentine 1 are kind of what I'm looking at since they seem to be at the top of the heap. Valentine 1 (retail price $399)has been around basically forever and is very good, except it has no new features and from what I read tends to go off TOO much and since it doesn't have any of the smart stuff, you are stuck with that. I owned a pretty decent Whistler back in the 80's that was always going off for just about every 7 11 or automatic door in existence. One big plus of the V1 is directional arrows for where the radar is coming from (which due to patents no other detector has). The Escort Passport Max (retail price $549) has all the smart stuff (to learn false alarms etc), but is more expensive, and of some of it requires subscriptions and such. Also some complaints about the mounting (tough to release/flimsy/prone to break) and lack of volume and other little things (which is to be expected with anything). Another concern is on some of the new cars the windshields (some may block or at least inhibit signals)/various internal systems (radar blind spot warning stuff etc) may interfere. Anyone have any experience with that (good or bad)?

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fourteen410
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PostWed May 14, 2014 1:22 pm 
I know you don't want thread drift, but thought it would be worth noting that if you have a smartphone, the Waze app is a wonderful thing. It'll alert you to speed traps, red light cameras, road hazards, etc. I use it instead of radar detector because of the cost difference (it's free) and because when I've been in cars with the radar detectors, they seem to pick up a lot of non-speed trap noise.

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tigermn
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PostWed May 14, 2014 2:13 pm 
No I will check that out for sure. Any discussion to the desired end result is good. I just don't want a bunch of discussion/argument about the morality of using such tools or not.

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moonspots
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PostWed May 14, 2014 2:23 pm 
tigermn wrote:
First this is for opinions on specific radar detector use and what has worked (or not worked) for you...
Passport is a royal PITA! Let me re-iterate the fact, it's a pain in the ass! It falses on LASER (and there is no option to turn this off, and it is LOUD!), especially in Washington, but also in other areas, just not as often.

"Out, OUT you demons of Stupidity"! - St Dogbert, patron Saint of Technology
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wolffie
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PostThu May 15, 2014 11:23 am 
fourteen410 wrote:
if you have a smartphone, the Waze app is a wonderful thing. It'll alert you to speed traps, red light cameras, road hazards, etc.
Great. One more reason I don't feel safe bicycle commuting anymore. Every dumbdriver is watching their smartphone instead of the road. It was so much safer when drivers were merely drunk. Have the cops wised-up enough to deploy electronic counter-countermeasures? They could put radar transmitters all over the place to slow down the sober drivers with radar detectors.

Some people have better things to do with their lives than walking the dog. Some don't.
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Seventy2002
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PostThu May 15, 2014 11:45 am 
wolffie wrote:
They could put radar transmitters all over the place
The State tried to do this in the late '70's; permission denied by the FCC.

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tigermn
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PostThu May 15, 2014 12:12 pm 
wolffie wrote:
fourteen410 wrote:
if you have a smartphone, the Waze app is a wonderful thing. It'll alert you to speed traps, red light cameras, road hazards, etc.
Great. One more reason I don't feel safe bicycle commuting anymore. Every dumbdriver is watching their smartphone instead of the road. It was so much safer when drivers were merely drunk. Have the cops wised-up enough to deploy electronic counter-countermeasures? They could put radar transmitters all over the place to slow down the sober drivers with radar detectors.
shakehead.gif shakehead.gif shakehead.gif shakehead.gif shakehead.gif

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fourteen410
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PostThu May 15, 2014 11:19 pm 
wolffie wrote:
Great. One more reason I don't feel safe bicycle commuting anymore. Every dumbdriver is watching their smartphone instead of the road. It was so much safer when drivers were merely drunk.
banghead.gif Did you seriously not read the OP's request?

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Malachai Constant
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PostThu May 15, 2014 11:59 pm 
I represented a manufacturer at one time and we were sued by Escort. To my mind there is little practical difference between the manufacturers at similar price points. You can make them more sensitive but that leads to more false positives. You are not going to get military grade signal processing in a unit that is affordable. I have a bunch (most of which I got free) but have had good experience with cheap Cobra and PNI. What is really difficult is finding a suitable unit to use on a motorcycle, there the Escort model is bro ably the best.

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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