Valentine 1, am I using it wrong or does the Escort 10 times better ?
05-07-2006, 07:26 AM
#1
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My Ride: '06 550i 6 Speed MT, Navigation, PDC, Cold Weather Pkg, Logic7, Prem Pkg, Sport Pkg, Active Steering, Comfort Seats, Comfort Access, HUD, Alpine White on Black Dakota & a Big Grin ;-) <---- On the vessel from Germany...
********
'05 545i 6 Speed MT, Navigation, PDC, Cold Weather Pkg, Logic7, Prem Pkg, Sport Pkg, UUC EVOIII SSK, Silver Gray on Black Dakota..... (Buy back by BMW NA)
I had the Escort 8500 X50 on my 545i and I loved it. it had some X band bogeys but it was overall very efficient and i've never took a minute to disable the X band completely and get rid of the false alarms.
After hearing/reading so much about the V1 i've desided to give the X50 to my partner and buy the new V1 as a gift for my new 550i. boy I hope it wasn't a mistake...
I hardwired it like I did with my Escort, read the manual briefly, decided I want to put it in a big 'L' mode to avoid as many Bogeys as I can, and got on the road... I have to tell you that in the past 2 days that I have it installed, i'm fighting with this thing 5 times a min., I've discovered a thousand electronic doors in my area I never knew were existed, million alarms - NOT EVEN ONE POLICE CAR !
The worst thing is that you can't tell if it alarms you on a X, K, KA etc. because it only has a red dot next to the small band mark which you completely can't see at night (or day)!
Now, considering all the good reviews about the V1, I either doing something very wrong, or anybody who uses it never tried the Passport 8500...
Help Please !!!
After hearing/reading so much about the V1 i've desided to give the X50 to my partner and buy the new V1 as a gift for my new 550i. boy I hope it wasn't a mistake...
I hardwired it like I did with my Escort, read the manual briefly, decided I want to put it in a big 'L' mode to avoid as many Bogeys as I can, and got on the road... I have to tell you that in the past 2 days that I have it installed, i'm fighting with this thing 5 times a min., I've discovered a thousand electronic doors in my area I never knew were existed, million alarms - NOT EVEN ONE POLICE CAR !
The worst thing is that you can't tell if it alarms you on a X, K, KA etc. because it only has a red dot next to the small band mark which you completely can't see at night (or day)!
Now, considering all the good reviews about the V1, I either doing something very wrong, or anybody who uses it never tried the Passport 8500...
Help Please !!!
05-07-2006, 07:44 AM
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The "L" mode keeps mine relatively quiet in the city, but not totally. I keep the volume down so it is less intrusive. I can tell the different types of radar wo looking at the display because each gives a different sound. I only look at the display to determine location and how many. Do not be too quick to give up on V1.
05-07-2006, 12:04 PM
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My Ride: '06 550i 6 Speed MT, Navigation, PDC, Cold Weather Pkg, Logic7, Prem Pkg, Sport Pkg, Active Steering, Comfort Seats, Comfort Access, HUD, Alpine White on Black Dakota & a Big Grin ;-) <---- On the vessel from Germany...
********
'05 545i 6 Speed MT, Navigation, PDC, Cold Weather Pkg, Logic7, Prem Pkg, Sport Pkg, UUC EVOIII SSK, Silver Gray on Black Dakota..... (Buy back by BMW NA)
I'll let it ride for a while before I go back to the Escort...
Any other Escort & V1 users have comments ?
Any other Escort & V1 users have comments ?
05-07-2006, 12:11 PM
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My Ride: G30 M550i
Model Year: 2018
I agree with JDN. You'll learn to differentiate between the different audible alarms to identify the type of alert.
As far as false alarms, I don't seem to have too much trouble with my V1.
If I had to choose between a unit with directional arrows and a bogey counter that had a few more false alarms or a unit that stayed quiet more often but couldn't supply me with as much information about a potential threat, I'd take the former over the latter any day of the week!
As JDN said, don't be too quick to give up on the V1...
As far as false alarms, I don't seem to have too much trouble with my V1.
If I had to choose between a unit with directional arrows and a bogey counter that had a few more false alarms or a unit that stayed quiet more often but couldn't supply me with as much information about a potential threat, I'd take the former over the latter any day of the week!
As JDN said, don't be too quick to give up on the V1...
05-07-2006, 12:54 PM
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My Ride: 2004 545I WHITE ON GRAY , SMG, NAV, SPORT PKG, PREM SND, COLD WTHR, STOCK CHROME, TITANIUM TINTS, EURO REFLECTORS, DEBADGED.
someone please tell me what "hardwired"means
05-07-2006, 12:56 PM
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My Ride: My Cars:
2004 545i Black with Balck | 6 Speed Manual | Sports Package | Moon Roof | Adaptive Steering | Smoking Package | Cold Weather Package | Adaptive Xenon | Premium Sound, LOGIC7 | Hard Wired V1 |
AUX Input |
Only 13K Miles!
2001 530i Green with Tan | Sport Package | Streptronic | Moon Roof | SOLD
1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 5.2L (Beat my 530i off the line until about 40 MPH) | SOLD
1981 320i destroyed
Other family members cars:
2008 Yukon Denali Black with Black
2007 Aston Martin DB9 Cabriolet Black with Black
2006 Mercedes G55 Black with Black |
2004 Yukon XL Denali Black with Tan |
2003 BMW X5 3.0 Silver with Black | Every option available |
2001 Porsche C4 Cabriolet Silver with Black | 6 Speed Manual |
1958 Austin Mini Green with Black Interior 67k Miles, Fully restored in 2003 | Beach Car
Definately agree with JDN too. I leave it in Advanded Logic mode simply because I haven't changed it since I bought it over 3 years ago. It's constantly going off with X bands, but I don't hear them anymore. When K or Ka tones comes up, all ears and foot is on the break wo thinking. Its only annoying when I have other people in the car who think im crazy for having it on so loud while its constantly going off.
05-07-2006, 01:05 PM
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My Ride: '06 550i 6 Speed MT, Navigation, PDC, Cold Weather Pkg, Logic7, Prem Pkg, Sport Pkg, Active Steering, Comfort Seats, Comfort Access, HUD, Alpine White on Black Dakota & a Big Grin ;-) <---- On the vessel from Germany...
********
'05 545i 6 Speed MT, Navigation, PDC, Cold Weather Pkg, Logic7, Prem Pkg, Sport Pkg, UUC EVOIII SSK, Silver Gray on Black Dakota..... (Buy back by BMW NA)
Originally Posted by GUESSVVHOO' post='279079' date='May 7 2006, 04:54 PM
someone please tell me what "hardwired"means
'Hardwire' means that the detector is connected directly to the car's power (professionally installed... by me...
) rather than plugged into the lighter's 12V with a cord.
05-07-2006, 02:34 PM
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My Ride: 2005 545i with everything
There is a "secret' programming menu where you can customize lots of different things with the V1. One thing you can do is not detect x-band. Now before you freak out at the very thought, keep in mind that, at least here in California, state patrol DOES NOT USE x-band. Therefore 99% of my x-band warnings with any detector were false alarms. Find out what your local/state patrols are using and mostly you will find out that x-band is not common any more. I disabled mine years ago.
05-07-2006, 03:45 PM
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My Ride: G30 M550i
Model Year: 2018
Although I've never done any customizing of my V1, rodneyremington is right that you can tweak a bunch of things.
Here's a link to the instructions:
http://www.valentine1.com/lab/MikesLabRpt3.asp
Here's a link to the instructions:
http://www.valentine1.com/lab/MikesLabRpt3.asp
05-07-2006, 04:15 PM
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My Ride: 2006 530xi, Silver grey metallic, Black leather interior with poplar wood trim, Premium package, Premium sound package, Cold weather package, Sport package, Automatic transmission, Style 124 wheels with 245/40 ZR18 93W ContiExtremeContact all season radials, Red reflectors, 3M Clear Bra, Samsung A920 Bluetooth Sprint phone with updated firmware (version ZB06 and ZB07), Hardwired Passport X50 Blue LED (switched from Valentine One). Build date 1/06.
Originally Posted by Gadgets' post='278994' date='May 7 2006, 11:26 AM
I had the Escort 8500 X50 on my 545i and I loved it. it had some X band bogeys but it was overall very efficient and i've never took a minute to disable the X band completely and get rid of the false alarms.
After hearing/reading so much about the V1 i've desided to give the X50 to my partner and buy the new V1 as a gift for my new 550i. boy I hope it wasn't a mistake...
I hardwired it like I did with my Escort, read the manual briefly, decided I want to put it in a big 'L' mode to avoid as many Bogeys as I can, and got on the road... I have to tell you that in the past 2 days that I have it installed, i'm fighting with this thing 5 times a min., I've discovered a thousand electronic doors in my area I never knew were existed, million alarms - NOT EVEN ONE POLICE CAR !
The worst thing is that you can't tell if it alarms you on a X, K, KA etc. because it only has a red dot next to the small band mark which you completely can't see at night (or day)!
Now, considering all the good reviews about the V1, I either doing something very wrong, or anybody who uses it never tried the Passport 8500...
Help Please !!!
After hearing/reading so much about the V1 i've desided to give the X50 to my partner and buy the new V1 as a gift for my new 550i. boy I hope it wasn't a mistake...
I hardwired it like I did with my Escort, read the manual briefly, decided I want to put it in a big 'L' mode to avoid as many Bogeys as I can, and got on the road... I have to tell you that in the past 2 days that I have it installed, i'm fighting with this thing 5 times a min., I've discovered a thousand electronic doors in my area I never knew were existed, million alarms - NOT EVEN ONE POLICE CAR !
The worst thing is that you can't tell if it alarms you on a X, K, KA etc. because it only has a red dot next to the small band mark which you completely can't see at night (or day)!
Now, considering all the good reviews about the V1, I either doing something very wrong, or anybody who uses it never tried the Passport 8500...
Help Please !!!
This sounds familiar. I'm sure that you are using the V1 correctly. Do a search on my username, and you can review some of my reasons for switching from the V1 to the X50. Although I liked the directionals of the V1, I like everything else about the X50 better! And yes, I think that you are right. Most people who love the V1 have never used the current X50 model, so they don't realize how good it is.