I have a passport radar detector that is about 10 years old. I am looking to buy a newer one, but want to know who has what and what they like...

I have a passport radar detector that is about 10 years old. I am looking to buy a newer one, but want to know who has what and what they like...

Valentine One all the way here. But the Passport 8500 X50 isnt bad either. :thumbsup:

Have you tried RadarBusters (http://www.radarbusters.com/)?
I couldn't afford their recommendations. I bought mine at Radio Shack on sale. Can't remember the brand offhand but it works pretty well for about $100.

Passport X50 and the Beltronics RX65 are the top of the line according to the people I've talked to. Anything under $200 isnt worth the plastic its made out of.

The Valentine One is really the only option. The range is amazing. Old Escorts/Passports were good, but at this point the V1 is the way to go. Definitely worth the money. Get the cord hardwired up your A-pillar, and you won't have that telltale cord hanging down.

I have both the Valentine One (newest version) and Passport X50 (red).

Well, the X50 is actually my wife's, but its still mine too.

Anyhow, we took a trip from Vancouver, WA to Canada for a weekend trip (5 hr drive).

I decided to take both radar detectors and put them to a test.

I put them side by side on my front windshield. And to be honest, they both are almost identical at picking up radar and laser. They both did a tremendous job, and I recommend either one!

Most of the time though, my Valentine One goes off 1 to 2 seconds before the X50 does, and stays on a few seconds longer too (when passing the cop). BUT, the most important part of the V-1 as most of you guys already know, are the arrows. Thats one reason I will never buy another detector, as this one has the arrows.

On that trip to Canada, when both detectors goes off, FIRST thing I do is, wonder, where the heck is the cop!!

Well, if I didnt have the V1, I would be looking around for that damn cop. But since I did have the V1, I knew if the cop was in front of me, or coming up from behind me!

Mind you, I have had several cops with Ka band that comes off the exit and come up from behind me! Thanks to the V1, the arrows are pointing behind me, which alerts me and let me know the cop is coming up from behind.

But to be honest, they both are great! You can't lose either one.

Well it's all already been said....the Passport Escort 8500 X50 was my choice over the Valentine V1. Every legit review of the 2 detectors indicates that they are both the best on the market, and very close in their ability to detect radar and laser in a 360 degree pattern. Having the directional arrows wasn't worth the extra $100 for me, and cost wasn't my first concern. I say if you couldn't go wrong with either unit. If you believe the directional arrows on the Valentine V1 are worth the cost....cough up the extra 100 smokes and go for it. :thumbsup:

ETA: IMO if I'm being radared by a cop, I'm going to slow down regardless of what direction the cop is traveling. This was why I thought the extra expense for the directional arrows was an unnecessary extra. I'm not sure how useful they'd be for me, but they're a cool feature.

Valentine One I would say is the best and most reliable detecting system. Gives you all the info you need to locate the cops. I ONLY suggest te valentine one to anyone who asks. Pricey, but WELL WORTH IT!

ETA: IMO if I'm being radared by a cop, I'm going to slow down regardless of what direction the cop is traveling. This was why I thought the extra expense for the directional arrows was an unnecessary extra. I'm not sure how useful they'd be for me, but they're a cool feature.

Yeah, if they're behind you, what would you do differently? SPEED UP? :tisk:

I had a V1, used it for a few days and then sent it back for a refund. In my area of very heavy RF sources (very developed) that was one of the noisiest damn things I had ever owned. Not saying it's a POS, maybe too well built. But their automatic filtering didn't work well in this area. Even my passengers commented on how irritating it was. I will say this, they were Very prompt with the refund. That money was back to my C.C. within two days of them receiving it back. Kudos to them for good service.

I had a custom built job in my Cadillac
All I had on the inside of the car were lights..
There were some sensors or some thing behind the grill and two more under the car

It jammed crammed and detected damned thing cost me $500 to have some whiz kid build it into the car.


Don't the officers have some kind of instant on laser now though?

I used to have a Valentine V1, and sold it a couple of months ago. It's pretty much the best radar detector in the world. It alerts you at least a mile before you pass anyone shooting radar, and tells you exactly what band you're getting shot at with, and how many bogeys there are. It also has a different sound for each band. True, since it picks up EVERYTHING (automatic opening doors and such) it gets a little annoying at times, but that's when I would just turn down the volume. It's worth every penny.

Anything less is inferior :thumbsup:

I've had my V1 since about January 1998. I love it. I also like the variable mute function and the three reporting modes - very versatile. With a little bit of programming (go to their website to find out how to do this if you're really anal), you can fine tune it.

The arrows are absolutely indispensible. Range is excellent. Support is top notch. In addition to the usual cigar lighter cord, they give you just about everything you need for a hidden/permanent installation (including the inline fuse holder and fuse).

Worth every penny.

Valentine One. Everything Else Is Just a Toy.

My dad has that top of the line Passport in his Mustang. The $100 Whistler I have in my Malibu is great too.

I just got a BEL RX65. After reading tons of reviews and tests I was torn between the Passport and the BEL. They both perform as well or better than the V1 on all bands in distance and eliminating false alerts. The only thing where the V1 did better was laser, which I don't really care about. No matter how much warning you get, when you detect laser it usually means you've been hit.

What sealed the deal for me was BEL's trade in policy. I traded in my old BEL 980 for an $80 credit toward the RX65. They also give you money if you're trading in another brand, but not the full $80.

The RX65 has been great. It falses much less than the 980 in Autoscan mode and the auto-mute is nice. The windshield mount is much nicer than my old one, too. It comes with a 'smart plug' too that has an alert LED and a mute button on it so you don't have to reach up to the windshield to mute it. It does Ka POP and Ku band, too. Valentine had some trouble with the Ka POP logic but has fixed it with a recent software revision.

Jim