Looking up reviews for radar detectors, for the car.

Round and round i go and yet, the Valentine 1 is missing from some of the reviews. How can this be and yet still be considered a valid review.

Like someone doing a car review of domestic, two door, sports cars and the Camaro isn’t even mentioned. Sure, may not like the brand/model but all credit goes out the window by not mentioning the product.

I have an older Valentine 1 (gen. 1) that I've been meaning to karma off but haven't gotten around to doing so. It's been upgraded but that was over ten years ago. Checking Valentine's website, they don't offer a current upgrade but I think that's a chip-shortage thing.

If you want it it's yours. My driving habits have changed over the years so now I avoid the Interstates and enjoy the back roads so I don't have a reason to use a detector as when I was younger with a heavier foot.

quote:

Originally posted by marksman41:
I have an older Valentine 1 (gen. 1) that I've been meaning to karma off but haven't gotten around to doing so. It's been upgraded but that was over ten years ago. Checking Valentine's website, they don't offer a current upgrade but I think that's a chip-shortage thing.

If you want it it's yours. My driving habits have changed over the years so now I avoid the Interstates and enjoy the back roads so I don't have a reason to use a detector as when I was younger with a heavier foot.

Seriously?

Yes, i will take you up on the offer with the promise, if i elect to upgrade to the G2 (or other detector), i will karma it back here.

(I’ll send an email in the morning)

Still, can you imagine searching for "best American made, high horsepower, sports coupes for men over 50" and the Corvette isn’t one of the cars?

Thanks again, will get the email out.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: LS1 GTO,

Definitely serious. It's been sitting unused for over a decade so it's long past time it went to somebody who will use it.

Once I have your mailing address I'll send it out later this week. The road out of our subdivision is still coated with snow packed to ice - and it's downhill straight to the intersection of the state highway. Mother Nature will take care of it in a few days, though.

And Corvette not included in a search for sports cars. Hmmm, sounds like an intentional bias to me.

I've pretty much decided to ignore reviews.

Why? Because much of what I read is people who are venting because the problems that they themselves created are not fixed immediately by someone else.

So I make my own decisions based on something other than reviews.

Radar detectors have pretty much become useless. So many cars of accident avoidance systems based on radar that detectors false constantly now. I first noticed it about 6 years ago on the highway near the more affluent section of town. Constant high alerts on K band (X was common for door openers and stuff stuff in town so there was always a city/highway mode), that would then drop off with no sign of a cop.

Then I started checking into it and sure enough accident avoidance uses radar and those features first rolled out in expensive cars but have now made it down to moderately priced cars.

Now, a radar detector tied into GPS and a phone app that is smart and can discern police radar from the chaff, maybe.

wirecutter is a popular review site, but I find some of their reviews suspect for the same reason.

I always read the comments, however, because they are often more informative than the review itself.

You have to take them with a grain of salt.
Not that there can't be good honest relevant reviews among all the fake ones and irrelevant ones.
You can tell generally if the review is worthwhile.
Just don't them in total as an absolute.

^^ That is for online sales reviews

Much of the same can be said for reviews on forums even ones here.
Yes they are all mostly honest but many are just not relevant.
Question: "Is XXXX any good"
Response: "I have/had XXXX and never had a problem."

{sigh}

That is nice but in all reality and with all due respect to a fellow forum member > it tells very little.

quote:

Originally posted by Lefty Sig:
Radar detectors have pretty much become useless.

I disagree, to an extent. X band is turned off, but my radar detector has paid for itself a dozen times over in the 9 years I've had it. In the new car (so in the last 6-ish months) it (plus my intuition and situational awareness) saved my butt on my morning commute enough to consider an upgrade. But then again I also drive a bright yellow cop magnet.

I've had Valentine One since the mid-90s. I've upgraded it over the years and the upgrade price is maybe just $50 off the regular price.

You also have to send the old unit in before they send the new one.

I checked a few months ago and just now. They continue to offer upgrades.

ETA: I just entered my S/N and it does say the upgrade program is suspended for this generation model until market conditions for the chip shortage improves.

They do have the V1 Gen 2 though and it's about $500.

Nothing to do with radar detectors, but everything to do with product reviews.

43 years in the business. As my company became known I started receiving sales pitches from magazine companies wanting me to buy advertising space in return for published positive reviews of my products. Later it was internet publishers, same basic approach (pay us and we will promote you). It even got down to individual bloggers offering positive posts in exchange for free products, and some threatening negative publicity if I refused.

Nuff said? Next time you see a glowing write-up about some product all you need to do is look a little further to find the paid advertising of the producer.

Most reviews are advertising disguised as public service commentary, and the whole business is a hustle (scam) operation to produce revenue for the publisher.

marksman41,

email sent (yesterday)

Thanks again

Side by side comparison reviews? Seems like the majority of them online are just regurgitated, even computer generated crap.

I suppose most of the time, if you don't send one for free, you don't get reviewed.

LS1 this is a timely post indeed. I just recently upgraded my Porsche and decided to find out what the best detector on the market is and, like you, the V1G2 was missing on several reviews although it is clearly one of the top 2 or 3 on the market. I’m seriously interested in the Valentine unit as it seems to be one of the best as fair as not being able to be detected. I drive quite a bit in Virginia and this is an important consideration for me.

I have been watching Vortex Radar on YouTube and he seems to give a fairly unbiased and quite technical review of all things related to radar detectors. I am waiting on his comparison between the V1G2 and the R8 that recently came out before pulling the trigger.. Here is one of his reviews…


https://youtu.be/N3ObqzZMrFM

I usually go to Amazon and look at buyers reviews of products.

Eggzactly smlsig!!

Just like my scenario where a guy is searching for reviews for "best sports coupe for a man over 55 with graying hair (or no hair) and with a 22 year-old trophy queen on his arm" and the Vette (which epitomizes that description) isn't part of the review.

quote:

Originally posted by Krazeehorse:
I usually go to Amazon and look at buyers reviews of products.

But you need to know which product(s) to look at.

That is good spot to look at after coming to an conclusion of which product you might like.

I have a non-upgraded V1. For what I used it for, it was sufficient. The PD in the town I used to live drove around with their K bands on and it was nice having a heads up if there was a cruiser around the corner.

As for the V1 upgrade fee they can pound sand. I'd be better off selling the old unit and buying a new one as someone already mentioned the discount is like $50. If I had known that I wouldn't have bought it as I was expecting the upgrade fee to be much more reasonable. I don't know what the market is like now but back in the early 2000s when I bought mine the V1 was almost double the cost of the Escort.

I never thought of myself as a speed demon but for a number of years I seemed to get caught a good bit and I think it was more bad luck than my driving.... but as of late, probably the last 5-10 years it seems that changed... in fact the last time I got pulled over it was for going too slow...
LEO thought I was stoned... and this was at 8:30 in the morning.

My Lidar will hit your car and return the signal before your radar detector wakes up. Sorry, don’t waste your cash.