HKsupastar

Last night, I went to Best Buy and saw a Passport 8500 with an open box deal for $250. I jumped at it thinking it was gonna be an awesome purchase, but guess what? Less than 24 hours later, I get nabbed by the police with a laser gun.

I know that laser is a very hard signal to detect, but the police was not but 100 yards away from me and my 8500 didn't even beep the whole time. I would feel better to have it go off even though I knew I got the ticket. But no signal, not a single beep.

So thinking I saved $150 over a new Valentine One cost me this ticket. All of my buddies have Valentine Ones and they haven't had a ticket since, even with lots of laser guns in our area. Now, I will have to return the detector at Best Buy (hopefully they won't charge the 15% restocking fee or then I will be uber pissed) and order the Valentine One and be short $150+ (for the stupid ticket)....

...and the sad thing was, I was only trying to pass a Chevrolet Corsica in a passing lane going 66 on a 45 mph zone...

SAC-CA-GTI

Show them your ticket when you return it and maybe they won't charge you the restock fee.

518 Jersey03_T

Usually they run instant on. So if he targets you and hits your plate exactly, thast where they are aiming. Your detecor may not even pick it up. I have a V1, deff the best around but, You still have to be careful. IF it is a good cop, he knows exactly when to turn it on, and where to aim. It is very rare, from 100 feet to have much laser dispersion. If you are 100 yards away however, you might get fragments of the beam, and thus the detector will go off. However, you should have gone with a v1 to start with , sorry.

HKsupastar

I had mine above the rear view mirror on the driver side.

HKsupastar

Third question: Any ticket experiences from Valentine One owners?

HKsupastar

Good idea. I will definitely do that if they give me heat. =)

KobeCow

once or twice (with my V1) the trooper don't have their radar ON all the time.

what happens is that the radar won't go off til it's too late (150-200 ft away) rarely though.

most of the time they leave their radar "ON" even when they are in the process of issuing a ticket and those are the times when you get to "see" how well your V1 works.

RKA

I'm one of the biggest advocates of V1's, however based on what you're describing, it's very possible that the V1 wouldn't have picked up the laser either.

Older laser guns had significantly more scatter than newer laser units. The newer guns will scatter 18" total at 500 feet. If the officer was aiming at your license plate at basically point blank range (by your own admission), it's very possible that neither detector would have picked it up.

If you're going to pick up the V1, it should be because of the directional arrows, or the (arguably) better radar detection. The laser performance should be the last criteria affecting your purchasing decision, since even the very best detectors will largely tell you that it's time to pull over and drop your pants.

SVAudi

I've had pretty good luck with the 8500 in picking up radar. But I mean for the most part, if I ever get tagged with laser, I pretty much assume I'm screwed, esp with the accuracy of the laser guns these days. I have the 8500 mounted about an inch or 2 above my dash.

Typist Formerly Known as (skene)

Instant on will just hit you and you're done for.
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