Anyone with a Valentine 1, intresting observation for you...

[dfess1]

So I'm cruising on the highway on the way to work, and it turns into a parking lot where it always does. This time, I'm behind a new Chevy Blazer. When the Blazer hits the brakes, my laser goes off like goofy. Just to test it out, I got behind a new trailblazer this morning, and the same exact thing happened. Anyone else had this experience? Perhaps it's a feature Chevy is putting in the new cars? At least something fun to do in traffic...

[F22-Raptor]

Same here The trailblazer uses goofy lights that look like leds which is about the same thing lasers use I believe.....But yeah it is weird

[WillyWonka]

Never happened with my system (Passport SR-1), but I'll seek them out and tailgate them for miles in case study style to see if this applies to me. Interesting.

[GTS LAID]

in my bel 980 the thing NEVER faults with anything... EXCEPT when my friend drives around in his prelude right behind me... he's got another radar detector.. cobra or some sh1t .. anyway the whole way up to the last meet my ka was on 2 out of 9 bars... really sucked.. i made him turn off his radar detector.

[Willis5050]

My V1 has never been triggered by a Blazer, but it has been triggered by one of those newfangled LED billboards. Guess it goes to show how sensitive this thing is. I am going to go rear end a Blazer after work.

[CelicaDetective]

The V-1 laser sensor is trigger by the frequency of certain LED lights on a car (like some newer large oldsmobile, I think aurora) and is triggered by NEON lights.

It must be the frequency of the light, probably in the laser range.

Mike

[F22-Raptor]

I should ask Mike Valentine since he owns the company next time I see him.....His kid goes to a private school where I used to work.

[bagodoosh]

also ask him what it costs him to built a V1..

[Todd Ripple]

Here is the answer.. similar to above..

Why am I getting laser alarms when I follow some cars?

Red neon is occasionally used for the CHMSL (Center High Mounted Stop Lamp) on new cars. We know of these models: GM Trailblazer and Envoy, the Lincoln Mk VIII and the latest BMW 3-series convertible.

These lights use a neon-plasma light source. The red lens allows red visible light to pass, and also invisible energy near infrared. The source is powered by a pulsating voltage on a frequency that happens to be similar to the repetition rate of legitimate laser-gun pulse trains. In other words, the CHMSLs have an invisible energy leakage that

[shoeguy]

Originally posted by Willis5050
My V1 has never been triggered by a Blazer, but it has been triggered by one of those newfangled LED billboards. Guess it goes to show how sensitive this thing is. I am going to go rear end a Blazer after work.

Those LED billboards trigger the V1 laser warning pretty consistently. I drive by a giant one daily on NJ route 3 that usually sets it off. I think there needs to be a minimum number of LEDs to trigger an alert since it seems to ignore the short messages. I have also had a few instances of radar signals (X or K) coming from other cars. I am guessing it is from other detectors, or maybe a cell phone.

[Willis5050]

Originally posted by shoeguy


Those LED billboards trigger the V1 laser warning pretty consistently. I drive by a giant one daily on NJ route 3 that usually sets it off. I think there needs to be a minimum number of LEDs to trigger an alert since it seems to ignore the short messages. I have also had a few instances of radar signals (X or K) coming from other cars. I am guessing it is from other detectors, or maybe a cell phone.

Good to know it's not just me; I guess it's good to know that the thing works well. My first radar detector didn't go off for two weeks after I bought it. I thought I was avoiding the cops until I got pulled over twice. I think I ran the thing over.

Interesting bit of trivia: Mike Valentine graduated dead last in his class of electrical engineering at the University of Cincinnati. His success shows that grades really don't matter, its what you make of your natural ingenuity. He always comes and talks to us about that (gets the Dean pretty livid:)). So if your GPA isn't where you want it to be, it's not the end of the world.

[/soapbox]

[Phil C]

My V1 which is an older model, one of the first to have laser, doesn't seem to be affected by the TrailBlazers and other vehicles but my sister's which she finally bought a year and half ago is. She has complained about it on several occasions.

[F22-Raptor]

Yeah Mike V is a cool guy he just won't give me any discounts on the V1 which leads me to believe those things are expensive to make or he likes his pricepoint.. My Opinion is a little bit of both.. But you won't see me buy anything else ever.

[analogvoid]

On this topic.. what is a good radar detector to get? Prices? Features? Thanks