Any thoughts as which one to buy? Also location of mounting etc. ? It would seem a good place to be mounted is inside the small storage area below the large screen. Thoughts?
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HankLloydRight
No Roads
There are dozens of threads on radar detectors. Up until recently, Model S had a reflective coating that blocked 90% of radar signals, rendering most in-car units useless, which is why most of us have gone the hard-wired route. I believe people are reporting in newer cars the coating is gone (as well as in Model X), so that might change things. Just search for "Radar detectors" and spend a few hours reading the forums threads.
FlatSix911
Porsche 918 Hybrid
I successfully used a Valentine One for years and it is now worthless in the Model S due to the windshield coating.
Go with a remote sensor type of detector, or try using the Tesla Waze app for police and accident information
https://tesla-waze.excelsis.com/
Go with a remote sensor type of detector, or try using the Tesla Waze app for police and accident information
https://tesla-waze.excelsis.com/
HankLloydRight
No Roads
I had the Bell STir+ (essentially same as 9500ci) installed in my MS, works great.
But my V1 is still sits proudly in my BMW M5 (my "winter beater") and continues to work great. And I'm not in the middle of nowhere -- I'm in the greater NYC area. I rarely have a problem with falsing.
I loved Valentine One for years but like many switched to the Beltronics (built-in) for my MS. I recently used my Valentine One in my other car for a road trip and was surprised just how many false alarms I received. I get very few alarm at all with my Beltronics. On the other hand for better or worse I have run into very few police while driving it. So I have no idea if it will detect them as well as the Valentine One did.
I did install the control panel in the cubby under the screen. I also have the display integrated into my original rearview mirror (behind the glass so it is seamless).
Finally I also put in some laser jammers while I was at it.
I did install the control panel in the cubby under the screen. I also have the display integrated into my original rearview mirror (behind the glass so it is seamless).
Finally I also put in some laser jammers while I was at it.
HankLloydRight
No Roads
Laser actually works fine through the glass. 90% of radar is blocked. I think your shop is way wrong and you're just not realizing how limited the radar reception actually is, unless you have a very recent car without the coating.
I hard wired my Escort 9500ix into my new (delivered this month) 90D this weekend. Install was a snap (took about 20 minutes leveraging some threads around here on dashcam installs). I have it placed just to the left of the mirror/autopilot housing, right at the top of the windshield.
I have read a LOT on here about how coated windshields can impact (or downright kill) performance. I haven't had a chance to do any real apples to apples comparisons, but I do see the detector going off (both K and Ka) regularly. I'm hopeful that either 1) coated windshields aren't a thing anymore or 2) I have it in a "clear" spot.
PS my windshield mounted EZ Pass works without any issue too, placed just to the right of the mirror/camera housing.
I have read a LOT on here about how coated windshields can impact (or downright kill) performance. I haven't had a chance to do any real apples to apples comparisons, but I do see the detector going off (both K and Ka) regularly. I'm hopeful that either 1) coated windshields aren't a thing anymore or 2) I have it in a "clear" spot.
PS my windshield mounted EZ Pass works without any issue too, placed just to the right of the mirror/camera housing.
The other problem is that on cars with coated windshields, the cutout area is a black opaque square, so obviously that has no laser reception. So yeah, you have to choose between good radar reception + no LIDAR reception, or poor RADAR reception + good LIDAR reception, or if you have a radar detector with an offset LIDAR sensor, you can attempt to give the LIDAR eye a good view of the road without affecting the radar horn (which is darn near impossible)
But at any rate, focusing on laser reception is the wrong thing to do. I run a laser countermeasure testing group, and last weekend I tested around 5 cars with a variety of radar detectors against 2 modern police laser guns in my collection, and more often than not there was no detection alert at all unless they had jammers on (which are firing high wattage LIDAR pulses resulting in detection unrelated to the incoming signal)
HankLloydRight
No Roads
(1) I'm not gonna go into the morality of doing so, as that turns into a can of worms regarding the morality of speeding in general, etc etc etc. That side does not interest me at all — as an engineer, the technical side of speed measuring radar/LIDAR and detecting/defeating them are what interest me.
(2) There exists both a mix of effective products and pure snake oil on the market.
(3) Long story short: Select ALP if you want a product that consistently works. Also: If your laser jammers do not provide at least 2 firmware updates per year, they are likely NOT keeping up with new models of guns and new firmware revisions. Effective LIDAR jammers tailor their jamming patterns to specific guns. There's really no such thing as universal laser jammers/shifters/deflectors anymore.
(4) Find a local testing group to get your system tested after installing it. Make sure your local testers are using LIDAR guns that match what the police use, as good performance against 1 gun does not translate to good performance against others.
Most importantly: DO NOT SHOW OFF OR OTHERWISE OVERTLY USE YOUR LASER DEFENSES. That means shut them off as soon as you have reacted appropriately to an alert. Turn them off in advance if you think you're approaching a speed trap but already reduced your speed. Don't repeatedly drive by an active cop to "test" out your system (seriously, it doesn't really help you, and you'll just end up attracting attention if the cop catches on). Doing these things run a high risk of getting hassled by law enforcement, and also results in the kind of feedback to gun manufacturers that they want more anti-jamming features. Some guns these days now have fairly sophisticated anti-jamming features, and it's doing everyone a disservice to motivate gun manufacturers to spend engineering resources on anti-jam.
HankLloydRight
No Roads
CHG-ON
Still in love after all these miles
You can program out most falses on the V1. The website tells you how. I did it quite some time ago and now it is great.
IIRC, I have it programmed for Logic mode (upper case L on display). Still, way to many falses for my tastes when passing stores, etc.
CHG-ON
Still in love after all these miles
I went through and was able to turn of all the radar that is not used in my normal driving area. I forget their names because it has been so long. But it is basically the one that automatic doors in stores and malls that used to always set it off. That band (X?) is not used in my region. Go to the their website to support and hunt around. They tell you exactly how to program the V1. It's not just choosing between logic, all, etc by pressing the button. They tell you how to do it with a combination of different button presses, as I recall. It programs the eprom and is permanent until you change it. Even after losing power. Sorry I don't remember more. I did it several years ago. Then only falses I get now are radar jammers (rare), which it recognizes after a second and laser jammers, which it doesn't (very rare).
Now, every time it goes off, I can count on a cop being somewhere. I almost always spot them.
Now, every time it goes off, I can count on a cop being somewhere. I almost always spot them.
EXOTIC1
Member
The tiny radenso radar detectors actually work well in the tiny open spot by the mirror. i have the PRO SE
great unit...... anybody else using one of these?
Radenso Radar Detector - Smallest High-End Radar Detector
great unit...... anybody else using one of these?
Radenso Radar Detector - Smallest High-End Radar Detector
EXOTIC1
Member
I have a V1 sealed in plastic mounted behind the nosecone and Valentine's remote display and volume control sitting between the center console and the bottom of the cubby opening. I've turned off X and K bands that are basically not used in my area.
So no laser alerts, no rear coverage-but pretty good Ka coverage in the front, and it makes use of hardware I already had. Between that and the Waze site in the screen, I've stayed ticket-free for 30,000 miles. (Or am I just getting old?)
Not the ultimate solution. I wouldn't buy this setup if I was looking for a new solution, but it does make good use of an old V1.
So no laser alerts, no rear coverage-but pretty good Ka coverage in the front, and it makes use of hardware I already had. Between that and the Waze site in the screen, I've stayed ticket-free for 30,000 miles. (Or am I just getting old?)
Not the ultimate solution. I wouldn't buy this setup if I was looking for a new solution, but it does make good use of an old V1.
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