Valentine V1 radar detector

The original classic Valentine V1 with unique left hand drive orientation housing.

This product is still sold but is so out of date, and has no official New Zealand support network Check this one out instead!

Escort MAX 360c radar detector with GPS Escort Redline 360c NZ version radar detector Uniden R7 360′ radar detector Uniden R8 radar detector with arrows and GPS

Description

As of March 2019, the Valentine V1 is no longer produced. 

Valentine isn’t responding to our emails about official New Zealand distribution or where to get it serviced locally ( TLDR; you can’t get any support outside of the USA ).  

The V1 Valentine 1 is now officially “End of Life”.


Valentine V1

The classic Valentine V1 was so popular, Uniden based their R7 chassis design on it!

Even though the core Valentine 1 technology hasn’t changed in nearly 20 years, the V1 remains one of the most searched names among New Zealand radar detectors.

Is the Valentine V1 still as good as everyone says?

There is an entire sub-forum at www.RDForum.org dedicated to Valentine 1, and it still has a long list of die-hard fans who are eagerly awaiting news on why Valentine stopped shipping in March of 2019.  The forum has several New Zealand members as well.  We understand the fanbase, we understand their dedication, because even though we consider the Valentine 1 to be quite out of date, it really is was a good detector and a best seller.

Even though it’s no longer available, there’s nothing wrong with the V1 as long as you’re only worried about patrol cars and are happy to ignore a lot of false alerts and accept a ton of down-sides and challenges which we saw with the Valentine 1:

  • No user-enabled software updates available (and no USB input to do updates)
  • No segmented K-band (to help reduce false alerts)
  • No GPS for fixed location speed camera alerts
  • No New Zealand distributor (which suggests parallel imported product is the only option to buy)
  • No authorised repair agent in New Zealand. Repairs MUST be sent back to Ohio
  • Out-of-date pricing vs age vs built-in tech
  • Made for left-hand drive, so here in NZ, the display and control knob are passenger seat focussed

Some of the points above are “solved” by a series of dongles, add-ons, and extra wires sold by Valentine.  But once you add up the costs, it’s still trying to compete with something designed and built this century.

Want MODERN front and rear radar detection?

The V1 is still available second hand but it’s not what we consider a modern radar detector.

We recommend the Escort Redline EX or Uniden R3nz instead. If you really have a thing for the directional arrows, try the Escort Redline 360c or Uniden R8nz, or older Escort MAX 360c or Uniden R7 instead.

Some time after the original Valentine 1 was mothballed, the Valentine One Gen 2 came along.  Catchy name, right?  It has aesthetic changes and built-in Bluetooth to pair with your Android phone to alert you about fixed cameras (so no internal database like most others in the price range).  Performance is probably about the same as the original, but the same problems exist with local distribution and support and parts and accessories and warranty and repairs and why bother.

 

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