Id like to install my V1 this weekend. im thinking of running the wire up the pillar and across the top of the windshield. I dont think the pillar moulding comes off. anyone done this and how did you do it?
There is no pillar moulding on the Viper. Its one solid painted piece of structure. IVe seen the install done before by somone temporarily taping the wire in place, then using clear silicone to secure it. looked pretty good.
I used the hot wire for the reading/dome light, they can be accessed by pulling the switch down, very small wires and the hot wire is always on so you have the turn the V1 off and on. Tom Of course this would only work on a GTS
I wrapped my cord with a little black double-stick 3M tape and shoved it into the gap between the pillar and windshield. You can't see it and it has held up fine for that last 1 1/2 years that I have had it installed.
To mount the V1, I bent or glued two pieces of black acrylic (can't remember which) into an 'L' shape and used velcro to mount the bracket to the back of the mirror and bottom of the V1. Looks and works good.
Check with a stereo shop. They have this stuff they use for running wires, it looks like a strip of grayish clay. You pull off tiny bits of it and stick it where it isn't visible, then jam the wire into it. It sticks to just about anything, but leaves no residue, and stays sticky and pliable indefinitely. Good stuff.
I've wanted to pick up a Valentine 1, but I don't think it's necessary anymore. Nearly every police organization on the west coast that I know of uses instant-read lasers, as they've become much cheaper and more easily found. If I were in a more rural area, I might still think the investment for one, maybe two more years would be worth it.
On the east coast they still seem to use "standard" radar. Regardless, the V1 is STILL indispensable. Open hiway, yeah...you're a goner. But in mild traffic, you'll pick up instant on radar when they paint the car in front of you, so you'll make the best time when there's SOME traffic. Around here there's ALWAYS traffic, so the open hiway issue is mute.
Laser has significant "scatter" -- the light diffracts off water particles in the air. Thus, it's possible to detect laser when it's shot at other vehicles. You don't have MUCH of a margin of safety, but it does exist. My V1 has saved me from laser once. I was coming around the bend on I-75 north crossing the FL/GA state line, and FL troopers were shooting traffic as it came around the corner. A truck about 200 yards ahead of me got popped and my V1 lit up (and scared the hell out of me, I'd never heard the laser warning, it's quite... enthusiastic). Had it not been for the V1, I would have sailed right into it, as they did pop me a few seconds later (thank god for big brakes).
As for rural use and "one, maybe two more years" goes... I think your safer for a lot longer than that. Last time I looked, laser was vastly more expensive than regular radar. It took cops about 15 years to move almost completely away from X-band, and K- and Ka-band is comparably priced, more flexible, and just as easy to use. How long will it take with a system which is more expensive to purchase AND to operate (apparently laser needs frequent calibration), and more difficult to operate? Quite awhile, I'd wager.
(Interestingly, I've noticed some areas appear to be moving BACK to X-band... several counties in GA which I've traveled through regularly for ten years have made the switch back...)
Regardless, I can say this with confidence: in the 30K miles I've put on my Viper, the V1 has saved me more money in tickets than the $410 purchase price I paid.
V1 works great in the UK for fixed speed camera's, although the latest automatic digital camera craze on freeways is 2 cameras about 3-4 miles apart (with no junctions off it), as you pass the first one your front plate is captured the same happens as you pass the second, then the system averages your speed over the distance and if your guilty of speeding a fine in the post...
changing lanes doesnt help, there is no camera flash (illegal head on) and it catches everyone's plate !, the V1 doesn't detect this new system
Its quite new over here but catching on quickly, to quickly
V1 works great in the UK for fixed speed camera's, although the latest automatic digital camera craze on freeways is 2 cameras about 3-4 miles apart (with no junctions off it), as you pass the first one your front plate is captured the same happens as you pass the second, then the system averages your speed over the distance and if your guilty of speeding a fine in the post...
changing lanes doesnt help, there is no camera flash (illegal head on) and it catches everyone's plate !, the V1 doesn't detect this new system
Its quite new over here but catching on quickly, to quickly
