Valentine OneThe Valentine One radar detector is an in-your-face unit that is unlike any other on the market today.

It features two antennas (one facing forwards and the other backwards) which effectively tell you the strength and band of the radar signal as well as the actual number of radar units (“bogeys”) being detected.

Obviously this is going to give you the knowledge of which direction the signal is coming from and protect you from it.

There is only one other detector on the market with external antennas and that is Beltronics STI Driver, but both of the antenna face forward with diminishes its detection capacity substantially.

The original Valentine One was manufactured in 1992 and while the looks haven’t changed all that much, it has been constantly and continuously refined with updates since its inception making it one of the best performing and most reliable out there.

What I like about the Valentine One

  • Ability to detect anything that it is thrown at it – including X, K, Ka, Ku and even super wideband Ka detection
  • Ability to track more than one threat simultaneously. This can sometimes help you distinguish between real threats and false threats
  • You will know when you’ve safely passed and are beginning to move away from a target – the front signal will shift to the side lights and then to the rear and then you can breathe easy
  • The Valentine One is all black in color, including the power cords and other bits and pieces. This means that it will not reflect light back into your eyes or draw attention to itself.

Most of the other modern day radar detectors are so shiny and reflective that it could defeat the purpose of having a radar detector in the first place, if you know what I mean. I would want mine to be as subtle as possible.

  • The Valentine is easily able to be muted with just the push of one button – this is a big thing for me! However, when a new threat is detected the system will revert to the original volume. I should point out though that mute can be any volume level you choose. It does not necessarily have to be muted as in no sound at all.
  • 3 different sensitivity settings are available, the most sensitive being the “advanced logic” which filters out false alarms completely
  • The display has one LED for each type of radar detected (laser, Ka, X, and K) supplementing the different audio beeps for each type (laser also has an additional visual warning as these are almost never false alarms and give you the least reaction time)

What I didn’t like so much..

  • Some toll payment systems can set off the laser detection system giving you a loud, repetitive false reading
  • Price is high, but the Valentine One is not necessarily bad value for money
  • The LED lights for each type of threat are illuminated at night, but the corresponding radar bands are not, so it can sometimes be hard to see exactly what the threat is in the dark
  • No protection for red light or speed cameras
  • Suction cups can lose adhesion to the windshield

What others are saying about the Valentine radar detector

“Thunderdonkey” put a positive spin on the false positive readings, which I must admit I have to agree with since I am one of those people that like to hear every detection instead of turning it off completely and potentially missing one that was real:

Yes, you will get false-positives, but after using it for a week or so you will be able to quickly, or immediately, identify them (based on band, strength, and location). If you have an IQ higher than that of a dain bramaged chimpanzee, this should come naturally. Personally speaking, I *like* the high false-positive rate as it ensures that I’m seeing/hearing everything out there, as it allows me to pass my own judgment and act accordingly.

Richard OConor said that the Valentine One was “butt ugly” and several others have said similar things.

Now personally it doesn’t bother me what the radar detection unit looks like, as long as it performs all of the functions it was advertised as performing.

In this day and age where anything and everything is stylized beyond recognition, it is nice to know that some pieces of equipment just get the job done and don’t need brushed titanium or hot pink plastic finishes to make them more appealing to the consumer.

What should make them appealing is, of course, things like reliability and consistency and durability which tends to decrease as the level of “bling” increases.

What you get in the box

  • 1. Valentine One Radar Locator
  • 2. Windshield mount
  • 3. Visor mount
  • 4. Lighter adapter
  • 5. Power cord, coiled
  • 6. Power cord, straight
  • 7. Spare suction cups
  • 8. Direct-wire power adapter
  • 9. Wiring-harness connector
  • 10. Owner’s Manual
  • 11. Spare fuses

Conclusion

The Valentine One has been a proven performer in the radar detector market for almost 20 years now. While it does not have all of the bells and whistles that more modern units have, its reliability and track record will surely strike a chord with some.

It would be hard to imagine that Valentine would not continue to provide upgrades to their units into the future, considering that they have done so since 1992.

When you take a hard look at the weaknesses of the Valentine One, it is hard to really find anything beyond a minor annoyance.

For example, speed and red light cameras are usually more obvious than radars, and I’d much rather have protection against the police coming at me from behind than at the odd suburban red light intersection.

Furthermore, the highly sensitive nature of the unit can easily be fixed by turning down the volume - but for the more paranoid amongst us the Valentine will never miss a beat and the noise is something we can put up with.

I’m willing to bet that the V1 has been the blueprint for most other radar detectors on the market today. Brands like Beltronics and Escort are probably taking advantage of the fruits of Valentines many years of research and development, shamelessly repackaging the technology into something with more, shall we say, glamour. :P

Filed under: Valentine One

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