I'm off on holiday in a few weeks to Florida. Question is, should I buy a Radar Detector whilst over there and what about bringing it back through customs? Costs etc.

I was looking at the Valentine One on sale over there at $399. Look the dogs.... But, will it work OK in the UK and what about warranty.

I know nothing about Radar Detectors. But with a recent 3 points moving me to 6, I think I need something.

Any suggestions on Radar detectors and buying in USA would be welcome. Also any suggestions for buying in the UK. I've been looking at

Apparently the UK detectors are re-programmed by the importer to be 100% compatible with the frequencies UK police use. Don't know how true that is.
As I'm a big scaredy-cat, I'd go for a UK sourced detector to be doublely on the safe side.

My employer is the main UK distributor for Bell radar and although Ive nothing to do with that side of the business, I believe units are programmed for the UK market.

The V1 is *physically* designed for the US market, with the display angled towards the left. IMO, whatever the price, it is naff in this respect (though good in performance)!

Buy in the US and get caught at customs means paying duty and VAT on the duty (or vice versa or something). Also, warranty, even if it still exists, may be hard to implement (e.g. return to base).

Detector prices have dropped (and the range massively increased) in the UK over recent years. Maybe best to buy cheap Levis (as in _really_ cheap) on your trip, and check yoru local Scooby dealer (or someone like Networx, who i have happily bought from in the past) for a decent Bel or similar!

mb

Kev.

I have just bought the Valentine 1 from the US and as you say, at $399. That works out to about £280 compared to £600 in Demon Tweeks.
The Valentine 1 is simply the best detector on the market and is fully compatible with UK frequencies.

You even have the choice to disable X band and Ka frequencies (in fact any combination of frequencies that you wish) which will lessen many false triggers from traffic lights and auto doors etc.

The V1 is also unique as it tells you how many individual radar sources you are in range of and which direction they are coming from (i.e. a plod standing 40 feet in front of a gatso will be shown as 2 signals ahead followed by 1 ahead 1 to side, one ahead 1 behind etc etc).

It has a laser detector front and rear which in tests (by the speedtrap guide) it was sensitive enough to pick up stray laser from a car, 3 in front, being targeted .

As for the angled face, it makes no difference other than cosmetic and at the end of the day, a detector hanging off your windscreen is less than attractive anyway!

Finally, the quality of construction and the fitting kit is superb along with a brilliant manual giving a great background on all aspects of laser and radar usage.

Go for it!

Neil.

I bought a V1 and a consealed display as well!

The detector is up near the top of the windscreen, and the display is blacked out when the consealed unit is plugged in. The remote unit is on the dash and in the eyeline!

Not bad for less than £300 all in!! Only problem was ordering it and sending it to a friend in the States, and getting another friend to pick it up for me!

It's top notch and out performs some of the more specific UK detectors!

Hope this helps
Andy

Does the V1 do Ku band yet???

mb

Boomer,

The newer versions of the V1 does cover the Ku band, but by default it's disabled. It's easy enough to switch it back on again!

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by Neil F:
<B> it was sensitive enough to pick up stray laser from a car, 3 in front, being targeted .

[/quote]

Not saying the Bel 550 is better than the V1 however I think the 550 can also pick up laser from cars that are targeted in front. Even from 3 in front.

WREXY.