From digest.v7.n1856 Wed Jun 10 15:47:14 1998
From: Phil Marx <BMW_at_rlc.net>
Date: Wed, 10 Jun 1998 16:38:12 -0500
Subject: BMW: Re: V1 in VA

Anton Largiader wrote:
>>I've never had a problem using the V1 in Virginia, and I leave it on
>>all the time.

Brian Curry wrote:
>Just a caution. One, it is AGAINST THE LAW. (As described/promulgated by
>the Legislature of VA.) And ignorance....
>
>Two, the V1 anti-detector-detector measures may really work against the
>detector-detectors (Likely VG-1) that Virginia uses.
>
>Three, Anton my have been lucky, and not gone past a site where they were
>sniffing for radar detectors, nor been stopped and the cop noticed it.
>
>Four, he might just be lucky. ;);)

Recent magazine tests of available detectors only briefly touched on the ability of Radar Detector Detectors to pick up the various units. Tests of a couple of years ago made a bigger deal out of this feature. It is quite a big deal for those of us in VA. In previous tests the V1 was considered invisible, by design, not, as with other units, by stealth circuitry which shut off the detector in the presence of VG-2 surveillance. Valentine shields the circuitry of the V1 with a steel casing but it is normally a low emitter of detectable radiation anyway. Automobile magazine of 1/97 tested the Escort as able to be picked up by VG-2 from a distance of 1623 ft. Two Whistler and Bel products simply shut-down in the presence of VG-2. The Bel STi is supposedly undetectable and does not shut down. The magazine found the V1 to be virtually undetectable. Valentine says it is detectable by VG-2 within a range of 2-3 ft.

My Passport was detected by VG-2 once in VA. I have received citations for detector use in VA on at least 3 occassions over the last maybe 20 years. In none of these cases was I cited for excessive speed. Never was my unit confiscated and the highest fine was $100 when that varied by county. Currently no points are assessed for detector violations, although that was not always the case. Officers routinely record the serial number of your detector and verify its access to power and operation. The Commonwealth's reliance on radar speed enforcement makes it a great place to use a detector. In my town, Charlottesville, they even use mounted police armed with radar guns to enforce speed limits in the city. Their first victim, and the first in the country caught my radar on horseback, is a member of this illustrious email group. The Valentine 1 is certainly your best choice of defense againts unauthorized microwave surveillance.

• -Phil Marx BMWMOA #2024