valentine 1 question

[brennaman]

I know some people have put thier Valentine 1 RADAR detector in thier tankbag to keep it out of site, but I am just curious where others have stashed it on an 1150RT? I am a little afraid in the tankbag my body will block its rear reception, and possibly front reception degraded a bit with the bike. Anyone that puts it in the tankbag, have you found this to be the case? And anyone that has mounted it anywhere else, I would be curious where. I am going to purchase the module for headset use, so I won't need to see the display. Thanks Phil

[AZKomet]

I place mine in the tankbag. I wouldn't worry about signal interference. I assume that when you mention your body you speak of the signal from the rear? That is not affected either. Remember, you are 73% water..that does little to stop radar or other microwave signals from passing right on through. You could also place the V1 on a RCU shelf. But I also assume you want to be discreet right? I have seen V1's placed in the side panels of certain machines. Some people fashion a mount and place them there. I suggest you don't do that b/c of weather and the like. Put it in your tank bag and forget it until it goes off!!!

[Boffin]

Dave is right about your body having little effect but for the wrong reason. Water adsorbs radio waves, especially certain frequencies - that is how microwave ovens work and why rain degrades satellite TV and radar signals.

 

The beam width and scatter from police radar is such that it is not hard to detect it despite your body being in the way. Grounded metal will be an effective block to signals but not the few un-grounded bits at the front of the bike, they will re-radiate the signals quite nicely.

 

If permanent fixture and concealment is needed then you could place it under the fairing but then signal loss from the mass of the bike does become an issue.

 

If you need, or prefer, to conceal then go with the tank bag. Otherwise go for a mount as high up as possible to maximise visible range.

 

Andy

[AZKomet]

True, but the microwaves pass thru water and food heating them by vibration and not some nuclear method as people often think. Wave frequency is key.

[Boffin]

True, but the microwaves pass thru water and food heating them by vibration and not some nuclear method as people often think. Wave frequency is key.

 

Yes frequency is important but microwaves impart energy by exciting the molecules, giving up their energy in the process. In other words they are adsorbed to greater or lesser extent - they do not pass through unattenuated - the signal strength is greatly reduced and can be totally adsorbed. I could go into the physics of the process but this is not the place. the important bit is that the operation of the V1 should not be significantly degraded bu placing it in the tankbag. In fact, thinking about it, no matter where you place it at the front of the bike, you will be between it and any signals behind you.

 

Andy

[jakfrost]

Just a little 'aside'...I have read about a few folks placing it in the outer portion of one of the saddlebags, ( I assume you would use the opposite 'optimum' side Andy...), and although there is a loss in 'height advantage' there is little to impede the forward and rearward 'look'.

 

Also weather proof and theft resistant...

 

Jim

[Rich_S]

Anybody out there done the inside the saddlebag mount? I was wondering if there would be much decrease in performance. I have to wait until spring to go check this setup versus the radar doors at Wal-Mart. 5F this morning...

[duckbubbles]

True, but the microwaves pass thru water and food heating them by vibration and not some nuclear method as people often think. Wave frequency is key.

Does that make cop radar responsible for GLOBAL WARMING? Let's get the eco guys on this.

 

Frank

[Whip]

I put a 1.5 square inch of velcro on top of the brake reservoir and another on the bottom of the V-1. Seems to work good. Was still attached when I fell off the bike.

 

Made I should used some velcro on my but

[jakfrost]

Apparently there is no appreciable degradation in signal reception in the saddlebag, assuming the plastic is of the same consistency as the GL1800...which is where I read about this particular installation.

 

When I owned the 'Hondabaggo' .

 

Jim

[Rob L]

How about placing in the lid of the top box? Weatherproof and higher up than the side bags, also this would get an equal reading from either side. Just a thought. Any comments?

Rob

[smiller]

Remember that out of sight means no lidar protection, and despite much conventional wisdom some lidar protection is definitely better than none in my experience.

[ShovelStrokeEd]

+1

My V1 sits proudly atop my gaggle of gadgets at just below the top of the windscreen. Remembering that I ride a pretty sporty bike with windscreen max height just below my pecs.

 

I find the lidar detection useful and have actually been saved a couple of times when using a rabbit on the freeway. Poor bunny gets nailed and I get enough of a signal, sometimes, to back off the gas or hit the brakes. Second best reason to always keep two fingers over the brake lever.

[mrduck]

I'm with Whip on this one. Just velcro the thing on my RCU shelf so I can pull it off and stick it in a pocket when parked.

 

 

 

Whip-

Velcro on your butt ?

[Smoky]

I use an exteral speaker in my helmet. I started by using velcro and fastening it to the inside of my glove-box, against the outer side. But I missed the arrows, for the past three years it sits in the map window of my BigMak tank bag. I can see the arrows and the signal strength.

 

When I stop, I just lift and turn over the map window, and then it's hidden.

 

It gets surprisingly hot when plugged in, that map window gets soft with the heat, but the trapped heat doesn't seem to effect operation.

 

Don't leave home without it!

[BeniciaRT_GT]

On my RT, I put it in the glovebox. It worked as well as people's that had it on an RCU shelf. On group rides mine went off when theres did.

 

I did want the display, so I got the remote display and hid it under the speaker cover.

[Bill_Walker]

I guess everybody's mileage varies, so to speak. I had mine in my tank bag at first and found that I was consistently picking up radar later (or not at all) compared to co-riders with their radar mounted at the top of the dash. Maybe too much cr**, er, stuff in my tank bag that got in the way, I dunno. I had the remote display to show me the arrows, but of course I gave up laser protection, such as it is.

 

I've since moved it up to a Gadget Guy mount. I've (knock on wood) never been pulled over with it there, so I don't know if its presence in plain sight makes one more likely to get a ticket once stopped. I do know for sure that its presence makes one less likely to get stopped! It's saved my aXXX, er, driving record on many occasions. And, as others have said, the arrows are darn useful.

 

Also, AFAIK, all the laser warnings I've gotten have been false alarms. I've had a couple when it got pointed at the sun, and a few more when I was right behind an SUV with LED brake lights. Never saw a LEO in those cases.

[smiller]

Also, AFAIK, all the laser warnings I've gotten have been false alarms. I've had a couple when it got pointed at the sun, and a few more when I was right behind an SUV with LED brake lights.

Same here, until the DPS (Highway Patrol) started using it. Now I see laser alerts much more frequently, and they're real...

[Paul_Burkett]

I have mine in the tank bag and the remote under the RCU shelf. I haven't had any problems yet, and I know it works, when payed attention to that is.

[Bill Dennes]

Mine is mounted under my BMR shelf, all the way over to the right. It "looks" through the plastic under the windshield. Works as well as it did when it was on top of the shelf.

 

Take a look at this page of my Four Corners web site for a picture. In the lower right picture the V1 is behind the clock/voltmeter thermometer (it looks backward through that just fine). Note the remote display unit mounted under the idiot lights so I can see the arrows.

 

Yes, I have no lidar view, but my V1 is pre-lidar. The V1 web site says there's not a lot to be gotten from the upgrade, so no lidar anyway.

 

[Bart Anderson]

On my RT, I put it in the glovebox. It worked as well as people's that had it on an RCU shelf. On group rides mine went off when theres did.

 

Here's another vote for the glove box. No laser, of course, but waterproof placement and out-of-sight theft prevention trump that for me. I have the remote display mounted just under the idiot lights and the remote audio below the left handlebar's switchgear. Works for me.

 

The V1 is the one accessory that is "always" on my bike, unlike the tankbag, saddlebags, etc.

[Spyder]

Yet another vote for the glovebox mount. I have the "arrows" mounted in the dash.

 

 

For the remote mute button, I used the aux mirror mount hole

 

[smiller]

OK, that's a slick idea about installing the pushbutton in the mirror mount hole..!

[RFW]

Remember, you are 73% water..that does little to stop radar or other microwave signals from passing right on through.

That is entirely false. Part of testing a cellphone or pager (both of which we design here) to meet FCC requirements, is testing with a simulated human body next to it. The simulated body is a tank of slightly salty water.

 

I can tell you that these signals (especially higher frequency X or Ku band signals) are indeed affected by passing though the body. Not as much as through a metal object, but they are affected nonetheless.

[KMG_365]

Okay, as slick as the mirror hole button is, I've got to say that that mounting job is one of the slickest I've seen!

 

That said, I would never give up my laser detection. It has saved me twice so far and it is quickly becoming more and more preferred by LEO's everywhere as the limitations of radar (and their associated countermeasures) is/are becoming more apparent.

[DavidEBSmith]

If I'm not mistaken, that's the remote display adapter. You could mount that in the dash and put the detector in the Legal Speeding case sitting up high, get laser detection and still be pretty stealthy.