People saying this tech is just for speeding are wrong. I have a high end model that's legal in california (radar detection is legal, although cops will hassle you and say it isn't - any unit with a jammer installed is illegal whether you're using the jamming or not. They don't really seem to know the difference, so beware).<p>I drive reasonable speeds but have a loud car that will get pulled over for "noise" (it's unmodified and legal) which are usually just fishing expeditions. Since police cruisers in my state usually emit radar signals constantly, the detector basically gives me a heads up when a cop is within ~ 0.5 miles of me, which I find useful whether I am speeding or not. Limiting my interactions with police is a worthy goal, since police can be dangerous and unpredictable and shoot-y.
I remember my Valentine V1 fondly. It was so clearly and immediately better than all the other radar detectors. Knowing where the signal was coming from was a game changer.<p>I’m not saying speeding is good, but when you’re on the road a lot and are a responsible driver there are definitely places where you can safely exceed the speed limit and where it feels like the police see enforcement as a fundraising opportunity rather than a safety issue.
Michael Valentine powered a lot of transcontinental runs (Cannonball) including Ed Bolian's landmark 28:50 run.<p>He will be missed; he's a hero in my social circles.
I remember the ads in old Car&Track and Road&Driver magazines at the doctor’s office. They always had a veneer of illegality to them, even in states where they were legal. Funny how something like Waze doesn’t. I wonder if it’s that Waze is just the technological equivalent to the oncoming driver flashing their brights at you.
Its strange to see so much moralizing in this thread about a device which only receives signals and can't harm another being unless maybe thrown hard enough.<p>Most speed limits are artificially low to the point where slavish adherence makes them the safety issue, rather than everyone else breaking the law.
Valentine's products basically came onto the market at the same time as radar guns. He was right there at the cutting edge reverse engineering new technology.<p>And regardless of how you feel about the legality now, "speeding" was also a new concept at the time. There was no consistent federal speed limit rules. There were rules about pedestrian safety and reckless driving, and there were periods of gas conservation rules during WWII. But there was not a strong moral basis to stay under a certain speed on a motorway.<p>Valentine was in every way a hacker. The radar detector is right up there with the Wifi Pineapple and Flipper Zero.
Just two days ago, I applied the "V1 Gen2 Better-Still UPGRADE: Early-September 2024" to my device. I've been a customer for 15 years, and this is my second V1. It's an amazing device, and an essential defense against speed traps. I hope that the company can continue without Michael, but I fear that it was a one-man show.<p>R.I.P. Michael.
The primary reason most people own radar detectors is for bullshit speed limits and speed traps.<p>Very few are people looking to street race or be reckless drivers.
> <i>The automotive industry has lost one of the great saviors of speed.</i><p>The article glamorizes speeding.<p>Here's one reason not to: Imagine a speeder hitting someone, and the difference between the innocent person being OK, and being disabled/killed, was the speeding. That's not hard to imagine, and seems to be a frequent occurrence in the US.<p>Another thing to imagine: Imagine that everyone obeyed speed laws. Wouldn't there then be more pressure to make the laws more sensible?<p>Instead, we have dangerous speeding by random people, who feel justified in it, and a ton of people individually and unilaterally trying to apply their own judgment of what speeding of theirs is safe for others.<p>Personally, I sure don't want the stupidest and cockiest people deciding what's safe for 'themselves', and applying it counter to the expectations of imminent victims. When we normalize speeding, that's what we get.