800 miles with the V1G2

[jdong]

Ended up going on a socially distanced "vacation", renting out a house on AirBnb and doing delivery-only groceries to try to both limit my own exposure as well as be considerate to the town I'm visiting. This time I decided to take our Model 3 with the V1G2. Overall I loved using the V1G2 and find it right up there with the R7 as my detectors of choice:

The positives:

1. The K band BSM filtering is simply the best I've experienced on the market. We found one GM car that set it off but we drove by so many Hondas, Acuras, Odysseys, Mazdas, and so on and were simply floored by the V1G2 staying silent (this is in big L mode). Not even the R7 in City is this silent, and the Max360Ci in Auto can't filter out many of these vehicles either. As far as I've experienced, there's nothing else on the market that is this quiet. K Block seems to help the R7 band-aid the Acura 24.199 falses, but it doesn't seem to help with the GM 24.16x/17x systems though the V1G2 seems to handle that well.
2. Extreme Ka range is definitely up there with the R7 or above. Every detection was consistent and impressive.
3. On CO, the ramp-up is absolutely amazing. Like we were able to accurately label each kind of ramp-up -- IO, CO, "we're about to see the cop", "I think they're in traffic ahead of us".... and that's something we were honestly not very successful doing with the R7 primarily because the R7's ramp-up pegs at max too early.

The negatives:

1. Had more Ka falses than I wanted. Most of them were at oddball out-of-the-box frequencies and only presented at 1 bar. Maybe 25% of those got J'ed out. Overall IMO VR needs to work on the Ka band filtering. On the bright side, unlike the R7, the V1G2 never falsed on 34.7. The R7 for me still has a nonzero occurrence of giving 1 blip 34.699/34.700 alerts that don't amount to anything. As much as I try to convince myself it's an extreme range pickup, I strongly suspect most of those to be falses. In CA, falsing on 34.7 is super annoying.
2. Had 1 Ka encounter ghost up to 9 bogeys right around when it was transitioning to the rear
3. Watch out for the V1G2 ramp-up indications! I witnessed at least one kill zone before 6 bars of alert -- while the alert bar scaling results in better threat locating, it does mean even weak signals need to be taken more seriously.
4. Often times after 1 K band PT (like a speed sign or other legitimate PT), it seems like K Verifier lets through BSM systems too until those systems get out of range.
5. The V1G2 was 0 for 2 on LIDAR traps -- passed two CHPs actively shooting Truspeed and the V1G2 did not go off for either. Note that the Truspeed has a notoriously narrow beam, but this is a reminder that no matter how sensitive your LIDAR detector is, passive LIDAR scatter is not something you can bank on.
6. A few cases I had the arrows not flip after passing a threat. Note that the Model 3 does have slightly RF blocking glass and oddly high rear glass so I suspect the rear antenna didn't get too much of a whiff of the signal.

All in all, the V1G2 would get a 9 out of 10. That's about the same score I'd give the R7. They both have shared strengths (Ka range), and while the V1G2 right now has a few more quirks, the R7's BSM filtering in today's shape is definitely inferior in my experience compared to the V1G2. Overall though, I think the V1G2 is quite dependable/reliable. It's certainly nothing like the RL360c launch where it once in a while shows potential but as an overall package seems not very usable.

 

[SwankPeRFection]

You might want to test your laser sensor with a FaceID capable iPhone or other lidar tester as I’ve had no issues picking up Truspeeds on a gen 1 for both scatter and targeted. The gen 2 optics are supposedly the same/just as good, so there should be no issues.

 

[Deadhead1971]

Had 1 Ka encounter ghost up to 9 bogeys right around when it was transitioning to the rear

Can you tell us your firmware version ?
4.1018 or 4.1019?

 

[DocTJ]

Watch out for the V1G2 ramp-up indications! I witnessed at least one kill zone before 6 bars of alert -- while the alert bar scaling results in better threat locating, it does mean even weak signals need to be taken more seriously.

Yuppppp. Big issue. And then combine that with ghosting and you have no idea what audible alert you’re getting cuz it’s throwing a million things at you while you’re getting I/owned

 

[icemanpt]

Hi!
I also have a model 3 and i would to know were did you hook up your RD.
Best regards!

 

[DrHow]

Ended up going on a socially distanced "vacation", renting out a house on AirBnb and doing delivery-only groceries to try to both limit my own exposure as well as be considerate to the town I'm visiting. This time I decided to take our Model 3 with the V1G2. Overall I loved using the V1G2 and find it right up there with the R7 as my detectors of choice:

The positives:

1. The K band BSM filtering is simply the best I've experienced on the market. We found one GM car that set it off but we drove by so many Hondas, Acuras, Odysseys, Mazdas, and so on and were simply floored by the V1G2 staying silent (this is in big L mode). Not even the R7 in City is this silent, and the Max360Ci in Auto can't filter out many of these vehicles either. As far as I've experienced, there's nothing else on the market that is this quiet. K Block seems to help the R7 band-aid the Acura 24.199 falses, but it doesn't seem to help with the GM 24.16x/17x systems though the V1G2 seems to handle that well.
2. Extreme Ka range is definitely up there with the R7 or above. Every detection was consistent and impressive.
3. On CO, the ramp-up is absolutely amazing. Like we were able to accurately label each kind of ramp-up -- IO, CO, "we're about to see the cop", "I think they're in traffic ahead of us".... and that's something we were honestly not very successful doing with the R7 primarily because the R7's ramp-up pegs at max too early.

The negatives:

1. Had more Ka falses than I wanted. Most of them were at oddball out-of-the-box frequencies and only presented at 1 bar. Maybe 25% of those got J'ed out. Overall IMO VR needs to work on the Ka band filtering. On the bright side, unlike the R7, the V1G2 never falsed on 34.7. The R7 for me still has a nonzero occurrence of giving 1 blip 34.699/34.700 alerts that don't amount to anything. As much as I try to convince myself it's an extreme range pickup, I strongly suspect most of those to be falses. In CA, falsing on 34.7 is super annoying.
2. Had 1 Ka encounter ghost up to 9 bogeys right around when it was transitioning to the rear
3. Watch out for the V1G2 ramp-up indications! I witnessed at least one kill zone before 6 bars of alert -- while the alert bar scaling results in better threat locating, it does mean even weak signals need to be taken more seriously.
4. Often times after 1 K band PT (like a speed sign or other legitimate PT), it seems like K Verifier lets through BSM systems too until those systems get out of range.
5. The V1G2 was 0 for 2 on LIDAR traps -- passed two CHPs actively shooting Truspeed and the V1G2 did not go off for either. Note that the Truspeed has a notoriously narrow beam, but this is a reminder that no matter how sensitive your LIDAR detector is, passive LIDAR scatter is not something you can bank on.
6. A few cases I had the arrows not flip after passing a threat. Note that the Model 3 does have slightly RF blocking glass and oddly high rear glass so I suspect the rear antenna didn't get too much of a whiff of the signal.

All in all, the V1G2 would get a 9 out of 10. That's about the same score I'd give the R7. They both have shared strengths (Ka range), and while the V1G2 right now has a few more quirks, the R7's BSM filtering in today's shape is definitely inferior in my experience compared to the V1G2. Overall though, I think the V1G2 is quite dependable/reliable. It's certainly nothing like the RL360c launch where it once in a while shows potential but as an overall package seems not very usable.

Ditto... Plus, for me, the G2 is the only one to deal with Acura 24.167 on newest models. Does not phase it. This is outside the “K block” of my R7.

 

[jdong]

You might want to test your laser sensor with a FaceID capable iPhone or other lidar tester as I’ve had no issues picking up Truspeeds on a gen 1 for both scatter and targeted. The gen 2 optics are supposedly the same/just as good, so there should be no issues.

I've tested with LIDAR guns and my V1G2 does quite well, about the same as the V1G1. It's definitely the most sensitive laser receiver for an RD but that doesn't mean selective LIDAR targeting will always get you scatter hits. The Truspeed in particular is a pain because it has a narrow tall beam. When targeting a headlight it's not abnormal for detectors like the Redline to not even give you direct-shot notification.

Can you tell us your firmware version ?
4.1018 or 4.1019?

4.1018, it was an early March unit that amazingly has not failed yet.

Hi!
I also have a model 3 and i would to know were did you hook up your RD.
Best regards!

Right now I've just temporarily plugged into the cigarette lighter socket in the armrest and ran the cord down the center console, behind the MCU, up to the rearview mirror (Blendmount). It's not the prettiest setup but I've been too lazy to improve it. In an ideal world I'd probably pay to have it hardwired up into the headliner, but given the current COVID situation I'd rather not have strangers work on my car if I can at all avoid it.

 

[fred50stang]

I run/ran mine in little 'l' or advanced logic mode. It did not like Acura MDX's at all. I did not see any KA falses or ghosting on my recent road trip. It did alert weak signal(1light) a couple times to KA, but I contributed that it was possibly police turning around or going over an over pass, because that would be the only time it seemed to happen, way off in the distance. Nothing close.

 

[SwankPeRFection]

Yep, most likely those were legit extreme range outskirts on Ka hits. That’s kind of that “you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t” type of tuning for range on detectors where you run the risk of people thinking they’re falses when they’re just really far off hits they never find. It’s going to be interesting how noisy really long range detectors will be in areas with tons of cops shooting radar around a user who might not be traveling in a direction to ever see them. Imaging going anywhere and getting 1 bar Ka hits off and on during your whole trip day after day... it’s like running a V1 with Ka guard off. This is where for detectors like Theia, that readout indicating the guy type will be important... so that people don’t think it’s a similar frequency Ka hit close by from some kind of BSM. Should be interesting to see how everyone perceives things with any detector going forward, especially really strong ones for distance like the V1. This is where apps and at least a frequency display is really necessary since the V1 doesn’t have that onboard.