New V1 Generation 2 FAQ

[wgmontgomery]

I never noticed as I always take mine inside with me, but could it be because the G2 has a soft switch vs G1's actual knob? Some (most?) soft switches go to OFF if they don't have power.

Post automatically merged: Mar 28, 2020

I'll check mine to see if it's an issue with your unit or just what it does...

 

[iazybandit]

Vortex plugged the cable to his V1G2 on first startup and the unit booted up without pressing the button and again at 1:40:05.

 

[LouG]

Long time forum watcher, just registered. I've been using the V1 for decades. My Gen2 just arrived and I simply plugged it in to the same mirror tap I used for my Gen1. It does NOT automatically turn on. I've tried two vehicles with the same result. If I swap the Gen1 in, it turns on. The Gen2 will power up if I press the control (power) button. I'm so used to it automatically turning on connected to a switched ignition power source I can't live like this...

Mine does, using the same wiring as the Gen 1 did. I don't think I've touched the power button yet.

 

[wgmontgomery]

Vortex plugged the cable to his V1G2 on first startup and the unit booted up without pressing the button and again at 1:40:05.

Good to know; I will check mine tomorrow (today?).

 

[BMWBig6]

If you download the V1Connection app, you can connect to the detector via BT and see what voltage it's reporting at the mirror tap. My guess is the increased current draw of the Gen2 combined with the voltage drop during engine start and the small gauge mirror tap wires are combining to create a low voltage condition at the V1 and causing it to power off. You can verify this by using the included cigarette lighter adapter to make sure the Gen2 turns on and off properly with the ignition, and then wire in the included hardwire kit to replace the mirror tap if that is the issue.

Would an in-line Brown-Out-Booster (BOB) from a previous Gen 1 install cause this problem, especially if the Gen2 is supposed to have a BOB already built-in (so now you're daisy-chaining BOBs)?

 

[Bloovy One]

I would think that an older "BOB" would help the issue.

[Edit] Skip this stuff below. I was using an 18-year-old hardwire kit and the Valentine Research website specifically says not to use that power supply with the Gen2.
FWIW, I don't know for sure that the internal DC/DC converter in mine is doing what it is supposed to be doing. This may be the key to all of the power failures.

I can replicate part of the time what I think is a lower voltage condition after startup in which the Gen2 restarts multiple times until I raise the idle speed. I need to put an analog meter in parallel with my detector supply and see what it shows.

 

[BMWBig6]

It's interesting that Valentine One's web page for the BOB says "Not for use on the V1 Gen2" but I don't see any explanation why in the Gen2 owner's manual.

 

[Brainstorm69]

It's interesting that Valentine One's web page for the BOB says "Not for use on the V1 Gen2" but I don't see any explanation why in the Gen2 owner's manual.

I suspect it's because it's not needed. It's built into the V1G2. VR is probably making sure people don't buy one when they don't need to.

 

[Elcid2015]

Is there a way to turn off the start up tones (self test, etc.) on the V1G2?

 

[Bloovy One]

Main volume all the way down. Use an app for sounds.

 

[Elcid2015]

Main volume all the way down. Use an app for sounds.

Ugh, that's what I was afraid of. Hopefully they will allow this to be toggled off with the next firmware release.

 

[Bloovy One]

Why do you want that behavior? (Truly curious) There might be other methods that match what you want.

 

[surprisinguy]

I wish the bands were color coded

You'll get used to the tones quick enough

 

[Elcid2015]

Why do you want that behavior? (Truly curious) There might be other methods that match what you want.

I never want to hear the start up tone and I always want the V1 to alert at full volume, with or without a phone being connected.

 

[Bloovy One]

Yep. You are kind of stuck then.

I actually wondered if it was a problem in certain scenarios for you. (That type of thing) Maybe you didn't want it starting up in front of an officer, etc. and that is something that's got workarounds.

 

[iazybandit]

I never want to hear the start up tone and I always want the V1 to alert at full volume, with or without a phone being connected.

Never could do that with the V1G1, so no difference with the G2.

The startup sound may be annoying but it also lets me know that its powered on without looking.

 

[Kennyc56]

Main volume all the way down. Use an app for sounds.

That's what I ended up doing, but not to kill the startup audio but so I can use JBV1 for the Redline-O alert tones. One thing I don't understand however, it says that you can mute the V1G2 through JBV1 but when I do it the mute light flashes on the detector but it still has full V1 alert tones coming from it unless I manually turn the volume off on the detector.

 

[Bloovy One]

I had some weird experiences with that as well. I thought it was just me though. I'll try it with both my Gen1 and Gen2 and get back to you all. Perhaps there is something JohnBoy00 can do about this if we find it's working differently.

 

[Bloovy One]

Okay; Did some testing. Perhaps @johnboy00 can replicate my experiences and help us all out.

I used a phone with a fresh, default install of JBV1 on it. I turned off TMF2 on the Gen1 and turned off KV on the Gen2. I only had Ka and K bands active. Same behaviors in A or lower L. I also tried to be sure that no muting stuff was being called from JBV1.
Audio was enabled for JBV1 and it was set to mute the V1s when it got an alert. I did have Doppler enabled. (I should have tested with that off as well)

With the Gen1: A K-band signal was generated, the Gen1 would start out full volume, mute for around 1 second, go back to full volume and then mute again for the remainder of the alert.

With the Gen2: A K-band signal was generated, the Gen2 would start out full volume, mute for a variable second or so, go back to full volume, mute again for a variable amount of time, full volume again, mute again, full volume, etc. for the duration of the signal. The small green speaker on JBV1 would turn green during full volume, and gray during mute.

I repeated this test with my daily phone that I run JBV1 on all the time. Same results. This behavior has also been observed while driving.

 

[johnboy00]

Okay; Did some testing. Perhaps @johnboy00 can replicate my experiences and help us all out.

I used a phone with a fresh, default install of JBV1 on it. I turned off TMF2 on the Gen1 and turned off KV on the Gen2. I only had Ka and K bands active. Same behaviors in A or lower L. I also tried to be sure that no muting stuff was being called from JBV1.
Audio was enabled for JBV1 and it was set to mute the V1s when it got an alert. I did have Doppler enabled. (I should have tested with that off as well)

With the Gen1: A K-band signal was generated, the Gen1 would start out full volume, mute for around 1 second, go back to full volume and then mute again for the remainder of the alert.

With the Gen2: A K-band signal was generated, the Gen2 would start out full volume, mute for a variable second or so, go back to full volume, mute again for a variable amount of time, full volume again, mute again, full volume, etc. for the duration of the signal. The small green speaker on JBV1 would turn green during full volume, and gray during mute.

I repeated this test with my daily phone that I run JBV1 on all the time. Same results. This behavior has also been observed while driving.

I haven't noticed anything like that. What are you using for a signal, and what strength is reported? Do you have X+K rear mute enabled, and is the signal orientation jumping from ahead to behind?