Where to get Valentine 1

[Charlie Smith]

Earlier,  Mike Veglia wrote:
> 
> I'm not sure what kind of police radar is being used where Alexander
> lives but the units the CHP use here in California make (all) detectors
> essentially worthless AFAIK. The new instant on they use here can get
> you coming or going and the signal is only on for such a short duration
> of time that by the time you get an alarm alert they already nailed you.

I'd bet the radar units CHP uses are essentially the same as those used
in Ohio.  And being a volunteer police officer in Ohio, I can talk about
those with some knowledge.

The 'moving' radar units can only clock a car approaching the radar unit,
that is, when the police car with the radar is moving.

When the police car is stopped, the radar can measure a moving car
either approaching or departing from the radar antenna in the police car.  
On top of that, many police cars have two radar antennas - one pointing
to the front of the police car and one pointing toward the rear of the
police car.  With this setup, the officer can measure the speed of a 
"target" car either approaching or departing either end of the police car.

The officer has a control unit about the size of a pack of cards, with 
a couple of toggle switches.  One selects the antenna, and the other is
a three position switch:  OFF / TRANSMIT / LOCK

If the officer is not really trying to catch somebody, he may just leave
the unit turned to TRANSMIT.  This emits a continuous radar signal, and
it also makes a high pitched noise that varies with the speed of the 
target being measured - a real high pitched squeal means a fast target,
which will draw the officer's attention.  And if the readout shows a
sufficiently fast speed the officer can LOCK the readout.

Now, if the officer is trying harder to pick up speeding vehicles, he
can have the switch set to OFF, and just turn it to TRANSMIT when he 
believes the target vehicle is in range of the radar unit.  It usually
takes about a second for the radar to lock on a target and show the measured
speed in the readout.  When the officer moves the switch to LOCK, the speed 
in the readout is retained and the radar stops transmitting a signal. 

When an officer is only using short periods of TRANSMIT and then back to OFF,
your best hope with a radar detector is that you will get a short warning
when the officer tries to clock another car.  You have to pay attention to
those short alert signals, especially when you get one every few seconds as 
the officer clocks one car after another.

One advantage of the Valentine 1 is that it has dual detector antennas,
one pointing forward and one backward.  The illuminated warning lights
will tell you whether the radar transmitter is in front of you or 
behind you.  It will also tell you how many different radar signals are 
being picked up.  This is very useful when you are getting short warning 
signals and you are trying to figure out where the police car is located.

The above was for your entertainment  :-)

    - Charlie