Radar detector mount options?

[kapinallinen2]

I did read your post.
In my world, higher is better for maximizing the range of detection. I mean, half of mile is a half of mile,

 

[vincentw56]

I did read your post.
In my world, higher is better for maximizing the range of detection. I mean, half of mile is a half of mile,

Mine definitely picks up way more than half a mile from the source specially on ka band. But I think it's still being over thought. Anyway, not much more I can add to the discussion.

 

[kapinallinen2]

Mine definitely picks up way more than half a mile from the source specially on ka band. But I think it's still being over thought. Anyway, not much more I can add to the discussion.

I was referring to gaining a half mile in detection distance when mounted high.
My best was picking up a Florida state trooper over 5 miles away on the alligator alley. The R3 is still a beast.

 

[vincentw56]

I was referring to gaining a half mile in detection distance when mounted high.
My best was picking up a Florida state trooper over 5 miles away on the alligator alley. The R3 is still a beast.

Five miles is great. All I care about is not getting a ticket. And mine has done its job perfectly for 4 years. And to me, that's the only metric that matters.

 

[Ready Go]

I used a Blendmount for my V1G2 and mounted it high & tight without any extra links..also tapped the power into the mirror so no blockage at all..I Blendmount and use a power jumper on every vehicle I buy.

Also, download the JBV1 app for free..SUPER app!! Really well designed and extremely useful!!

 

[MarPar]

I have a Valentine V1 Gen2 as well.

Suction cup it to the windshield just higher than the wiper arms. Done. Mine hasn't fallen yet.

 

[StuartV]

Most stationary radar is mounted high on a police vehicle. So, in a normal car, you want to match the location. A truck is already taller, so in theory, you want it mounted lower to match the mounting on the police car. That's what all these recommended mounting locations go by. And most are geared to cars not trucks.

Most radar I've seen in police cars has been right on the dash or right on the shelf in the back window. I.e. as low as it could really be mounted other than putting it on the front or rear bumper. Not all. Most. And the sum of my personal experience still only qualifies as "anecdotes", not "data".

Regardless, police radar is generally below the hood line and dash of a RAM 1500.

So, I still don't understand your assertion that it's actually better to put a RD down on the dash of a RAM 1500 than to have it up high. As implied by:

I doubt mounting it higher is going to make a bit of difference. Specially with a vehicle that's already higher than most police vehicles. On the ka band, it is like at least a mile or more out that it picks them up.

I mean, we ARE in agreement that a RD works best with direct Line-of-Sight to the radar gun, right? I think that is pretty obvious?

So, putting the RD where the line from it to the radar gun goes through the hood of the truck, rather than higher in the truck, so that it has direct LOS, seems like the opposite of "higher won't make a difference, especially with a vehicle that is already higher than most police vehicles."

I think we DO agree that the difference between top and bottom of the windshield makes no PRACTICAL difference. I'm just trying to understand why you are asserting (or implying) that having it low in the truck offers even a theoretical advantage.

You think being directly in line with the radar gun, but with the signal going through the hood/engine compartment is better than having direct LOS from 12 - 18" higher (and 1/2 a mile to a mile - or more - away)?

Everywhere else (e.g. Vortex Radar) seems to disagree and says that mounting the RD as high as possible is best for radar detection.

 

[StuartV]

I used a Blendmount for my V1G2 and mounted it high & tight without any extra links..also tapped the power into the mirror so no blockage at all..I Blendmount and use a power jumper on every vehicle I buy.

Also, download the JBV1 app for free..SUPER app!! Really well designed and extremely useful!!

It seems like, if you can see the V1 display under the RVM, then it HAS to be blocking SOME amount of your view of the road...

I got effed by Google a couple of years ago, when they just deleted my account with no recourse to get it back. I lost my cell phone number (which I had ported to Google Voice), all the Play store apps and movies I ever purchased, all the locations I had saved in Google Maps, etc.. I swore off Google after that. No more. I switched to an iPhone and I am not going back.

So, no JBV1 for me. I wish they had a version of that for iPhone but they don't and, apparently, the developer has zero interest in making an iPhone version.

Fortunately, it looks like some very good alternatives have come out and more are in the works.

I have a Valentine V1 Gen2 as well.

Suction cup it to the windshield just higher than the wiper arms. Done. Mine hasn't fallen yet.

I figured I would try that first. Since it's free and all.

Do you ever get annoyed that it is so far away? I mean, isn't it hard to reach the buttons on it with it mounted at the bottom of the windshield like that?

I reckon I will also try it suction-cupped up near the top of the windshield, too, just to see.

If I do end up wanting to have it hanging off the windshield, instead of a RVM mount, I found on eBay a cheap metal bracket that uses 3M tape to permanently mount to the windshield and that will then let you attach the V1 clip that comes with the V1. So, no worries then about suction cups coming loose and the V1 falling down.

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[vincentw56]

Most radar I've seen in police cars has been right on the dash or right on the shelf in the back window. I.e. as low as it could really be mounted other than putting it on the front or rear bumper. Not all. Most. And the sum of my personal experience still only qualifies as "anecdotes", not "data".

Regardless, police radar is generally below the hood line and dash of a RAM 1500.

So, I still don't understand your assertion that it's actually better to put a RD down on the dash of a RAM 1500 than to have it up high. As implied by:



I mean, we ARE in agreement that a RD works best with direct Line-of-Sight to the radar gun, right? I think that is pretty obvious?

So, putting the RD where the line from it to the radar gun goes through the hood of the truck, rather than higher in the truck, so that it has direct LOS, seems like the opposite of "higher won't make a difference, especially with a vehicle that is already higher than most police vehicles."

I think we DO agree that the difference between top and bottom of the windshield makes no PRACTICAL difference. I'm just trying to understand why you are asserting (or implying) that having it low in the truck offers even a theoretical advantage.

You think being directly in line with the radar gun, but with the signal going through the hood/engine compartment is better than having direct LOS from 12 - 18" higher (and 1/2 a mile to a mile - or more - away)?

Everywhere else (e.g. Vortex Radar) seems to disagree and says that mounting the RD as high as possible is best for radar detection.

I'm not asserting anything. I'm saying if you go by the theory that it should be more in line with the radar, then lower is better. You already answered that in your post. The radar is mounted on the dash or window. And the dash of the Ram is already higher than that. And unless the police car is right in front of you, how is it going through the hood or grill of the Ram? BTW, radar isn't laser. Line of sight isn't that important. What I am asserting is that you are way over thinking this. And in the real world, it's not going to make a noticeable difference. And I'm going by real world experience and proof. Just today on my way to work, it was 100% proved again. Picked up a police officer so far down the road that there was no way I couldn't have slowed down if needed. Didn't need to because of traffic, but still worked exactly as it needed too. Do I care if I can pick up one 2 counties over? Not at all. I care that I'm alerted in plenty of time. And that, as said before, is all that matters.

 

[Ready Go]

All radar, like radio waves, have a spreading pattern..it's tight, but not linear..so where the detector is mounted is gonna make minimal difference, imo.

We have a lowered ND Miata Club, a Durango SRT392, and a levelled Ram...very different "ride heights" for the V1G2s, yet all respond nearly identical to hidden radar.

The V1G2 picks up radar SO far away regardless that it's almost annoying at times! Thankfully, the JBV1 app learns to disreguard GPS locations, etc.

My Blendmounted V1G2 isn't a vision blocking concern to me, where on a windshield would be better?!

 

[StuartV]

All radar, like radio waves, have a spreading pattern..it's tight, but not linear..so where the detector is mounted is gonna make minimal difference, imo.

We have a lowered ND Miata Club, a Durango SRT392, and a levelled Ram...very different "ride heights" for the V1G2s, yet all respond nearly identical to hidden radar.

The V1G2 picks up radar SO far away regardless that it's almost annoying at times! Thankfully, the JBV1 app learns to disreguard GPS locations, etc.

My Blendmounted V1G2 isn't a vision blocking concern to me, where on a windshield would be better?!

View attachment 206526

Where would be better?

At the top, just to the left of the DASM, where it only blocks a view of the sky?

At the very bottom, where it only blocks a view of part of the hood?

Looking at your picture, the RD is quite clearly blocking the view of part of your refrigerator. Duh. Is it a huge deal? No. But, why would I NOT choose a spot for it that does NOT block any part of my view of the road and traffic around me?

I agree that top, middle, or bottom doesn't seem likely to make ANY practical difference to the RD performance.

However, I also note that all the "proof" that one position is just as good as another presented here so far is purely anecdotal and does not constitute "proof" of ANYTHING. Maybe if you all had been running 2 identical RD's, one mounted high and one mounted low, for a while and verified that they both always alerted at the same time, in all conditions, then that would start to be actual evidence.

Does the difference between alerting at 1 mile out or 2 miles out matter? Well, no. 1 mile advance warning gives you plenty of time to slow down from any speed to the speed limit.

BUT, what if the cop is running Instant On and the last time they turned it on was when you were still 2 miles away? Then it's the difference between getting a weak alert or not getting one at all until the I/O is turned on and pointing at you...

Have you ever been hit with I/O without any prior warning that it was going to happen? Did it ever occur to you that maybe if you had your detector mounted higher you might have gotten a warning?

My gut says high, middle, or low makes no practical difference. But, y'all have not posted any information that actually confirms that.

 

[Ready Go]

Where would be better?

At the top, just to the left of the DASM, where it only blocks a view of the sky?

At the very bottom, where it only blocks a view of part of the hood?

Looking at your picture, the RD is quite clearly blocking the view of part of your refrigerator. Duh. Is it a huge deal? No. But, why would I NOT choose a spot for it that does NOT block any part of my view of the road and traffic around me?

I agree that top, middle, or bottom doesn't seem likely to make ANY practical difference to the RD performance.

However, I also note that all the "proof" that one position is just as good as another presented here so far is purely anecdotal and does not constitute "proof" of ANYTHING. Maybe if you all had been running 2 identical RD's, one mounted high and one mounted low, for a while and verified that they both always alerted at the same time, in all conditions, then that would start to be actual evidence.

Does the difference between alerting at 1 mile out or 2 miles out matter? Well, no. 1 mile advance warning gives you plenty of time to slow down from any speed to the speed limit.

BUT, what if the cop is running Instant On and the last time they turned it on was when you were still 2 miles away? Then it's the difference between getting a weak alert or not getting one at all until the I/O is turned on and pointing at you...

Have you ever been hit with I/O without any prior warning that it was going to happen? Did it ever occur to you that maybe if you had your detector mounted higher you might have gotten a warning?

My gut says high, middle, or low makes no practical difference. But, y'all have not posted any information that actually confirms that.

Yep, I got hit doing 70 in a 55 on a vack country road cming up a hill as a cop was cresting the other side..Instanct On..said he KNEW I'd be speeding so went active..let me off though cause he liked my car's cam!!

 

[vincentw56]

Where would be better?

At the top, just to the left of the DASM, where it only blocks a view of the sky?

At the very bottom, where it only blocks a view of part of the hood?

Looking at your picture, the RD is quite clearly blocking the view of part of your refrigerator. Duh. Is it a huge deal? No. But, why would I NOT choose a spot for it that does NOT block any part of my view of the road and traffic around me?

I agree that top, middle, or bottom doesn't seem likely to make ANY practical difference to the RD performance.

However, I also note that all the "proof" that one position is just as good as another presented here so far is purely anecdotal and does not constitute "proof" of ANYTHING. Maybe if you all had been running 2 identical RD's, one mounted high and one mounted low, for a while and verified that they both always alerted at the same time, in all conditions, then that would start to be actual evidence.

Does the difference between alerting at 1 mile out or 2 miles out matter? Well, no. 1 mile advance warning gives you plenty of time to slow down from any speed to the speed limit.

BUT, what if the cop is running Instant On and the last time they turned it on was when you were still 2 miles away? Then it's the difference between getting a weak alert or not getting one at all until the I/O is turned on and pointing at you...

Have you ever been hit with I/O without any prior warning that it was going to happen? Did it ever occur to you that maybe if you had your detector mounted higher you might have gotten a warning?

My gut says high, middle, or low makes no practical difference. But, y'all have not posted any information that actually confirms that.

Then there's no reason to comment anymore if our real world experience doesn't mean a thing.

As far as instant on, no, never been pulled over due to speed in the 4 years of owning my radar. But that doesn't matter does it. I get those sparadic alerts every once in a while. Weak signal of maybe 1 or 2 bars then it goes away. After awhile, you just kind of ignore them. I'm not going to immediately slow down for a weak signal. But I will be more aware.

As far as mounting, the dash is my only choice because of my Comma. I could move the RD to one side or the other, but why? It's not going to make a difference. And it just works where it is.

Hopefully, you figure it out because it seems you are really beating a dead horse over this. Good luck.

 

[RHO]

I just ordered a Valentine 1 Gen 2 for my '25 1500 Limited. Now I'm trying to figure out how I will mount it.

It seems like there are 3 basic options:

Top of Windshield
Under rear view mirror
On top of dash

Top of Windshield:

I could use the suction cup mount that comes with it to put it there. Presumably sort of just to the left of the RVM, as high as it will go. I can pull power for it from the RMV/DASM somewhere. I already ordered a wiring harness from Gen5DIY for this purpose (even though I've now realized I might go for some kind of dash mount and end up not needing/using the Gen5DIY harness).

I like the idea of the mount at the top of the windshield, but I'm concerned that the suction cup mount will allow it to fall down. I would like a mount where I can just put the RD in it and leave it. I don't want to have to take it out of the mount and unplug it every time I'm parking the truck.

Is the suction cup mount reliable where it will just stay, basically forever, even through South Carolina summer heat?

Under RVM:

The BlendMount mount looks really nice for hanging a RD right under the RVM. But, I think that is the last place (of the 3) that I want to put a RD. That puts it exactly where it will block a good chunk of my view of the road. The other two placement options would not block my view of anything important. Being on the expensive side does not help to persuade me to buy one of these.

On top of dash:

This is tied with "top of windshield" in my book, for where I would like it to live. But, it offers the bonus of not having to worry about the RD falling down if I leave it mounted when my truck is parked.

Also, with the power port right there in that little cubby on top of the dash, I might not even need to buy any special cables or wiring harness.

I saw some old posts for a Bayou Goat tray kind of thing that fits into the cubby just above/behind the Uconnect display. That looks cool. But, Bayou Goat appears to be out of business.

I also saw a beanbag thing, but, one, I'd prefer something that cannot move even during emergency evasive maneuvers. And two, I'd prefer something that doesn't look so "universal fit". I.e. something that looks a bit more like a factory mount.

Suggestions? I would really like something that mounts solidly, looks somewhat factory, and doesn't require any drilling or cutting.

The detector works with line of site the best, ok on dash but a lot is blocked I would try to get it up a little higher .