One day we took my BMW 528i with its hardwired V1 and remote display and went to King of Prussia Shopping mall with our friends. They were driving a VW Jetta with a Passport sucked to the middle of the windshield and cigarette lighter power cord.
The trip is almost 2 hours on PA Turnpike. We arrived fine, and returned after dark. I was first in line, my friend was behind. Not to say that we were driving illegally fast, but sometimes the beep of a detector is your only reality check. With cell phones on hands-free, we kept up conversation between two cars. The detectors were sounding at about the same time and we would bring the speed in check. But…
At one bend on I-76, my V1 went beep on Ka band for a split second. I checked the speed and changed the lanes. My friend changed lanes too, but asked what happened. Before I had a chance to answer, the V1 beeped again, stronger. Passport remained silent. V1 beeped again, stronger still but brief. Passport stayed silent as if it were on strike.
As we rounded a bend, we passed a state cruiser and I saw an officer “firing” his radar at us. V1 went crazy, Passport, too, at the same time. Of course we were well under the 65 MPH limit.
My friend’s mood went bad. He always liked the idea that his detector was cheaper than mine. But it let him down so badly—if he were alone on that highway, the trooper would have been billing him the price difference between the two detectors, or maybe more.
Result: My friend has a new V1.
Fariz Rza
Harrisburg,PA