Michael Valentine, Engineer and Radar Detector Pioneer, Has Died at Age 74
If your radar detector has ever alerted you to an upcoming speed trap while cruising on a road trip, you probably owe Michael Valentine some thanks. Valentine, an amateur radio enthusiast and University of Cincinnati alum with a degree in electrical engineering, co-founded Cincinnati Microwave in 1976 and began marketing the Escort Radar Warning Receiver. In 1992, with his wife, Peg, he founded another radar detector company, Valentine Research. He passed away on September 19 and is survived by his wife of 51 years, two daughters, and three grandchildren.
Although law enforcement had a head start, Valentine soon offered consumers products that countered the latest speed-detecting equipment used by officers in the field. Hagerty’s Steven Cole Smith has experienced both sides of the arms race. “As a former law enforcement officer, and as a longtime user of radar detectors—and none were better than the Valentine One—it was interesting to watch the slow-motion tennis match: You, radar and laser manufacturer, serve up a new product, and the detector industry, who usually knew what the law enforcement people were doing before they did, would return the serve with a new consumer product,” said Smith. “If anyone was able to stay ahead of the curve, it was Mike Valentine, and he will be missed by speeders everywhere.”
Valentine was a gifted inventor and a generous philanthropist, giving back to the the amateur radio community and also the University of Cincinnati, which honored him last year with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Valentine was also a generous sponsor of Hagerty video productions, which enabled some of our more memorable shoots. Host Jason Cammisa paid his respects via Instagram.
We encourage you to take a drive in honor of Valentine, and instead of a moment of silence, leave your detector unmuted. That’s probably what he would have wanted.
Back in the day ge saved me a log of money.
I one day was going to work and some idiot wanted to race me. My detector was going off so I knew the man was ahead. We were in the city not a place yo do this.
So I jumped on it at the light for about 100 ft. Slammed the brakes. As I got to where the officer was I let him out to go after my annoyance. I went on to work.
I haven’t used a radar detector for over forty years so I missed out on using the Valentine for protection. How many drivers beat me by using one I’ll never know, however.
Depends on where you live. Here Lazer and air craft are common and radar is rare. I stopped using it a good while ago.
I just let someone ahead of me run and tag in behind. Their brake lights tell me what is ahead.
Also I have slowed down or better yet traffic has sped up and I generally keep with them.
Aircraft? Really? My oh my, now that’s a nonsensical use of taxpayer money.
Worse. In about 1500 hours in a single engine (piston) aircraft, assuming an average fuel burn, it will use about 80,000lbs of avgas. I have no idea how to calculate the environmental impact of that. But it is alot. Seems stupid in 2024
I’m 82 and haven’t had a ticket in over 60 years driving my 2 corvettes conservatively most of the time but in a pinch my retired gold shield helps.
It’s disappointing and embarrassing if being a retired officer gets you out of a ticket. If you broke the law and got caught you should accept your fine and/or citation like everyone else who does the same.
Randy, remember you state others opinions are BS…. now you’re talking BS (again). If a retired police officer can get out of the ticket by showing his badge or otherwise good for them. Most people try and some succeed in getting out of a ticket.
But what’s the point of rules that are written to apply to everyone when in practice those rules don’t?
People thinking they are special and rules don’t apply to them is a big problem in modern society and it’s not special to one age group. Appreciate their service and all, but if you did the crime, do the time. An officer should understand that better than anyone.
Sorry to hear this.
I’ve had my V1 for 30 years and it still works great.
I worked in a car stereo shop in the mid 70s and the first one we got a hold of was the Snooper. I worked great until I took it apart and tried to make a remote detector out of it. Since then, I’ve had almost all the brands and they all work well. The Instant on guns were the only thing that gave me problems, especially if there’s no one in front of you.
I ran Escort detector for years. It saved me Many tickets. Then the HPs started using Instant On and they would get you Unless you were Super quick on the brakes! It would save you a few miles an hour on the ticket!
Sorry to hear about Mike’s passing. I have a Valentine V1G2 detector and it is definitely the best on the market. If it is going off, you better be slowing own. It does NOT go off for false signals. How it has such discernment, I will never know, A truly quality product and one that has saved me many times.
A great in inventor and a good guy. Jason’s tweet made my chuckle.
I still subscribe to car mags, and get a magazine from PCA. His company advertises in all of them. I hope they keep his image in the ads. I’ve seen him multiple times a month for decades- he deserves the recognition.