I have heard very good things about the Valentine 1 as well, people say it's very comparable to the Passport 8500 (some say it's better).
I have a Uniden something-or-other and it sucks. Doesn't work 1/2 the time. My roommate needed money and gave it to me (like new) for $20, so I can't complain though. It's not very useful, just another gadget to play with. I found the best way to not get pulled over for speeding is to just not speed much. I usually drive around 63 mph and haven't been stopped since the days when I used to do 70+ everywhere.