Michael Valentine, radar detector pioneer and donor of millions, dies at 74
Cincinnati philanthropist and radar detector pioneer Michael Valentine died unexpectedly Monday at his home, according to his obituary . He was 74.
Valentine was the founder of Cincinnati Microwave and Valentine Research, which he founded with his wife Margaret in 1983. The latter company's claim to fame was an early radar detector that exploded in popularity after it was featured in a 1979 issue of Car and Driver magazine.
What the imitators of his device didn't account for was that radar detectors themselves send out signals that can cause false alarms on nearby detectors. In those early days, if everyone had bought a radar detector, then they would all set themselves off, rendering them useless. But in 1983, he invented a way for his device to filter out those other signals and only alarm for police radar detectors. This further cemented his position in what some called the "citation-avoidance" industry.
In more recent years, the Valentines, who both graduated from the University of Cincinnati, donated $5 million to the Fifth Third Arena project in 2016. When the Cincinnati Ballet was in the midst of relocating in 2019, the Valentines donated $10 million to the organization .
His interest in electrical engineering pushed him to earn his amateur radio license when he was just a freshman in high school in Vandalia. Operating under the callsign W8MM, he and his wife went on to become the "single biggest individual donors in ARRL history. " The Amateur Radio Relay League is the largest advocacy association for amateur radio in the U.S.
He also created the Michael D. Valentine Engineering Library Fund for the University of Cincinnati to provide the best resources and education to students for generations to come.
He is survived by his wife of 51 years Margaret (Peg) K. Valentine, his daughter Martha Johnson (David) of Oregonia, daughter Anna Valentine (Iah Pillsbury) of Colorado Springs, Colorado; grandchildren Heidi and Reidar Johnson, and Avi Pillsbury. He is also survived by his siblings Nancy Lowe of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; Kathy Valentine of Goshen; Sandra Paulsel (Nick) of Vandalia; Cheryl Valentine of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina and brother-in-law James Kreutzberg (Cherie) of Findlay.
His visitation will be held on Tuesday from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at the Covenant First Presbyterian Church, 717 Elm St. in Cincinnati. A funeral service will follow, then a reception in the Parish Hall.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Valentine's memory to the American Radio Relay League or T he Matthew Mangine Jr. One Shot Foundation , which supports training and resources to prevent and treat cardiac arrest among young athletes.
