My new radar detector (Experience)

[Suprem01]

Hello every one. I am new to the forums and found this forum from doing a Google search on the best mounting possession.

Well let me start off that I have found a lot of useful information on the radars that I have used and to be honest the Escort x50 is one of the best that I have had in a long time.

I made the switch due to having gotten plenty of tickets in the past with the Cobra XRS 757 Radar & Laser Detector that I picked up at walmart (Constantly went off on more X bands then any other things). Then that is when I heard and came across the escort version and thought it was a little expensive for my taste and also thought I would hold off until I got some reviews and talked to some people.

All the people that I have talked to regarding the escort have gave me nothing put positive feedback (Range, sensitivity, False bands ect.) and that is when I gave in and decided to give it a shot... I paid about 320 USD and thought to myself "This better be worth the money"

Well when I first pulled it out of the box I thought it was big and it came with it's own box (Pretty cool). When I mounted it on the window and started to drive it stayed extremely quite and I thought to myself "This thing doesn't work" and then all of a sudden it went off on high alert and scared the crap out of me because you don't really expect it at first. Well when it went off I started to look around and didn't see anything until I got about 3-4 miles up the road and there he was... coming my way.

Well the moral of the story is do your research before you decide to by a radar or you will be wasting money, time, and also get a good work out if you don't have the smart cord that is within reach (You continuously have to reach up on the dash to hit the mute button)

Now my girlfriend wants one and she continuously tries to take mine when I am not watching

I know this is a short story of my experience but if you want a good radar this would be the one and will worth the money. I will never go back to a cobra radar because the leak and do nothing but pick up X bands more then any other bands out there.

I know it's not my best entry post but it is 5:13am here

[Anonymous]

Nice Review.

I had my X50 from July 2007 to November 2007 and I was very pleased with the performance on the X50. So, my big brother wanted mine so I gave it to him and got a Valentine One and WOW, this thing is way much better than my X50 on anything (Radar, Off-Axis, Laser, etc.). I'll never go back to X50 just because I'm spoil, haha.

I liked X50 and would recommend it to anyone that is on limit budget. The only thing you need to watch out on X50 is the Off-Axis Detection on K and Ka Band. It is kind of little late to give me a warning so slow down when you get around curves or hills. I had some close calls because of that.

Enjoy your Unit!

[Suprem01]

Yea, I do have to agree it is off a little bit. I have to watch it when I come around the corners from time to time but other then that it is a pretty reliable radar for the price. I am looking at getting a 9500i in the near future or a valentine... But I don't know just yet.

I don't have to do crunches every time it goes off :P

[RadarReviews_Net]

Nice.. the Escort Passport 8500 x50 is a high end model...a big upgrade from a cobra radar detector.

As far as mounting just make sure it is above your windshield wipers and centered on your windshield pointing straight....I find some people point it at their hood...or at the sky....why??!


Also you have to look at your environment....is there mostly radar...is there alot of laser...? The truth is radar detectors suck at detecting laser...it is very hard to get a reading on due to the size of the beam they shoot....pretty much if you get alert on your radar for laser...slam on your brakes because the cop is right there hitting the vehicle in front of you or your vehicle.

If you dont have alot of laser in your area I would mount the radar next to your mirror high to try and pickup radar band scatters....however you will loose your range on laser that way....if you have alot of laser mount it alot lower but above the wipers on the center of your dash....cops usually shoot laser at your headlights or license plate.

Also if you ever get into it check into a laser jammer...the laser pro park is a great unit...and it is diode which shows to be a better jammer then led based jammers for total JTG.

As far as going with the 9500i it is an OK radar...it is very quiet....range is eh...I owned one and sold it back and went back with the valentine one radar. Valentine one radar tells you how many cops and what direction they are coming from. Plus I noticed the valentine one was almost double the range in notice on upcoming bands. Only one place to buy the valentine one is at valentineone.com , he doesnt sell them anywhere else and for 399, if you find someone selling the valentine one it is either used or new at a higher price then 399.

Just some thoughts...

[CJR238]

Nice Review.

I loved my 8500. i remember my 1st encounter with it, and I was bugging out trying to see where the LEO was when in about 1-2mi down the highway there he was.

[Suprem01]

Yea thanks every one. I did find this though and thought it was pretty interesting
Radar Detector Reviews and Tests - Comparisons and Ratings

It was a big upgrade from what I did have. I got tired of having to reach for the mute button all the time and it also didn't pick anything up unless you got right up on the car/bike that was trying to get you, so, I got rid of it.

The ones that are mostly in my area or the pop guns that are attached to the bikes and also the common ones that are consistently on that are located in the squad cars. We do have a lot of the red cameras in the area... so that does becomes a problem when I had the cobra.

[RadarReviews_Net]

What city are you located at?

Also be sure to update your profile, you can use mine as an example. Just click my name on here and then a window will drop down and you can click "view public profile" also these options as seen in mine are located in the navigation bar above under "user cp" then go to "profile"

Welcome onboard here by the way!

[Suprem01]

Austin, tx

[wilnevrbbiased]

Detecting off axis k band w/ the X50 seemed to be pretty easy w/ my X50 rev 5.