I just purchased an Escort Passport 8500 x50 off craigslist for $50. Was wondering if anyone else owned this particular unit. Great reviews. $200-$300 unit brand new.
http://radar-detectors-review.toptenreviews.com/escort-passport-radar-detectors-review.html Yes, pretty good reviews. I don't have that particular model, but as someone that has researched and used detectors for decades I do have experience with them. A radar detector is not something you want to go cheap on. This is one product where buying a lower end product will almost always end up costing you more. You got a good deal at $50 if it's in good shape. Escort is a brand I believe in and highly recommend. I'm currently using an Escort Passport 9500ix and love it. Whats the average cost of a ticket plus the amount your insurance goes up after getting one? It's worth spending the extra to get quality. If a detector gives frequent false alarms it is garbage as you will soon start ignoring it. A lot of ratings are based on bells and whistles that all of these electronic geeks doing the reviews love. The number one thing i look at is their detection performance since that's whats really important. http://radar-detectors-review.toptenreviews.com/ ,
I gave up Escorts years ago for a Valentine One. It's the most effective radar I've ever had and I've had them going back to the original Fuzzbuster. It will tell you how many radars it is tracking and if they are ahead, behind, or off to the side, which really valuable. Passports are pretty good, but I would avoid the cordless radar detectors. To save battery power they put the sentry to sleep more than 85 percent of the time. It just switches off the power-using detector circuitry. A sleeping sentry can't possibly give early warning when radar is used in the instant-on mode. And it gives up all hope of detecting the POP mode.
i had both. i use the v1, have had it for years and love it. You can send it in to have the firmware updated when needed but I havent had to yet. nothing can save you from instant-on unless you have a runner in front of you taking the hit first. that passport is the one that tells you where the speed cameras are I believe but i didnt have much use for that. someone stole it anyhow.
The Valentine is rated great for long range detection, but some reviews claim false alarms are a problem. Any detector that gives frequent false alarms is useless. Either one of you having false alarm problems in town? http://www.radarbusters.com/Review-Valentine-One-Radar-Detector-s/2432.htm There are enough detector review sites to get a good idea which ones are dependable at doing what the average driver really needs them to do. The key is not to get distracted by all the fluff and get one highly rated at the important basics. I've had good ones and bad ones, cheap and expensive. Spend the extra get a good one and save money in the long run.
Not really. I prefer more beeps in town rather than miss a distant cop on the highway. I just mute it in cities because that ain't where I speed anyway. I like it sensitive and not too discriminating. I think most people do, which is why the V1 comes that way. But you can activate the Logic or Advanced Logic modes and let the V1 filter out non-threatening signals if you live in an area with lots of phony bogeys. It's not a physical button and you have to read the manual to set the logic filters so I think a lot of casual users don't know about it.
I gave up speeding around 1995. I just set my cruise 3 mph over the limit and never worry about anything. Haven't had a ticket since then.
I'm not a reckless speeder myself, but I like to know when the gendarmes are watching. And I love gadgets.
