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Product Description
Amazon.com
Design
Mounting the 8500 in our test vehicle was easy and straightforward. A small suction cup bracket slides into the unit's release mechanism and easily attaches to the windshield with light pressure. The unit is housed in a sturdy plastic case that's low profile and compact--although it is larger and heavier than Escort's wireless offering, the Solo S2. The rear of the unit is dominated by a receiver window and there's a rear-facing laser detector window designed to detect laser signals emanating from behind the vehicle.
 Digital Signal Processing (DSP) provides maximum range, with minimum false alarms. |
Features
The 8500 can detect all of the radar bands currently in use in North America for speed detection, including the X, K and Ka bands. The unit also features detection diodes for laser detection, but for the most powerful protection from laser detection, Escort offers the ZR3 laser jamming system, which is plug-and-play compatible with the 8500.
The feature that separates the 8500 from other Escort radar detectors, as well as the entire previous generation of radar detector technologies, is its Pop radar detection capabilities. Pop radar guns, while still relatively rare in police departments, are used to identify speeding vehicles in traffic. They provide little warning as the radar signal idles at a low frequency until it transmits an extremely short, high-frequency burst to "Pop" a target. The 8500 is equipped with a highly sensitive receiving system and a digital signal processor designed to pick up Pop signals from a safe distance. Pop detection is not enabled by default in the 8500, however; users must turn it on in the settings menu. Escort probably chose to disable Pop detection by default because its increased sensitivity also increases false alerts. However, first-time radar detector users might be in for a surprise if they neglect to turn it on.
 The Passport 8500 X50 provides 3 types of warning displays to choose from. |
False alarms are one of the major annoyances of radar detector use. In our tests, the 8500 was surprisingly adept at minimizing false alarms from home garage door systems, as well as home and commercial security systems that commonly operate on X-band radar. The unit's city sensitivity setting decreases sensitivity to X-band sources, while the highway setting does not. We found the unit's powerful "AutoSensitivity" mode the most accurate, however, as it dynamically filtered all types of radar signals and identified which sources were a legitimate threat. We got a few false alarms, but for the most part, annoying chirps from bogus X-band sources were uncommon.
The 8500 has nine built-in customizable settings. In the settings mode, the LCD acts as a menu system that lets users control display brightness, automatic mute, audio tones, and power-on modes. There are also settings for disabling detection of selected bands. We liked the expert mode settings, which allow a user to get a constant picture of the intensity of all the radar bands in the area. The SpecDisplay, which is a feature exclusive to the 8500, displays the actual numeric frequency of the radar signal being received.
For those living in states that prohibit use of a radar detector, the 8500 does include VG-2 radar detector detector protection, which is designed to both alert the driver and shut down the unit's oscillator.
On the Road
We used the 8500 on a 20-mile stretch of busy interstate and were impressed with the low number of false alarms we received. Again, this remarkable level of accuracy is due to the unit's AutoSensitivity feature. While we encountered no police radar, other controlled tests of the 8500's performance have put the reliable range of detection at 2 miles for all bands. Meanwhile, Pop mode tests place the reliable detection range between 500 and 1000 feet.
Pros
- Well-designed controls and display features
- AutoSensitivity feature greatly reduces false alarms
- Highly accurate with massive detection range
- Pop detection not enabled by default
From the Manufacturer
Passport 8500 X50's multiple high-performance laser sensors provide maximum police radar (lidar) warning, with superior off-axis protection. The detector also offers three high-resolution meter modes--a standard bar graph, exclusive ExpertMeter, and SpecDisplay. In ExpertMeter mode, the Passport 8500 X50 can identify band and relative signal strength on up to eight radar signals simultaneously, while with SpecDisplay, the Passport 8500 X50 will show you the actual frequency of the radar signal. Adding to the unit's versatility is a reprogrammable microprocessor, which can be re-worked to detect new radar and laser threats.
Features include:
- 360-degree radar and laser detection
- Advanced reprogrammable digital signal processing
- AutoSensitivity mode automatically reduces false alarms
- EZ-Programming allows instant customization
- 3 high-resolution meter modes
- Ultra-bright red matrix display with 280 LEDs
- Multiple high-performance laser sensors
- Built-in earphone jack
- Completely immune to the VG-2 "detector-detector"
- 1-year limited warranty
What's in the Box
Passport 8500 X50 radar and laser detector, quick-release windshield mount, built-in earphone jack, coiled SmartCord, quick reference card, travel case, user's manual.
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Customer Reviews
Accuracy:
I've always been a little skeptical about using radar detectors, everyone knows they won't prevent tickets every single time. But, if it can save you a couple tickets it's already paid for itself. I live in Chicago, and frequently drive to neighboring states for work and to visit family. Because of this, I knew that I would have to buy a solid detector that was effective if I was constantly on the road. I made the right choice. Driving on the expressways in the midwest is simple for me now knowing I am using the 8500 x50. It has alerted me much in advance if a cop was gunning and I've always had time to slow down and pass the cop at the posted speed limit. The three main alerts, K, KA, and X are pretty much always on target - and with minimal false readings, it stays quiet when it needs to.
Ease of Use:
One of the best aspects of this radar is how easy it is to use. Right out of the package, it's ready to go. However, if you're a little more technical and always need things a certain way, you can configure it with a number of different settings to fit your style. One of the downfalls is that I wish the x50 would have a better volume control - I feel that it doesn't go loud enough, especially when I'm listening to music in my car. To make up for it, I've moved the x50 from the center of the winshield to more to the left, so it is in my field of vision while I drive to allow me to see the display at all times out of the corner of my eye. In addition, the Escort SmartCord works well with it's auto mute button on the adaptor itself.
Value:
Hands down, the x50 takes the gold as the number one radar on the market. You're probably thinking to yourself, $340 for a radar detector is a lot of money. And you know.. you're absolutely right. But.. if you save yourself two speeding tickets, the x50 has paid for itself (not to mention the pain of having to go to court and traffic school). If this radar was over $400, it would still be worth it considering what you may be saving yourself from. I got the x50 with the blue display because it was from the Sharper Image, and that's all they had. If you want to save yourself $40 by going with the red display, I say do it and save some cash.
The Bottom Line:
If you want to make a solid investment, get the 8500 x50 and don't waste your money with a $100 or $200 radar that isn't accurate - doing that will cost you the price of your ticket plus a radar detector that would be better off being used for a paper weight. Although Bel and the Valentine One are solid detectors, they don't match up to the stats that the x50 has - see it for yourself at www.radartest.com.
"BUzzzzzz!" Mr Escort said again when the copper clocked me, and I'll bet HE thought "a BMW going 40? He knew I was here." But once the cop was out of view,I zoomed by the truck , and thanked the Escort Co. for the 50th time this year. I have not gotten a SINGLE ticket since I installed mine, and many, if not most, would have been unavoidable without it.
If you drive a lot, and you don't like being passed by grandmas, BUY THIS DETECTOR. Don't quibble about the price, it will save you three times the $ in the first year. I never owned any other, so I can't say if it's better than a V1 or a Cobra, but I do know I am VERY glad I bought mine.
After having my detector on for ten minutes (right out of the box), it did three "SELF CAL"s, then said "SERVICE REQUIRED". I called Escort Radar and was told "If you let the car power up the unit when you start the car, the voltage can be all over the place and the unit gets confused. You must first start the car, and then use the thumbwheel to turn on the detector." It makes some sense, but if this is really the case, why don't they put those instructions in their manual? After trying this many times, the unit was "still confused", so I returned it for a replacement.
My second detector worked for maybe thirty minutes before the same thing happened. This time Escort Radar told me "if you leave it plugged into the cigarette lighter over night, this has been found to cause problems." Well my lighter power goes off when I turn off the ignition, so this doesn't apply. Escort Radar also told me that "excessive heat" has been causing them problems. Now we have had a few days of 100° heat, and I'm sure the car gets hotter parked in the sun, but the design engineers should have accounted for these conditions plus some margin when you design something that is supposed to work in a car. It gets a lot hotter in other parts of the country. There are no warnings in the manual about not using it above 90° or leaving it off in a hot car. You wouldn't design a ski that doesn't work below 35°, would you???
The most troubling part of my conversation with Escort Radar service department was they told me Amazon is not an authorized reseller, and they have no idea where they are getting the units from. Furthermore, they will not honor any warranty nor will they ever repair the unit, not even for money.
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