Comments on: valentine radar Assistive Info

By: Gentile

Gentile — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 23:51:20 +0000

This radar detector is the best one I have ever used. Not slightly better, unbelievably better.

I originally bought a Valentine V1 and I was very impressed with its range but couldn't take it going off all of the time.

I then purchased this one and it has made all the difference. I sent the Valentine V1 back. This one picks up nearly as far. It may have slightly less range than the V1 but still way more than anything else. But it is worth the difference. It rarely goes off on false alarms, but after a week it had learned all of the few false alarms in my city and now it never goes off unless it is real.

I went with a friend on a work trip 8 hours away and we took my Escort in his car. He was very impressed. It only went off about 7 times and all of them were real. The first time it went off, we didn't see anything and he said "so much for the false alarms." But then after a few minutes a police car topped the hill. The range was just so good you couldn't see the car yet but it could! After that trip, he is definitely buying one.

I live in Alabama and have never seen the speed camera part of it work since we don't have those in the cities I have visited but I have used the Mark button to mark entrances of places where I have trouble finding the driveway at night and it works great. It goes off about 500 ft before and starts counting down distance. It even shows an arrow to let you know what side of the road it is on.

The V1 is built better physically with its metal case and physical knob. This one has a cheaper plastic case and buttons but the electronics and GPS are so advanced. The brightness of the LED's can be put in automatic so the brightness varies with the sun so at night it is not blinding you but it gets really bright during the day so you can see it. And the display on the front can be changed to show different things. I have mind doing a KITT type thing with a dot scanning back and forth. Looks kind of cool. And I really like the voice announcements. I thought I would turn that feature off, but instead I really like it. The volume also softens after the initial beeps so it gets your attention but then quits being so loud. All these settings and tons more can be adjusted using internal menus on it.

By: Conroy

Conroy — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 11:53:54 +0000

Really a great buy. And it works everytime. I have avoided many problems because of it.

By: Ostergard

Ostergard — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 23:05:28 +0000

I bought two of these off Amazon after my wife and I got speeding tickets the same day after many years ticket free.
The GPS aware is very cool. I have a speed camera intersection in my area and the unit warns me as I approach it. I have not noticed yet whether the auto learn feature for false alarms is working as advertised but the concept is very cool. I bought this unit because I want “set it and forget it” functionality. Be aware that in order to update the unit, you have to supply your own USB cable and you need to be connected to 12v power, most likely in the car unless you have a 12v power supply laying around.

By: Howells

Howells — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:28:36 +0000

I previously owned the 8500 it is a good radar detector, but it is no where near as good as 9500xi. The false alarms are almost none existence and with the auto learn feature the alarms will be gone in no time. The is step but I was able to purchase mine on a open box policy for less.

By: Aikin

Aikin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:07:11 +0000

This a great radar detector, however mine had a problem and had to be sent back, Amazon made me send it back to the manufacturer instead of replacing it. It was only a month old. Still would buy another one just not from Amazon

By: Uzeta

Uzeta — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 11:49:21 +0000

After my second speeding ticket I knew I had to get one of these. After purchase and quick installation I was set and ready to go.

For the first 3 months it worked perfectly. Always told me when cops were near and pinging me, which just let me know to get off the gas and slow down until I pass them.

However, lately this Escort has been giving me more than enough false alarms, enough to the point where I don't pay as much attention whenever it goes off. Oh, and I also noticed that when it's cold outside, the Escort goes crazy and gives me nearly every kind of full alarm blast, even if I'm just sitting in my car in my garage at 5am warming to car up before work.

Overall I *was* pleased with the product, but as of late my trust in it's accuracy is severely waning.

By: Jessup

Jessup — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 23:12:51 +0000

I have purchased 5 of these units in the past 6 years. The first 3 stopped working after one year and even though I had extended warranty, it was a pain to have it replaced. The last 2 that I purchased a couple of years ago have been working fine. One is the blue LED and the other one is the red LED. When I purchased my recent autombobile which has Blue Tooth as one of the standard features, things began to go down hill. Evidently Escort tunes up their devices to such sensitive levels that the detector goes off constantly and randomly and it stay on until I unplug the unit. Because of this, it has damaged both of my units to where not they do the same thing in one of my other vehiclse WITHOUT Blue Tooth. When I contacted the factory, they told me that I have to send them $120 and ship both units at my expens so they can check it out and maybe retune it. I'm upset because I don't think they should charge anything since I'm not asking for any repairs to be done but rather for them to check the units and maybe retune them? They have rejected all of my requests and have insisted that they will not do anything without my $120. I would rather buy new units from another manufacturer than to spend another dime with them. Will never buy them.

By: Kestler

Kestler — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:22:07 +0000

I’ve been using the Escort 8500 x50 detector with the blue display for about 6 months. It has some features that are really quite good: really good range, alert sound dims after the first few beeps, easy programing (if you want to, although it’s ready to use out of the box), great rejection of false signals. The one negative is the window suction mount that comes with the unit… its flimsy, and tends to fall off the windshield, especially with temperature changes. What I did is purchase a much better radar detector mount through Amazon ([...]) sold by The Mount Guys for #12.95 + shipping, This mount is much better than the one that comes with the radar detector plus it can be used as a windshield mount or a dash mount (all the hardware needed to mount it on the windshield or dash is included). I chose to mount it on my dashboard (as in the photo on the amazon page). Radar Detector Car Dash and Windshield Mount

By: Vajta

Vajta — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:00:38 +0000

Before purchasing the 8500X50 I read with interest many of the reviews and was able to determine the pros and cons of the unit. I also contacted Escort directly regarding the concerns some had regarding the failure of their unit to calibrate and work. As noted in one review and confirmed by Escort leaving the unit on all the time (hot cigarette lighter) results in program problems..and no problems if power to your lighter plug disconnects when the ignition is turned off…Since Escort is now offering an 80 dollar credit for an old detector with free shipping, I ordered from them … sorry Amazon but competition rules.
Right out of the box, plugged it in and it works perfectly…just as I expected.
While reviews are helpful one must do some research and Escort would not be selling a product that didn’t work…The feature I most like is the auto mute mode…after a loud alert the sound is reduced….no need to use mute button.

By: Diebold

Diebold — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:11:51 +0000

I used Escort Passport 8500 X50 for like 5 month and to tell you the trued it does the job. i actually tested this device when i was going on long trips. it catch the cop signal for like 2 miles ahead. Its not so cheap but if u can afford to buy, buy Escort Passport 8500 X50