f1anatic Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 Bought it tonight. Should be the new best family friend. At 326 dollars and change (Best Buy) it certainly did not come cheap...but I hope it works and will save my ass. I got the red display...as to complement the car...but I find blue more stylish. Any settings I should implement ? Should I start braking at the first buzz-band ? Does POP detection actually work ? What abaout LASER ? The Escort Passport does not come with aremote display...but you can hard wire it. IS there an advantage to hardwiring it ? I believe it is legal in IL to use one (although concealing might help with car thieves). For now...it resides in the "cubby". Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmanus88 Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 i'll answer the laser bit. heres how it qorks: because laser guns do not give off a frequency/signal like radar guns do, you cannot detect their presence. someone else in the detectors range has to get nailed first before u cna pick anything up. better than nothing i guess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STG Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 i'll answer the laser bit. heres how it qorks: because laser guns do not give off a frequency/signal like radar guns do, you cannot detect their presence. someone else in the detectors range has to get nailed first before u cna pick anything up. better than nothing i guess Laser detectors pick up laser beams, and do in fact detect their presence. What you are trying to say is that laser beams are very narrow and focused, plus there is virtually no scatter. A radar gun sends out a very wide beam. A police officer can park his car, turn his radar on, set a target speed and fall asleep. His radar unit will alert him if a car enters into the radar beam and exceeds the preset target speed. Radar guns are often used in instant on mode. That is, they come on for brief bursts instead of being left on all the time. When a radar gun is being used in instant on mode, your only chance of not getting nailed is to pick up the radar signal hitting the car in front of you. If you are the first car in line, you are S.O.L. Because laser guns send out a narrow "pencil beam" of light, they are very difficult to detect. The police officer must hold and aim the laser gun like a rifle and target your car. 99 out of 100 times, if your laser detector goes off, it's to late. Once in a while, a laser detector will pick up a tiny bit of scatter from the car ahead of yours being hit, or the laser beam shining through that cars windows onto yours, but don't count on it. I run an 8500 X50 and have it set to display multiple radar sources simultaniously. There are very few X-band radar guns in use except for one state (NJ??). Do some research and if there are no X-band units in your area, you can diable the X-band reception. Be aware that some alarms and automatic door openers operate on K band. The key to getting the most out of your dectector is to use it ALL THE TIME and get used to it. You'll get falsing on X and K bands when you drive by shopping centers, but a Ka hit means "hit the brakes" (as you look in the review to see what's going to hit you). POP means brakes, too, as well as any laser hit. Once you get used to the expert mode, you'll be able to see the cop with Ka radar shooting from the mall parking lot with K band door openers or alarms because the display will show both, not just the strongest signal. My 8500 X50 has paid for itself many times over. If you have more than one car, do yourself a favor and get extra suction cup mounts so you can position the dector mount where you want it each car and leave it there. Now, all you have to do is slide the dector into the perfectly positioned mount in each car. I don't think mmanus uses a detector. If he does, he doesn't know how to use it very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f1anatic Posted March 1, 2005 Author Share Posted March 1, 2005 Thank you very much. The only other car I drive is a Chevrolet Venture minivan that has one of those special-tinted-antenna windshields. For that matter, my Illinois Tollway I-PASS transponder did not work and had to buy a license plate mounted device. I wonder if the radar presents the same challenges. So what you are saying is that I can leave in Automatic mode. There is no way I will disable X band - but I was wondering if there is a way to make it more sensitive than pre-loaded with factory settings. Last night when I bought it...was probably the first time I actually went "cop-hunting". I just wanted to see the darn thing go off...So i took to the subuirban streets where our most zealous metro "finest" are eating donuts, so...I didn't get any response on X band even in the mall areas....but I was actually able to get the response I was looking for: detection and increased warnings with reducing the distance to the squad car. f1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmanus88 Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 i was only trying to help, and i have a solo s2 cordless.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex1 Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 i dont want to turn this into a thread about the V1, but im deciding between the x50 and the valtine 1, i know the arrows are helpful but 400 is a little too steep for me and i kinda want options and more actions like talking features and the lcd of the x50 , help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meier motor sports Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 v1 is what i have and use. i used to have a cobra. the guy/company that makes v1 used to work for escort. so both are very good. here in il x is a false alarm. k is possibly. you will learn the hot spots like malls and what not. in smaller towns there local cops may still be using k band. but in must bigger citys the cops use ka. ka is a deffinate hit. start to slow down. laser like said alreeady. its prob to late. but some cars emit a signal in the laser band cars like the chevy trail blazer with there funky 3rd brake light and other cars with led lights and stuff. i get it sometimes in my uber sensitve v1. i would sugest u drive in the mostsensitve mode for a month or so get used to the warnings and what they mean. then turn it down as u like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STG Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 i dont want to turn this into a thread about the V1, but im deciding between the x50 and the valtine 1, i know the arrows are helpful but 400 is a little too steep for me and i kinda want options and more actions like talking features and the lcd of the x50 , help! I borrowed a V1 and used it for two weeks straight before deciding on a X50. Both are good, but I could not get used to the arrows. If I get a Ka or laser alert, I hit the brakes. I don't care which direction it's comming from. In an urban environment, radar signals tend to bounce off building, vehicles, etc. frequently lighting F/R and side arrows simultaneously. Too much info for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centerpunch Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 v1 is what i have and use. i used to have a cobra. the guy/company that makes v1 used to work for escort. Yeah, but he left Escort in 1983, even before Escort made the first Passport model....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centerpunch Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 Thank you very much. The only other car I drive is a Chevrolet Venture minivan that has one of those special-tinted-antenna windshields. For that matter, my Illinois Tollway I-PASS transponder did not work and had to buy a license plate mounted device. I wonder if the radar presents the same challenges. f1 Yes, it does. Your van is one of the few cars that has a metallic-coating on the windshield, and radio (and radar) really won't go thru it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enlight Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 If anyone is gonna buy a passport buy it at palcoelectronics.com. Call them and they will give you a cheaper price than listed on their site, and they are an authorized dealer. The only reason they list the price they do on their website is probably because of pressure from escort. muFreight.co A JDM Container Sharing Service from Japan to NYC Website | Instagram | Email Bessie II's Thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Driver72 Posted March 3, 2005 Share Posted March 3, 2005 The Escort Passport does not come with aremote display...but you can hard wire it. IS there an advantage to hardwiring it ? I believe it is legal in IL to use one (although concealing might help with car thieves). For now...it resides in the "cubby". When you say, "resides in the "cubby" are you referring to the cubby bin above the trip computer display? If so, know that you are not getting a very good, clean signal. You need to mount it somewhere on the dash or suction cupped to the windshield so it has a clear "view" out the front and rear windows. Sure the detector will pick up "waves" while in the cubby, but at a drastically reduced amount, to the point it might not pick up a strong enough signal until it's too late. And I wouldn't leave the suction cups attached to high in the window either, it lets thieves know you have a radar detector. And we all know, like removable faced stereos, all anybody does is take it off, and stick it in the glovebox or storage bin while out of the car. By the way, I have the Passport 8500 X50 and on a trip from LA to Phx and back, it "saved" me twice, and alerted me on a couple occasions. It was just priceless, when after getting a strong Ka Band signal I slowed down only to have a guy in another car who'd been "running" with me for miles blow by me, and then get pulled over a mile or so later! I haven't "programed" my detector at all, the false alarms are a bit annoying. But I primarily only use the thing when I have to travel more than 10-15 miles away. Around town, I pretty much stay within the 10 mph over the speed limit "safety zone" anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centerpunch Posted March 3, 2005 Share Posted March 3, 2005 The Escort Passport does not come with aremote display.... You CAN get a remote display for the Passport 8500, see https://www.escortradar.com/cp/cgi-bin/cp-app.cgi?&pg=store&sub_pg=prod&ref=11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f1anatic Posted March 5, 2005 Author Share Posted March 5, 2005 I mean...the radar detector lives in the "cubby" when not in use. But I will try and make a better job about concealing it when not in use. WOW...you want me to take down even the suction cups...That blows...But I do understand your p.o.v. I am interested in hardwiring it BUT I already have a much bigger rearview mirror and will not fit there anymore (like other people's, just to the right of the mounting support for the rearview mirror). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Driver72 Posted March 5, 2005 Share Posted March 5, 2005 At least take down the suction cups when in a the barrio or hood of your town. Otherwise, be prepared for a broken window when you get back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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