This is a true testimony for the Passport 8500 X50.

I bought this radar at my local shop for 339 dollars + tax and a 25 dollar extended warranty. The rep said I have 5 days for a full refund.

I live in Texas and decided to go on a road trip to Shreveport, Louisianna to do some gambling and to finally put the 8500 to full test. This trip was 200+ miles.
I was excited to get this radar and placed it in my car, highway mode and off I went to Shreveport. There were 4 instances where this radar failed. These cars were NOT your typical city cops but State Troopers looking to pull people over.

1st instance a guy was already pulled over and the radar do not do ANYTHING. It just displayed highway and did not make a sound, change, bleep, or chirp. Nothing.

2nd instance the cop was off the highway and there was an ambulance the radar again did not go off or pickup anything. It just displayed Highway.

3rd instance (solid test) the trooper was posted, on the opposite traffic LOOKING to pull someone over and again, the radar did not pick it up, ONLY when I PASSED the cop did it signal KA but only VERY briefly. I was now starting to lose faith.

Finally, the 4th instance, my buddy who was riding with me was like what the hell is going on? Why isn't it picking up these troopers? I had no answer. He said if this doesnt pick up another cop I reccomend taking it back. To my dismay I was leaning towards that option. A white nissan Murano was speeding about 78-85 MPH as I was. He abruptly slowed down and I had no idea why. I look in my rear view and a cop ONE car behind me had his lights on , full sound blaring. AGAIN, my radar did not do a damn thing. It just displayed highway mode. Luckily, I did not get pulled over, only the nissan Murano did. But that was as close as it gets for a radar test in my book. Again the radar did not do anything in regards to this situation.

Now, I don't know if my radar got bumped around while I had it locked in the storage bin. But it did not pick up any state trooper on the highway. I also had a couple of False alarms, no cops in sight. I'm taking the radar back and most likely will get my money back. I was not pleased with its overall performance on this road trip. I will point out however, the radar works like a charm within city drivng but failed to step up on the highway. Maybe its MY radar or maybe it really did not pick it up. This is just a true story and my expereince with the Passport 8500 x50 (blue lights) . Just an FYI for anyone out there who is thinking about getting one. Is there something I am missing here? Does it not pick up state troopers or something? If not, why?

Good luck in your radar search

Mark

 

Two possibilities - either it was an incredible coincidence that not a single trooper actually had his radar on, or - your X50 is broken. I've had an 8500 for a couple of years (recently upgraded to the X50) and it picks up the radar a looooooong ways away. Sometimes the Ka starts and I'm driving for a mile or two and it keeps beeping and beeping and I'm thinking "this thing is broke" and THEN i see the cop ahead, and it stops beeping a little bit after I pass him. Awesome radar. Take it back and get another one - this radar is awesome (when its working )

 

Mine picked up about 5 cops on the way from LA to Vegas. I've had really good luck with it. I would say it has worked for me 90 percent of the time. Also most cops have instant Ka on so it isn't detected by radar detectors.

I truly think there is a problem with your unit because of the Murano incident. Where do you have it mounted btw? Also you mentioned you put it on highway mode. You should have it in automatic mode which I seem to get the best results in.

Sorry to hear the problem. You can try another one from another shop like BestBuy where I got mine(restocking fee), or join the V1 clan.

 

I currently have the unit mounted on the windshield held by suction cups. It sucks to have the cord run from the front to back, but that is a temporary setup and I have tucked the wire to make it not a big eye sore.

I wanted to test the radar during my 5 day period so I held off on the custom work.

This morning 9:45 am, I took the Z for a Sunday drive to pick up some coffee. This time, I recevied much STRONGER results driving in the city. The city I live in is Las Colinas (Texas), which has a laser / cop rich environment. On this particular drive, I had 3 positive results which were good to see.
Instance 1, while driving to my destination, the radar immediately flashed Ka then got stronger as I was driving near. I took a look around and found two cop cars parked (engine off/ nobody inside) while having breakfast at IHOP. This was good to see.

Instance 2, while driving back with coffee in hand, there is a spot on the road which has nice curves and smooth pavement. Because of these curves the speed limit is (35 mph). I typically hit 65-70 on this quarter mile of a curve. The moment I hit the accelerator the engine purrs and so did my 8500. I let go of the gas immediatey down to 40ish and by the time I neared the intersection a cop was posted looking to take people down.

The final instance this morning was a very good result, this stretch of the street is a straight shot and in in the middle are trees / bushes of the 3 lane street. The radar picked up Ka. On coming the opposite traffic was a police car which gave me a solid 20 second reaction time from initial detection.

I was 3 for 3 this morning which was pleasing to see. Instead of a refund I have decided to trade it in for another 8500. I can't say if anything is wrong with this particular unit but atleast a new one will give me some peace of mind.

Anyone else have problems or even great detection?

Or maybe even a questionable incident?

Please post.

 

Damn well I'm sold... going to run over my 8500 x50 tonight and buy the V1... wish tripndesi posted sooner, could have saved me $300....

 

Passport 8500 X50 is a KICK @SS unit! I think you just got a dud.

 

Radar detectors detect radar, not cops. If you're not happy with the 8500 x50 you may want to try the V1, although Escort advertises that it has a 30-day trial, not 5. Might be your particular dealer.

 

should have gotten a valentine 1

 

No RADAR detector in the world will pick up a police RADAR unit than isn't emitting a signal. The RADAR systems used in police RADAR are extremely simple forms of RADAR.

For years now, police officers have had units available to them that place a “hold” on the RADAR emitted from the antenna (the round thing you see in their front or rear windows or on their light bar). This is designed to allow the officer to only allow himself to be detected by a RADAR detector if he so chooses to release the hold to pick up their speed.

A police officer can sit on the side of a roadway without being picked up by the fanciest of RADAR detectors until he sees someone traveling at a higher rate of speed. Then all he has to do is press the hold release on the remote and the unit will emit a RADAR signal which is reflected off of the vehicles ahead (RADAR unlike laser is not specific to one vehicle) and returned to his receiver at a changed frequency. The amount of change in the frequency is how the unit determines how fast that vehicle is going.

Some units just let out a “blip” of a signal if the operator chooses to use it this way, while others emit a continuous signal once the operator releases it.

Most of the time, police officers are just monitoring all traffic, as a whole and not selectively hunting for one vehicle. In this case, you will more than likely pick them up quite a ways out with a good detector, as they are continuously emitting a RADAR signal to be detected.

Another term I am seen for this is “Instant On” and regardless of what detector unit you buy, if he sees you and releases before you see him, it’s too late. He will have a speed display in his target vehicle display before your detector ever goes off. RADAR is a lot faster then the microprocessors in your detector unit.

I have a Passport 8500 X50 and it is a great detector. Sometimes it picks up the officer before I do. Sometimes I pick up the officer before it does, but understanding why that is, is what helps you to avoid meeting him in person!

 

Thanks for all the information. I decided to keep my 8500 X50. The guy at the shop was a bit surprised but had no issues of handing me another X50 sealed / brand new. Now, I place the rader in its original box, locked in the storage bin when not in use.
Now all I need to do is find this guy Mike who makes the custom mounts from this forum.
Anyone else know of good custom mounts for the Z? I've emailed Mike but no such luck in a reply.

 

Is there something you are missing?!?! Ummmm yes! A brain!! I really dont mean to be an @ss but this is a RADAR detector. It only detects RADAR. That means if the RADAR is not ON, the RADAR detector will not detect the cop watching your dumb@ss speed down the road. If that same officer happens to be pacing you at 85 mph he is probably smart enough to know that you are speeding without using his RADAR.

Lets review shall we. You bought a RADAR detector which is an instrument that detects RADAR.......still with me? It is not some sort of a super GPS that knows the location and thoughts of every officer in the country. I think something like that might cost just a bit more and would probably be illegal.

I would love to see the company's response if you sent the detector back to them with your original claim of the unit being defective.

By the way I must commend done12many2 for his patience in explaining things to you. Hopefully you now have a more firm grasp of the obvious.

Im sure I will get flamed for not being more understanding, but what really bothered me was your ASSumption that the X50 was the problem when in fact it was user error.

 

it is recommended that you always leave it on A.. which is AUTO mode..

 

I have noticed that once the police pull someone over they very often turn their radar's off. If they lasered the murano then your detector most likely won't pick it up. I doubt if the signal you picked up from the IHOP came from the parked police cars that were not even on.

 

Drift,
I think you need to slow your roll down. You are correct in your assesment, you don't need to be an ***.

Mark

 

The 8500x50 has Pop mode turned off by default. Maybe that's why you didn't detect the cops.

 

No need to jump all over the guy for not understanding how the unit works, granted it was user error I think them members on the forum who are here to actually help the others cleared it up for him.

Give him a break he just spent close to $400 and was probably a little upset that he didnt get the immediate results he was expecting.

Why post at all of your going to be so arrogant with your remarks

 

best radar detector is..........
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bribe some lil ole' lady at the dispatch station to send you a link, that will link you to her computer so you can see where every cop is! i might patent this radar detector and sell it.......group buy anyone?

 

Does anyone know why? I always was under the assumption that Highway was the more temperamental mode. I dont mind muting the warning when the time comes.

 

I also always use the Highway mode, I feel it offers the greatest range in terms of protection, I'd rather have a false warning here and there than not get a quick enough heads up

 

ive had my 8500 for 2 years and LOVE IT, i feel naked when i drive without it. it takes a few weeks to learn how to use it, and understand its different displays, but once you do you are INVINCIBLE!!! well sort of...