Fooman

I bought a Escort 8500 radar detector and so far it has missed warning me about 2 speed-traps. Luckily, I was going only 70mph at the time. In fact, it has only been going off on those automatic speed indicators that you see on the interstate.

Is my detector defective?

In both instances, the police car was not facing on-coming traffic, but rather to the side. (perpendicular to the interstate). I assume the radargun was turned on since he was looking for speeders.
I don't know much about radars other than that so if anyone can comment about it, I'd greatly appreciate it.

autox17

In most instances you have already been clocked by the time your radar detector detects anything. The range for radar guns is much larger than that of even the most advanced radar detector.

I find that from experience, I have received fewer tickets since I've stopped using a radar detector. I would take it back (claim that it doesn't work well) and get your money back to spend on something a little bit more worth while.

slo007

The officer might not have the radar ON, or it was a laser radar and he never pointed it at you. I think it's too early to know.

Do make sure, however that your radar is not obstructed. I see radars all the time on the dashboard of cars that are facing straight up. Ha! That will never work very well.

slo007

I disagree. I have a BEL 940 and it sees the radar of CHP units up to a mile away 80% of the time. Sometimes the officer is "eyeing" the speed of cars, as is required in some jurisdictions as part of training. Or he or she is busy with paperwork.

I can say my radar saved me several times, though it does bother me a bit as it also finds every cell phone tower near the road. Fortunately, thoese are on a different frequency and the radar distinguishes them by sound and display.

xizor

I bought a used 8500 today, hoping it'll save me some tickets in town. Passport says that the 8500's range is much better than a police radar gun because it'll pick up faint traces.

To read an accurate speed teh radar gun sends out a signal and reads the signal that comes back. If you are a mile away, the wave has travelled too far to be accurate, but it'll still set off your detector b/c it picks up any signal, hence the false positives for cell towers, buildings etc.

btw: ifrared doeesn't work perpendicular, so he couldn't have been using that.

cloudveil

Purchasing a Valentine 1 is the only way to fix your problem. I know it costs more, but its well worth it. It only takes one speeding ticket to pay for one, once you include increased insurance costs.

jlukja

If the cops are using laser then you're toast. If they ID you and point the laser gun at you then turn it on then it'll be too late. Your detector will light up but your speed will already have been read. Your detector will save you only if the cops are lazy and set up a radar speed trap over a hill or around the bend. If their speed gun is on and just waiting for some speeder to register a high rate of speed then your detector will pick this up. If they turn it on once pointed at you then, again, you're toast. Don't do the crime if you can't do the time (or pay the fine).

freeride149

don't do the crime if you can't do the time? psh, i beg to differ.

with a high end radar detector, you can be warned of cops miles away. (really, my friend's v1 detects actual radars miles away, on relatively flat roads)
and even if the cops are using laser, you can still benefit from your radar/lidar detector, if the cop is clocking the people in front of you. one obvious example is, if there were a few cars in front of you, and your radar detector goes off accordingly, (i.e. 2 cars, 2 beeps) then there's a cop ahead with instant on radar or laser.

having a radar detector might stir up false confidence, but i see it as extra protection, cuz my eyes can't spot sh-t sometimes. cops are getting sneakier.

tuan209

i just got the 8500 . where is the best place to mount the thing?

bob shiftright

How do you know you were being clocked? I drove my daughter back to college on Sunday and in less than ten miles on the Garden State Parkway I passed four (4) LIDAR (laser) traps with State Troopers in the median shooting the guns through their open passenger side window. Only passing ONE (1) of the traps did the Trooper actually clock me, judging by the response of my V-1.

Valentine has some basic troubleshooting info "how-do-I-know-if -it's-working-?" on it's website.

http://www.valentineone.com/service/#6

The last speeding ticket that I received was an MPH K-55 unit in "instant on" mode. Basically, there's no defense against "instant on" radar unless you pick up the unit clocking a vehicle ahead of you. There IS a defense against LIDAR, jammers are legal, and some units like the Escort ZR3 "laser shifter" seem to be effective:

http://www.radartest.com/article.asp?articleid=8502

Motor Trend recently tested radar and laser detectors:

http://www.motortrend.com/features/c...dar/index.html

xizor

I picked up a used Passport 8500 today, but my car is setting off false alarms for the Laser every 2-3 minutes. I'm not sure if its unit or the car, but its really annoying me. I mounted it above the right side of the rear view mirror, fits well up there, except the power cord can be annoying when shifting to/from 3rd gear.

slo007

That's interesting. My radar detector yells out laser everytime I move it across the front of the radio. I'm not sure if it's the LCD screen of the NAVI or the CD player. Just something for you to consider! (move it somewhere else)

xizor

Could be, I had it sitting in the upper part of the armrest. To me its an ideal place, even though it'll have crap range, can't be seen during the day, there's a plug right there and can be concealed by closing the armrest.

Did I mention I live in the only state that outlaws radar detectors? I will try mine again mounted up high. I don't have a Navi though.

bob shiftright

I have my V-1 main units mounted in the pockets of Case Logic "Visor Organizers" (about $8, Target Stores) mounted on the passenger visors and the V-1 remote display mounted somewhere in the consoles. I have small holes cut out of the leading edge to reveal the LIDAR receiver. The setup is invisible from outside the cars. For radar detectors, the highest mounting point possible works best. For laser jammers a lower mounting point near the front license plate which is where they aim is best.

I thought that Virginia uses radar detector-detectors....

xizor

Only state police can radar detector-detectors, so you'd only find them on highways. But its debatable whether their detectors-detectors can even detect the most advanced detectors, like v1 and passport.

Gpump

Not sure what states use radar detector detectors, but the Passport 8500 has what I believe is called vg 2 stealth technology = invisible to these radar detector detectors.

Radar detectors are just that - they recieve energy at certain wavelengths and tell you how strong the signal is. If the radar is instant on, you've got to hope they shot someone ahead of you. Laser (lidar) doesn't reflect, so they have to be shooting you (actually your detector) for it to register - lidar is somewhat limitied though - I believe the effective range is about 1/4 mile and it has to be a clear day with clear line of sight - gotta keep your eyes out to avoid these speed guns. The laser detector on my 8500 has only gone off once and I saw the cop ahead of time, so it was no biggie. Personally, I think when the detector sees lidar it ought to display "you're fucked, pull over now" instead of "laser"

tuan209

i got pulled over today and the 8500 didnt even go off! WTF!!!! luckily i didnt get a ticket tho as the nice policeman let me go.

xizor

did ya yank it off the dash and hide it?

tuan209

nope....HAHA

guess he let me go cause i was good looking


it was my first time testing it and I havent been impressed. Passed by a few cops and nothing went off. =( This was in the city tho, I got it mainly for the ride back home through the country. Ill test it on the way back later and if I get a ticket this sucker is being returned!

Fooman

Next time you get pulled over, kindly ask the cop if he used radar to track you or whether it was "instant-on". I'm asking because I have also passed through 2 cops without the radar going off. Luckily, I was only going around 70mph at the time. I really want to know if my detector (any detector) is worth it or not.

Gpump

If your detector didn't go off, then there are 2 possibilities:
1) he didn't have his radar on, thus no ticket - prolly just thought you looked like you were speeding so stopped you and warned you.
2) you got a defective detector - if it goes off other times, then option #1 is prolly the answer

I believe the cops are required by law to stay within a certain frequency range with their radar - I suppose it's possible that some use a radar frequency "other than standard issue" and that the 8500 MAY not detect it but I highly doubt it.

I was on my way back from Austin tonight and my 8500 saved my butt twice - state patrol apparently uses about 34.7 MHz frequency, and was pretty busy this evening - I was only going 75 in a 65 so was prolly safe anyway, but the point is the technology works, so long as the cops are using their radar.

tuan209

yea, i drove back to houston this weekend and it worked =D. hows the range on your 8500? I thought mine was ok at best, but I never had a radar before so i cant really say what is OK.

Bass Mechanic

i have an 8500 and it has been working perfectly for the last 2 years of ownership.
one thing i didnt see any of you suggest is that the cops may have been using VASCAR no detector will pick that up and any cop that has been trained and certified in the use of that system will win everytime in court. i know because i went on a ride along with a state trooper once who used it. it's pretty amazing to watch it in use. he can clock people even while driving.
now getting back to the statement about buying a V1 to solve your problem.
im sorry but if you bought a V1 you wasted your money.
i have seen and used the V1 and other than the fact it tells you the direction of the radar there is absolutly no bennifit to knowing the radar comes from the side because your speed cannot be detected from any radar gun from the side of your car. trust me when i say that if your getting radar at the side of your car your speed was determined long ago before you even knew it.
both the escort and the V1 have about the same sensitivity to radar signals. they can both sniff out a cop radar miles from the source. however the Escort has better sensitivity on Ka band which is one of the more popular bands because it has a narrow bandwidth.
for the guy that stated his Escort goes off all the time in town its probably x band and cops dont use that band much anymore. in fact with the Escort you can turn off or set the sensitivity to low of the x band so it wont beep anymore for the false alarms.
the V1 is nothing more than a basic unit. you pay a lot more for it and as for radar detecting duties has no bennifit over the 8500 except side detection which as i already stated is useless anyway. i like the 8500 because besides a radar detector it displays safty warning messages (and i have seen a couple already) it also tells you the frequency of the radar and has a bogy counter that not only tells you how many radar signals are present but the strength of each all at the same time.
it also functions as a voltage meter when not detecting radar on the display. i leave mine in that mode so it shows me somthing usefull when not detecting.
i have personally witnessed the 8500 picking up police radar over 2 miles away. i have even seen it pick up ka band radar with the cop hiding on the opposide side of an overpass clocking people as they came out from under it.
what was amazing is that this particular cop was facing the same direction as me sending radar signals in the same direction i was heading but 1 mile ahead of me. the signal i was getting was the reflected signal off the back side of cars in front of me and 1 mile in front of me.
this reflected signal would have had to pass back under the overpass and tavel an additional mile for me to catch it. i knew that cop was there long before he knew i was comming.
if your considering a new radar detector i would highly reccommend the 8500 over the V1 any day of the week. and it costs less also.

tuan209

cooool. thing is mine didnt go off miles away!

Gpump

What's VASCAR?

My 8500 has so far caught signal about.5 miles away in mild hills - plenty of time for me to react. Range is supposed to be the best in the industry, not certain as to how far on flat land.

odessa

Before too much of disinformation get passed around, you may want to read two radar tests, one from February, 2002 by Car and Driver - The Great Detector Test http://caranddriver.com/article.asp?...rticle_id=1993 , the other by Motor Trend - 2004 Radar Detector Test and Buyer's Guide http://www.motortrend.com/features/c...ad/index6.html
Both tests have enough information on radar detectors and bands cops use to bust poor innocents like us.

briny319

I have an escort 8500. It works great compared to other detectors I have had. It's also rated rated as the best or second best everytime I read a review. I do get some false alarms but its usually the same spots everytime. It picks up most speed traps a mile away. But it can't pick up everything if the cop doesn't have his radar on or if he is just watching the speed of traffic.

Bass Mechanic

VASCAR is a time based system, a cop can calculate the distance between any 2 markers on the road, it can be a sign a fence post , a painted stripe or anything that gives a point of reference.
every morning a cop goes to a predetermined place alongside a highway for example where they have already measured out an exact known distance, say .5 mile.
then after calibrating their VASCAR system by rolling to the first mark and then rolling to the second mark .5 miles away and pressing calibrate they can accuratly measure any 2 markers on a road.
after the car has been calibrated for that day (they do this so they can hold the speeding tickes up in court)
they then roll up to a landmark alongside the road, roll to the second point and press calculate.
they have now measured the exact distance between 2 known points.
then they will pull off the road to a location where they can see these 2 points.
even if they have to use binnoculars they can watch as your car passes the 1st point where they flip a switch. then as your car passes the 2nd point the press the switch again.
VASCAR calculates the time it took from the first marker to the second and it already has the distance between the 2 points programmed. the speed calculation is a simple math problem distance verses time. and the speed can be displayed on the VASCAR unit as close as 1/10th mile per hour.
now there is some descrepency in the reaction time of the officer to hit the switch with accurate timing of you passing the 2 points but even if your off by 10-15 feet its still accurate within 2-3 miles per hour.
if you dont belive me try sitting along side a street and pick an object along side the road. as a car passes that point since you know the location of the marker it is easy within less than a foot to trip a switch as the car passes the object.

one of the most commen questions my officer got was "how come my radar detector never went off?" to which he replied, "if it did go off it's broken cause i didnt use Radar."
sorry guys you cant get past this type of speed detection, your only defense is to be alert and see the cop car before you pass his 2 known marks alongside the road.
airplanes can use the same system pretty easy and relay your speed to a patrol car up the road. your a sitting duck!

xizor

I've always guessed the police did something like that. On Rt81 here there is large white lines every mile over so spanning across the road. There's signs that say speeds are monitored by aircraft, and my friend actually got a ticket that said he was caught by a helicoptor.

Bass Mechanic

you forgot several links to independant tests done for the escort, i know their site is biased but the tests arent. go to http://www.radar-detectors.com/products/escort/x-50.asp and read for yourself.
they also offer BLUE display now and increased sensitivity.

from what i can tell the V1 wins with car and Driver because of better rear laser detection. and because on that particular test the V1 had better range. but in every other test i have seen the 8500 has better rage. though we are talking about .2 of a mile if you ask me the sensitivity of each is a wash. who really cares about .2 of a mile either way. both are excellent units but the V1 costs a lot more and has by far fewer features. the areas that it excells are the direction lights and rear laser detection. in all the years i have been driving i have never seen a cop use LIDAR at the rear of a car.
i still say for the money the 8500 is by far a better value.
both are good units though and if i was to put my money on one it would be the 8500 no question.

Bass Mechanic

guarentee you that was VASCAR. the good news is they usually dont do aircraft speed traps at night for obvious reasons.

Bass Mechanic

also i would like to add that (knock on wood) im a heavy footed driver and i havnt had a speeding ticket in over 11 years. 1 exception i was speeding on purpose through texas, i had a Uniden detector POS i actually saw the cop on the other side of the road at least a mile away heading at 70 MPH towards me and choose to keep speeding because my detector wasnt making any noises.
after i got the ticket it occured to me i hadnt heard that stupid POS make any noice in months. turns out it just stopped working.
since then i have the 8500 and never looked back. been a great unit. i took it with me to a trip to CA once and rented a car. i made LA to san francisco in 4.5 hours in a rental, i knew the where the cops were miles before they knew where i was. the 8500 sniffed out every single CHP officer within 2 miles of me easy.

tuan209

the blue one is cool!

odessa

If I understand your description correctly, then you are describing a "speed trap", they are illegal in California. From California Vehicle Code:
"VEH §40801. No peace officer or other person shall use a speed trap in arresting, or participating or assisting in the arrest of, any person for any alleged violation of this code nor shall any speed trap be used in securing evidence as to the speed of any vehicle for the purpose of an arrest or prosecution under this code. [Added 1959 ch. 3.]
VEH §40802. (a) A "speed trap" is either of the following:
(1) A particular section of a highway measured as to distance and with boundaries marked, designated, or otherwise determined in order that the speed of a vehicle may be calculated by securing the time it takes the vehicle to travel the known distance. ..."

Bass Mechanic

wow lucky you live in CA
i live in colorado no such law here

odessa

We have so many stupid laws, especially in the area of gun control, I am actually surprised we have law against speed traps.

illinimatt81

After driving with the 8500 since February, I must say how impressed I am. I recently took a trip to Kentucky from Chicago and picked up everything MILES in advance. I thought I was getting false alarms at first, but then I realized what in the middle of a cornfield would set off a false alarm? It was a cop using instant on further down the road. I encountered my first laser gun near Effingham, IL on I-57. It was a county sheriff (he has no jurisdiction on an Interstate in IL, only the state police do except near Cairo, IL so I don't know why he was clocking) but I had it go off a mile before. It said laser so I slowed down from 90 to 70. I was frantically looking everywhere for the trooper only to see him a minute later and a mile up the road holding the laser gun out the window. I am impressed!!

toddstuh

The Escort is an excellent detector no question, but outside of it's range, it isn't much different than any of it's predecessors. I had an original Escort, an awesome unit. And I later bought a Passport before eventually buying a V1.

If you look at what they're using in fighter jets for radar detection, it's a circular scope which not only warns the pilot of radar type but also of it's direction and proximity. It's called situational awareness which is similar to the concept implemented in the V1s directional arrows.

In Massachussets they use unmarked cars that ride along in the traffic sometimes in pairs. One will pass you and you assume you're in the clear but You cant always see the other one because they hide amongst the trucks,vans and other vehicles until it's too late and they nab you from behind.
Just the other day I'm merging onto the highway and the V1 starts screaming and pointing rearward !
The radar then went off after I'd leveled off my speed to that of the traffic flow but I knew I had the company of rolling radar riding BEHIND me.
The newer radar guns are using front and rear facing antennas so they can track you after you've passed them on the road for example.
I have owned a V1 for close to 10 years and I'll have to say that the V1's directional arrows have saved me countless times. I haven't had a ticket since I've owned it.

Unfortunately, with the advent of Lidar, it's rendering most detectors obsolete. But due to the light based signal, there are currently no laws against jamming it which will only open more opportunities for the radar detector companies.

Bass Mechanic

i just upgraded to the 8500 X50 with the Blue display, let me just say that the blue pic on their website doesnt do justice. this blue display lights the whole interior of my car up at night.
i have had an 8500 since the day they came out. this is the best unit i have seen.
now i know the V1 is a good unit also. but quite frankly i really could care less about the arrows. since they cant get your speed from the side thoes arrows are pretty much worthless. and as for the rear, pretty much pointless anyway because if they are following you most of the time they need only pace your car to get your speed. most cops that have their radar on while following traffic arent clocking you, they just simply either dont realise they left the gun on or in their car they just leave it on all the time. pacing a car from behind is far more productive for a cop because they know driving with the radar running lets people like us know we are being clocked. pacing you and watching their speed is a far more effictive tool to get your speed when rolling in traffic. (i know because i have a couple friends that are cops and have done several ride alongs with them)
ill give it a thumbs up for the concept but to me 99% of the time the speed is taken from a stationary cop car ahead of you. if it is comming from behind its really easy to tell that the signal stays the same for some distance for a long period of time.

here is a more even simple analogy to understand, and ill give an example.
suppose you have either the V1 or the Escort and lets say you get radar from behind. now keep in mind that the Escort DOES detect rearward signals it just doesnt tell their direction.
if you put a peice of tape over the arrows so you cant see the threat.
now suppose your driving and hear the radar going off.
would you:
A. slow down as soon as you hear the threat
B. maintain your speed for a while and see if you know where it was.

answer is A.
now with the arrows uncovered would your answer be A or B?
im guessing the answer is still A

my point is what difference does it make. you want to avoid a speeding ticket. your detector is telling you there is a threat, does it matter where it is comming from? is there any time you get a threat front or rear and disreguard it and keep driving?
the fact is with the V1 you give up such an informative multi use Dotmatrix display with many cool usefull features for 3 arrows and a bogy counter.

the passport can show up to 8 count them 8 different radar sources and their strength of EACH one at the same time on the same display.
not only that but aside from the flexability of being able to program the unit for what types of radar our concerned about it shows some usefuill information when not in use such as the voltage of your electrical system.
the new 8500 has been improved in it's antenna design making it even more sensitive to K and KA band radar. it was already better then the V1 and is now even better!

somthing else i would like to mention, if you have ever had one of the old units from the 90's you know that they bleep at every kind of signal. sooner or later you would just tune the bleeps out because it was always reporting a threat, most of which were false alarms.
if you have a detector that detects from the sides which is impossible to detect your speed anyway, thats just another oppertunity for it to bleep with un necessary warnings that mean nothing to you.
for me, i only need to know when i need to worry about my speed and no other time is it necessary to inform me of anything. i prefer the thing keep quiet untill its important to worry about it.

as for the distance illinimatt81, i can confirm the Passport range. like you i have seen many times i thought there was a false alarm only because it was so strong of a signal with nothing in sight. then about 3 miles away you find a cop hiding in the bushes. AMAZING! its been 11 years since i got a speeding ticket. seems i get pulled over for other things but never speeding.

tuan209

any major differences b/w the original 8500 and x50 bass?