Hey all,

After doing lots of researches and taking some of your advises on here, I decided to go out and fork out $$$ to get the passport 8500.

I used it this weekend going from olympia to bellingham( 150miles trip each ways).

Here is what I notice about the passport:

While I was on the freeways, the radar only went off a couple of times and most of it was under an overpass(aka bridge). I did not see any Five O at all.

In the city, the radar always go off near a business area. I think it is mostly false. I also got a lasar warning, no cops around. what is the deal here?

Is it worth the money?
Should I keep it or return it?
I'm usually not a speedemon. I only go about 10-15mph over the limit. Will having the radar gives me a false sense of security?

DT

If you don't speed, or take long trips that often, I would figure you won't have much use for it. I'd get the V1 myself, but I drive a little on the fast side

Q #1. Maybe they were not out that much. A good thing

Q #2. Security systems, auto doors, etc. operate on X and K bands. Know where they are. IF you ever drive by and you get a different signal, watch out. These are great hiding places for you know who. There might be a sensitivity adjustment for this. My V1 has one.

Q #3. Some SUV tail lights will set mine laser warning off. It's either that or your busted.

10-15 over will still get you the ticket. I'd keep it. One time and it pays for itself.

If I were you, I would get rid of that paper weight called the 8500. Just invest your money wisely and get a Valentine 1.

I think they are a waste.....unless you spend the $$ and get the valentine one. They go off all the time, even if there is no cops around. Grocery stores set them off a lot. I'd get rid of it. ... I got a ticket using my passport!

I'd say keep it. I have both the V1, & 8500. The V1 has a little better range, but other then that, I can't tell a difference. I'm not going to say what is better, however it depends on where you drive, how your drive, & luck most of the time. Now, read the manual for the 8500. It tells you how to kill bands. You can kill the X band totaly, & other bands as well. I also noticed with the 8500, you get less falses, & better range if you kill the HW info band. You will never need it, & it doesn't work anyway. It's the SWS band.

I agree with the masses here and I went with the V1 last year. I read all of the opinions about the 8500 vs. the V1 and the V1 seemed to edge out the 8500. Like JasonT, I'm not going to start a V1 vs. 8500 debate.... I just went with the V1 b/c it gave me the warm and fuzzy. So far I love it. Keep in mind that no radar detector is perfect, so if you're going to speed... keep an eye out on the road and be prepared to suffer the consequences should you get nailed.....

I like my 8500, V1 is supposedly better, but the 8500 saved me. About the overpasses, I know in the DC area they monitor traffic speed with small radar units that report back to a central traffic mgmt office. That could be the cause for the falses.

My 8500 is awesome. I too will not try to start an 8500 vs. V1 debate, which would be as effective as trying to get the Israel and Palestine to be friends.

I find that it falses very easily and it has given me ample warning.

As was mentioned before, learn where the sources are for false alarms and always make sure someone is in front of you so that you have time to catch "instant-on".

I will never drive without a detector.

One thing I will add is that one of the reasons I went with the V1 was the "bogey counter". Since I keep the V1 on all alerts (no filtering) I have some falses here and there. The key with the V1 is that I know where and how many falses there are.

There's an area by me that's very retail.... so I get about 6 X-band readings. When driving through there once I noticed the number was 7 and it was alerting me pretty rapidly. I also noticed that the strongest signal wasn't the usual X-band, but a K-band. Wouldn't you know that about a half-mile down the road there was a cop in one of the parking lots. Had I had a regular detector I would not have known that b/c my detector would have just been beeping like normal.

Anyway.. just thought I'd add that

8500 do that too. It can display the number of signals and the strenght of each one.

8500 can also be upgraded like the V1. THe one major thing the V1 has over the 8500 is the directional arrows.

whoops.. I guess at the time the 8500 may not have had that? Not sure

the 8500 actually has a lot of features
it can detect up to 8(?) signals at the same time, i believe, you haveto go into the options to activate the feature though

anyways, both are nifty devices that will save your rear end someday, just that the v1 has a bit better range and a whole lot fatter price tag
as with all things you get what you pay for, and the further you move up, the bigger the price gap and the smaller the performance gap

No, the 8500 had that ability from the beginning. As a matter of fact, the 7500 had the same feature. Although from a detection standpoint, none of the prior Passports can even compare to the 8500.

I used to have a 4500, and we have a 6800 in my wife's Land Cruiser. There is absolutely no comparison.