Escort Passport 8500 X50 Radar and Laser Detector (Red Display)
by Escort Inc.
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List Price: Our Price: $238.95 You Save: $61.04 (20%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $159.94 (click here) Category: Car Audio or Theater See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Escort Passport 8500 X50 Radar and Laser Detector (Red Display)
Customer Review: Great at first -- but a long-term DUD
Summary: 1 Stars
Summary:
1) All of the performance reviews you've seen are true. It is a pretty good radar receiver. The V1 has better raw performance but the Escort is close behind and is more user-friendly.
2) The unit overheats. They all do. This is a design flaw and NOT a sample defect. Yours will too, eventually. Most of these reviews come from initial use and not long-term ownership. Factor in the cost of repairs and the value proposition it offers over the V1 disappears.
I had two BEL detectors before my Escort. BOTH failed after just over a year of use from overheating. There is no remedey for this. Repaired units evenutally failed as well.
Thinking I'd learned my lesson, I bought the X50. I didn't know that the year before my purchase BEL had bought Escort and now both companies sell the same detectors in different shells. Lo and behold, the Escort went belly up at the 18-month mark, and the repaired unit lasted another 7 months.
BEL/Escorts are duds; there's no other way to put it. The price advantage they have over the V1 is wasted on out-of-warranty repairs. Get a V1 and save yourself the headaches. Pay attention to the negative reviews. They are not sample defects; they are not the left end of the bell curve (no pun intended). There's something wrong with these units that BEL/Escort will not address from one generation to the next.
Customer Review: A good radar detector although pricey
Summary: 4 Stars
This is my second escort. I bought it to replace a 6 year old one that had a problem with going off for no reason. I would say it is a good detector, although a bit pricey. It works well and seems to detect radar before radar finds me. I have also used whistler detectors and I think for about 200 you could get a whistler whcih would give almost as good protection. I drive 500 miles a week so I was willing to pay for the escort. My wife wants her first dectector and I am going to get a whistler for her. There is one thing I noticed with these detectors they do not go into full dark mode when you select voltage monitor for a display setting. My old escort did. I think it is adesign flaw as I tried two different5 detecotor and they both did it. There are lots of features and setting which allow you to set the detector to you needs and preferences. I have the normal amount of falseing from alarms etc. The unit seems to filter falses pretty well though.
Would I recomment this.....yes. Would I buy again ......yes. Could you get something almost as good for a few bucks less......yes.
Do not buy a $100 dollar detector though because you will not get the performance. You will get a beep saying pullover 'cuz your clocked and getting a ticket.
Customer Review: Testing Escort Passport 8500 X50
Summary: 5 Stars
It arrived on time and decided for this very model after lots of googleing for "radar test" sites and alikes. The city where i live has just adquired 1 radar detectors with cameras, so it made sense to get one of this beauties just before the city got a second detector. Until now (only a few weeks of testing and lots of drivers wondering what the heck it's that thing on my windshield), it only detected several surveillance cameras (X and K Bands, mostly on banks, car dealers and several convenience stores) but not a single speed trap yet. Depending on how radar waves bounce from other objects and vehicles nd even people, the X50 sounds the alarm from about half to one block away and ocassionally, even from two blocks away (in city mode) from the survellance camera, leaving a small window to carefully hit the breakes if it were a real treath. Of course this cameras ain't usually aimed to traffic and i'm kinda "training" in how to react to a real camera. I haven't had the chance to test it in highway mode yet and also i'm missing testing treaths coming from behind my vehicle, so i can't tell for now how it works on this situations. Hope this review can help you when buying/upgrading your "dog detector" or "anti-dog device" as we refer to it at home.Customer Review: Worth Every Penny
Summary: 5 Stars
I've owned the original 8500 for a few years now. It has consistently proved its value on many highway drives. The current X50 update is simply an improvement on what was already a great radar detector, with a blue LED option. Save yourself the extra money and get a red display, it is the same in every other way to the blue display unit.
Basic, automatic mode is great. Turn it on, scroll to Auto and leave it. This will allow the unit to work in City and Highway mode automatically. It works. Simple.
I've moved to the advanced display so I can track multiple signals. The LED display is clear and gives lots of information at a glace. The next level provides signal frequency, but that's too much and unnecessary for me. Between the audio alerts and the letter and bar display, I've got a good idea what I'm receiving, and, from where. Without an arrow.
Generally, heat is the worst thing for ALL radar detectors. That means not leaving the any unit out in the sun when parked. It is also a good idea to avoid spikes of electricity by not having it plugged in when starting the motor, and using the power/volume wheel to turn it on and off. Remember, excessive heat is BAD for your radar detector.
Customer Review: Works great
Summary: 5 Stars
I just used this detector on a 4500 mile road trip traveling in the west. Went from Seattle to Vegas, Vegas to Cali, back to Seattle.
I never had the unit go off in Nevada, but it gave me warnings about 6 times in California and 4 times in Oregon. These were either cops coming my way on the road with their radars going, or near speed traps. I found the unit gave ample warning in open spaces, and a couple of seconds warning when coming around a bend in the road. Around the 4th of July i hit alot of speed traps at night, and it saved my butt several times. Works very well. Be sure to turn on the POP feature (not on by default). Its true if you get hit by a laser, you basically are being told 'hey you got a ticket' - however if you Are driving the speed limit, the POP is useful in letting you know that the laser is being used. This warned me in the town i was in that cops were using laser, so i kept my speed down. Only improvement i can think of is to have the option of a Flashing warning, and maybe abit higher sound capability. I tend to listen to my music very loud on long trips like this - so sometims i didnt see the warning for awhile. It did have a fair amount of false readings (as far as i could tell) - but not too bad.