chandlerbingco's Full Review: Escort Passport 8500 X50 Radar Detector
First of all, let's clear up the confusion about the whole Passport 8500 vs. Valentine 1 fiasco, but let's do it in a clear and truthful manner presented solely with facts. No hype, no bias, just facts.
First, the most common complaint that I've seen about the 8500 is that it does not have any direction arrows to tell the user where the radar is coming from. Honestly, I can't think of any reason why any normal or normal-agressive driver would ever need these. Arrows are nice, sure, but how accurate are they really? Radar bounces off of just about anything, so it wouldn't be uncommon to get false alerts from the rear and sides at the same time you're getting an alert from the front. However, this may prove useful for rear detection (although not a big problem for most drivers). Radar direction is one of those things for drivers that put a brick on the pedal, and snooze in the back seat hoping their detector will pick out all of the cops for them. If you're unwilling to open your eyes once in a while to look for a cop, you shouldn't be driving, and in this case the Valentine 1 is for you.
Several users complain that the 8500 has too weak of detection range when compared to the V1. EIGHT individual tests have confirmed that on an 8 mile straightaway, the 8500 can detect Ka band at roughly 7.58 miles, while the V1 comes in somewhere around 4.45 miles. The 8500 wins. K band is equal, with both detectors picking up the signal around 5.11 miles. Both tie. X band in highway mode was where the V1 took the lead by detecting the signal at 7.57 miles, while the 8500 picked it up at 5.78 miles. The V1 wins (a good thing if you're looking to detect the closest bank or grocery store). With K band standing as the most commonly used band in law enforcement today, and Ka quickly taking over, the 8500 is the clear winner. At a close second (though not so close in Ka) is the V1. That's a fact. Independent tests confirm it.
Let's take a look now at laser detection. Honestly, I find laser detection worthless, because with nearly zero scatter from the laser band, no detector is going to pick up the signal unless it is directly hit with it. And once you're hit with it, you're finished. The key area to laser detection in this area is Field of View. In other words, how far off to the sides a detector can see laser when it is pointing forward. For the 8500, this field of view is somewhere around 48 inches. On the V1, the field of view is nearly 90. A noticeable advantage for the V1, but not really all that important. Chances are, you won't be hit with a laser past 45 inches of FOV, and law enforcement is not allowed to target you if they are too far off center of your vehicle (the laser is succeptible to cosine error and will read the wrong speed). So, both of these detectors are within the commonly used FOVs that the Police use. However, if you are scared of being hit with laser from a cop sitting 100 yards off to your right, the V1 would be your choice. Also, by the way, when hit nearly dead center, both detectors picked up the laser signal at a distance of 4000 feet (about 6 times the usual enforcement distance).
Next, let's talk features. The V1 has detection direction arrows (ahead, sides, and rear), and the 8500 does not. However, beware that the directional arrows take some time to react, and often multiple arrows light up. The 8500 has recently been re-engineered and the DSP is redesigned, while the V1 uses circuitry similar to the original 10 year old first release model, although it has been upgraded a lot recently to allow for stronger detection. Both are upgradeable. The 8500 has a digital text display, while the V1 has a row of LED's to signal the band and strength (old style), which you can't read at night and must learn which LED corresponds to which band. (Yes, this IS a RADAR DETECTOR, but who wants to stare at LEDs all night?)
Neither have voice alerts. The 8500 can track up to 8 separate radar signals, and display the results all on the same screen at the same time. The V1 has a bogey counter, but can't display the results all at the same time, which essentially makes this feature worthless. The 8500 can display up to 2 K bands and 2 Ka bands (some users argue that 4 bands of Ka/K isn't enough, but if you detect a SINGLE band of Ka/K, aren't you going to slow down ANYWAY??)
Another complaint from V1 users (that I have been recently emailed about), is that the DSP in the 8500 is not "re-engineereg". In fact, it has. Sure, it's based off of earlier models the same as the V1 is, but for anyone comparing the advances from the 7500 to the 8500 model, the difference is clear. Also, if you'd like to compare for yourself, put the V1 next the the 8500 on the windshield (they won't interefere with each other, I checked). You'll notice several false alerts from the V1, especially on the X band and K bands. The 8500 will false too, but not nearly as much, and hardly ever on Ka. Again, decide for yourself which circuitry has been improved over earlier models.
The V1 has a rear radar and laser eye, while the 8500 only has front eyes. Both have a stealth mode and can run silent if you're being followed by a cop. VG-2 is not a problem with either detector, however both are picked up by new detector/detectors regardless of what the V1 site claims. With the 8500, you can turn off any individual band, which you can't do with the V1 that I had(meaning you can't turn off the annoying bank X-band signals - may have been updated in recent upgrades to the V1). The 8500 is completely driver-Programmable, while the V1 is not quite so. The 8500 has an auto-quiet feature, and the V1 has a manual-quiet button. The 8500 has a 4 stage dim/dark, while the V1 does not have dim/dark, but has recently introduced a light sensor to self-adjust to the lighting for either bright or dark mode. Decide for yourselves.
A very common complaint I see from 8500 haters is how the unit failed to detect a signal until the Police car was in full view. ...maybe these people don't know what Instant-On radar is yet, in which case they shouldn't be using a radar detector in the first place. This day in age, radar can be turned on and off in a fraction of a second, which doesn't allow it to be picked up from very far away by a detector. In several reviews, I found V1 owners complaining that the 8500 that they had first purchased didn't show a warning until the police were in full view. Well no crap. It can't pick up a signal if there isn't one to detect!! The cop waits until you're in view and THEN guns you down with his radar. The V1 couldn't possibly do any better in this situation, unless it has been redesigned to detect the doughnuts on the cop's breath a quarter mile in advance. Get a clue, people, your V1 isn't going to help you here.
Overall, I've found my experience with my 8500 to be extremely impressive. Previously a Uniden user (ugh), I was very impressed with the common mile+ range Ka and K detection. I was used to usually a second or two at the most before I hit the cop. With the 8500, I usually have almost 30 seconds to adjust my speed. The only problem is, the Ka detection can sometimes be too good. For example, when I hit the top of a hill in my neighborhood, it picks up the radar signs (those annoying things some neighborhoods permenantly install to show your speed next to the speed limit so you can see how fast you can go before it starts flashing at you) in the neighborhood nearly 6 miles away. I was confused as hell about this for a while, because I figured it was just falsing out on me. Nope, it had those signs pegged a full 6 miles away. Wow.
The only real complaint I have about my 8500 is the volume of it. I'm used to my old Uniden 987 (top line Uniden model - junk) piercing my ear drums out, while the 8500 is quieter in a more pleasing and less irritating way. It does seem to be a little on the quiet side, but you can change the tone volumes from 'normal' to 'loud' in the Programming menu, in addition to adjusting the volume via a dial. This helps some, and the Auto-Quiet (auto-mute) feature is very helpful. I'd highly, highly recommend it to anyone. You can't buy a better detector for the money, or even for $100 more.
Oh, and how come the 8500 is ranked number 1 by EIGHT INDEPENDENT TESTS, which the V1 keeps using data from ONE SITE?? You got me. Actually, a complaint came in the other day asking about these 8 tests, but honestly, you can find them just about anywhere. There's only 1 internet site that ranks the V1 as number. Any other will list the 8500 in the First Place stop. But take a look at the Valentine One website: http://www.valentine1.com/lab/detectortests.asp, and note that they only use data from ONE SOURCE.
Ironically, they complain that the V1 isn't allowed to be tested at its full potential, because most testing grounds are too short so it looks the same as the 8500 in distance, with both being maxed at the common 2.5 mile mark. Well, the Car and Driver test results they use on their site are from a 2.5 mile track. When you take a look at other tests done on 6 or 8 mile flat tracks, you can clearly see the difference. The 8500 is a full 3 miles ahead of the V1 on Ka band. Interesting. Seems to me that V1 has contradicted themselves in their own praise. That's something I always like to see.
Something else to think about when evaluating the validity of Car and Driver's V1 tests: Car and Driver has put the Ford Focus at the top of it's "best small car" for the last 3 years. However, the Focus has had 8+ factory safety/misc recalls, more than any other currently manufactured mainstream vehicle. The Focus has been shown to be highly unreliable and relatively unsafe when compared to other comparable sized vehicles. I've never trusted the C&D results for cars, and it seems that they've rolled their unreliability into Radar Detectors as well. But, as always, it's your call.
A Word to Valentine 1 Owners: If your purchase is based off of 10 year old technology, you should move back to Russia and be 40 years ahead. If not, buy a re-engineered detector with superior features and value, and get your money back for your new clunky paperweight. Lol, just trying to mock the V1 site. Quite honestly, the V1 is an excellent detector in the high-range models, but needs a little bit of work to outperform the 8500 on range (except X band) and features, and the 8500 needs DIRECTIONAL ARROWS!!
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SEND ME COMMENTS: chandlerbingco@hotmail.com, but please don't try to pass off the C&D tests as the living Grail. Take a look at the other 8+ tests before you whine to me about results. Also, take into account how unreliable C&D has always been in the past. What makes you think they are so reliable when they're the only sight that ranks V1 as best??
The Escort Passport 8500 Just Got Better!Introducing the all-new ESCORT Passport 8500 X50 - the most advanced and sophisticated detector ever! There's...More at Hayneedle
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