Picks up signals around corners, hills, etc.; detects signals from great distances; expert mode tracks all the bands very efficiently

A little on the heavy side

I just picked up this radar detector a week or so ago. I've been traveling between my home and Chicago about 4 times a week recently and needed to replace my older detector that was stolen (a V1). The Passport far surpasses the V1. Sure, the V1 has the whole direction arrows and all, but half the time the direction it tells you are incorrect. I'm picking up signals from further away with my Passport and have truly found this to be the best detector in its price range.

Similar Products Used:

Uniden, V1, Bel, Cobra

Used to give great warning on all signals

DID NOT PICK UP LASAR when it should have and had done so in the past.

The passport was working great, picking up X, KA, K, and Lasar without a problem. It gave us plenty of warning... until today. Cops were using Lasar down the road my wife was driving on... BUT IT NEVER WENT OFF. They got my wife speeding from 570ft. This is a big disapointment. I don't know if there is a different ype of Lasar out ther tthat it won't pick up. If so I hope this can be updated so it will be able to detect it. otherwise it is almost useless.

Sensitivity, anti-falsing, programmable

Heavy; pricey

I've only had the 8500 a few days. Prior to this I owned the Escort 7500; which served well. The 8500 is truly a leap forward. Ka instant on is in my opinion the most difficult to detect of all modes (except laser) On my trip of 100 miles down the interstate I was blown away at the ability of the 8500 to detect Ka instant on. On one occasion, I was alerted to a rather strong Ka presence. I saw nothing for a half mile and decided it was probably a false. WRONG! 2.5 miles down the road, there was a sheriffs car sitting behind a bridge and firing off angle. Blew me away as I passed..full scale alert..Luckily I was not stopped. Next time I'll pay attention to ANY Ka warning from this baby!

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Escort 7500

excellent

na

I was on freeway going 80 to 85 and the speed limited was 65. A cop was sitting underneath the brige and he had Laser gun and I picked up him with my 8500 passport est. of 3 miles. Got out of a ticket

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na

Good range; Good Audibles; Anti-falsing is good; Auto-mute.

Heavy! ; Pricey...Poor Mounting scheme

WOW! All the varying opinions are amazing. V1 or the 8500; which is better? I doubt this question will ever be answered..Guess it all depends who does the testing as well as "how" the tests are done. I just bought my 8500 a few days ago. I can say this with certainty, it IS better than my older 7500, which served me well. On X band it is similar in range as my 7500, based on known areas of "false" signals that are right on the X band freq. In my neck of the woods; especially interstate, instant on Ka is the radar of choice, and THIS band is the trickiest of all to get advance warning on! (Lasar excepted) I wish there was a way with the 8500 to disable X band so it doesn't have to "scan" the bands, as this slows the detection process. I did a side by side 8500 Vs 7500. The problem with this in my opinion is the proximity of the two units..I KNOW it causes "de-sense" of the units; so in my opinion, it is NOT a valid test. These little boxes DO emit RF! This evening I did get a strong momentary alarm on Ka with the 8500, the 7500 remained silent; I never saw a police unit, so who knows? Smart driving with a smart detector need to go hand in hand..The cops aren't stupid who use Instant On Ka...Theu WILL allow as many as 10-20 vehicles pass without targeting them..all quiet! THEN; BAM!..They hit you with a a few millisecond burst and my $300 Escort advises me "You're about to make a donation to the red, white and blue club. :) Is it better than the V1? I have no idea. Is it better than my older 7500? Probably. Is it perfect protection? Never! I would love to see an article on Escort's QC policies, if these units exhibit variance from one unit to the next?

Similar Products Used:

Escort 7500

Range and easy to use also the expert mode is very good it lets you know how many bogeys you got trying to get you.

none that I can see

I just bought my new escort 8500 and all I can say is WOW!!!!I left the store got on the highway that I travel everyday to go home from work and no less than 4 minutes the detector found its first bogey.I was about 4 miles away so at first I thought it was BS but the signal just kept getting stronger as I closed in on the bogey and sure enough it wasnt BS at all but the real deal. I read all the reviews about the V1 and passport and decided to bit the bulllet and take a chance and the passport.The kid at the store said that he has a V1 and an passport 8500 and that he thought the 8500 was better. Anyway great product I love it keep up the good work escort.

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other escorts, whisper,cobra ,bell just about all of them.

Very programable to YOUR specific needs. smart cord W/a mute button Great range and sensitivity

Could use a longer cord.

The 8500 has served me well this past 2 month's. One thing about the 8500 I've come to appreciate is that you need to spend some time on the road with it, and try the different features to best fit your needs. In my area, the cops don't us K band (so I don't, hey no false K alert's ++). I use the expert mode in town , it allows me to track multiple alert's and any changes in alert patern's in my well traveled path's. Ka sensitivity and range are wonderful. For what it is worth, I like this product (and I've owned a few). So far the 8500 surpasses all other product's I have owned in the past....

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Passport 4500 A Whistler 1400 series Uniden cobra

Nice cord, awsome case, well designed winshield mount.

The inside electronics.

I've had 4 radar detectors. The "World's Best" Escort Passport 8500 was the 3rd. I have no comparison to a V1. Sorry. I can compare it to a Cobra 9150 that is a fraction of the cost (Reg. $99 on sale 40% and a $10 mail in rebate) and I found to be FAR superior to that 8500 I had. The range on the Cobra makes you want to vomit. But at least it picks up something. I drove by multiple cops. Speed traps, donut shops, county sherrif's department, you name it I hit it. I drove around looking for cops. Only one time the 8500 went off, was by the railroad tracks on country road. Scared the hell out of me because it never did that before. There was probably a cop there, maybe not... I didn't investigate the warning any farther and I wasn't speeding so he didn't pull me over. The Cobra falses at almost every major store or business. The range is horrible. Display isn't worth looking at. Sounds are stupid. But I use that today because of my horrible experience. I talked with a guy who sells the 8500. He said I must have had a "bad unit" and that I should have sent it in. I've talked with several people who have radar detectors and fast cars. They all say V1. I have no say because I've never owned a V1 but as far as the 8500 goes, I was displeased with pissing away 300 dollars.

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Cobra, Bel, Eye glasses

Supreme Radar detection, new technology incorporation, flash updateable for future radar, very programmable, expert mode. good price compared to Valentine one.

none yet with todays radar.

Over the past year there has been much controversey over reviews about the Valentine 1 vs. the Escort Passport 8500. Hopefully I can give some insight as to which one is better. Having previously owned a Valentine one about 6 months ago, I wanted to see if the 8500 was the real deal or just marketing propaganda. I conducted a test for one month (after buying an Escort 8500 knowing they have a 30 day money back deal) with the Valentine one and Escort 8500 both mounted on the dash in my SUV. The results were well documented from day to day K and Ka band radar experiences, sorry no Laser. I believe if you want good Laser detection then you should go for a front and rear liscence plate mounted unit, or similar arrangement. No Rear radar overtakings occured. So much for having the rear facing Valentine one radar sensor. Here are my results for a months work of testing: (Conducted with a Tag Heuer Stop watch) Valentine one: 4 weeks avg. K band dectection time difference from 8500: ~2.3 seconds after the 8500 model went off. 4 weeks avg. Ka band detection time difference from 8500: ~3.7 seconds after the 8500 model went off. Encounters during the 4 week duration: 10 K band and 7 Ka band. Terrain: highway and city rides everyday. Although the time differences may appear to be subtle, they can mean the difference between a ticket or not when you get into city and hilly areas like where I went at times. In fact at one time, and only one encounter like this, the Valentine one did not go off until the cop came over the top of a hill with Ka band radar on, while the 8500 picked it up about 1000 feet before hand at a constant on(no instant on Ka band was used here..it was on the whole time.) I have used the 8500 for about a year now, and I couldn't have picked a better detector. As for the Valentine one, my mother has it now. I got my father a passport 8500 for fathers day, he really likes it. Bel and Escort have been merged for almost 2 years now, and the product of the twos technology is the 8500. I would reccomend buying the newer passport Zr3 from Escort that hooks up to an 8500 if your area has a fair amount of Laser encounters, but if not, forget about it. www.escortradar.com Hope this review helped people make up there minds.

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Escort Solo and Valentine 1

At steady-state, the Passport 8500 is pretty much flawless with radar detection up to at least a mile away (so it seems).

This radar detector is very weak when it comes to instant-on radar and laser detection, but then again, so is every other radar detector out on the market.

As the industry continues to improve its radar/laser technology, so do the radar detector companies. However, as long as law enforcement is one step ahead of the radar detector companies with the best technology out, then radar detectors are simply toys to admonish and play with. The Passport 8500 is a good tool if and only if you know how to use it correctly.

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Rocky Mountain Radar Detector/Jammer Whistler Radar Detector