Only as good as the other top ones in range

No directional indicators

I think its only as good as the other two top ones in its class in range but without the directional indicators to tell you where the threat is I have rate it below the V-1.If you drive fast knowing where the threat is,is a must...If it had the indicators I would rate is equal..

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V-1 Bel

Too many to list!

None so far.

Recently I purchased a new car and the new 8500 to go with it. One month later while driving around with a friend and listening to Disturbed at full volume I never heard or noticed my detector warning me until it was too late. Yes I got a ticket for doing 54/45, my friend said he could see the graph but couldn't hear it because of the music and he thought I had noticed to so he didnt say anything. Anyway I had to laugh but take it from me and keep the volume down to a level where you will be aware of warnings from your detector. Peace

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I have tried several detectors in the past and have always been let down by there performance(tickets) but after reading about the 8500 I bought one and I have been very impressed with its performance.

Great Range, cool, features, snazzy aesthetics, comes in a thoughtful and convenient travel kit

no tutorial mode (at least that I've found), does'nt talk to you.

Im a teenager and inhrently drive pretty fast, and rather than wait to get a ticket beofre I got a detector, I decided to save myself some dough on the ticket and buy a really good detector. I did my homework, and saw that the Valentine One, the Escort Passport 8500, and the Bel 980 were often compared with one another as "high end models." Close to every testing of these models found the Bel rather unsensitive to radar relative to these other two devices, so I knew it was between the Passport and the V1. Fortunatly two of my good friends had a V1 and a passport between them, and both swore by it. One night I convinced them to do a side by side test. While driving on a typical Boston highway, complete with curves hills and obstructions making it difficult for detectors to work effectivly, the Passport often ferretted out Ka band more than half a mile before the V1. When we pulled off the highway onto a windy suburbian road snaking through the woods, the Passport picked up on a K band "Your speed" device 50 feet farther away than the V1 (This was a very difficult curve/ uphill with the boc placed immediatly at its egress.) The Passport in Auto (automatic highway/city) mode falsed much less than the hair trigger V1, but when both were in highway, the passport picked up on a bank's security sytem 25 farther away than the V1. Overall in this test, the Passport V1 battle was a david and goliath match. The V1 with all eight years of its "best detector awards" not once proved more favorable in any regard to the passport. This test earnestly sold me to the passport, and hopefully convinces you as well.

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None

1. Good looks and user friendliness
2. high sensitivity and good specificity
3. decent price(less than V1).
4. highly programable.

1. No directional indicators (unlike V1).

As you can see from the prior detectors I have used Ive been trying to electronically defeat smokey for many years. I recently read a favorable review on the escort 8500 in Automobile magazine so I ordered one. Today I went out and tested it against my V1.
The two detectors seem to interfere with each other when both are placed on the same dash. So I tested them separately using my Stalker ATR (Ka 34.7 Ghz). I set the stalker off angle of the roadway so neither detector would have a direct beam to work with. I wanted so see which one could detect the weak periphral part of the signal first.
Surprisingly, the escort 8500 beat the V1 by ~100ft. This may not seem like much but it could mean the difference between escape and a ticket in an instant-on Ka attack. As a speeder your only hope of surviving an instant-on trap is to be able to detect the officer sampling traffic in front of you. If traffic is light, the officer may not be turning on the radar all that often so you may only get one chance to detect him and that is were sensitivity on Ka pays dividends. Once you are in range the stalker ATR will lock you up in less than one second (probably before your detector even goes off). Radar detectors can take a good part of one second to sound a Ka alarm because the detector has to "sweep" back and forth across the massive Ka bandwidth.
The escort seems to have excellent sensitivity on X and K bands as well. Although almost all new detectors have adequate capibility on these bands. I believe that Ka sensitivity separates the players from the wantabes in the modern detector field. The escort falses more than the review lead me to believe but still less than the V1.

Similar Products Used:

Valentine One - had two different ones
Bel 700 series
escort dsp
original escort

Great detection, looks great, has so many features, upgradable

could have arrows like the V1

I just bought this detector because i have been driving to dallas a lot lately and wanted some protection. It didnt let me down. I picked up every radar trap on the way. It is a wonderful product. I also purchased the service plan for 29.99 which includes 3 years of free updates. I was going to get the V1, but this is $100 less and has a lot more to offer. Go get it!

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None

ultra reliable and versatile. far better falsing protection than any others. would still buy at twice the price. it's that good. really.

heavy, don't like the plug

I have always been uneasy with detectors. I am one ticket away from a habitual offender rap and i didn't trust any. My gf got me an 8500 for my birthday and i used it but didn't go nuts. every time i saw a cop it was beeping EVERY TIME. i started getting confident now after a few months i trust it completely. it has only falsed near the supermarket due to the doors. it has never falsed on the road. every time it goes off you know troubles around the corner. The range is incredible. once i thought it falsed and was starting to speed back up and there was the cop. it is reliable and i trust it completely. no one i know trusts their detector as much as i trust mine it IS as good as they say.

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my roomate had a new bell and he went out and got a 8500 two months after i got mine. nothing in this range can compete.

Unsurpassed in sniffing out little traces of radar from miles ahead. Super easy to program and use. Fun to drive around and see exactly what frequency is being used in your area.

doesn't tell you which direction the radar is coming from.

First day i got my 8500, i made a 100 mile Hwy trip and picked up a smokey at least 3 miles ahead. Saved my ass and pissed off the douche bag that was tailgaiting me for the last 20 miles. I honked and waved as I let him pass and run on ahead and got nabbed by my forementioned and forewarned Cop. Looks like this thing is going to pay for itself.

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Kills my old Cobra detector. I used to have to be right on top of the radar , but this passport 8500 exceeds my expectations on giving fair Warning to slow down.

Simultaniously tracks strength & band of up to 8 signals
Phenominal range--latest tests it beat V-1 by 3.2 miles on Ka band.

Doesn't alert, at full volume, a new signal within the same band like my V-1 ("Bogey-Lock-Tone") - only on different bands.

Outperforms my V-1 in every way while barely falsing. By far the quietest best performing detector I have ever owned--and I REALLY liked my V-1 before trying the 8500.

Similar Products Used:

Valentine One (V-1)
Passport 7500
Passport 6800
Passport 4500
Passport 5000

EVERYTHING.THIS IS THE BEST RADAR DETECTOR

NONE

THE ESCORT PASSPORT 8500 IS THE BEST RADAR DETECTOR THAT YOU CAN BUY AND IT JUST BLOWS AWAY THE VALENTINE ONE ALL THE WAY AROUND. This detector works so well that it has picked up cops more then six miles away. This is by far the best radar detector I have ever used. It dose not pick up false radar like some of my old detectors did and it dose not go off when you drive by someone eleses radar detector. but If a cop is using radar or laser it will let you know way ahead of time and you can slow down if you need too. If you are thinking about getting this detector and wondering if you should or not? then let me tell you just buy it oh sure it dose not come cheap but its worth every penny. You can buy cheaper but you can,t buy better. Me and my friend ran a side by side test on his Valentine one and my Escort 8500 and my 8500 just killed his Valentine one. My detector would go off sometimes 3 to 4 miles before his even started to make a sound. I sold him on the Escort so if anyone wants his old Valentine one you can send a email to me and I will let him know as he now own his very own Passport 8500. I gave away my old valentine one after four long years with that piece of junk. Anyways just wanted everyone to know that the ESCORT PASSPORT 8500 is one sweet radar detector. Drive safe!!!!.

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I have used just about everything when it comes to radar detectors including the Valentine one.

Unbelievable Range on all Bands.

Power is via a dial.

The Passport 8500 has unbelievable sensitivity on all bands. It picks up all types of radar frequencies and they are displayed on the unit at the same time. The range is twice that of the Solo. The Smart Power Cord is also a big plus.

Similar Products Used:

Escort Solo