New Escort radar detector
 

Now this is smart, GPS built in feature to store false alarms...

[url]http://www.radarbusters.com/products/escort/9500i.asp[/url]

suggest you read Peleg's test and review of 9500 then draw your own conclusions, I am stick with Escort X50 8500 for now
[url]http://www.iwsti.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76991[/url]

Hell, I think that is a fantastic upgrade!

For once the consumer can see why it's worth upgrading.

Built in GPS, realtime speeds, Lockouts for shopping centre false alarms, memory for fixed/red light cameras or other things of interest.

Fantastic!

I want one :D

Hmm still a bit glitchy by the sounds of it, I like the concept as I am a bit blase with my false alerts to / from work so I'll get pinged one day....
I'll stay with the 8500 for a bit longer then. The X50 sounds like its better than my old unit so I was thinking of upgrading tho....

[QUOTE=stinga]Hmm still a bit glitchy by the sounds of it, I like the concept as I am a bit blase with my false alerts to / from work so I'll get pinged one day....
I'll stay with the 8500 for a bit longer then. The X50 sounds like its better than my old unit so I was thinking of upgrading tho....[/QUOTE]
bingo - I may still get my brother in the US to send me one once they sort out the bugs.

Oh man, you should not have told me you have a brother in the states....
I have been waiting to find someone over there to send me stuff :D
I love you Dave :lovestory

[QUOTE=stinga]Oh man, you should not have told me you have a brother in the states....
I have been waiting to find someone over there to send me stuff :D
I love you Dave :lovestory[/QUOTE]
yiks not in public mate!! I am sure we can work something out as I have two bros there who always willing to help me out.

i;ve had the X50 for over a year now and cant fault it, great detector.

Best thing is to wait a months till the glitches get sorted, prices will come down and then buy buy buy!

Guys of Lidar results will be out in about 2 weeks. Word is this new Escort has less sensitivity than the X50.

In either case it still doesn't have Ka-narrow band scan function, therefore it won't perform as good as the Valentine 1, Bel 990i or Bel 975r against Multanovas in WA

So what is the current best unit for WA Jez?

[QUOTE=jezzamcbezza]Guys of Lidar results will be out in about 2 weeks. Word is this new Escort has less sensitivity than the X50.

In either case it still doesn't have Ka-narrow band scan function, therefore it won't perform as good as the Valentine 1, Bel 990i or Bel 975r against Multanovas in WA[/QUOTE]
X50 has never let me down once. Saved my arse from multi-money maker yesterday in fact!

hmm I would like a radar detector.. Dave, when you upgrade i might consider taking yours off your hands if its still "working"

Do you know the rough price (AU) for purchasing these in the states?

[QUOTE=ImPreSiV]hmm I would like a radar detector.. Dave, when you upgrade i might consider taking yours off your hands if its still "working"

Do you know the rough price (AU) for purchasing these in the states?[/QUOTE]
I bought mine at Best Buy in the US last Oct for US$320. I will let you know when I decide to change over, still thinking I might try the V1.

Best RD
 

[QUOTE=stinga]So what is the current best unit for WA Jez?[/QUOTE]

Best against laser & Multanova is the Valentine One - hands down. For Dash mounted (K-band) there isn't a huge difference in the top detectors. The Valentine is so adaptable with concealed displays, mute switches and audio, I'm hooked (and I used to be a die hard Bel fan years ago)

Dave, what I meant before was that according to the boys on the rd.net forum, they are finding the 9500i has less range than their X50's (despite claims from Escort it uses the same platform), so they are returning their 9500i's and going back to their V1 / X50's until Escort sorts the bugs out on the 9500i.

What I was trying to say was that if the 9500i has less range than the X50 AND it doesn't have Ka narrow band (increased sensitivity for Multanovas) then IMO there is no use for this detetor here. I'm certainly not going to sell them until they sort the bugs out and go full production. Even then, I can't really see them selling well in Oz because they are not invisible to police radar detector detectors (called the Stalcar) for our Eastern States friends, and without Ka narrow filtering, they don't perform the best for Multanovas here in the West. The Valentine One (V1) has a mute setting in the programming mode that allows you to eliminate most of the annoying false alarms you get on K-band (petrol stations, automatic doors etc) which means a very quiet ride. And you can also turn off K-band with the press of one button (rather than through the programming mode) if driving down St Georges Tce, and a press of a button turns it back on as, say, you go over the bridge.

[QUOTE=jezzamcbezza]Best against laser & Multanova is the Valentine One - hands down. For Dash mounted (K-band) there isn't a huge difference in the top detectors. The Valentine is so adaptable with concealed displays, mute switches and audio, I'm hooked (and I used to be a die hard Bel fan years ago)

Dave, what I meant before was that according to the boys on the rd.net forum, they are finding the 9500i has less range than their X50's (despite claims from Escort it uses the same platform), so they are returning their 9500i's and going back to their V1 / X50's until Escort sorts the bugs out on the 9500i.

What I was trying to say was that if the 9500i has less range than the X50 AND it doesn't have Ka narrow band (increased sensitivity for Multanovas) then IMO there is no use for this detetor here. I'm certainly not going to sell them until they sort the bugs out and go full production. Even then, I can't really see them selling well in Oz because they are not invisible to police radar detector detectors (called the Stalcar) for our Eastern States friends, and without Ka narrow filtering, they don't perform the best for Multanovas here in the West. The Valentine One (V1) has a mute setting in the programming mode that allows you to eliminate most of the annoying false alarms you get on K-band (petrol stations, automatic doors etc) which means a very quiet ride. And you can also turn off K-band with the press of one button (rather than through the programming mode) if driving down St Georges Tce, and a press of a button turns it back on as, say, you go over the bridge.[/QUOTE]
cheers, FTR X50 has same mute feature plus mute buttom on smart cord which makes it very easy to use if you don't want to turn K band off completely.

Yea I have the smart cord hard wired into my car for use with the X50 or STi

The difference in the "Belscort's" mute vs the V1 is that when you get an alert on the X50 (which I'm not knocking, it's an awesome detector I rode with for 12 months, I gave my girlfriend one) when you get an alert on the X50 or Bel it alerts at full volume (well at the volume you have it set) then it either quietens down if you have "automute" selected to a lower volume or you can press the mute button and it silences the detector completely.

A few weeks back I dropped my girlfriend off at the train station (driving in her car) and as usual, I silenced her X50 by pressing the mute button (it always falses there). I drove up the street and back onto the highway where shortly after, noticed a HWP car coming at me. I looked down and the X50 was displaying a full bar of alerts, but because I had silenced it down at the train station, it had continued to remain silent even though it picked up a new (real) K-band signal. I wasn't speeding, so there was no panic, but it shows a real life example where the mute on the "Belscorts" doesn't always work best.

I have programmed the V1 so that it behaves differently on K-band.
When the V1 first gets an alert on K-band, instead of alerting at full volume (like the Bel/escort) it alerts at the quieter level. And with the V1, pressing the mute button doesn't completely silence the detector, it simply changes the volume to a secondary level which you can adjust. In other words the V1 has 2 volume controls; one for the "normal volume" and one for the "muted volume". So in effect, you can actually have the "muted level" anywhere from complete silence to "full bore". So I've set this secondary (muted) volume in my car to just audible. Back to the scenario....

When the V1 first detects a K-band signal it is programmed to alert at the muted (secondary) level (in my case just audible) rather than at full volume. It will stay at this quieter volume unless the signal strength gets to 3 out of 8 (can be set to 6 out of 8)

OR

the K-band signal stays on for over a certain amount of time (in my case 20 seconds).

On top of all this, it is set to drop the volume to the "muted level" (if not already) once the K-band signal is coming from the rear.

So to give you an example, say you are approaching a petrol station that sets off your detector. With the V1 it will detect as per normal, but only alert at a (just) audible level. As I drive past the petrol station it will stay at this quiet level until it no longer detects the K-band. If I were to encounter a real K-band signal on top of that one, it would scream into full volume as soon as the signal strength was over a certain level (in my case 3 of 8) and on top of that, it would actually display the number of different radar sources (2 in the above example) in the "bogey counter".

It's a bloody awesome idea, something that pretty much comes close to my desire of always wanting my Bel to only provide an audible K-band alert once the signal got to a certain strength rather than blasting away as you drive around shops.

i say stick with the 1 brand BEL
u cant go wrong.

Jez, whats the latest word on the street about the new 950, ie glitches and narrow band Ka?
Al

go the valentine , ive got two and they save me heaps and a big thanks to Jeremy

Cheers Fer, yeah I know the V1 and X50 are good units (I have a X50 which is starting to self calibrate a bit) but [B]if[/B] the 950 is as good on narrow Ka now, I like the false alert GPS function.

Or you could help a bruva out and give me your spare V1 :D

think jeremy got another lot of valentines , havent got a spare one brother otherwise i would help you out can borrow mine next week if you want to try before buy but getting the toys put away for the mrs new gtb ha ha

Cheers Fer, but i'll wait till the X50 is cactus before I buy, was just interested to see if the 950i is sorted yet or not....

Al read this review from a well regarded member of iwsti on his purchase of the new 9500 - Not Recommended

[url]http://www.iwsti.com/forums/i-c-e-security/76991-escort-passport-9500i-03-12-07-i-do-not-recommand-detector.html[/url]

cheers Dave

[QUOTE=stinga]Jez, whats the latest word on the street about the new 950, ie glitches and narrow band Ka?
Al[/QUOTE]

The 9500i doesn't have Ka narrow. But reading the US forums it sounds like Escort have improved on their software and ironed out most of the bugs.

So I've ordered a new 9500i to test out, should be here next week.

BTW there is a new hidden installed Escort radar detector based on the 9500i, the 9500ci (custom installed).

It's stealth like the STi, hidden installed like the RX75 but it has the GPS stuff AND the new Escort laser jammer; the ZR4 all in the one package.

So it will be very interesting to test when they come out in March/April

Now this is good news Jez, can't wait for your report on the 9500i vs the X50 - specifically on multinovas.

Al my current X50 in vertical gives me a huge alert time on multi-cashtaker cameras and I could not possibly justify trading it out on a new 9500i just on the basis of improved performance against cameras. If the gps gets sorted then it would be a good feature to have but again not sure if that would be enought. Laser radar protection is another kettle of fish.

What I am hoping is the ka is as good as the X50 vertivally mounted but the GPS false alert feature works as well. I drive 100kms a day and the falseys are a bit painful sometimes...

[QUOTE=stinga]What I am hoping is the ka is as good as the X50 vertivally mounted but the GPS false alert feature works as well. I drive 100kms a day and the falseys are a bit painful sometimes...[/QUOTE]
yep cant argue with that mate, reckon my finger is on the mute button half a dozen times just driving 8 km to work everyday. I am used to it but passengers sometimes comment about how annoying it is. I care a less as it saves my arse from the cameras. I am not a hoon for the record :D

Exactly!

If the new software revision yields results as good as the X50 then it may be worth considering this unit. The original 9500i tested poorly against the cameras; worse than an X50.

GPS muting false K-band alerts would be fantastic for Belscort owners, until of course the WA police retire all their K-band dash mounted radars in favour of the new Ka-band units (I haven't heard anything more on this)

Interested more in the stealth/hidden units too!

the new whistler is the best radar out, who agreess? and only 499

Jez, where you at bro, my 8500 is self calibrating and now telling me service required.
Can it be serviced or is it cactus, whats the verdict on Ka on 9500i?

[QUOTE=jezzamcbezza]The 9500i doesn't have Ka narrow. But reading the US forums it sounds like Escort have improved on their software and ironed out most of the bugs.

So I've ordered a new 9500i to test out, should be here next week.

BTW there is a new hidden installed Escort radar detector based on the 9500i, the 9500ci (custom installed).

It's stealth like the STi, hidden installed like the RX75 but it has the GPS stuff AND the new Escort laser jammer; the ZR4 all in the one package.

So it will be very interesting to test when they come out in March/April[/QUOTE]

I can get it serviced for you, but it will be away for about 4 weeks??
9500i is still shit house on Multanovas. About 50m warning (even vertical)

Cheers Jez, how much we lookin' at for a service?
btw its about 4 yrs old can I get it reflashed with the latest 6.1 software?

Yes it will be flashed with (I think 6.3 is latest?) I'll find out cost

How'd you go on price Jez

Hey guys, finally got round to sending my detector back to the states for a service for "self cal" and laser alerts every time I hit biggish boost, trust me nothing worse.

One time fee of US$59.95 gives a full service (A$130 including return freight), they replaced antennae, tuned and check with latest software, supplied new mounts and power cord.
The difference in this detecter is simply astonishing, cannot believe the difference in performance on multi novas after the tune up!! well worth it.
Thanks Jez!

Oh yeah, how nude do you feel without a detector for a few weeks........ :(

Good to hear mate! What software version did you get put on? 6.3?

I was running detectorless for a few weeks - just felt so exposed!
Got myself a V1 now. Big ups to Jez for that one too :D

V1 is god ha ha, completely agree that it feels so weird driving without it, you just feel so vulnerable...

found a good bargain here if these are any good??


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