hi guys just wanted to know if anyone here had any experience with the passport 8500? how well does it work? is it worth the money? i'm thinking of getting one but just wanted to here some opinions first. thanks

 

Valentine 1= dont waste your $ on anything else...

 

I just finished reading some new car magazine, sorry, I forget the name of it, and there was a radar detector atricle featured in it... The Passport 8500 came out on top, above a couple of other detectors, including the Valentine 1.. If I was going to get a radar detector, which I will be shortly, it will 100% be the Passport 8500

 

i read up on that too!! but so many people have the valentine and i hear nothing about the passport 8500.....


[Modified by Typ3 R Us, 9:38 PM 4/27/2002]

 

The reason it seems that most have the Valentine 1 is because it has arrows that point in the direction of the radar.. Know what I say to that? whooptie-******-doo.. Who cares where the radar is coming from?!?! You are gonna slow down either way.

 

so what would you use?

 

I was originally gonna get the Valentine 1, but it's all about the Passport 8500!

 

passport did come out on top.....only thing i read up on the passport that was so bad was that it doesn't have good rear detection....hows the v1?

 

I think the V1 does have good rear detection, not sure though.

 

Begins rant:: I have the 8500 and let me tell you. This thing is sick.I picks up radar sometimes 10-15 sec. before I even get close enough to see the cop. It will alert me and I'll look around like wtf then a good mile and a half down the road there is my friendly county/state/local cop.


As for rear detection:
The first night I got it I was on the way back from getting it at best buy and I was on the highway pacing a ricer at his door at about 95mph. All of the sudden the 8500 starts going nuts on the Ka band. I slam on the breaks and downshift. I slow to 65 and am looking around for the cop. I see nothing then all of the sudden a state trooper blows by me with no headlights on or anything(around 10pm) driving in the far lane/shoulder and lights up the ricer doing 95!

Honestly the 8500 has savd me from about 5 tickets and I couldn't live without it. It has some great features and you should def. go get one yourself ::Ends 8500 rant

Pasport 8500


[Modified by ReBornGSR, 5:36 PM 4/27/2002]

 

Check out the test that Car and Driver did in their February 2002 issue, and you'll understand why the Valentine 1 is better.

If you have Acrobat Reader, you can read the entire original article here. A brief summary in HTML appears on Car and Driver's website here.



[Modified by nsxtcjr, 4:44 PM 4/27/2002]

 

thats very interesting...i was looking towards the 8500 anyways..just wanted to hear some opinions...

 

Well obvously you have never used the V1. Thats fine, we will keep out "gay" arrows and not get any tickets go ahead and get the 8500, and be happy with inferior technology...

 

lol.

 

yeah gay arrows and bogey counts saved my *** many times- cops in Ohio just love sitting in construction zones around those annoying speed detection signs. Cops just hide under the radar of those- people just dismiss them. Construction zone violations are nothing to **** with.

later

matt

 

A perfect example of why the V1 0wnz

 

Passport 8500 OwNz JoO!

Seriously, I love mine to death. Saved my butt a million times.

 

according to the article mentioned above, the outdated V1 can't detect the Ka band as well as the newer models. the passport 8500 and the bel 9something surpassed the V1 by far for every frequency

 

i have the passport, its the best i've ever had, its great in the ka range which is usually the band which most cops use.......it's saved my *** countless times, imho the v1 is too bulky, and & $100 more expensive.

 

Passport 8500 oWnZ j00!

 

ABSOLUTELY NOT TRUE. Not if you're talking about this article from the February issue of Car and Driver, anyway. The V1 blew away the Passport 8500 and the Bel 980 on K band, X band, and Ka band, picking up signals from much greater distances.

Also, the Valentine 1 is the only one of these radar detectors that constantly updates its technology and offers the updated version to owners of earlier models. The Valentine 1 is never outdated. The Passport 8500 and the Bel 980 don't do that; if they come out with a newer model, you're stuck buying a new one.

There are other models of radar detectors that work. But according to Car and Driver, the Valentine 1 works the best.

Valentine 1

 

Well, I have the Valentine 1 because:

1. It picks up K band radar from further away than the other radar detectors.

2. It picks up X band radar from further away than the other radar detectors.

3. It picks up Ka band radar from further away than the other radar detectors.

4. It picks up laser from further away than the other radar detectors in the front, and in the rear is exceeded only by the Escort, and only slightly.

5. It picks up laser from a wider angle than the other radar detectors.

All according to the February issue of Car and Driver.

Whooptie-******-doo, indeed. What the hell else do you get a radar detector for?

 

You know, I don't think there would be any argument about the V1 if it didn't cost $400. People are just annoyed that the best also costs the most (by a lot). It certainly annoys me. I have an old Escort DSP, which rules on X and K (probably second only to a V1) but doesn't even detect Ka or laser. Someday I'm going to have to give in and replace it (the C&D info about Ka usage worries me), and so far, any choice but Valentine is choosing second best. The 8500 seems to be the best of the rest (as C&D says, it's 3/4 as good, for 3/4 the money), but at $300 it's pretty expensive too so you aren't even saving that much. A little history for those who might not know: Mike Valentine worked at Cincinnati Microwave in the beginning, when the original Escort was the best by far and cost a lot; he left to create his own company sometime later, and Cincinnati Microwave is now Escort.

I don't think the V1 is the best possible (there are a number of things I don't like about it, having used one a bit), but it's the best available.

Another way to look at it: Have you ever noticed how most high-buck cars (you know, Ferraris and the like) almost always have a V1 if they have anything? People with that kind of money don't screw around with cheaper stuff -- they just get the best.

 

that actually was not the article i was referring to. the one i was talking about showed exactly the opposite results

edit: here's the link http://www.radartest.com/DS4HEM.html

you could always argue that craig peterson is biased against V1, or you could argue that C&D is biased towards it. who knows?


[Modified by In7egrity, 1:34 AM 4/28/2002]

 

Ask yourself this instead: did you ever hear of radartest.com before seeing it in an ad for the 8500? I wonder who owns it? Remember that Escort and Bel are the same company now.