Radar Detectors >

Passport 8500 X50 Blue

Rated by John Turner:

Escort Passport 8500 X50 Radar Detector with Red Display Escort Passport 8500 X50 Radar Detector with Blue Display Optional ZR3 Laser Shifter can be ordered with the Escort Passport Radar Detector to prevent laser guns from getting your speed. The Blinder M45 laser jammer is superb protection against all police laser guns.  The M45 has 4 laser modules, while the Blinder M25 has two laser modules.  The Blinder m20 was superseded by the Blinder M25 in 2006.

Performance

The Escort Passport 8500 X50 Radar Detector is one of the top rated windshield mounted radar detectors, and is equal in technical performance to the Beltronics RX65 radar detector, but the Escort Passport 8500 radar detector has fewer false radar alerts, thus the Passport X50 is a more reliable product.

• The Escort Passport 8500 X50 Radar Detector can detect the Ka radar band, the most used radar band today, at 10 miles. The sensitivity is superb to detect weak signals from hidden "over the hill" radar traps and hidden "around the curve" radar traps. Average radar detectors do not provide this level of sensitivity. The Escort Passport 8500 radar detector is also good at filtering out false noise alerts.
• Radar - During our road testing of the Escort Passport 8500 X50 Radar Detector, we logged a typical 10 mile distance detection of Ka radar. This is extremely good and the very best detection sensitivity. False alerts were minimized by turning off X band radar detection, but we also discovered that some police are resorting back to X band radar, knowing that many drivers turn X band off. We suggest that you drive with X band on, just in case. The SWS detector alerts (special K band safety alerts) when turned on and selected, will alert you to road hazards and construction; if the SWS transmitter technology is used by road crews and ambulances. We found that we would often encounter road hazard situations, and the 8500 X50 would alert, if the SWS technology was turned on by the road crews and ambulances. We noted some POP3 alerts, but the X50 is very good at alerting you to a real POP3 signal, which is a very fast, (67millisecond) burst radar pulse. Many radar detectors today can detect fast radar pulses, but can not tell if the fast signal is simply a false alert or a real POP3 radar burst. The Passport 8500 can detect POP3 better than nearly all other radar detectors with very few false alerts.
• Laser - During our test, we encountered a few laser alerts from police. Since the Escort 8500-X50 detects laser from the windshield, and laser is aimed at the license plate and headlights, no radar detector in the windshield is effective at detecting laser aimed at the grille. But detecting laser by itself is not sufficient, since detecting laser only tells you that the police aimed the very narrow light beam at your vehicle, you detected it and they have your speed. Detecting laser is not sufficient, as you must detect laser and jam it in order to protect yourself from police laser guns. We also found false laser alerts with no police anywhere nearby. The false laser alerts are caused by bright, repetitive reflections off the white painted road stripes at the center of the highway. It is also caused by bright reflections off the metal side rails along side the highway. This false noise does not occur very often and is caused by bright light reflections at a particular frequency. In our opinion, it is a waste of time to detect laser from the windshield, and we suggest laser to be turned off of the 8500X50. If you want laser protection, but the M20 Laser Jammer or M40 laser jammer and install the products into the grille, where the police aim laser guns.

The Escort 8500 X50 was tested by Speed Measurement Labs and found to be one of the two best radar detectors in the world. It excels past the average radar detectors, because it is capable of detecting weak radar signals coming from a blind radar trap on the other side of a hill and around blind curves. It provides superb radar alerts before you get to those blind traps. It is offered with a very nice blue display, which is easy on your eyes at night and quite easy to see during the day. An X50 is also offered with a traditional red display.