The 9500i is worse than the Valentine One and the 8500 X50 and it has all of those problems that people are talking about.

http://guysoflidar.com/march-2007/ra...ctor-test.html

Radar: Thank you for once again posting a biased opinion. I've looked at EVERY post you've ever made on this forum and they're all about how the Valentine is the greatest things since sliced bread.

We're all entitled to our opinions, but please don't continue to hijack my thread.

betcha radar works for valentine :wink2:

I don't need any proof that the Valentine is more sensitive than anything ever invented. Everything I've ever read confirms that. Whether or not that sensitivity renders the thing useless because of all the false alarms is really the key point.

The thing I'm really interested in is whether or not the 9500 does in fact have some issues that make it less than stellar as compared to the cheaper 8500. I guess time will tell as more tests come out. Even if it's not quite as good, perhaps the added features will still make it the better tool overall.

Jedi, sounds like you really dig your 9500. I was going to get the 8500 x50 but now you're starting to convince me to go for the 9500.

Hey CaliGirl, thanks for checking out my thread. I had every intention of ordering the X50 around Christmas time but my procrastination paid off. I got busy with other thing and then the 9500 came out.

So far I'm loving this thing. Not sure where abouts in Cali you are but if you do a lot of city driving, I think the extra $200 is worth it just so you can block out all those annoying false alarms. I drove about 35 miles this morning without my radar detector giving me a single alert. :) (thanks to blocking out signals on my daily commute)

I'm in the City of Angels. :) So is the main difference with the 9500 that it is less sensitive?

nope, the sensitivity is the same as the X50 (since they share the same technology) BUT the 9500 is the first detector to incorporate GPS technology. Meaning, if you encounter a 'false' signal (such as automatic door sensors) you can filter out that signal.

The detector stores the location and frequency of that false signal and will block it out next time you drive by. It's pretty nice for me since there are probably half a dozen of these false alerts on my commute from home to my office. Now I don't have to worry about them. :D:

Great thread so far Jedi.. it's really giving me the urge to buy this. :score:

I had a quick question: Have you thought about doing a mod to put the mute button in a different location? I'm refering to this

I'm thinking it would be a nice touch to relocate the mute button off of the adapter (since it will be hardwired of course) and routing that to a location on the center console. I'm thinking this would have the added benefit of making it easier to lock out false signals since you have to hit the mute button three times to do it.


Have you heard of anyone doing this?

Thanks Laythor, I wasn't sure how many people were actually following this thread...it's nice to know it's appreciated. :)

I can't say I've seen anyone relocate the mute button BUT if I had mine mounted to the windshield, I could see how it would be a pain to push the mute button all the time.
The Rear View mirror mount I went with, actually puts the unit a little closer to the driver so I haven't had any problems with it.

I'm planning on taking a drive down the coast from San Jose to Newport tomorow to visit my sister and my GF's mom. Looks like I'll be picking this up at my local BB tonight or in the morning.

It should be fun to test it out on the beautiful drive.

are you going to hardwire it or run the cord to your cigarette lighter?

If I get to the store tonight to buy the dector, i'll have it hardwired before the drive tomorrow. Otherwise it's going to be plugged into the lighter.

I found the easy way to remove the maplight, I just take two thin plastic putty knives i have and jam them up the sides... maplight just pull right out.

I'll be hardwiring in there and then once I figure out which wires the mute button uses i'll be running a remote down the center console area. I'm thinking perhaps on the handbrake since I find my hand normally resting there while driving.

Nice action. Now you should get a laser jamming device of some sort! I can't tell you how many times my laser shifters have saved me from a ticket.

Here is where I installed my 'mute' button for my Escort SR7

https://www.rx8club.com/attachment.p...chmentid=99119

And the location of the readout. My garage is rather a mess at the moment.

https://www.rx8club.com/attachment.p...chmentid=99120

hmm this radar detector does look interesting, but I dont think I can live with the issues mentioned with the OEM nav.

Jedi54, can you describe the nature of issues you have with the OEM nav and this unit. Do the homelink buttons work once you install this unit on the rear view mirror?

The issue with the 9500 and the OEM Nav is an interesting one. Basically, here's what happens:
- If the detector is on and you 'open' the nav screen, the detector will sometimes trigger a Laser Alert! (I've noticed that sometimes it won't regsiter an alert)
- After 20-45 seconds, the Laser Alert goes away and you can continue to drive with the Nav Unit open without any issues.
- Since my Nav is closed 95% of the time I'm driving, I still haven't gotten around to sending the 9500 back to Escort to be adjusted (this is an issue with other cars as well)

ABSOLUTELY. The homelink system isn't being tampered with, all you're doing is tapping a power supply above the overhead lights. (see pic attached) :D:

can you program the 9500i to not go off when the OEM nav screen opens like you would do with any other false alarm?

Nope, you cannot filter out laser. (for your own good)

Update on my weekend road trip...

I got to test out a passport radar detector... the 8500 x50 blue. :suspect:

I had called and confirmed that they had the 9500i in stock, twice. I get there Thursday night and I'm told "we've never had that in stock".. wonderful :wallbash:

I pick up the 8500 blue (to go with my interior of course) and off I go.

Thoughts on the life of a speeder:

1. The first few times the dector goes off can be a real sphincter pincher if you're not careful. Avoid the temptation to look all over for where it's coming from.. just slow down.

2. It's amazing how freeing it can be to know you'll most likely get some warning if a ticket is in the offering.


All said and done, I like having a detector, but I want the 9500.. so i'll be returning this one.

laythor: Make sure you keep in mind that it's not the end all be all in protection against a speeding ticket. You still need to keep your eyes open and watch for stuff. As soon as you rely completely on the detector you'll find yourself looking at rollers in the rear view.

I couldn't agree more! Never forget that the BEST radar detector in the world is the one between your ears. :)

I didn't mean to sound like the radar detector replaced common sense. I'm more refering to the moments when the road is wide open, there traffic is non existant, and my desire to give it "a bit more gas" hits.

Driving down on the 5 on Friday was wonderful. Having a radar detector just adds a bit more comfort to those few times when I'm very slightly breaking the law.

Anyone who buys a detector and then proceeds to speed all over deserves the multiple tickets they're going to get.

I don't know about where you are, but 99% of tickets around here are given from laser instant-on speed traps. I don't want to start a big debate, but remember -- if you get hit with laser there's a pretty good chance it's too late.

YUP.
The only chance you have is that there's cars in front of you and you pick up the Officer hitting THEM with Laser. Even then, you better have a damn good radar detector because laser is tough to pick up since it's instant on and it's not there very long.

From what I saw on the drive down and back up the 5 in Cali, most CHP are using standard radar. I might have been lucky, but didn't get a single laser warning the whole time.

Around here, I've only seen laser twice (ever). Once I was cresting a hill, on a street with heavy enforcement, doing 28 in a 25 zone. The other time got me a ticket. Both were local police departments. Not even a second time from both jurisdictions. My mid-priced BEL picked it up.

most cops in southern cali use Ka frequency. but i have gotten laser 2-3 times, X-band from a cop once and no K-band from a cop so far.

Interesting to see what people's experiences are with the different bands and laser v. no laser.

In Washington every State Patrol speed trap I've driven through has been a laser - and my deflectors always go off (much to my glee). When the State Patrol are driving and have their radar on it's always Ka band.

The local city/county police all seem to use K band around here - in fact yesterday there was a King County cop sitting 2 blocks from my house with his K band gun blazing away when I was coming home from the store.

I have yet to have anything but automatic doors and other false alarms on the X band.

My single biggest worry at this point when driving on the freeway is cops in unmarked cars plodding along with the rest of traffic waiting for a speeder to go by. WSP seems to fancy using this tactic a lot in the more urban areas.

I got my radar detector back from Escort yesterday! :D:

My car was at the dealership for a week getting some work done so I figured it would be a good time to see if I could solve this navigation + radar detector "issue" I was having.
Whe I contacted Escort, they were very good about listening to my concerns, asking questions about my specific vehicle, and I had a UPS shipping label emailed to me within an hour.

Upon arriving at Escort it was inspected and the laser sensitivity was manually adjusted all within the same day.

I glad to report that my 9500i no longer gives a LASER alert when I open my OEM navigation. :rock:

FYI: the 2006 RX-8 GT model needs the .9 inch (23mm) radar bracket mount

i just DIY my 9500 into my car ....i cant seem to DIY it properly coz the black wire isnt drawing current...i connected to the blue/red stripe wire and its drawing current constantly ..even when the car is turned off and the key is taken out .... i turn the device off when i get out of the car ...the only worry is : would it keep drawing current and draining my battery even when its OFF ? anyone know if its ok ? if not , i'll change it ~

i dont seem to understand all the KA?/X/K band ...i dont know which one is false and which one is actually da cops ...:( i read above but it seems wrong ...K seem to be going off when i pass buildings ....im confused ~ can someone help ?

Whooohooo! Passport 9500i installed! Now I gotta go pay off the ticket I got last Sunday and hopefully I be a little better off. Pisses me off that I was just about to get past the ticket from 3 years ago that bumped up my insurance rate.

Thanks guys for the DIY info and to val for his phone help. Seems the most difficult thing was figuring out which wire to tap into for the switched connection. For anyone wanting the quick reference... it's the black wire dead in the center of the head unit. It has foam wrapped around the upper part of the wire group. I have a sun roof so I don't know if that wiring cluster is for that only or if it is in all models.

THANKS! ;)

silver: glad to hear you got yourself a new little toy! Let us know how you like it...

Drove to the mall today. My son and I enjoyed seeing us get popped and the 9500i reports the speed you got hit at. I lack it! :D: It's kind of a novelty right now. I will be glad when I get it all figured out. Right now, it's all new to me.

yeah, it's pretty cool that it shows you the speed you're going at. Pretty damn accurate too!

I haven't messed with mine a whole lot, I leave it in Auto mode and just mark false signals as I encounter them. :)

How do you know it's false?

K bands are almost always false around here. We also have a lot of those Speed monitors that are on the light posts. They throw a radar signal out and display how fast you're going. None of them here take pictures so I block them out since I'll pick them up a mile out.

You'll also start to notice that you'll get a reading every time you go past a certain intersection. there might be a gas station or a large grocery store there. those are almost always false. (their auto-open doors)

You'll know them when you see them. :)

I was looking to get the 9500i.. it looks promising. I often visit http://www.radarbusters.com/ to check back on new things.

Not trying to hijack the thread at all, but does anybody have any experience with the Blinder M-series laser jammers? I figured since we're discussing effective radar detectors, jammers are just as important!!

If my car doesn't have the Homelink feature, would I still be able to conect it this way?

u might have a little problem ...coz i dont have it too and the black wire isnt drawing current ....so i had to used another wire ....i kinda clipped all da wires to find it ~ took me a while coz i dont wanna mess up my wires ~

So, any updates? Any tickets?

Yea, got a ticket about a mile from my house, 67 in a 45. Unit turned off! :mad:

nope, not one.
Saved my ass a few weeks ago on the 241 Northbound. There's a big bend when you're coming from the 133. I was about 3/4 of a mile out when all of a sudden I got a Ka bank. I was doing 85mph.
I slowed down, came around the bend and sure enough.... CHP! By then I was cruising at 65mph.
Off??? Why? Mine is NEVER off.

Cuzzz-im-a-dumbass!

hardwire it, that way it comes on automatically when you turn on the car. :)

until Jedi get's the 9500ci he is no longer cool

Install for Passport 9500i
 

Just finished installing Passport 9500i. The instruction listed here for connetion at homelink power are good. However, the black wire on my 2007 RX8 appears to be ground. The pink wire on the opposite side of the connector from the black wire is at 12 VDC only when the car is on. Recommend checking wire volatges with digital volt meter before attaching vampire connector.

any updates we should know about?

sssshhhh, FastRX8, you're ruining the surprise!!
Once I get my car up and running again, there will be new updates. (with pics and video hopefully) :suspect: