maximadriven

I just received my passport 8500 and I was wondering if there were any particular settings that you guys have had some success with. I do alot of highway driving everyday so my main concern is range. Thanks..

Maximax2

I've had an 8500 for about a year, and it's great on the auto setting (as opposed to city or hwy), where the processor does the filtering work. Still get some false K-band, but the range for K and Ka on the road is insane. Ka warnings come 1.5 to 2 miles before you see the police car, and K band gives you close to a mile. Don't know about the laser alarm; that's iffy with any detector, because I'm unconvinced that the beam will refract enough to give you a warning unless it's pointed at you (and you're cooked...).

Also, the Expert mode can be a little confusing at first, but it's best - that way you can see how many transmitters are out there, and what band (as opposed to seeing just the strongest alarm). One minor problem is that if a police radar is coming towards you, you get two signals - the actual signal, and the bounce off cars behind you (which the detector reads as another signal, presumably due to the doppler effect reducing the frequency). The 8500 has paid for itself MANY times (and is MUCH better than the worthless 7500 predecessor).

swallac2

Use the expert mode, it will save your butt. I leave mine in highway mode all of the time. It's just me, but I don't trust Auto. I do love this detector though.

maximadriven

thanks guys for the feedback. It seems like Expert mode set on HWY is the best overall setting.

Thanks Again...

jjs

Must be nice to drive around where the police are so accomodating to being detected.

Down here, it is the land of laser or instant on...detectors don't really don't much down here except irritate a cop who pulls you over then sees it hanging there.

swallac2

Every ticket that I have ever gotten has been with the cop driving toward me with the radar on. That is why I started driving with a detector.

jjs

Nost of our highways, and even the majority of main roads are split with medians/barricades/etc. between the lanes going each way.

The police here either wait with finger on the button for an instant pulse from an ambush spot or drive with traffic (in marked or unmarked cars) and non-chalantly move up through traffic to get to the faster cars, pace them for a while as they 'run their plates', then bang!

Also, with Texas and the 'defensive driving' ability to erase a ticket from your record, tickets and speed traps are a MAJOR industry here.

silverkorn

iTrader: (3)

i also have it in expert mode with it on auto. the display i have is just the a, i forget how to get to that. and the power up is on fast instead of the standard where it runs through the different alarms.

but like jjs was saying u phere, NJ, most cops use instant on so its doesnt help all the time, but from time to time you get cops with "good" hiding spots that leave their radar on.

Maximax2

Instant-on is a lot more of a problem to deal with; I find that watching traffic up ahead (such as going over a hill etc.) helps a lot. If you suddenly see brake lights as cars are going over a hill (around a corner, etc.) in front of you, it's either a cop or a wreck (or a particularly attractive woman...). Anyway, late at night with little traffic on the road you're pretty much out of luck with instant-on.

Burton069

iTrader: (2)

I use the expert mode, keep it in auto, but on major highways switch to H-Way mode. I found that during the day my encounters have been with NJ troopers, Nassau/Suffolk, NYPD who are lazy and leave the radar on, most looking for the big speeders who are too stupid to notice a Crown vic parked in the median.
This isn't so because there's a mode on the 8500 that lets you see the frequency of that radar. A radar that bounces off of something will have the same frequency as a direct hit, so it will only come up once.

maximadriven

The manual suggests that I just leave it on auto for a few weeks till I get used to the detector. I really want to use the expert mode but I also want to understand the warnings...

spta97

iTrader: (1)

I saw a news program years ago where the cops would put the radar gun in their lap when there were no cars around. Then a bunch of them were complaining of all kinds of health problems. One cop even said that his ******* swelled to the size of a grape fruit! HA HA HA HA HA HA Serves your right scumb bags! Go stop a real crime!

Maximax2

Are you sure? Think about it - police coming towards you (radar signal to Passport from ahead), with a bounce signal from cars passing you (second signal coming from behind). Passing speed between opposing cars = >60 mph, and speed radar works by measuring the doppler effect (e.g. difference in speed between the radar wave frequency (outgoing) and the frequency on the return. So, the frequency would have to be different between the two signals the radar is seeing, and that's what I usually find on my detector. Believe me, police radar research is of interest to me...

Burton069

iTrader: (2)

I guess your theory seems right, but on the Belt Parkway near my house in Brooklyn, the DOT set up radar signs which tell you your speed. Its on K-Band, and I was driving home today in moderate/heavy traffic. The sign only gives me one radar reading, and this is in expert mode.

maximadriven

well, after a 200 mile drive the damn thing only went off when I drove near a grocery store. I didnt see any cops on the rode which was weird because it is Friday. Maybe this weekend it'll get some action. I like the unit alot. I think Im running it in expert mode. The manual isnt clear on how to get there but the different bands light up on different parts of the screen like the pictures show in the manual. I am very impressed with the quality of the unit. I wish it was a bit smaller.