Okay- so at the advice of my fellow orgers, I bought the passport 8500 X50. Nice little product. It's my first radar detector so I have nothing to really compare it to. Anyway, It has a feature that when it is sitting idle-it displays the voltage of the vehicle. I decided that I did not want to have that coiled wire hanging across my windsheild. So i added an extension wire intot he mix- the only one I could find was 25 feet. I coiled the excess under the dash. While only using the supplied coiled wire, I got a consistant readiung between 13.5 and 14.1 with the car running. With the 25 foot extension in the mix, the voltage drops sometimes to 10.9v! but usually stays around ~12v Is this drop in voltage enough to damage/be detrimental to performance? I mean, it lights up etc, and does its thing, but it is loosing anything? I will be on the look out for a shorter black extension, but if it doesnt hurt performance I wont bother re running new wire under the dash. Thanks

 

your voltage will fluctuate depending upon what accessories you have running, but i'm not sure if it's a concern if it drops below 12v. i do know that it shouldn't be a problem for the 8500. plus you have alot of wire there that might give false readings cause the current has to travel a bit further. but that's not positive either.

how are you liking the X50? i have the 8500 and I love it. what other cool features do you have? i'm probably going to upgrade soon, so i can get the sr7 to go along with it.


p

 

Deckdout,
I really don't know a whole lot about radars at all. What is sr7? I basically bought this model due to its reputation and the fact that it is reprogramable, so I make a radar purchace once and thats it. I am still learning how to judge its readings. For example, I don't know how far away I am from the radar target by reading the meter. I only got it yesterday and am a complete newbie with this toy. Any advice? As far as features, its got auto mute, and 9 user adjustable things, sensitivity etc. Umm, its got a really good dimmer function... as far as what it has over the original 8500- I dunno...

 

man, if you set all the programmable features to your preference, it is a very valuable tool. i have mine set on the expert feature, and when it goes off, i read the frequency shown and listen to the audible alert to figure out if it is a false reading and how far they are, corresponds to the faster beeps. best thing to do is start from a novice and drive with that for a while to get use to it. then switch to expert mode when you are comfortable and read up on the frequencies that are being used by radars, and then you should be able to decipher what is a cop and what is not. I have a chart written out, but it's in my car. i'll post later when i get to it. the sr7 (hopefully that's the right model #) is kind of like a piggyback for the extra laser protection. i'm still searching for info on that. i'll get back to you on that one too.


http://www.escortradar.com/x50.htm great site and explaination of what it can do.
http://www.escortradar.com/radar-detector-faq.htm good faq site on the x50



note: instead of changing the setting all the time from city to highway, i have mine set on A-Auto. works very well. there are places i drive past everyday where i know there is going to be a false alarm. usually from alarms, electric sliding grocery store doors.

 

Shift+Link Compatible with the Laser Shifter ZR3
For the ultimate in radar and laser protection, the Passport 8500 can be now be linked with the all-new, custom-installed Laser Shifter ZR3 laser defense system.



found the correct name for it. it's not the sr7, that is a mountable complete in car install. sorry bout that.

 

here's some links to readup on the zr3

http://www.radarbusters.com/products/escort/shifter.asp
http://www.bestradardetectors.net/Es.../escortzr3.htm
http://www.cyclegadgets.com/Products...sp?Item=ES-ZR3

 

ouch another 500 bucks on top of the actually detector is steep!

 

on ebay, they frequently have a buy it now for both the x50 and the zr3 as a package new for about 400-500. that of course would be the route i would take.

but you're right, 500 is pretty steep.