 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / Driving / November 2007Passport 8500 just died?
Hi, Back in 2001, I bought a Passport 8500. In the years since, I have had no runs in with the law. The detector has saved my bacon quite a few times, and I felt, and still continue to feel that purchasing it was a good investment. However, yesterday, I got a ticket for the first time in a long time and the detector didn't even go off at all. I asked the cop about it and she said she was using an old K band unit in the "instant on" mode and perhaps that was why it didn't go off. Still, I find this incredible because the Passport has alerted me to instant on traps before. Also, when I was sitting there while she was writing up the ticket the detector suddenly sounded the K band alarm ever so briefly, but loud and clear. Was it just then registering the hit like a minute or more after it happened? I think that the detector may be faulty. I do get laser falsing occasionally when using the power door locks and windows, sometimes even the power mirrors. This hasn't been a problem before, only recently, and it comes and goes. Is it possible for detectors to "lose" their sensitivity over time? I'm really at a loss for an explanation here. I know there are new radars out there, and newer radar detectors, but the fact that the thing was fooled by a K band gun just blows my mind! Anyone had similar experiences with their Passports losing sensitivity or having problems similar to what I have described? Thanks. > Anyone had similar experiences with their > Passports losing sensitivity or having problems similar to what I have > described? It's possible that a problem with your car's electrical system may have damaged the detector's circuitry. Try finding a radar trailer and see if your detector detects it. I had a similar problem several years ago when my detector would not detect K band, but would detect X and Ka band. Sending it in for repair and an upgrade solved that problem. > Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > good investment. However, yesterday, I got a ticket for the first time > in a long time and the detector didn't even go off at all. I've had a weird problem with mine lately; often the LASER warning will go off, when there was no laser (sometimes even when the unit was sitting on the floor of my car -- and lasers don't travel around corners). In article <87390940-d58b-4a0e-b233-412464cf7c39@e6g2000prf.googlegroups.com>, oldwolf@inspire.net.nz says... >I've had a weird problem with mine lately; often the LASER >warning will go off, when there was no laser (sometimes even >when the unit was sitting on the floor of my car -- and lasers >don't travel around corners). Yeah, that is the problem I started having with mine. Come to find out I have no reliable K band protection now too and it cost me big time. I don't know how possible this is but I wonder if Escort programmed these things to "die" after awhile so you have to buy a new one a few years down the road. I always thought it was shitty that they advertised the 8500 as "re-programmble" so it may be upgraded to deal with future radar/laser threats, and then they release the x50 leaving us 8500 owners with no upgrade options, like POP for example, other than to buy the new model. I am really leaning towards getting a V1 now, especially since those can always be upgraded. >In article ><87390940-d58b-4a0e-b233-412464cf7c39@e6g2000prf.googlegroups.com>, [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] >things to "die" after awhile so you have to buy a new one a few years down >the road. This is why I have never used a radar detector. You never know whether it's protecting you until it's too late. Even when it's working as it was designed to you can still get nailed. You're much better off simply paying attention to your driving and remaining alert to your surroundings. That's what I do, and I haven't had any tickets or collisions in over 20 years. >I am really leaning towards getting a V1 now, especially since those can >always be upgraded. The reason they can always be upgraded is because the basic design hasn't changed in a decade. I gotta give Mike Valentine a lot of credit: he has fully amortized his basic design, and long ago recovered all of his development costs. Every single $400 radar detector he has sold since then has been almost pure profit. He's a marketing genius! :) >>In article >><87390940-d58b-4a0e-b233-412464cf7c39@e6g2000prf.googlegroups.com>, [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] >surroundings. That's what I do, and I haven't had any tickets or >collisions in over 20 years. Guess what, you can do both, have a detector AND pay attention. >>I am really leaning towards getting a V1 now, especially since those can >>always be upgraded. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >detector he has sold since then has been almost pure profit. He's a >marketing genius! :) So every single Chevy sold is pure profit too I suppose.... >>>In article >>><87390940-d58b-4a0e-b233-412464cf7c39@e6g2000prf.googlegroups.com>, [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > >Guess what, you can do both, have a detector AND pay attention. Question: Then why did the OP get nailed? Answer: Because people who have a RD tend to get lazy. They slack off from their visual scanning, thinking "oh, my RD will protect me." Of course, they ultimately find out they were wrong. >>>I am really leaning towards getting a V1 now, especially since those can >>>always be upgraded. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > >So every single Chevy sold is pure profit too I suppose.... Show me a Chevy that can be upgraded to look and operate EXACTLY like the 2008 model. Also, thanks to the UAW, no Chevy will *ever* have the margins that the V1 radar detector has. GM's ridiculous pension obligations and "pay the workers even when they don't work" contract requirements guarantee that can't happen. >>>>In article >>>><87390940-d58b-4a0e-b233-412464cf7c39@e6g2000prf.googlegroups.com>, [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] >from their visual scanning, thinking "oh, my RD will protect me." Of >course, they ultimately find out they were wrong. Sure that happens, But so does the flip side, the people who don't have a radar detector slip up and don't notice the hiding spot and slow down... guess what, if they had chosen the BOTH option, and had a RD, they would have gotten the BUZZT and not got caught either. It works both ways. >>>>I am really leaning towards getting a V1 now, especially since those can >>>>always be upgraded. [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] >"pay the workers even when they don't work" contract requirements >guarantee that can't happen. > This is why I have never used a radar detector. You never know whether > it's protecting you until it's too late. Even when it's working as it > was designed to you can still get nailed. You're much better off > simply paying attention to your driving and remaining alert to your > surroundings. That's what I do, and I haven't had any tickets or > collisions in over 20 years. I remain alert *and* use the detector. In my area there are plenty of undercover cops; and you *can't* see a laser gun if it's sufficiently far enough away (they can get you from 2-3km ; if they hide in the bushes you can only seem when you're just about on them). >> This is why I have never used a radar detector. You never know whether >> it's protecting you until it's too late. Even when it's working as it [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > >I remain alert *and* use the detector. Congratulations. But you are the exception, not the rule. >In my area there are plenty >of undercover cops; and you *can't* see a laser gun if it's >sufficiently >far enough away (they can get you from 2-3km ; if they hide in the >bushes you can only seem when you're just about on them). Ah, but you can see the brake lights of all the cars ahead of you that are getting hit, and you can put 2 and 2 together and slow down. If there are no cars ahead of you getting tagged, then your radar detector is useless. Why? Because if he keeps his instant-on radar or laser transmitter off until he clocks YOU, then it's too late - by the time your detector goes off, you're already nailed. Unless the cop is using an antique "always on" radar gun, your detector only works if there are cars ahead of you that get nailed first so that your detector has a signal to detect. To be perfectly honest, I wouldn't mind having a radar/lidar detector in my car, just for the slight added protection it might give me. The problem is that having a detector in your car labels you as a sly, habitual offender in the cop's mind. You want him to think you are a good little sheeple whose attention simply wandered for a few moments, allowing his speed to accidentally creep up. Having a radar detector (or the telltale suction cup ring marks on your windshield) destroys the illusion you want to project, and can turn a warning into a ticket. If Mike Valentine would get off his lazy a.s and make a unit that can be HIDDEN inside the vehicle, like the K-40, I might even buy one. I think it would be a fun hacking project to interface the "Stealth V1" to the nav system and heads-up displays in my car. I could sell the conversion kits on the Internet and make a fortune. :) > >I've had a weird problem with mine lately; often the LASER > >warning will go off, when there was no laser (sometimes even [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Yeah, that is the problem I started having with mine. Come to find out I > have no reliable K band protection now too and it cost me big time. In my country the police only use Ka and laser; I've had K and X disabled for a long time because they go off all the time from stuff like gas station security systems. So I wouldn't know if they're still working :) >I've had a weird problem with [my placebo] lately; often the LASER >warning will go off, when there was no laser (sometimes even >when the unit was sitting on the floor of my car -- and lasers >don't travel around corners). They do if there is a mirror... :) Keep an eye on it. Does the power light stay on? I've had problems with loose connections when using cigarette lighter plugs. The detector shuts off and, if I don't watch it, I've lost protection. A hard wired feed was the solution.  SignaturePaul Hovnanian mailto:Paul@Hovnanian.com ------------------------------------------------------------------ If you can't beat them, arrange to have them beaten. -- George Carlin |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.