Use some of the tactics listed in this thread to ensure you're getting the most out of the detector. It only works with your help.

...and remember that not all LEOs are on duty when out, so they may not have their radars on. This does not count as a failure.

What does any of this have to even do with Radar Detectors??

1. I've never seen one advertised on TV.

2. If you're buying a radar detector for $9.99, or even $29.99, then you should expect to get what you pay for... :ugh2:

3. Drugs... really?? :facepalm:

4. You can't weed out the "excellent" reviews because they don't agree with you. That's why you have to read ALL of them objectively and decide for yourself. That is the exact same process you do for anything else, buying a house, buying a car, or a TV, or a computer.

Now you're not even arguing about Radar Detectors at all, you're simply going after stupid buyers.


Scrolling down, you say you're getting a 9500ix for a road test, I hope it changes some of your disbelief's and that you will give it a fair and objective review yourself. Be safe :driving: out there. :tiphat:

Probably won't the short range detection of KA , instant on and lasers, I really don't feel it will help, much.

Trip is leisure so it will be a good mix of interstate , highway and local and being done on peak travel times. If the detector proves me wrong I will eat my own words , but I really doubt it.

Your already incredibly biased against it, so I don't expect it to irregardless of it's performance. :ugh2:


Yes there are ways out there that make radar detectors kinda nullified, and we accept that. Which is why all I'm saying is YOU as the driver can't just rely on the detector and do 95 in a 45 and think you'll be saved...

I have the detector as a back up in case my eyes don't see the cop first. If he get's me, he get's me. But I'm sure my detector will alert me that he is there either way.

For Short range Ka, you need to be cognizant of what your local or area cops are using, if they are using that, learn where they hide, predict their presence around long corners or blind spots and slow down on entry...

Instant on will still light up my detector because it's sensors are mounted where they actually point the guns, the front/rear tags. Not at the windshield which depending on distance, the beam width may not be wide enough to trigger a detector at the mirror. So that's an inherent problem with the LOCATION of the detector, not a fault IN the detector.

And with Lasers, if it's not illegal in your area, that's why they make Jammers/Shifters. As soon as you get an alert you're being lased and jamming, slow the **** down and cut them off after a cycle or two. Hopefully the cop won't pull you over for the jamming, but that's on you at that point.

Ten bucks says his experience exactly matches his preconceived opinion of radar detector effectiveness.

OK ! So here is my review of the PASSPORT 9500 IX , Traveled a total of around 650 miles in and out of southern California.

I kept the speed in a safe manner in order to avoid any tickets as this was only a test of the radars ability.

Overall I had about 15 occurrences with police , ( 10 highway and 5 local).

Every X band and K Band were always false alerts, had to disable X band alerts.

All police encounters that set off the detector were KA band or no reading at all.

Surprisingly for me the I did get 2 long range readings of readings of KA Band set ups, range about 1 mile.

I also picked up 2 KA signals that locked up the radar unit, where it displayed a constant KA signals for 3-5 miles , I pulled to the side while it was still making a lot of noise, unplugged it and restarted it and the signal was gone.


So on the thruway, I had about 8 occurrences of KA band , 2 alerts could have been considered long range 1 1/4 mile and 3/4 miles and 2more about a 1/2 mile.

The rest of the highway KA band were short range indications of only about a 10th mile, basically you seen the cop and the radar unit displayed KA band , no time to slow down.

I also got one constant KA short range signal from a school warning.

2 KA short range signals from moving local PD.

3 none signals from one CHP off thruway and 2 other local PD.

One red light camera alert on intersection above the thruway.

Not one laser alerts at all.

So in conclusion I would say the 9500 IX did give some long distance alerts , but it also gave a lot of short range results , that would have resulted in a lot of tickets, if I was speeding over the limit and targeted.

Then it also got 2 KA alerts that locked it up and it had to be powered down and powered up to clear it self ????

In comparison the cheap Cobra $110 radar/ laser detector , there are a lot of similar short range results, it would have been nice to have the 2 detectors working side by side for a review.

So is there a benefit to the escort VS the cheap $110 Cobra unit , the answer is yes, possibly better in long range detection and it gives you speed and red light camera alerts.

Is it worth $500 for the 9500 IX , probably not.

I feel that it question whether your detector warns you or not or if you get nailed for speeding, really depends on the equipment the police are using and the tactics they use for deploying it.

If the police set up parallel to the road , you may pick up a long range signal, but it seems most of the police set up the KA radar so it only emits a short range signal (perpendicular or at an angle to on coming traffic).

So is a radar laser detector of any real benefit, yes they are , but minor even with 50/50 chance on the KA band alerts. You still face the almost unbeatable detection from Laser and Lidar and Speed Cameras using buried road sensors.

It all boils down to a crap shoot 50/ 50 chance with a $200-$500 ticket and your insurance going thu the roof for about 4 yrs.

For me I will stick with the Garmin GPS with red light camera alerts and just lay back with the CRUISE CONTROL SET AT THE SPEED LIMIT and not worry.

What happened to the pic? Wanted to see how you had it mounted.

Will repost later , wrong pic was posted.

I thought I would also throw this in,
Not all LE departments will use Laser. Most will be from KA/K Bands BC lasers are to expensive for everyone to have one.

$1, 150 DOLLARS FOR A RADAR DETECTOR!?!?! OUCH!!. I have a 70 dollar cobra. And I have NEVER been caught. It works like a charm! I have had it for 2 years now. Thing reads cops before I can even see them!! Over hills and through curves! I don't know how tgese things work but damn I KNOW my sh!t works. My detector will be going off minutes at a time and I have no clue where a cop is it. Then like 3 curves later here he comes lololol. That's right 70 bucks amd loving it.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

As i reported before, i had the cobra 9570 and it worked fine. i would like to see an actual test of like 5 of the best decectors mounted on a windshield and a few cheep ones with someone just driving around and see which one and in what order they go off. or maybe just driving up to a speed indicator on a a road and see which one detecs the radar first.

You can't do that **** because of false signals from other detectors. Hell my redline is so sensitive if I turn on KA1 I get falsies from you guys with leaky cobras.

Besides it's already known which ones have the longest range - it's the V1, redline and sti driver - then all others behind.

its possible you were driving near a new car with adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring systems, etc. these can set off your detector, and when you pulled over, you allowed the offending car to get some distance from you.

This is a very high possibility, especially if you were near an Audi they are notorious for causing false signals. Took me weeks to figure it out, also laser can be a false positive with Infiniti using it for its cruise control system.

So what is going on with the Escort max? i haven't seen any reviews yet but escort claims it will be the best detector out there basicly combining the redline and 9500. and the fastest processor.