Great range,"pop" protection, "expert meter" is the ultimate tool for tracking pack-type radar traps. Good build quality-better so than my Bel 985.

NO K-BAND FILTER!!

I wanted "pop" protection so I purchased one of these units (also to link up with my Shifter ZR3). It's range is as good as my Vector 985 (great range)but the X50 has NO K-BAND FILTER! This makes the X50 a drug-store-locator around town. (a lot of K-band door sensors around here) It has a gazillion X-band filters though and will alert to radar far before the radar can get you. (unless you are the FIRST customer to get hit with instant-on/pop radar) I ended up returning it because my wife drives the car most of the time (I drive a company vehicle) and prefers the Vector 985's "auto-scan" mode, which gives almost no false alarms while providing more than enough warning on all bands. Those who are considering Bel's "pop" proof detector (RX65)take note: It's "auto-scan" mode is NOT the same as the 985's. The RX65 has NO K-band filter! The good news is that the X50's "expert meter" gives you all the info you need to spot radar in the clutter of door sensors-if you learn your area, pay attention, and can read the smallish display while driving. It tracks, and displays 8 radar signals at once in this mode. The RX65 has a version of this display thats easier to read but only seems to display one signal from each band at a time-not as useful imo. I would be happy with the X50 or the RX65 on the highway but I intend to keep the RX65 (for long trips/"pop"protction) because it does just a little better against "pop" at long range than the X50. I almost forgot, "pop" does false a little. I got 3 alerts in 3 days around town-none on the highway.

Similar Products Used:

Bel express930, Vector 985, RX65

Blue display is great, battery voltage mode and frequency feature is handy also, you can pick out falses and know if its them or real, the last used brightness feature is nice also

No real performance gain over the old 8500, price has climbed with the blue where the Valentine is a better value, Escort has no indicators to tell you the direction of the signal a real handy feature. Mount for windshield bounces or bends and needs constant alignment to be at optimum level

I have the latest Escort X50 and the Valentine one 1.8, I have compared the two side by side on my motorcycle and in my car, the blue is 329 on Escort's site the Valentine 399 on their site, The valentine is still the hands down winner, anyone who says different is justifying the 70 dollar price savings. The Escort alerts a little slower, enough to make a difference at speed, the pop mode falses on bright reflections and unknown others. For my driving the Valentine is the best and stays on the bike, the escort is for the truck now. Buy the Bel made by the same people as Escort now if you want to save money and get the same features.

Similar Products Used:

Bel 846, Valentine one 1.8

Saved me from numerous tickets, over $100 cheaper than V-One, excellent test results.

None.

Looked around at reviews and knew it was either the Valentine One or the Passport. After some comparison I figured the difference in performance was negligible but the price difference was not.

Similar Products Used:

Valentine One and Cobra

Great range, easy operation, easy to program, and upgradable.

So Far none.

I guess I must be one of the first to write about the new X50. I got mine shortly before a road trip from NJ to FLA (Yea!). I can honestly say this thing has paid for itself at least 4 times. The range on K and KA band is outstanding. I had about 1 mile warning in South Carolina and it picked up both signals (2 troopers). It is easily programmed, the expert display tries to give you more indications than the standard bar graph (not quite as intuitive as the arrows on the V1, but still good. I also like the fact that it can be upgraded via programming. Compared to my old BelTronics 855Sti, it is worlds better.

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BEL 855STi - OK but not quite good enough. Passport 8500 - Great detector, 30 day test drive before I got the X50.

Overall good detection. Lound Warnings (you can hear it with music blaring) Attractive Design Love the smart cord. Easy to use. Lots of options. Expert Display

I wish it gave me about 5 seconds more warning. Attractive Design (theft concerns) Upgradeable

Due to my career choice, it is not in my best interests to get any speeding tickets. Due to the fact that I drive like a racecar driver, and cant seem to stop...I figured I should do something about it. I purchased the 8500 about 6 months ago. I can honestly say that it has saved me from atleast 10 tickets, or potential tickets. I live in central Arkansas and frequently drive to Fayetteville, Memphis, and Dallas. I have experienced every form of radar and laser except for X-Band. I have discovered that most of the state troopers use either Ka-Band or K-Band, and the 8500 does a great job of letting me know they are around. The new decked out trooper cars tend to use Instant On Radar, and in that case you are lucky if you get a warning in time. In my experience with instant on, I see the troopers before I hear about them. Sherwood (hometown) uses Ka & K band. North Little Rock uses Ka and Laser. Little Rock uses Ka, K, and Laser. I have been very impressed with how well the laser detection works. The bad news is that it goes off at a military storage building every time I drive by it, so it is capable of false alarms. I am assuming it is a security system that sets it off. This thing is a WalGreens and BestBuy detector, it will always let you know they are around. (k-band doors) I turned the X band off for my around town driving. If I ever find myself in the boonies of Arkansas, I'll turn it back on. Turning it off makes it very quiet overall, and I instantly slow down when it goes off (unless there is a walgreens in sight). Overall, I am convinced that I will have a high quality radar detector forever. The 8500 is a great detector. I do not know how it compares with a V1, because I have never used one. But I do know that it works, and it works well. Overall I am very pleased with my purchase, and recommend it to anyone with a lead foot.

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Cheap ass Radio Shack detector, no contest.

Laser detection is great. K band is awesome KA-sporadic. Sometimes its great sometimes it sucks.

KA and pop could be better. I am anxious to see the test results from www.speedzones.com in June on the X50.

To the man who is confused about his 8500 working..Obviously you do not understand how radar works. Police have "instant on" mode on their guns which means the can turn it on and off as they please. The main function of a detector is to pick up radar waves that bounce off OTHER CARS in front of you. The reason yours didn't go off is b/c no one was in front of you to get hit with the radar first. Whether you have a V1,8500, or a Whistler they going to perform about the same if you are the only car one on the road and get hit with instant on radar. If you are going to speed and have a detector learn how to use it and how it works. You can do plenty of research on the internet instead of coming on sites like this crying how you don't think it works. NO RADAR DETECTOR WILL SAVE YOU FROM GETTING A TICKET!!! A little common sense and proper research on how radar works will teach you how to get the most out of your detector. On another note, I am from Arkansas and drive on I40 and I540 frequently. The mobile speed monitors you talk about that use K band are pretty popular. My 8500 picks these up from around a mile or so away. Pretty good for picking up a weak K band signal. Maybe something is wrong with your detector. Your first mistake was buying it from Ebay. You should have bought it from the manufacturer and you could send it back for inspection. You never know what you get from ebay.

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none worth mentioning.

Nice Features, automute feature, nice design.

rear Detection, range.

Well I just bought my new 8500 a few weeks ago off of ebay sealed for $255, is what the total comes to in cost. Now, i am weary about its sensitivity and The only other radar detector I have tried is a Cobra 9210. I wanted to test my radar detector after I bought it, so I decided to go to a trip to St.louis(I live 80 miles south of st.louis) I sped doing over 80 pretty much the whole time, trusting all the reviews on here. But I did keep a good watch out for cops, but didn't see any, one I did see in st.louis but i was back down to 65 so no problem, but radar didn't go off, (probabl y didn't have it on) I drove back home and the same thing happened. Now Some of my friends told me of a local highway called F highway that leads out to the countryside, where the speed limit is 55, and my friends told me that there is almost always a cop on patrol there. So I go out, but I do the speed limit, since my friends said there are a lot of cops there. Then all of the sudden a flying Ford Ranger pickup truck, is flashing his lights as he passes by and I wave at him thanking him. About 15-20 seconds later, i see a cop and I can see half his vehicle, as he is kinda back a little around the trees, then My Escort goes off crazily but that was way after He was in clear sight. THANK GOD I WASN't SPEEDING. I am thinking about selling it and buying the V1, but I hope not to see the same results with it. THis escort 8500 had worse results in detection as my cobra 9210 which cost 99 dollars compared to the 255 I paid for the escort. There was also another case, when I want down to arkansas a few weeks ago, and there was that thing that tells your speed. Radar goes off on K band this time,(last time it was X band when i had the bad results) and then a few seconds later i see that thing that local law enforcements put up that tells you your speed. After I passed it, it almost immediately shut off. So i don't know, I will see what I do, your comments would help. Please reply with your comments, i would appreciate it. =)

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Cobra 9210

Complete and compact detector

After few weeks I purchased, my escort 8500 has been detected all the radar guns of my area (Barcelona, Spain) but when I've the fixed radar (Ka band) gun ahead only detects when you superpases this one, not before. This is a problem with unknown location radars cause it detects when you have reached it. Could it be for my windscreen?

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none

1. Superior K and KA protection 2. Easy usage 3. Expert meter to show multiple bands 4. Platinum colored casing-looks good 5. Ability to shut off certain bands 6. Fewer false alarms than other models 7. Impressive build quality-its rather heavy 8. Good mounting hardware, smartcord, and hard case included in purchase 9. Good audio alerts-sounds from one band to another are very different so you can tell which band you are being shot with without having to look at the detector

1. Like all detectors, LIDAR is still a threat since it only has a 2.5 foot wave length and no detector gives a "good" warning against it 2. The newer bel rx-65 may be a better detector since it can pick up pop 3 and instant on radar even faster than the 8500 hence giving a faster and longer warning time 3. Despite what people may say, the 8500 is not spectre 1 or 2 proof--the replacement of the vg2

Wow, until you use an escort, you dont know how many cops there are in MD shooting radar. The 8500 has superior K and KA band sensitivity and falses significantly less than other detectors. It is easy to use out of the box and is easy to customize. It is loud enough to be heard over music and has 3 dim modes, day, medium, and nite mode. City mode is fully customizable and certain bands (such as X band since MD cops dont use em) can be fully shut off (a feature few other detectors have). The 8500 is good at alerting of instant on radar and picking up radar from behind. If you are going to buy a radar detector, spend a little more on a Bel RX series, V1 or Passport Escort 8500; you will be glad you did when it saves you from an expensive and insurance raising ticket. There is a difference from a cheap detector and a flagship; that can mean a save from a ticket. As a highway driver, my 8500 has saved me numerous times from K and KA band traps and MD cops are decently harsh on enforcing the speed limit. At first I was weary of shelling out 300 bucks, but I am glad I did as I will NEVER drive without my 8500. Quality costs, but it's well worth the expenditure.

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Bel RX-65

RANGE RANGE RANGE!!! Price(for me) Look, car mount is strong and smooth. Speaker is loud and annoying, just how I like my radar!

Nothing after I turned X-Band off!

I spent hours and hours and hours reading stats from the V1 and 8500. I figured since my Cobra XR-1010 went down to a blown fuse, I would start looking for a new radar. I've sold 10-20 8500/S2s and always said "these are rated as top radars"... never knowing specifics about them. Anyways, through a lot of reviews, from radartest.com and C n D.com and several other sites, I decided to take advantage of my discount at work and buy the 8500. The first opinion I had was it was the SAME as my Cobra. The same false alerts, and being new with the ExpertMeter, I was seriously doubting why I spent the extra 120 bucks(over another Cobra on EBay). To get your money back at my work, you have 60 days, so I figured, I'd try it a few more weeks and see how I like it. I found out, Florida doesn't use X-Band, so I turned it off, WHAT A GREAT FEATURE. I drive on I-95 roughly 30 miles daily, both ways so I'm sure I'll encounter some Trooper KA band sooner than later but in my local area, the cops use K-Band, and it must have been giving me an early warning for about 45 seconds before I even SAW the cop. The range is outstanding. Last night for example, I was driving and over 2 miles south of me a Cop turned on the road and it picked him up. I don't have specific stats vs the V1 but I'll tell you rgw 8500 has awesome range and since I turned X-Band off I have little to no false alerts. I can't wait till a customer asks me about it now!

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Old Uniden, Cobra XR-1010