Valentine 1 versus Escort Redline Review, Part II

Valentine 1 versus Escort Redline Review Part II

The "rivalry" that has existed between these two leading radar detector manufacturers (Escort and Valentine) goes back quite a while.

Yes, there have been legions in both camps, to be sure.

Each passionate about their particular shared-principles. Each defining the other (often in destructive terms). Each, at times, trying to proselytize members of the other. Each seeing the other, often, in terms of black and white.

Similar conflicts have existed in history. Israeli versus Arab (essentially a long-standing family-feud between two cousins) a conflict (of Biblical proportion) that has, unfortunately come at great expense for all sides and, at times, appears to have no end in sight.

On a somewhat smaller scale, was the Hatfield versus McCoy feud, a generational inter-family bloody conflict, but one that recently came to a peaceful end when better-minds finally prevailed.

Certainly they're have been other conflicts (and casualties) often starting, in history, from one closely-knit singular origin.

So too, have "conflicts" unfolded, in this small industry of radar detection countermeasures (ie; radar detectors) including those between the legions dedicated to using the Valentine 1 products and those legions dedicated to using Escort/Beltronics products.

Now that Escort has made the decision to take on the Valentine 1 on its own terms with their new Escort Redline model, I think it is prudent to keep the following things in mind as we go forward from this point in time.

The following is a collection of posts (which I trust has been received as being balanced and fair to both Valentine and Escort) about the Valentine 1 versus Escort Redline debate that is now just beginning to unfold online, even before the Escort Redline is shipping.

The purpose of this blog post: to help a maintain a sense of civility, logic, reason, and illumination for the new dynamic in the marketplace that the Escort Redline creates (instead of simply fanning the flames of heat and confrontation using the same old-tired arguments).

I believe we have arrived at a seminal moment in this industry's 30-year (young) history.

Post #1 (RD.NET):

...talking philosophically about these two titans (the Valentine 1 and the Escort Redline).

What VR "should do or not do" (in response). or what the Redline "needs to do..."

I have a different take than perhaps some of you guys may

Again, I'll use a car analogy, because I am a car guy at heart.

The Porsche 911 (which I equate to the V1) is and always has been a pure driving sports car at its core.

Does it really matter that the Audi R8 is on the scene now? Sure there will be cross-overs to be sure, but in the scheme of things, does the 911 have to change as a result? I would argue no.

People will [continue to] gravitate to the 911 (the V1) for what it is and what it remains. Others may opt for the R8 (dare I say the Redline?).

I'll use another analogy, photographic equipment.

My sister shoots a Canon 20D and has all of the lenses for it. I happen to shoot Nikon and have a sizable historical investment in the Nikon experience. For the longest time the Canon 1Ds was the bomb then the Mark II, and then the Mark III all the while Nikon remained (in the proverbial stone-ages for years without a direct response to Canon) when it came to image sensors.

The similarities [to these detectors] are actually pretty close, IMO. With Canon you have a large multi-faceted company. With Nikon, you have a much smaller and focused company.

Did I jump ship to Canon because of its latest high-tech multi-pixel full-frame sensors? No, I stayed with the Nikon for what it was to me.

Now, it so happens that after many years of being perceived (perhaps in reality) behind, they finally came out with their D3 and then the follow-on D3X that are currently the-end-all-be-all with image quality. At the same time Canon ups the equation (for some) with HD video.

What to do? For me, I am going to stick with Nikon for what they are and not switch to Canon (for what they [Nikon] are not).

I think the very same thing holds for the V1 vs Redline, debate.

From my vantage point, I am happy that both are available both for the V1's sake and the Redline's (as well as Nikon and Canon). I don't necessarily believe that it has to be an either or ("winner" take-all) situation.

Post #2 (RD.NET):

...On referring to the relative strengths of each of these two titans (Valentine Research and Escort).

I tend to agree both sets are worthy ideals in their own rights.

Escort does indeed (has indeed tried) to address both (potentially competing) dynamics and I applaud them (and Beltronics) for even attempting to do so even as they evolve their technology over time to the better.

Again, to use a car analogy (this time with tires).

I trust we could all agree that the V1 (and now perhaps the Redline) fall under the category of Maximum Performance Summer Tires.

Other products from Beltronics and Escort have tried to provide high levels of grip (as it were) of an Ultra Performance All-Season Tire while at the same time be usable in a greater number of environments.

Like Michelin, Pirelli, Bridgestone/Firestone and all other tire makers that have diverse lines it may be relatively (easier) to build and all out ba##s to the wall maximum grip performance tire in the dry weather (and maybe even wet).

However, it becomes a much more herculean task to try to provide a tire than can do all this AND provide maximum grip in the snow. Why? Because the dynamics are in conflict.

What makes a snow tire grip so well in the snow is it's ability to keep the snow packed together within the tread design.

With a dry/wet maximum performance tire (which has different tread patterns and materials) maximum grip is achieved by channeling away the water as quickly as possible (ie; conflicting dynamics to the dry/wet tire).

That's the challenge that Beltronics and Escort have undertaken and their advanced products show just how far they have come in this regard (and it is a great thing really for all of us).

But, this doesn't change what the V1 has always been (so no need to (re)argue the virtues of each for they do different things).

Escort's announcement of the Redline means to me that they're simply offering a product now in the High Performance Maximum Performance Tire category. Nothing more, nothing less.

My only thing was that by doing this, let's keep the record straight for what the V1 has been all along, a product of the Maximum Performance Tire Category and the comparisons in the past (and many reviews) weren't really fair to the Valentine (when it was presumed to perform as the proverbial all-season tire that it was not). Comparing the V1 to all of the others was comparing apples to oranges as they were really products in two different categories. That's my primary objective with this thread, to clearly resolve this conundrum (for some). In other words, stop knocking the V1 for being what it is and don't expect it to perform like a high-performance all-season.

Now, if one want's Valentine to build a high-performance all-season, we'll that's a choice for them to make. Perhaps if enough people ask them, they will see the economic incentive to do so. But do they really need to? What's wrong with them simply evolving their Maximum Performance Summer Tires for those that want Maximum Performance Summer Tires?

What car magazine rates Maximum Performance Summer Tires directly to All Seasons?

Generally it's the other way around (ie; How well can an all-season can perform like a maximum performance summer tire).

While I personally own Maximum Performance Summer Tires for my Vette, I too have an All-Season Michelin PS2 for my Bimmer.

Each serving a different purpose. So it is with [these] radar detectors. Nothing more, nothing less.

Which tires (detector(s)) do you choose to drive with?

For me, when it snows, I know with which [kind] I'd rather be driving around town...and when it's sunny, as well...as for the open interurban highway.

As we go forward now with two minimalistic uber-performing windshield-mount radar detectors, I hope the better angels of our nature, will prevail.

Peace in the South Dakota Badlands (Photo Courtesy: Speed Trap Hunter)

Related Reading:

• Escort Redline versus Valentine 1 Reviews
• Escort Reline Product Announcement

Veil Guy

AutoScan versus Highway Mode...A Closer Examination.

As some of my friends and close followers [of my postings] already know, I recently drove to Atlanta, GA and back from Philadelphia, PA, to attend a conference with my good friend and business associate RadarRoy (of radarbusters.com).

Instead of flying, I decided to drive it -- all in the name of testing the latest radar detectors (including new models from both Whistler and Cobra). I managed to take copious notes on my traveling experiences and will include a summary of them in my upcoming blog postings and our full-review entitled "the ultimate radar detector review 2007." Our trip included a journey through Virginia (where radar detector usage is still banned in Draconian fashion) -- you can guess which radar detector we used for that portion of the trip. We also managed to visit our friends at Cricket Ventures (buyradardetectors.com) in Rock Hill, SC.

It's going to take a bit of additional time to compile all of those experiences and post them. That is something that is in very short supply of late since a lot of things are going on both in my personal and business life. (For example, my sister is tying the knot this weekend and the pre-wedding activities, alone, are demanding on what little time I have).

As you may already know, I recently purchased another retail model of the Beltronics STi Driver, which brings my current ownership count to two units. Once I got familiar with the operation characteristics of both them (on both an absolute and relative basis) I decided to take a unique approach to empirically examining the actual effect of operating the radar detectors in AutoScan mode.

One particular reviewer -- Craig Peterson of RadarTest.com -- has mentioned the use of AutoScan mode (in terms of generally quieting Bel's and Escort's detectors 'even more') but has not gone into depth about its utility and generally recommends to drive with the radar detectors in Highway mode when on the highway -- to maximize their effective performance by minimizing filtering. All other tests with which I have read (such as SpeedZones.com or GuysofLidar.com), either in print or on-line, always focus on performance of their tested radar detectors set in Highway mode (or in the V1's case -- all bogeys mode).

But since the default settings of Beltronics and Escort radar detectors are, in fact, AutoScan mode, I felt it was high time to really explore, in depth, the actual effect of running their detectors in AutoScan while driving on the highway and around town.

And what better way to do this than with two BEL STi Drivers running concurrently.

First things first: Establishing a Base-Line with both BEL STi Driver Radar Detectors

Before I could really explore the effect of AutoScan, I have taken a few weeks and about 3500 miles of driving with both of them in Highway mode. In this manner, I was able to accurately access the intra-model performance production variances of each radar detector.

My conclusions are the latest STi Driver that I purchased is slightly "hotter" on X-band and Ka-band reception (at least on the observed frequencies of 33.8Ghz, 34.7Ghz, and 35.5Ghz) while not being quite as "hot" on K-band reception. These performance variations are relatively small (about 1-2 seconds max between each radar detector) and not completely consistent. In other words, the new BEL STi Driver doesn't always beat my other STi Driver. But, it does enough times for me to draw these basic conclusions.

Empirical Findings of AutoScan mode (BEL STi Driver)

After several weeks of close examination of each radar detector (run in AutoScan and Highway modes) and many additional miles I believe I have formulated some opinions which may be helpful for you to determine whether AutoScan is the right mode you or not.

It appears that AutoScan mode effectively reduces sensitivity to both X-band and K-band by a very little bit and reduces sensitivity to non-police Ka-radar bands while not effecting reception performance to (at least) the three U.S. police radar Ka-bands (33.8Ghz, 34.7Ghz, and 35.5Ghz). To the contrary it appears that reception performance may actually increase (slightly) on those three police radar Ka-Bands relative to their Highway setting counterparts.

I write effectively because I believe their is much more to AutoScan than merely "dialing-back" sensitivity to certain radar bands. I believe the detector still receives the signal but it may be doing some additional processing to "squelch" the initial reporting of weak X, K, and non-essential Ka signals that normally would register about a 0-3 signal strength level. It may also be that the (listening) sweeping pattern (remember a radar detector is a very specialized radio-scanner) may be altered so that an AutoScan'd radar detector may actually focus a greater amount of time on Ka (in the case of the STi Driver, at least) at the slight expense of both X and K-bands. Or it may be a combination of all of these. Regardless of how Beltronics actually accomplishes their advanced filtering, the ultimate effect, is slightly reduced sensitivity to X and K and non-essential Ka.

And I do mean slightly...nothing really dramatic...just enough to eliminate some of the observed variance advantages of one detector over the other.

The benefit to all of this advanced filtering is a quieter radar detector! Gone are are a good number of X and K "falses" one often receives with a high-end radar detector when traveling on the highway by interchanges and adjacent shopping centers. Gone too are the occasional Ka-falses which occur from other cheap radar detectors which leak RF (harmonics in the wide Ka-band) at frequencies like (a reported) 33.458Ghz.

AutoScan does not appear to have any adverse impact on the Beltronics STi Driver's ability to report multiple and simultaneous radar encounters. Each radar detector seemed equally adept at identifying concurrent encounters of X and K-band regardless of the filtering mode selected.

So the trade-off appears to be a very slight reduction to both X and K reception -- in some cases -- for getting an even quieter detector which falses even less frequently. Having driving with Valentines for many years, I am really warming up to the quieter nature of the Beltronics STi Driver since it really doesn't appear to come at the expense of extreme sensitivity to real bona-fide police radar traps. Too much sensitivity without advanced filtering becomes painful over time and your mind can start to do its own filtering (eg; ignoring) which may not be a good thing.

Empirical Findings of AutoScan mode (BEL RX65-Pro and Escort 8500 X50)

Over the years I have examined the performance of AutoScan mode relative to Highway mode on both the Escort Passport 8500 X50 and the Beltronics RX-65 Pro radar detectors and although I haven't published anything, I have formulated some opinions which I will share with you now.

AutoScan appears to have a very interesting effect on the Escort Passport 8500 X50 (of which I own four -- two blue and two red). It appears that K-band reception actually improves slightly where X and Ka reception is affected similarly to the Beltronics STi Driver.

The Beltronics RX65-Pro detector doesn't quite seem to be affected to the same degree as the Passport 8500 X50 (at least in terms of K-band reception).

I suspect these performance variations in operating modes may be tied to an altered sweeping pattern for listening. In the instance of the 8500 X50, the detector may have allocated more time to listening to K-band relative to X and/or other parts of the Ka-band that are not police radar. The Beltronics, in general, feels a little quicker and as a result performance changes are somewhat less noticeable.

Conclusion

At least for now, I am going to continue driving with my STi Drivers with POP-OFF and AutoScan on (which is their factory default operating mode). You may want to try the same -- for your own edification -- you may actually prefer it.

Regardless of which mode you use, it's good to know that both Beltronics and Escort are continuing to push the envelope on super-advanced filtering modes -- that have minimal adverse impact of genuine police radar reception -- to deliver their owners the most enjoyable high-end radar detector ownership experience possible.

I can't wait to see how the Escort Passport 9500i matures over time!

Veil Guy

How (I Think, in Part) my BEL STi Drivers Occasionally Outperform my V1s in RADAR (not LIDAR) Reception

I continue to notice, that on occasion, my Beltronics STi Drivers outperform my Valentines and I believe I have formulated a possible reason for this that may go beyond simple model to model variance that is inevitable in production.

While my V1s tend to consistently outperform my STi Drivers from the rear and extreme sides (likely due to the antennae [one rear-facing] and their relatively large/wide shape(s) that uniquely are housed inside a Valentine's casing) my STi Drivers appear to occasionally alert sooner to police radar sources that are farther down the road which more directly face my vehicle front. (These are the kind that I am most concerned about when I drive on the highway).

And I think that this is probably due to the actual design and shape of the STi Driver's front facing horn antennae. It almost feels like these radar detectors "look" at [frontal radar sources] objects with a 600mm telephoto lens versus the Valentine's 550mm lens. At least that is the impression I am forming after many many thousands of driving miles with each.

While the V1's dual antennae arrangement and radar/laser locating arrows are awesome and unique, this design also tends to create a higher initial false rate from the side or rear, as well, so it is to some degree a double-edged sword.

The STi's somewhat "narrower" field of view appears to naturally assist in spotting radar slightly bit farther out, in some cases, while at the same time tending to false a bit less to other radar sources which emanate from shopping centers and outlet stores that are routinely adjacent to the highway. This is true even in "highway mode" and has nothing to do with the advanced radar signal processing that this radar detector is capable of.

It appears the both the Beltronics STi Driver and Valentine 1 provide stellar reception sensitivity in controlled test chambers, however the performance, to which I am writing, goes beyond mere lab numbers and these differences may only be observed in actual use with all the signal-reception-imperfections that real-world environments provide over an extended period of time -- which don't occur in a "vacuum."

This is why we pioneered our unique approach to long-term radar detector testing against real police radar speed traps. Some aspects, of radar detector performance, can not be revealed with mere performance charts.

Next week, we will be driving to and from Atlanta, Georgia, along I-95 and continuing our long-term evaluation of the top-performing best radar detectors.

My Valentine 1 (v3.826) Was in Need of a 'Tune-Up." Does Yours?

As it turns out my Valentine 1 was in need of a "tune-up." For the sake of saving some time and for our drive back home from Ohio, my wife and I decided to purchase their latest V1 (v3.861) [bringing our total ownership to four V1s over 15 years] instead of paying $85 and having to wait for a couple of days to have my existing unit updated -- I am certain to get top-dollar for my trusty V1 on Ebay when I get my 3.826 back and tuned-up. (Update: As of 30 Jan 08, I still have had the heart to put it up for sale. This brings me to owning four Valentine Ones since they were first introduced in the early 90's.)

This experience has further re-enforced my notion of the potential value of driving with two top-of-the-line radar detectors, concurrently -- specifically the BEL STi Driver and the Valentine 1 -- as they can each serve as a check and balance to each other. Had it not been for the fact the I had been driving with multiple radar detectors, I would not have known that something was awry with my particular V1. To my knowledge the V1s do not have a self-diagnostic mode or "re-calibration required" alerting feature -- as do the top-of-the-line BELs and Escorts -- to alert their owners to the potential of reception problems -- sort of the equivalent of a "check engine" light.

Fortunately the latest V1 models have apparently corrected this particular situation with the incorporation of digital temperature compensation circuitry which may, in the long-term, help to stabilize any potential "drift" in the reception of the different radar frequencies. Only time will tell for sure.

Owners of models prior to v3.861 may want to consider having their models "updated" as the cost to do so may be quite reasonable. You can check directly by visiting, V1 upgrade.

Hey, even my high performance BMW needs a tune-up from time to time...It's just the cost of doing business.

More on our 1900 mile Ohio trip to come...

Does my particular Valentine 1 have an issue?

As part of continuing series of driving with the top-of-the-line radar detectors, while out in Ohio, I managed to hook up with Steve (co-founder of GoL). He rode shut gun as we compared the relative performance of my particular models of the V1 (v3.826) versus his (v3.861) and my STi Driver versus his STi driver (both rev: A4m9).

The purpose of these "experiments" was to explore the possibility of model/model product variance between them. During one pass through Sheffield Village, yesterday, we got a brief shot of instant-on K radar from a cruiser coming the opposite direction on River Road. Both STi's alerted to the K-band hit...my V1 stayed silent.

We drove around for another hour or two and were unable to duplicate the V1's behavior, as it alerted to X, K, and Ka (34.7) appropriately.

During our drive we compared the performance of Steve's v2.909 and v3.861 to my v3.826. Again it appears that my 3.826 appeared to lag, somewhat, behind either of his two units on K-band.

A couple of things may have accounted for the observed performance "gap" in my V1's K-band reception. Either 1, there was inter-detector interference going on (which I still highly doubt, considering the STi is a non-radiator in areas that would likely cause such interference) or 2, (I am more inclined to believe) that my particular V1 is either in need of a tune-up or an update or both.

Given this experience and my recent ones with the STi Driver (relative to the V1 on X and K) I have decided to purchase their latest model when I venture out to Cincinnati. When I get an opportunity, I will send my 3.826 into the lab to have it's specs checked.

This experience, in no way, curbs my enthusiasm for BEL's STi Driver, which is still, without a doubt, an awesome performer. But, if my particular V1 has an issue, I want it corrected along with the record.

I believe, my particular V1 also showed less sensitive at one GoL testing venue relative to other V1s tested that same day. I also have the feeling that my particular STi Driver is also a very sensitive one. My STi appeared to outperform the other detectors on Ka (34.7 Ghz) by a pretty good margin in one of our encounters around Sheffield Village to a cruiser who was approaching us off to our left at an intersection.

At any rate, if it actually turns out to be related to inter-detector chatter, I will report this as well.

Veil Guy

Audi's Q7 side-assist and K-band POP Reception Don't Mix Well

UPDATED: 10 MAY 07

Last week my wife and I were returning home from a night on the town; I treated Lisa to a nice birthday dinner at Fogo de Chão in downtown Philadelphia. If you are interested in an interesting dining experience, I recommend this venue, just watch the L'Esprit at $685 a glass...and I thought that Louis XIII was a bit pricey at $185!

As we were making our way west on Route 422 towards Reading, my Valentine 1 started alerting fiercely to a K-band source and continued to do so for about five minutes. Its arrows hunted around indicating the source of radar was from the front, then side, then rear, then front again and repeated this sequencing over and over again. I never experienced this kind of behavior from this detector when there was clearly no state trooper in our direction of travel. In PA, state troopers are only permitted to operate radar from a stationary position.

I powered up the Beltronics STi Driver and to its credit, it remained totally silent. Repowering up the Valentine 1, it began alerting to this unknown K-band radar source. By now, I had discounted the possibility that the Valentine 1 was defective and began to search out what was the likely source of this alert.

It didn't take too long to do so. As I came behind a dark gray SUV the Valentine 1 alerted to K-band at full strength. When I changed lanes and/or backed enough for another vehicle to pull in front of me and behind this mysterious SUV, the signal strength dropped considerably.

Hmmm...What kind of vehicle could possibly cause the V1 to go haywire? I got my answer as I passed this gray SUV. On the back I saw the logo - Q7. So this was the Audi Q7 SUV, a vehicle which has two radar-based driver assistance options. One is an adaptive cruise control--which is stated to operate at 76.5Ghz and side-assist--which aids drivers with alerts to objects/vehicles in blind-spots. According to AudiWorld's Q7 Review, this side-assist operates in the 24Ghz range which appears very close to K-band's 24.1Ghz. Jeez...and I bet you thought door openers were bad enough.

At any rate, be advised that if you ever get very strange alerts from your Valentine 1 on K-band that you can't seem to identify or locate in the usual fashion, keep an eye out for an Audi Q7 . You will probably be overtaking it fairly quickly. Once past it, things quiet down to normal.

And if you are considering a purchase of a new Audi Q7 in the very near future, you may want to consider arming yourself with a Beltronics STi Driver or another top-flight radar detector that won't alert to the Q7's radar-based sensors or disabling the system (which I trust is possible) until VR comes up with a solution. I will pass my findings on to the fine engineers at Valentine Research to see if there are alternative options.

UPDATE: 3 MAY 07 - It must be noted, since this issue may be tied to K-POP reception, and to be absolutely fair to the V1, POP reception on the STi was OFF, at the time I powered it up to see if it would alert, as well.

Additional Related Reading:

• 
  
  Interaction Between POP Reception in Radar Detectors and certain Collision Avoidance Systems
  


• 24Ghz ACC/ADAS Systems Causes Most Radar Detectors to False with Very Strong K-band Alerts


• An Examination of Technology, Driver Inattentiveness,Traffic Controlling Devices, and Their Impact on General Highway Safety


• Another Look at POP RADAR

Veil Guy

©2007 Veil Corporation. All rights reserved. No part may be duplicated without expressed written permission of the author.

Escort Passport 9500i AutoSensitivity Mode Beats a Tylenol

It's just what the doctor ordered.

No, I am not talking about an aspirin, I am talking about Escort's innovative new speed-sensitive sensitivity mode that has premiered with the Passport 9500i.

Maybe, its just me - perhaps, in my later years, I am going soft. I find myself driving automatics more than I am driving stick. I am favoring 'luxury' cars more than hot sports cars at the rental counter. I am listening more to Rachmaninoff than Rush.

...Or, maybe it's the world around me - I find myself among more strip malls, more stop lights, more traffic jams, more SUVs with distracting TV screens in front of me, more drivers on cel phones, more automated door openers.

Either way, I am finding driving more stressful around town than I remember 26 years ago when I first started tooling around with my very first (the original) Escort radar detector. Back in the day, things were simpler - only X & K radar to worry about and in steady-state mode; Instant-on (technically called RF Hold), while available, wasn't readily deployed. And the occasional door openers that were found operated strictly on X-band.

Enough romanticizing about the past, we live in a different world today...Which brings me to the Escort Passport 9500i and headache relief.

For those of you who have read The Ultimate Radar Detector Review 2005, you know that I continue to use the Valentine 1 as our reference radar detector. Its consistently stellar detection performance across all police RADAR and police LIDAR signals justifies it place at the top of the radar detector hierarchy.

However, all the extreme sensitivity and philosophical tendencies to report all X & K signals - a strong asset on the open-highways - can quickly become a liability when driving in more densely populated areas around town. This is not the fault of the V1. If anyone is to blame, its the FCC which allows for all those automated door openers to operate on both X & K-band. If you want to know how many door openers and their approximate locations within any given strip mall, the V1 is the most capable radar detector for doing so.

These 'falses' aren't really falses at all. They are bona fide radar sources. They just happen not to be police radar sources.

Radar detector manufacturers have had to deal with this dilemma for some time...and I would imagine it is one of the most challenging things a high-end radar detector must do - provide extreme sensitivity to legitimate radar threats while at the same time rejecting/not reporting every signal which they receive. It's a complex task of signal processing that takes place to help make that determination and it happens in a milliseconds time. Both Beltronics and Escort have arguably the most advanced 'filtering' algorithms of all radar detectors - manifested in the Passport 8500 X50, Beltronics STI-Driver, and Beltronics RX-65 Pro detectors.

This dilemma is not entirely unlike the one that tire manufacturers have to constantly struggle with in their design of high performance all-season tires which need to provide stellar adhesion in the dry and wet, while at the same time maximizing traction in the winter (by balancing two opposing means of doing so).

Escort has devised an even more elegant and effective solution to addressing this long-standing conundrum. By dialing back the 'sensitivity' automatically when your vehicle is traveling at a sedate pace that is common on todays crowded secondary roads, Escort enables its owner to have the best of both worlds automatically - extreme performance when you need it on the highways and a less performance when you don't. In the latter case, less is more.

Which brings us back to the topic at hand.
Emerging from central Florida into the more populated and congested south west coast, the V1 quickly became tiring as did the 9500i to a lesser extent. To quiet down the 9500i, all I had to do was push one button and 'voila' the detector went into its speed-sensitive AutoSensitivity mode. When sitting at long traffic lights in a traffic between two shopping centers, I had to repeatedly reach towards the windshield to hit the manual mute button on the V1. This didn't always work out since the detector would identify additional radar sources (up to a displayed count 9) which would require additional muting. It gets old very quickly, I must say. Most of the time I simply unplug the unit in those cases - you long-time V1 owners probably know what I am talking about.

With the 9500i, all I hit was one button and only once. Sweet.

When I was approaching the cape I was stuck in traffic on the bridge. The V1 rightly alerted to a weak K-band source that was ahead. It turned out the a patrol vehicle was on the center median facing perpendicular (north) to my west-bound approach around and to the left on the road. The Passport 9500i was silent. Aaaah, relief - the sound of silence. When switching the detector back to highway mode, the 9500i alert to K-band. Desiring peace and quiet, I returned the 9500i to AutoSensitivity mode. It remained quiet at even 30 feet away and facing directly at the patrol car. It wasn't until I crossed a 15 foot threshold that the 9500i alerted at a full strength. My approach speed was about 3-4 miles an hour. It feels to me that detector is not actually less sensitive in this mode, but uses a variable squelch mechanism to obtain its silence.

The more I moved at a snail's pace toward my final destination for the evening, the more I appreciated the Passport 9500i's new innovative feature as the detector remained silent with every signal to which the V1 alerted. No need for aspirin with this one.

I am warming-up to this detector more every day, I drive with it.

Veil Guy

Don't stop using the 'radar detector' between your ears

As part of continuing series of road adventures with the latest and greatest radar detectors, we are currently doing a driving circuit in the state of Florida to examine the performance of the top performing radar detectors when pitted against the hands of Florida traffic enforcement. Unlike Pennsylvania, Ka-band seems to be the preferred form of police radar. Today we encountered Ka at 34.7Ghz (Stalker) and 35.5 (Kustom,Decatur) operated in both stationery and moving pulsed-modes.

Both the Passport 9500i and Valentine 1 served our interests well, however while cruising at a steady 85mph on West SR80, south of lake Okeechobee in the center of the state we noticed a white car approaching us from the opposite direction. At about 2000 feet I scrutinized the profile of the car. It was a late model Ford Crown Victoria.

Playing it on the safe side, I got off the gas and slowed to about 65mph. Sure enough as the vehicle passed me, I could clearly see that it was a Sheriff's vehicle with a radar unit mounted inside the vehicle.

The entire time of this encounter, neither detector went off. Rest assured, if I had not been paying attention, my expensive detectors would have more the likely sounded off a full alert of instant-on Ka and I would have been handed a nice fat ticket.

Continuing along my route, I reminded myself that there is no substitute for situational awareness and that no matter how good radar detectors get, they are only a tool. The most important 'radar detector' remains the one between your ears.

Veil Guy