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There are lots of radar detectors on the market today from Escort, Beltronics, Cobra, Valentine, Whistler, and more including jammers. Among these manufacturers, there are various models. The price range can be anywhere from $50 to $600. I’m not looking for any consumer reviews or such, but interested in what specific model YOU have and use, any pro’s and con’s, what you paid for it, how long you have owned it, how well it works, and YOUR opinion about it. A picture would be nice too. I’m not condoning speeding, but in today’s society of law enforcement working on ticket quotas, and many police departments suffering from lack of funds, often a few MPH’s over the posted speed will get you a ticket. I prefer to make sure I’m well under the speed limit when radar approaches.
ESCORT 9500ix BLUE
I purchased an Escort 9500ix Blue about 3 years ago. I paid $499 and then $39 more for 3 years of updates via the Internet. It was a birthday present from my wife. I like the blue color read out, especially since it now matches the CT blue gauges. It works very good. I’m not a speeder, but I worry when going down a large hill and your vehicle tends to speed up sometimes 10 or 15 MPH over the speed limit.
PRO’s = The red light camera data base is great as is the coverage. Unit is updatable via the Internet, just by plugging it into the USB port and your computer. Updates are not free, but are $19 a year or 3 years for $39. They also have European and Australian databases available. This detector has probably saved me from 2 or 3 tickets since ownership. The laser warning is very quick and unlikely to give you any real warning time to slow. I’m not aware of any laser detector that can give you any sufficient laser warning. Once your hit with laser, you have about 1 second to slow down; not really possible. Customer support is fantastic. They allow you to trade in your old detector. I actually traded in my 15 year old Escort. There is an Escort forum with lots of help available from other Escort users. You can program your Escort from menues via your computer once you plug it into the USB. Easy to customize it.
CON’s = It is expensive. There is a bug that will state “You have reached your marked location” when coming to a red light camera intersection. I’ve spoken to Escort about this and they are working on a fix. Even though you are able to remove stationary false signals, occasionally you get a false X band warning such as when passing a bank or other store and it can’t be removed. I’m told that these are X band alarm signals which have constantly changing frecquencies and therefore the Escort can’t figure out which frequency to lock out. When I was first hit with a laser radar gun, the sound emitted from the Escort sounded like a telephone ringing. I actually started to examine my cell phone believing it was ringing. It took me a minute to figure out a laser radar gun was being pointed at my car. I don’t think my car has been hit with laser more than 2 or 3 times since ownership. I don’t like the sound and would have preferred a voice message like LASER instead.
Escort has just (October 2011) come out with a new feature called 'Escort Live' which allows you to use your smart phone and gives you speed limit information. It’s just an app for your smart phone. Sort of like social networking for your radar detector. When one driver finds a radar trap, it can warn you immediately where the radar trap is. I haven’t tried this feature, but plan to get it soon. Having GPS on your radar detector can give you all sorts of advantages. This was one of the reasons I like this detector along with the massive red light camera database.
ESCORT 9500ix BLUE
I purchased an Escort 9500ix Blue about 3 years ago. I paid $499 and then $39 more for 3 years of updates via the Internet. It was a birthday present from my wife. I like the blue color read out, especially since it now matches the CT blue gauges. It works very good. I’m not a speeder, but I worry when going down a large hill and your vehicle tends to speed up sometimes 10 or 15 MPH over the speed limit.
PRO’s = The red light camera data base is great as is the coverage. Unit is updatable via the Internet, just by plugging it into the USB port and your computer. Updates are not free, but are $19 a year or 3 years for $39. They also have European and Australian databases available. This detector has probably saved me from 2 or 3 tickets since ownership. The laser warning is very quick and unlikely to give you any real warning time to slow. I’m not aware of any laser detector that can give you any sufficient laser warning. Once your hit with laser, you have about 1 second to slow down; not really possible. Customer support is fantastic. They allow you to trade in your old detector. I actually traded in my 15 year old Escort. There is an Escort forum with lots of help available from other Escort users. You can program your Escort from menues via your computer once you plug it into the USB. Easy to customize it.
CON’s = It is expensive. There is a bug that will state “You have reached your marked location” when coming to a red light camera intersection. I’ve spoken to Escort about this and they are working on a fix. Even though you are able to remove stationary false signals, occasionally you get a false X band warning such as when passing a bank or other store and it can’t be removed. I’m told that these are X band alarm signals which have constantly changing frecquencies and therefore the Escort can’t figure out which frequency to lock out. When I was first hit with a laser radar gun, the sound emitted from the Escort sounded like a telephone ringing. I actually started to examine my cell phone believing it was ringing. It took me a minute to figure out a laser radar gun was being pointed at my car. I don’t think my car has been hit with laser more than 2 or 3 times since ownership. I don’t like the sound and would have preferred a voice message like LASER instead.
Escort has just (October 2011) come out with a new feature called 'Escort Live' which allows you to use your smart phone and gives you speed limit information. It’s just an app for your smart phone. Sort of like social networking for your radar detector. When one driver finds a radar trap, it can warn you immediately where the radar trap is. I haven’t tried this feature, but plan to get it soon. Having GPS on your radar detector can give you all sorts of advantages. This was one of the reasons I like this detector along with the massive red light camera database.
