Radar Detectors

Great performance, excellent features Escort Passport 7500 Radar Detector I've owned a 7500 for about a year now with great results. I bought the Passport 7500 after researching the Valent...

Passport 6800 Escort Passport 6800 Radar Detector I purchased this product to use in my extra vehicle. I have to admit that I have been disapointed with some prior...

Introduction

I will drive speed limits when the cops and insurance companies wire my cold dead foot in the legal speed setting. While I am an unapologetic speeder, I’m not an overzealous speeder. I generally do prefer to go 15-20 over the posted limit on the open highway, adjusting downward of course for conditions. As a result of my attitude towards life, I have met more cops than I care to remember in my 20 years of happy motoring.

I used radar detectors back in the 1980s, then as I got beaten down to where I drove only about 10 MPH over the limit I weaned off of them. Unfortunately speed limits can change abruptly and 10 over can become 25 over almost instantly. When I got nabbed for 74 in a 60 (on a damn INTERSTATE, mind you) on radar when moments ago the limit was 70, I realized that I could no longer fight these badged predators without protection. To differentiate, cops are great. REAL cops are great. Those donut-bellied bastards who pose as law enforcement but are really no more than badged tax collectors who give real cops a bad name, however, deserve to be thwarted. If they MUST collect revenue, at least have them posted at intersections to nab those who run red lights as this is MUCH more dangerous than someone going a few miles over on a safe, divided highway.

For more information on making a radar detector choice, go to

http://driver4t5.epinions.com/auto-review-1E02-2A2BC80-39AC6FAE-prod1

Now that I’ve self-justified my obviously deviant, antisocial behavior and feel SOOOOOOO much better about myself as a person, we come to the Passport 7500 Radar Detector. The Passport heritage dates back to the original Escort detector, which set the standard for speed protection for the 80s. The 7500 is their current top-of-the-line detector and boasts "ultra performance" on their www.escortradar.com website. This will soon be demoted as the upcoming Passport 8500 promises to be a quantum leap, but I can’t put promises on my dashboard. I wanted their best as almost doesn’t count when combating local gendarmes.

I ordered this directly from Escort. A 30-day no risk trial is what Car and Driver magazine advertised and served as my catalyst for taking action. I also ordered the Valentine One the same day and did a side-by-side comparison. More on the Valentine One as well as the results of the Duel On The Dashboard in subsequent reviews. The price is a relatively steep $229, though this pales with the Valentine’s $400 expenditure. Still, considering the cost of one average speeding ticket is around $150 and the overall insurance penalty is considerably more, smart money should be spent now instead of later.

Appearance and Accessories

The Passport is an attractive package. It’s sleek, stylish, and compact enough to keep from drawing undue attention to itself. The easy-mount windshield bracket makes mounting and adjusting the detector for optimum angle quite easy. Two suction cups provide the adhesion and are strong enough for the task. Two spare cups are also provided. One wire connects the Passport to the 12V outlet (formerly known as the cigarette lighter). An optional remote display is available for a few dollars more, but is really a waste for the non-paranoid.

Installation

The Passport gives a brief LED light and beeper test when plugged in and turned on. The volume may be set to the driver’s taste. The next step is to select the sensitivity mode. Highway mode provides the greatest sensitivity. Auto mode is basically highway mode with a false alarm squelch built into the internal circuitry, and City mode lowers X-band detection as well as limits X-band alerts. The final mandatory user adjustment is display brightness which allows 4 levels of adjustability.

Other adjustments are available. They are:

* automoute, which quiets tones that have played after a few seconds,

* high/low audio tone, which is useful for overcoming loud music

* signal strength/number which will display more than one signal

* further granularity of the City Mode X-band sensitivity

* safety warning system and detection - discussed later

* DarkMode, which blacks out all visual display.

Now you’re loaded for bear…

Detection

Protection is offered against X, K, and Ka bands as well as laser. In addition, some areas have banned radar detectors and employ a VG-2 band for detecting the use of such devices. Passport plays the part of counter counterspy with VG-2 protection. Since, however, the nearest state using such a band is in Virginia, 800 miles away, I knew I wouldn’t see a live demonstration of VG-2 detection.

When a signal is detected, the band shows on the display and so does the intensity. A "beep" is sounded for X-band while a more urgent "brap" emits when other bands are found. The frequency of sounds is proportional to the strength of the signal with the exception of laser, which always sounds off with urgency due to a short range of detection ability. If more than one signal is encountered and the signal strength meter is set to Expert, then the display changes to show the band or bands as well as an indicator of the signal being strong or weak. Up to eight separate signals can be displayed at once.

Safety mode and alert is a feature unique to the Passport. This picks up K-band signals from safety equipment and produces a coded display that warns the driver of whatever hazard exists ahead. This is useful when the road crews have Safety Warning System set up and is an example of the positive safety aspects of radar detection.

Field Test

Escort made the Passport user-friendly. The display is easily read and controls are a bare minimum.

I experimented with the three modes and found the Auto mode to be useless in practice. In town I ran around with City Mode and on the highway, well, you know. Radar detection in the city is a tough chore. False alarms can be picked up from many sources, mostly X band. Since X is the easiest to detect from a distance, some conditioning is required to ignore early blips and pay attention only if the warning escalates. The passport seemed to fare reasonably well against false readings, only showing a few stray X signals. Few false alarms result from the other bands and the Passport reported none of these.

X band detection is good and long-reaching. Where this detector is grossly lacking is in K and Ka band readings. I encountered many situations where the signal wasn’t picked up until the nick of too late, when I was well within zapping range. This is unacceptable as the goal is to get the warning BEFORE I could conceivably get a ticket, not tell me that I’m GETTING a ticket. My direct comparison basis is against the Valentine One, which was sitting 8 inches away from the Passport. I NEVER got an early warning on K or Ka band from the 7500 - NEVER.

I also wasn’t impressed with the side and rear detection capabilities. Signals that were passed and should have been read for some distance quickly faded on the Passport. This would leave a motorist vulnerable from a rear attack. I expect this grade of performance from a $99 special, but not from a purported leader.

I can’t say how well VG-2 or laser signals are read. Laser is rarely used and VG-2 is not a factor in Florida. The Safety Warning System came into play twice, but was limited due to the poor K-band sensitivity. Basically I could see and ascertain the situation by the time the readout came on the face.

Conclusion

The Escort Passport 7500 is much like the Boy Band of the Week. It looks nice, says the right things, hangs with the right crowd, and doesn’t perform well. Without adequate K and Ka band protection, the $229 spent on this might as well have been spent towards the next speeding ticket. This as a result docks three stars from the score. Escort claims the 8500 will have double the range of the 7500. I’ll definitely check it out when it’s available. As for the 7500, I’m sending it back home. I only lost a little postage, which should be recouped with this review…:-)

Related Reviews

Passport 8500 Radar Detector:

http://driver4t5.epinions.com/elec-review-6DC4-15F80693-3A1166AE-prod2

Passport 6800 Radar Detector:

http://driver4t5.epinions.com/elec-review-4F55-2278D30-3A20984C-prod1

Valentine One Radar Detector:

http://driver4t5.epinions.com/elec-review-1878-10D3544-39EFB908-prod1

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Tags: 8500, Escort, legal, remote, Valentine One

Filed under: Radar Detectors Reviews