Questions about Passport 8500i

[gmoney]

Admins,

I posted this here originally: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=157535

but am not sure if that's the right location. Perhaps it's more of an Off Topic discussion, which is why I posted it here. I apologize for the inconvenience... please remove from where necessary. Thank you!

I just got this radar detector as a gift, but have a few questions on it's actual usage.

I skimmed thru the manual and it seems pretty straight forward... but I noticed this when I used it for the first time.

1) I had it on Auto mode, and every time I heard "K band", whether the signal was weak or strong, I didn't see any police car around... why?

2) When I did see five cops during my trip, (three were Highway Patrols, and two were regular LAPD) my detector didn't even do the slightest peep... and I was literally right next to them. Well, on two occasions I was next to them, the highway patrols were a few cars ahead and one of them was on the opposite side of the freeway... but still, shouldn't I have heard an alert at during any of these?

Thanks in advance for your time.

[snipersix]

about the false alert. It can be caused by a n umber of things, such as signals from a garage opener, traffic lights, bank, gas stations as well. I personally have the 9500i and the good thing about it, is that it remembers the false signals that u ask it to remember, so u can minimize the false alarms.

about the detector not beeping when u saw five cops. It maybe because they didnt have their radar on. Some cops are like that. So sometimes they pretty much just eye ball the speed of the car.

[gmoney]

Originally Posted by snipersix

about the false alert. It can be caused by a n umber of things, such as signals from a garage opener, traffic lights, bank, gas stations as well. I personally have the 9500i and the good thing about it, is that it remembers the false signals that u ask it to remember, so u can minimize the false alarms.

about the detector not beeping when u saw five cops. It maybe because they didnt have their radar on. Some cops are like that. So sometimes they pretty much just eye ball the speed of the car.

Ahh... I see.

I was under the impression that the radar detector goes off when a police vehiclie/motorcycle is nearby. ( I kinda hoped it would help me with my tinted windows... to give me a chance to roll them down )

So these detectors are all dependent on the fact the cops have their radar on? That kinda of defeats the purpose doesn't it... because if a cop sees you fly by, and his radar was off, then he can still pull you over and you had no idea he was there.... right?

[normtrum]

i'm not sure about socal...but here in WA State it's very common for staters to drive around on the freeways without their radar turned on. Most rely on laser on the freeways anyways.

The sherriffs and local cops on the other hand seem to always have their radar turned on. My 8500 works very well in these situations.

The false's were explained very well above....one reason why the 9500 is a notch above ours....gps! I personally don't really mind the false alerts...they mainly happen when I'm driving around local streets anyways...and I'm not really stepping on it.

[gmoney]

Originally Posted by normtrum

i'm not sure about socal...but here in WA State it's very common for staters to drive around on the freeways without their radar turned on. Most rely on laser on the freeways anyways.

The sherriffs and local cops on the other hand seem to always have their radar turned on. My 8500 works very well in these situations.

The false's were explained very well above....one reason why the 9500 is a notch above ours....gps! I personally don't really mind the false alerts...they mainly happen when I'm driving around local streets anyways...and I'm not really stepping on it.

I agree with you on local streets, but today on the freeway I was doing bout 100 (very light traffic) and then I simply decided to let off on it.... and sure enough when I did there a Highway Patrol about three cars ahead pulling someone else over... shouldn't an alert have sounded?

[normtrum]

Originally Posted by gmoney

I agree with you on local streets, but today on the freeway I was doing bout 100 (very light traffic) and then I simply decided to let off on it.... and sure enough when I did there a Highway Patrol about three cars ahead pulling someone else over... shouldn't an alert have sounded?

That's kind of tough to say, but I would think if he already had someone pulled over he probably had his radar off. Plus...he could have gotten the speeder by laser, pacing, or even by air.

Too be really honest, the guys who use their radar's the wisest are the guys who don't in fact drive around with it on all the time. I've been hit many times, and the really clever guys wait until you're right on top of them before they activate. At that point...you're usually screwed!

A good way to test your 8500 is to find one of those stationary radars....the ones that show your speed as you drive by? I knew exactly where one was right after I hard wired my 8500 and drove by for a test...and I actually started picking it up at over 1 mile.

[gmoney]

Originally Posted by normtrum

That's kind of tough to say, but I would think if he already had someone pulled over he probably had his radar off. Plus...he could have gotten the speeder by laser, pacing, or even by air.

Too be really honest, the guys who use their radar's the wisest are the guys who don't in fact drive around with it on all the time. I've been hit many times, and the really clever guys wait until you're right on top of them before they activate. At that point...you're usually screwed!

A good way to test your 8500 is to find one of those stationary radars....the ones that show your speed as you drive by? I knew exactly where one was right after I hard wired my 8500 and drove by for a test...and I actually started picking it up at over 1 mile.

Got it, thanks! Now, I assume when you say hard wire, you mean a different method that does not involve using the cig adapter... cus I hate that! It's all over the place. Is that true? Please advise.

Also, do you place the detector in the windshield per the instructions? And third... these 9500i don't detect laser?

[snipersix]

9500i does detect laser as well. I place my detector at the very top part of the windshield so its covered by the tinted part. But then again i got this coil of wire hanging around, since i dont know any other way around it..

[normtrum]

Originally Posted by gmoney

Got it, thanks! Now, I assume when you say hard wire, you mean a different method that does not involve using the cig adapter... cus I hate that! It's all over the place. Is that true? Please advise.

Also, do you place the detector in the windshield per the instructions? And third... these 9500i don't detect laser?

I had mine hardwired by a stereo shop pretty close to where I live. It was pretty cheap...less then $75. Mine is mounted by suction cups in the middle of my winshield....just barely off the dash. There's a hardwire kit that you can buy that will take care of this. It is a very clean look.

Both the 8500 and 9500 "detect' laser....however 99% of the time this does absolutely nothing for you if you're speeding. When the laser alert goes off, it simply means that you've already been hit...or are picking up some residue from another car being hit. The only true defense from laser (imo) is a laser jammer. They are leagal in all but 6 or 7 states. Unfortunaley they are illegeal in CA.

Funny we're talking about this...I just reccived my Laser Interceptor" today...which i have been waiting for for 5-6 months. Do a search on "Laser Interceptor" or "laser jammers" and you'll find a pretty good (and active) thread about it.

[snipersix]

when u hardwired yours, how did u deal with the remote, which is found on the cigarette lighter charger?

[normtrum]

Originally Posted by snipersix

when u hardwired yours, how did u deal with the remote, which is found on the cigarette lighter charger?

They removed the center console, and tapped into a vacant fuse I believe. Somebody posted a schematic on this site some time ago...I'll see if I can find it.

[Lassaxi]

Originally Posted by gmoney

Ahh... I see.

I was under the impression that the radar detector goes off when a police vehiclie/motorcycle is nearby. ( I kinda hoped it would help me with my tinted windows... to give me a chance to roll them down )

So these detectors are all dependent on the fact the cops have their radar on? That kinda of defeats the purpose doesn't it... because if a cop sees you fly by, and his radar was off, then he can still pull you over and you had no idea he was there.... right?

Defeats the purpose? Of what? It's a radar detector. It's purpose is to detect radar.

By the way, exactly how would a police car detector work? Unless the car is emitting something that only police cars emit, like a radio transmission or radar, how could an electronic device tell the difference between a police car and any other car?

[gmoney]

Originally Posted by Lassaxi

Defeats the purpose? Of what? It's a radar detector. It's purpose is to detect radar.

By the way, exactly how would a police car detector work? Unless the car is emitting something that only police cars emit, like a radio transmission or radar, how could an electronic device tell the difference between a police car and any other car?

My understanding (erroneously so) was that the police vehicles were always detectable due to their radio & other frequencies always being on.

Having that in mind, I felt it defeats the purpose a bit if the cop has his radar off but can still pull you over if he sees you zoom by. Also I kind of expected it to provide protection for my window tint by alerting me when a cop was near.

Again, this is based on my misunderstanding: the radar detector detects the radar (duh!) not the presence of the car by picking up any emitting frequencies or signals.