Escort Passport 8500 X50 problem.
Jul 27, 2008 | 10:37 PM
#16
I have been saved by laser protection many times. It does scatter and it will protect you if you are lucky. Its also nice to know you are being painted so you don't continue to bury yourself. I have the old school 8500 and it works like champ. After this..... I'm not gonna get an X50 anytime soon.
Jul 28, 2008 | 08:12 AM
#18
very occasionally, you'll get deflected laser from a car next to/in front of you. I keep mine on for this reason.
Jul 28, 2008 | 09:43 AM
#19
Newbie
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 38
Likes: 0
From: Albany NY
Everytime my car goes into boost the laser feature goes off, obviously, as you can assume, this scared the **** out of me the first 20 times it happened. But for some reason sometimes it goes off EVERY time I go into boost. Other times it turns on and nothing at all. Anyone have any similar problems?
and then returned it. You lose 50$ because of the restock fee or w.e but your getting a new blue version for 50$ so who cares
Jul 28, 2008 | 11:34 AM
#20
Mine was doing it - annoying as f**k, so i kept turning off laser band. My thoughts are that it's reacting to heat from the top hood vent when it's mounted low on the windshield. Then i got tired of driving around without laser band or getting the loud *** alert every time i went WOT and sold the thing.
Now i have a V1. Couldn't be happier.
If you wanna keep your x50, try to mount it on top of the windshield or on a visor, it may help. And make sure you have the exhaust mani heat shield on too.
Now i have a V1. Couldn't be happier.
If you wanna keep your x50, try to mount it on top of the windshield or on a visor, it may help. And make sure you have the exhaust mani heat shield on too.
Last edited by mplspilot; Jul 28, 2008 at 11:36 AM.
Jul 28, 2008 | 12:25 PM
#21
I had the EXACT same problem. Fake Laser readings, usually under quick acceleration (boost). Scared the crap out of me the first few times. 
I thought the heat was getting to it and many other theories, but in the end it was fairly simple.
Here's what you do:
The unit needs to be recalibrated that's all. These things are really precise instruments and over time or sometimes randomly they get out of wack. Call the Escort support number, tell them the issue, they will say it needs recalibration and they'll give you a service number. Mail them the unit with the service number, and in a couple weeks it'll come back good as new. They'll inspect everything and update the internal stuff. I had to pay like $80 or something, because I wasn't covered by warranty though. But no more false readings.
I thought the heat was getting to it and many other theories, but in the end it was fairly simple. Here's what you do:
The unit needs to be recalibrated that's all. These things are really precise instruments and over time or sometimes randomly they get out of wack. Call the Escort support number, tell them the issue, they will say it needs recalibration and they'll give you a service number. Mail them the unit with the service number, and in a couple weeks it'll come back good as new. They'll inspect everything and update the internal stuff. I had to pay like $80 or something, because I wasn't covered by warranty though. But no more false readings.
Last edited by Kaido; Jul 28, 2008 at 12:28 PM.
Jul 28, 2008 | 02:57 PM
#22
Mine's been doing the exact same thing, only under heavy acceleration from boost. I'll try the recaliberation thing, or I was thinking about getting the 9500. The 8500 has paid for itself many times over in saving me from tickets.
Jul 28, 2008 | 04:03 PM
#23
I have an X50 and have never experienced this issue, however I have a friend with an original 8500 and his does go off under hard acceleration. I've had other radar detectors in previous cars go off (laser only) during accelerating so it isn't just a 8500 that is plagued with this problem.
Jul 28, 2008 | 09:22 PM
#24
I had the EXACT same problem. Fake Laser readings, usually under quick acceleration (boost). Scared the crap out of me the first few times. I thought the heat was getting to it and many other theories, but in the end it was fairly simple.
Here's what you do:
The unit needs to be recalibrated that's all. These things are really precise instruments and over time or sometimes randomly they get out of wack. Call the Escort support number, tell them the issue, they will say it needs recalibration and they'll give you a service number. Mail them the unit with the service number, and in a couple weeks it'll come back good as new. They'll inspect everything and update the internal stuff. I had to pay like $80 or something, because I wasn't covered by warranty though. But no more false readings.
I thought the heat was getting to it and many other theories, but in the end it was fairly simple. Here's what you do:
The unit needs to be recalibrated that's all. These things are really precise instruments and over time or sometimes randomly they get out of wack. Call the Escort support number, tell them the issue, they will say it needs recalibration and they'll give you a service number. Mail them the unit with the service number, and in a couple weeks it'll come back good as new. They'll inspect everything and update the internal stuff. I had to pay like $80 or something, because I wasn't covered by warranty though. But no more false readings.
Or you could fix it yourself by looking at post #7s link and save $
Jul 29, 2008 | 11:56 AM
#25
So easy anybody can do it, right 
:
:
A friend of mine asked me to take a look at his Passport 8500 radar detector. After about 3 years of use it started to give him false laser warnings. It also appears to be a common problem for many aging 8500s.
The problem itself is as old as the electronic world: lousy power filtering. Escort uses cheap capacitors that tend to degrade over time. The problem is accelerated because radar detectors are exposed to direct sunlight and high temperatures. Cheap electrolytic capacitors just dry out and cannot effectively filter the noise on the power line. The noise reaches the laser sensor module, it gets amplified and triggers alerts.
Fixing is relatively easy: open the device, unsolder the cover shield that screens the laser detector circuit, and replace the faulty capacitor. You can use anything that matches or, even better, exceeds the capacitance of the faulty capacitor. When you're done, let Escort know that using quality capacitors in their $300 device wouldn't hurt their profits much, but will surely improve customer confidence. It should also be mentioned that the total price of all components that make the guts of the 8500 is at most $50.
The problem itself is as old as the electronic world: lousy power filtering. Escort uses cheap capacitors that tend to degrade over time. The problem is accelerated because radar detectors are exposed to direct sunlight and high temperatures. Cheap electrolytic capacitors just dry out and cannot effectively filter the noise on the power line. The noise reaches the laser sensor module, it gets amplified and triggers alerts.
Fixing is relatively easy: open the device, unsolder the cover shield that screens the laser detector circuit, and replace the faulty capacitor. You can use anything that matches or, even better, exceeds the capacitance of the faulty capacitor. When you're done, let Escort know that using quality capacitors in their $300 device wouldn't hurt their profits much, but will surely improve customer confidence. It should also be mentioned that the total price of all components that make the guts of the 8500 is at most $50.
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