Escort 9500ix Radar

I highly recommend the Blendmount for it (though it's expensive - $80). It gets you out of the business of suction cups on the windshield and, instead, hangs the detector from your rear-view mirror. I've also noticed in my car that it makes the radar detector less obvious. Yes, you can still see it through the windshield but it's not obvious like it was with the suction cups on the windshield.

MGT Motorsports sells it:
http://tinyurl.com/ya6gz9e

First of all, I own an older Escort and I think it is probably the best radar detector I've ever seen. But read their web site info on this one. It comes pre-loaded with redlight and speed camera locations. Miss POI updates her listings once a week, how often does Escort update their database? Why pay a fee to Escort in order to download their database?

On the face of it, this seems like a good idea until you start looking at the details. Selling a GPS that is 'radar enabled' makes more sense than selling a radar detector that is GPS enabled but can't be used for navigation.

When I subscribe to their DB it was $30 for 3 years.

Their updates come out every Tuesday.

There is a difference between the radar detector beeping at you which I usually think of as an 'alert device' (fairly loud) and the GPS binging which I think of more of a reference/information device and the bing is generally a lot friendlier.

With the detector it's trying to get my attention.

I'm sure you could replace the alert sound on your GPS and then turn it up really loud, though. Oh, the other thing is that it's far easier to add speed traps / cameras to the radar detector over adding them to the GPS. With the detector I press the GPS button, mark the spot, and then confirm by pressing again. With my GPS it's a little more cumbersome so it's really more of a 'load it once in a while' kind of thing.

For the Escort updates, I usually keep an eye out for which areas are updated and update my detector then. I'm in Georgia and if the update doesn't have Georgia listed and I'm not about to travel to one of the states that are listed, then I just wait until the next update (or until I have a trip and figure I need to catch up anyway).

$30 for 3 years sounds pretty reasonable. But I repeat, "Why pay Escort for their data base when Miss POI's data base is free?"

If the polite Bing Bing Bing isn't assertive enough for you then associate an MP3 file of your wife screaming your name. That should get your attention. hehehehe

lol ...good one

I got the Blendmount and a hard wire today in the mail. Also they had a special email when I registered on 3 years an extended warranty and 3 years updates with an ac adapter and a usb cord for $39. So I took that also.

I am not looking to replace the GPS I have I just have it in addition. Plus the Blue read out looks cool on the 9500.

Personally, I think a GPS-enabled radar detector is a waste of money.

I've used Beltronics and Escort for several years--I give a slight edge to Beltronics in terms of performance and reliability.

My Bel 980 has recently started behaving erratically after 9 years of service. I chose the V995 as a replacement. At $209 (from Amazon) it tests out just as sensitive as Beltronic's top of the line GX65 which sells for $470. The only real difference is the GPS.

For the $260 difference between the two, I bought a new Garmin 765T with lifetime map updates. By using Miss POI's redlight and speed camera database, not only am I dialed in to all the speed traps, I've also got a GPs that will route me anywhere in the country, give me traffic reports, and help my find the nearest gas station or bank--try doing that with a GPS-enabled radar!

In short, I'd rather have my radar detector do what it does best and same thing for my GPS.

NP

Thanks ORnonprophet for your input.

In short I have both that do very well (so far).

I guess it is to late to take your advice. So Ill just enjoy what I have and learn to use it better.

Happy New Years!!!!

If you forget about the Redlight/Speedtrap DB argument for a moment, the real benefits of a GPS enabled radar detector are:

- the 9500ix will learn false signals. Basically if you pass by the same location 3 times and it gets the same signal each time then it'll realize it's a automatic door or one of those 'your speed is..' signs. Also, if for some reason that signal isn't there after it's been learned then it will auto un-learn it (like when those 'your speed is...' signs are moved or if it just happened to be the same cop at the same location for 3 separate days in which you've passed that same point (pretty unlikely but it could happen).
- it uses the GPS to determine your speed so that if you're driving under 25MPH then it's just not going to alert you as, yes, it may be a real signal, but it's not going to matter because you're just going too slow to begin with.
- more easily marking speed traps / redlight cameras on the fly. You push the GPS button, it give you a choice of SPEEDTRP REDLIGHT OTHER and then you select and it's marked. That, to me, is easier than marking something via the Garmin interface for cars (my Garmin 60CSx I use for hiking would fairly easy but that's not what I use in my car). Just saying that marking individual spots is easier on the 9500ix.

Really it comes down to this - it keeps the detector quiet when appropriate and allows you to set up extra alerts when needed which I think is pretty handy.

Some folks like the detectors that are super sensitive from miles away and will alert you at the drop of a hat and they are able to not tune it out and it doesn't bother them to have the detector go off so much. They feel better just knowing a signal is out there in that it gives them a bit of a leg up. I'm not that guy. I really don't want to drive with the thing going off all the time because, I know from experience, my brain will tune it out. I need it to reliably go off when there is a cop but not bug me with every hint of a signal it receives.

Also, something I just thought of: If you one who drives a good bit over the speed limit and you want a detector that is beeping at you constantly then won't that mean that you're slowing down a lot more than you should and sort of defeating the going a decent amount over the speed limit to begin with?

I agree, the only advantage that a GPS enabled radar detector offers is the ability create a database of frequent false alarms along routes you travel regularly.

However, my unit comes with an "auto mode" that switches back and forth between hwy and city automatically which significantly reduces false alarms. It also auto mutes after 10 seconds. This V995 is THE quietest detector I've ever used--yet it's alerted me to 3 laser traps on the hwy with enough time to slow down.

Lastly, don't think for a second that cops aren't going to take advantage of the false sense of security generated by a false alarm database. Cities want that money, and cops have quotas. Cops also keep up on all the latest and greatest technologies that we use to thwart their revenue generating activities. If I was a cop, I'd position myself in a grocery store parking lot, knowing full well that the motion sensors on the store doors with trigger an alarm--and that most speeders with radar detectors will probably ignore the hit and I can nail them......

Don't believe me? A few cities actually dug out of storage their old X band radar units because they knew that many newer radar detectors don't cover X band and/or their owners turn off that band because most cops stopped using them years ago. Those people are/were sitting ducks. FWIW, I keep X band active ever thought it's the source of 90% of the few false alarms I get. Bottom line, they'll do whatever it takes to keep that money rolling in.......

NP

It's a new car and the rear window, while small, seems pretty clear. If the top is up, will a dash mounted laser detecting unit miss lasers from behind?