Accessories

Defective & overpriced
I got a 8500 x50 blue in 2006. First one was defective.... it kept showing "Service Required" messages. The replacement just died in July 2008 -- it won't turn on. It seems to have this trouble on/off for some time but a simple unplug/plug would fix it. Not this time. I read it seems 2006 was a bad year for Escort. My prior Bel's were just as good and lasted many years.Also the clip for visor it too tight and the rear sensor is blocked by the cushion visor

just as advertised
has saved me many times; lives up to the advertising; few false alerts. don't leave home without it.

Works great
I just used this detector on a 4500 mile road trip traveling in the west. Went from Seattle to Vegas, Vegas to Cali, back to Seattle.
I never had the unit go off in Nevada, but it gave me warnings about 6 times in California and 4 times in Oregon. These were either cops coming my way on the road with their radars going, or near speed traps. I found the unit gave ample warning in open spaces, and a couple of seconds warning when coming around a bend in the road. Around the 4th of July i hit alot of speed traps at night, and it saved my butt several times. Works very well. Be sure to turn on the POP feature (not on by default). Its true if you get hit by a laser, you basically are being told 'hey you got a ticket' - however if you Are driving the speed limit, the POP is useful in letting you know that the laser is being used. This warned me in the town i was in that cops were using laser, so i kept my speed down. Only improvement i can think of is to have the option of a Flashing warning, and maybe abit higher sound capability. I tend to listen to my music very loud on long trips like this - so sometims i didnt see the warning for awhile. It did have a fair amount of false readings (as far as i could tell) - but not too bad.

A lot of Bells and Whistles but Little Performance!
Got this radar detector and had high hopes for it in light of the price and all the hype.
Unfortunately in my first week I got a nasty speeding ticket. The officer had a laser gun and it didn't warn me until it was right in front of me. With this kind of protection who needs protection at all?
Sure the slim unit looks great, and I like the talking radar but at the end of the day don't you buy this to avoid tickets? My friend swears by his Valentine, which looks ugly, but really who cares about the looks of a radar detector.

Has never failed me yet
We now own two of these Escort Passports and think they are excellent. I know for a fact this unit is worth the money. A friend was driving next to me on a toll road, no cars around so our speed increased. My Escort began to show a weak Ka signal. I slowed down but my friend, who had a Whistler, kept accelerating. Then my signal peaked out. I couldn't see any police car and my friend was way ahead of me now. Suddenly, he slammed on his brakes at the top of an overpass and there was the State Trooper - sitting in the on ramp, well hidden. My Escort saw him 3-4 miles ahead...amazing!