Question:
Does anyone know when the replacement to the Escort Passport 7500 will
be released? I need a new detector for long trips tied to the holidays
and would not like to get locked into a detector that will be quickly
dated.
Answer:
I used to have a P7500 but sold it to the roomie to get a V1. The V1
far outperforms the P7500. I know it's cliche by now, but if you are
doing lots of long trips, the Valentine1 is your man. It's far better
than anything else out there. It's technology is far more advanced
than anything out there. You won't be in regret with the V1.
I appreciate and respect the loyalty of V1 owners. I have used escort
detectors for at least 13 years in conjunction with an occasional listen
on the cb. I have not been ticketed since using escort.
My primary concern is to not lock into the P7500 if the replacement will
be released in January or February.
The replacement has already been released -- it's called the V1. The
V1's designer was one of the founders of Cincinnati Microwave and
designer of the original Escort and Passport detectors. He now has his
own company, leaving Cincinnati Microwave to sell warmed-over junk
that's more at home in a catalog from Big Al's Cut-Rate Liquidation
Warehouse, than it is in your car. It's no coincidence that the
original Escort/Passport models are still among the few capable of
competing with the V1 in X- and K-band performance. The pro-V1 advice
you're getting is 100% justified, in my experience at least.
I've used Escort and Passport detectors for 19 years and only got
popped a few times (my own fault, not the fault of the detector).
But the V1, with it's separate rearward-facing antenna and the
directional arrows among other things greatly reduces your
chances of getting caught off-guard. With so much moving
radar being used on the highway from behind, anything other
than a V1 greatly increases the likelyhood of getting clocked
from behind. My Passport was virtually useless against the
CHP using Ka from behind, but now with my V1 i sniff em
out a mile back. No way i could ever go back to my Passport
after using my V1 to it's fullest potential. It just saved me
today on PCH north of Malibu - the CHP was using hand-held
Ka band a mile apart, and between the arrows and the
bogey counter i knew that the cops i just passed weren't
the only ones clocking traffic, and sure enough the arrows
tattled on the second group of officers clocking traffic over
a crest a mile ahead, There were a total of 2 cruisers and
8 new BMW motorcycles working a three-mile section of highway.
I made several passes for the fun of it just to play with my V1, but
they started noticing my repeated passes so i turned into the
canyons and shredded some twisties for the next hour.
There is no good reason to get another Passport, it would be
like throwing good money after bad. You already blew one
chance to get a V1 when you bought your previous detector,
now you want to pay even more for a replacement. If you
ad the price of your existing detector to the 7500 you've
probably already spent more than if you'd bought a V1 in
the first place. With the authorities turning up the wick
on radar enforcement a body would be negligent to get
anything other than a V1. There's no time like the present.
I resisted for several year before caving in, and now i'm pissed
at myself for not getting one way sooner. It would have saved
me from two tickets for sure where my Passport was not up
to the task. If you could only borrow a V1 for a week or two,
you'd never consider another detector again. They have a
30 day money-back quarantee, why not try it out and see
what you've been missing? I really doubt that anyone returns
their new V1 if they're serious about radar detection.
