Question:
I am trying to determine whether my old Passport Radar detector is worth
keeping or whether I should invest in a new one. I bought the Passport about
8 years ago ('89) when I bought my car (Acura Integra). Since that time it
has not gotten too much use as my commute to work has been very short and so
I just haven't bothered with it. However, I am soon to start a new job
where I will have to make a longer commute (40 miles; 80% interstate) and I
now think that I will want to use a detector regularly. How sensitive are
the old Passports in relation to current detectors? I know that the Passport
does not detect laser, but is there any way to find out whether my state uses
lasers or not (I live in Nebraska)? Does the Passport detect all other bands
that are currently in use?
Any advice/comments would be greatly appreciated. I you think I should
get a new detector, which ones are best? Are the Valentine One's as good as
their reputation? If the Passport is still good, can you still order acces-
sories for it? (I saw one time that CM sold a suction cup holder that was
supposed to be better than the stock one)
Answer:
I have an original Passport that I replaced with a Valentine. I still use
my Passport in my wife's vehicle.
I'd rate the Passport as still extremely good at what it does; X and K-band
detection. If you don't have Ka in your area, the only real reason for
upgrading would be to a Valentine in order to get the directional
indication and bogey counting. These are real subtantial improvements, but
if you've never had them you don't know any better and so don't miss them.
I DO miss them a lot when I use the Passport, though.
If I didn't have to worry about Ka, I would not upgrade from an origianl
Passport to a new non-Valentine.
I know there is some place where you can find out if your state uses laser
or not. The Passport you have detects two things...X and K band radar.
No Ka band, which is pretty much used a lot, but don't quote me on that.
It does what it does extremely well. In a recent Car & Driver Radar
detector comparison, they tested about 6 or 7 detectors. On a scale of
100, the Valentine One scored a 93, I think. The next best score was a 46
from the Bel. Just for grins, they threw in an old Passport and an Escort
radar detector. Scoring 0's for both laser and Ka band, they still scored
higher overall than the Bel.
The Valentine One is definitely worth it if you can swing $400. And
you'll hate yourself if you get pulled over and your Passport didn't make
a sound.
I have a Bel 945i that I really like (cordless) and have learned one thing:
Buy the best radar detector (V1, or 945i for cordless), you will pay for
the thing before too long in saved tickets (I have more than paid off
buying the Bel, even at $300)
Just another nice thing about the Valentine over any other detector:
Since it can keep track of more than one signal, it won't get hung up on a
false while a real one is there. As far as I know, if a non-V1 detector
catches a weaker door opener signal, it can't do anything else until the
door opener is out of range. Meantime, 45 cops could be clocking you and
it wouldn't tell you.
I could be wrong about that...it might pick up the stronger signal.
I have a Bel 945i and I am fairly certain it will go to the stronger
signal. In fact, I believe it will go to the "deadlier signal" (if it
catches an X-band and then a Ka band, it will go to the Ka band).
everything from AM radio to tuna sandwiches seems to set
off Ka alarms on the bel. I got so frustrated with my bel's constant
blabbering that I tossed it out the window.
Replaced it with a $60 cobra and the cobra is a thousand times better at
detecting police radar with minimal false alarms.
I had previously owned a $70 bel corded radar detector which falsed on Ka
band just as much. I was wrong to thing the $280 cordless version would
be any different.
I almost NEVER get Ka false alarms with my Bel. About the only time I ever
get Ka alarms is for Ka radar guns. Strong Wal-Mart doors set off X band
(as to be expected) and other Bels seem to set off X, but I have never
seen Ka go off except when I was instant-on'ed on Rt. 17 in NY (and a
couple of other times that I was checked). K goes off rarely for strange
signals (house alarms maybe)
According to literature, the inards of the Bels are different. THe 945i
basicallyhas the same insides as the 845 (the corded model at about $200).
I think that the $70 Bel probably had different insides than the x45
series (would make since, you get what you paid for).
I also use a friend's $90 Uniden on occasion and hate it. That will go off
at birds flying across the road. I can regularly drive around town with my
Bel in Highway mode and not have too many false alarms. I have to drive
with the Uniden on City on rural roads to cut down on the chatter from the
thing.
I currently use a Escort 4500 which I bought about three years ago or so,
and it has definetly saved me from many tickets. The main reason why I
like this detector is that I very rarely get a false alarm, which is a vast
improvement over a Uniden which I owned many years ago....However the
Escort is starting to die since the power connector onto the board itself
is starting to come loose, so therefore I have been looking at replacing it
with a new detector. Two that have interested me are the Escort 4600, and
a newer Uniden (6599). I was wondering if anyone has had any experience
with either of these, or can advise if the Unidens are still basically
"Safeway Detectors" with all of the false alarms they used to give off. I
have seen a display of the Uniden 6599, and it seems like it has a lot of
features, but if it still falses all the time I would want to look
elsewhere
