Very informative! Thanks. *NM*

Just became the proud owner of a 2005 CPO Boxster S. I can see I am going to need a radar detector. Any suggestions?

You will tend to get pretty divided responses from two camps based on prior similar threads. In the end it tends to depend on your preference on how the warning is displayed. I have been a consistent user of Escort/Passport models, and currently use the latest wired 9500 series. My experience is that it provides outstanding sensitivity for all bands (and typically a bit sooner than competing detectors when we go with a group drive). I particularly like the fact that it displays your actual (gps based) speed at the time of the first ping along with the type and strength of the radar- thus allowing you to decide to slow by engine braking or actual braking or not at all. The gps based unit also allows quick learning of fixed non-police radar triggers. Finally if your new Boxster does not have NAV you can get their newest unit which incorporates NAV and radar. The first of its type.

Unless you're driving where their use is illegal, get the Valentine 1. A friend who's tried them all swears buy it. Once you've had the arrows, you'll never go back to anything else. All the GPS bells and whistles the other guys are hyping are largely irrelevant. What you need is a detector that gives you ample warning and tells you where the bogies are and how many. The V-1 does that in spades. No one I know has ever regretted getting the V-1. Yes, it's a religion.

If you'll be driving where their use is illegal, get the Bell STi Driver. The same friend currently uses it and consistently avoids detection. He misses the arrows of the Valentine 1. In fact, he misses his entire Valentine 1 unit which the police seized after they detected it a year and a half ago.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/28/2011 09:33AM by Roger987. (view changes)

Quote
Roger987
Unless you're driving where their use is illegal, get the Valentine 1. A friend who's tried them all swears buy it. Once you've had the arrows, you'll never go back to anything else. All the GPS bells and whistles the other guys are hyping is largely irrelevant. What you need is a detector that gives you ample warning and tells you where the bogies are and how many. The V-1 does that in spades. No one I know has ever regretted getting the V-1. Yes, it's a religion.

If you'll be driving where their use is illegal, get the Bell STi Driver. The same friend currently uses it and consistently avoids detection. He misses the arrows of the Valentine 1. In fact, he misses his entire Valentine 1 unit which the police seized after they detected it a year and a half ago.

I need to challenge that statement about the GPS technology being irrelevant GPS technology takes radar detection to a whole new level, a level that will likely make the V1 go extinct, arrows and all.

The biggest drawback to using a radar detector is the constant bombardment of false signals that you get. If a detector never shuts up, people tend to turn them off, or not pay attention to them. It's the whole 'boy who cried wolf' story. I've done it myself. I was driving through Merrimack NH late at night, through a city area and my Escort SRX wouldn't shut the heck up. I smacked the mute button 3 or 4 times. The forth time, it was a speed trap. Luckily I got off with a warning, doing 39 in a 25.

But the GPS benefits don't stop there. Knowing where you car is gives the 9500s the ability to warn you if you are approaching a stop light or speed camera. No other detector will do this for you. But wait, there's more. Knowing how fast you are going allows the 9500 to alter it's sensitivity based on speed. You don't need 2 miles of detection when you're going 15 mph, right....? So the 9500 tunes itself back when going slow.

The V1 certainly is an excellent radar detector. In fact, it's at the very top of the list in regard to sensitivity, and yes the arrows are really nice. But, with that sensitivity comes more false signals, and less urgency when you hear one.

I did a ton of research on this and I decided to buy an Escort 9500ci, for many reasons. This unit costs around $1,700, and it has the GPS technology you mention. But guess what.... It remains totally quite. If you drive by a false signal 3 times, it identifies it as such, memorizes it and doesn't warn you about that particular signal any more. So, if the 9500ci speaks up, I listen instantly. You don't need to spend $1,700 to get this, this same technology is available in their 9500ix at about the same price as the V1 ($500). But this brings us to the next very important aspect of speeding ticket protection.

Like the V1, radar speed detection as a whole is growing long in the tooth. The biggest most dangerous threat to the licenses of guys like you and me is the lidar gun, also called laser. Laser guns are hand held, they don't emit anything detectable until the subject vehicle has been targeted and a trigger has been pulled. When it has, a very narrow beam of infrared light is emitted, so narrow it will only hit the targeted car. This makes detection of targets ahead of you almost impossible. And the instant on nature give the targeted car almost no reaction time. The V1 and 9500ix both have lidar detection, but honestly, if a cop targets you, takes square aim and pulls that trigger, he'll be looking at your speed before you realize that you're under attack. That detector might as well tell you, "license and registration please".

This is why I went with the 9500ci, because it also includes laser jamming. (Escort likes to call it 'shifting'). If a lidar gun is shot at me, my system jams that gun and warns me. I can slow my car down, then make it visible to the gun for a more acceptable speed measurement. It's saved by butt a number of times, one time from a really bad one in which I was really flying.

This would diminish the value of GPS. I don't know off hand if other brands tell you how many sources there are, but the Valentine does, which would be helpful in these situations. And yes, it picks up a lot of non-enforcement signals... but you've gotta love them arrows: in many cases you instantly know where to look and how to react (or not.)

By the way, how extensive is the position the Escort GPS determines as being "the same"? Could an enforcement source be conveniently positioned just outside that range?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/28/2011 10:35AM by Laz. (view changes)

A good question, with a pretty complex answer unfortunately. You really need to know how True Lock (that's what escort calls it) works to understand.

True Lock works by measuring both the location of the car, and the frequency of the radar source. If the system sees the same frequency in the same location three times in a row, it assumes it must be a false signal and memorizes it, assuming you have the Auto Learn feature on. If not, then you need to manually identify false signal source by tapping the mute button three times.

My detector has memorized the two radar operated door openers at my local grocery store. So lets assume a LEO (Law Enforcement Officer) parks near this source with his radar on. This actually happens all the time to me, because the police department is right next to the grocery store. For True Lock to ignore the legitimate signal, a few things would have to happen.

1. The police radar must be at the same frequency, or very close to the same frequency as the memorized false signal. The chances of this are very slim.
2. If the frequency were the same, the police radar source would also need to be the same power output as the door opener or it would extend outside the True Lock circle and trigger a response. Speed measuring radar is a LOT more powerful than the radar used by door openers. My detector will pick up a real K band signal (the band the door openers use) a mile away or more. I pick up the door openers only a hundred yards away or so.

For the most part, the Seymour (my home town) police use Ka band, which is very different in frequency from the K band door openers. But there are some K band devices in use too, and they do set my detector off if there. My Escort does tell me how many sources there are, and in this situation I can see three, two that are pretty weak, one that's pegged full strength. (For this, you have to enable the 'Expert Meter' which will provide a separate signal strength for up to 8 sources.)

In the beginning, when Escort had this technology in the 9500i, the True Lock would lock out a wide range of the frequency, which could open a big vulnerability. They corrected that with a firmware/software update. I followed this topic for a long time at a web forum dedicated to radar detectors, called radardetector.net. Lots of radar experts there. All of the V1 fans were making a big deal out of this vulnerability, but that was years ago. These units have been out there for a long time and I have yet to read a single report of anyone getting a ticket because of this claimed vulnerability, and I've driven 36,000 miles with mine and never experienced a black out myself.

As you can imagine, I get a lot of alerts there because every time a cop leaves his gun on, another signal is present.

Gator Bite / Mike Souza - PCA Cayman Register Advocate



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/28/2011 11:02AM by Gator Bite. (view changes)

Minus 40 degrees... Is that Fahrenheit or Celsius?

manned all the time. A location certainly gets the rep for being a trap due to the heavy use the bears give that location but they'll not use it all the time. In one particular hot spot (at the bottom of the grade coming into Castro Valley on I-580 just under the highway info sign) that is a favorite of the CHP -- there were *two* patrol cars there this AM -- but it is open for business one maybe 2 times a week I pass there out of 5 to 7 times a week.

I'm sticking with my V1.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

Tackle the subject of "laser jamming".

That would be informative. I can assure you, it's not a myth. I've personally held and shot laser guns at cars when I was training on this subject. Counter measures work, but they do vary widely in effectiveness. The K-40 is about the worst, jamming 1 or 2 of the guns out there, and only at long range. The Laser Interceptors are indisputably the best, thanks to their laser diode emitters, jamming almost every gun at any distance. Others like the Escort and Blinders that use infrared LED emitters jam most guns reasonably well at ranges of 400' and more.

Jamming is not exact though. There are many variables, including vehicle size, reflectivity (is that a word), color, shape, etc... Larger cars with more surface area are harder to cloak. Metallic painted cars are harder to cloak. Smaller darker cars are easier to cloak. Porsches have a lot of curves and very little chrome, to they are reasonably easy to cloak.

Perhaps there are more recent tests that have different results, but with so few "JTG" (jam to gun) results here I'm not getting a real warm and fuzzy;[www.guysoflidar.com]. I guess it all boils down to one's comfort level and what brand of guns the LEOs are using.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/28/2011 03:33PM by steve on hhi. (view changes)

“Anything really new is invented only in one’s youth. Later, one becomes more experienced, more famous – and more stupid.” - Albert Einstein

Yup... My first post and already causing trouble.... I'm sure to take a beat down from the V1 disciples.....

Question for you.... What does *NM* in the subject mean?

Gator Bite / Mike Souza - PCA Cayman Register Advocate



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/28/2011 09:58AM by Gator Bite. (view changes)

Quote
Gator Bite
Yup... My first post and already causing trouble.... I'm sure to take a beat down from the V1 disciples.....

Question for you.... What does *NM* in the subject mean?

No Message - just the title line.

Welcome to Pedro's Board, Gator Bite - another familiar face.

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

---

Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

That's why my message was taking so long to post.

// is that there is much disagreement, but few that are disagreeable. Honest exchange of ideas.

What a concept. Congress should try it (oops, that's the old place)

Grant

Getting back on topic, I have had a Valentine for over 10 years. I have passed older units down to my son and have upgraded to current technology with their upgrade program. The price during all these years has been $399 which was expensive when I first bought but now seems middle of the pack. I have all my cars hard wired for the detector and have window mounts for each. The arrows as mentioned once you have them you can't live without. You can set the sensitivity to weed out a lot of false signals also. I haven't had a speeding ticket in 15 years which is pretty amazing the way I drive sometimes and while the detector is a great help, common sense in it's use is the main reason to avoid traps and tickets. Highly recommend this detector.

Wow thanks for all of the input. Please keep anymore info coming as I'll be driving "unprotected" while researching my options!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/28/2011 10:54AM by Ruby. (view changes)

I have a V1 mounted in all my vehicles and can't imagine driving without one. Neither it, nor the company that made it, has ever let me down.

Here's a review that I wrote up two years ago, when I first got me 9500ci. It contains a lot of great information that is very relevant to this discussion. I've shared this at a few various forums, and to answer your question, no I don't work for Escort, nor did I receive anything for this review. I just love to document my projects and share them with my fellow car enthusiast friends. I've done articles like this on many different accessories I've tried. Sometimes good, sometimes bad, always informative.

Because I originally wrote this for a vBulletin forum, I had to significantly massage the coding to work here. That may have caused an issue or two that I haven't seen. If you have any comments or questions, please let me know.

Enjoy.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ESCORT Passport 9500ci

I remember it like it was yesterday. I’m referring of course to my first two weeks in my Cayman S. As one of the few Americans that had checked the ‘European Delivery’ option box, I had the rare opportunity to explore the limits of my new Porsche without the fear of legal complications. That’s right…. I was on the German autobahn, the A-31 to be exact, and I had just passed one of those nifty ‘No Speed Limit’ signs. I leaned into the throttle and let the speedometer climb.



My new Cayman S eagerly passed 200 km/h (125 mph), approximately twice the speed limit back home, and it had so much more to offer. Later the speed limit dropped to 100 km/h (~65 mph). It felt like we were crawling and I had to make a real conscious effort to obey law. I knew at that moment that my driving record would be in serious jeopardy once I got this car back home. Over the next two weeks, while tearing up the German countryside, it became painfully clear to me that I would have to buy and install the very best speeding ticket counter measures available. I spent a year researching this topic and found that there are many outstanding products. I ultimately had to choose the combination that I felt would best protect me, my wallet and my license. For a number of reasons, I believe the the new Passport 9500ci from Escort is the clear choice.


Why I chose the 9500ci:

The decision to buy a $1,599 defense system isn’t one anyone should make lightly. The list of reasons to do so is so long that I could easily write a ten page essay about them. For this review, I'll provide a brief outline of the most compelling reasons.



The 9500ci incorporates a long list of innovations that represent the most significant leap forward in radar detector design ever. All of those innovations center around the addition of GPS technology. By adding GPS technology to a radar detector, many new features become possible including:

True Lock Filtering* - By adding GPS location information to Escort's digital signal processor, the 9500ci can memorize the exact frequency and location of false radar sources when prompted by the user. Once memorized, the 9500ci will ignore those specific false alarms on subsequent passes though their location. This makes the 9500ci more selective and less intrusive than any detector ever made.

Adaptive Signal Processing* (Auto Mode) - By knowing your vehicle's actual speed, the sensitivity of the 9500ci can be attenuated when moving slowly. We don't really need 1 mile of range when moving across a parking lot at 15 mph. Below 45 mph, the 9500ci reacts with reduced sensitivity, further improving its selectivity.

Auto Learn / Unlearn* - A simple but brilliant companion to True Lock, Auto Learn and Auto Unlearn will watch for repeated false signals. When it sees the same frequency in the same place three times in a row, it automatically memorizes it as a false alarm and lets True Lock take over. Pass that location once with that signal absent and it automatically unlocks the combination. This makes the 9500ci the most intuitive and easy to use detector on the market. Set it, forget it and focus on the next set of turns.

*True Lock, Auto Mode and Auto Learn/Unlearn work only on X and K band because Ka band is almost always a speed trap and Ka radar guns represent the highest radar risk. Brilliant..!

Auto Mute & Smart Mute - Auto Mute automatically reduces alert volume after 10 seconds. Smart Mute keeps the detector quiet by delivering only two alert tones followed by silence if you're moving at less than 20 mph. These two features make the few false signals that do get through easy to deal with.

Speed Alert - Because the 9500ci knows your speed, it can easily share this info in its display window when under attack, providing users with one central and easy place to look for all needed information under such conditions (mph or km/h).

Traffic Camera Defense - Knowing a vehicle's location makes yet another dimension of protection possible. By comparing your location with a database of registered traffic cameras, the 9500ci can warn you about nearby red light and speed cameras (coming to an intersection near you soon). These threats use sensors in the pavement to calculate your speed which makes them invisible to conventional radar detectors. The 9500ci comes with a 3 year subscription to database updates. They are easily downloaded from the internet and uploaded to the detector through a USB port.

Dual Horn M3 Antenna - Because of the 9500ci’s new found ability to limit false signals, the Escort engineers were allowed and encouraged to let the sensitivity genie out of the bottle. They created and equipped the 9500ci with a new hyper sensitive dual aperture antenna designated the 'M3'. This antenna provides the 9500ci with incredible sensitivity, sensitivity that surpasses that of every other radar detector on the market (according to my research and many side by side comparisons done by the members of www.RadarDetector.net, an online forum like this one dedicated to radar/laser technology).

RDD Immunity - The 9500ci is one of only three detectors on the planet that are completely invisible to all available Radar Detector Detectors including the very effective Spectre IV. (As of April 2009. The other two invisible detectors are the Beltronics STi and STi-R.)

Multifunction Pilot Display - Escort provides several different pilot display modes (what's displayed when not under attack). Beyond the expected radar detector status, the 9500ci can display your actual speed in mph or km/h, or it can display true vehicle voltage. Since our 987s don't have a voltage meter, the voltage option provides a nice bonus feature.

ZR-4 Lidar Detection & Shifting - The 9500i includes Escort's ZR-4 front & rear Lidar (Laser) Shifting (Jamming) technology that makes small cars like the Cayman completely invisible to lidar guns. This is the only truly effective way to buy time against the laser guns that are growing in popularity so quickly.



High performance radar detection, laser detection, laser shifting and traffic camera warning all in one package. The 9500ci is indisputably the most complete electronic counter measure package available. No other product even comes close. In fact, you'd have to mix three or more competing products and you'd still be missing many of the benefits that make the 9500ci great.

The 9500ci isn't cheap. But neither are speeding tickets. The way I see it, if this thing saves me from one ticket, it's worth the price of admission. I'm going to spend this money one way or the other. I'm either going to give it to Escort and get something of value for my money, or I'm going to give it to the Centralized Infractions Bureau and/or my insurance company and get nothing for my money. I chose the former.

My Installation:

So it's clear that the 9500ci is very sophisticated. In order to provide the protection it does, the system is made up of many pieces. The fact that the product has been broken into many pieces is good and bad. It’s bad from an installation stand point because each piece requires labor and installation considerations. It’s good from an installation stand point because it makes a more optimal installation possible. To understand that statement, I guess I have to define ‘Optimal Installation’.

An Optimal Installation is a very subjective term and one that is important for every detector buyer to think about. Every user and every installer will have a different set of installation requirements and/or goals. Those goals may include attributes like performance, cosmetic appearance, price, functionality and ease of use, profitability, invisibility of device, convenience of install, portability, etc…. Here is my list of priorities, in descending order of importance.

1. Performance – This detector is being installed to protect me. Performance is more important to me than install convenience, cost or appearance.
2. Functionality – I want a protection device that is easy to use. I do not want it to negatively impact my driving experience.
3. Appearance – My Cayman is a dream car to me. I am not willing to litter it with gaudy aftermarket devices. I'm willing to make minor sacrifices here if needed to gain performance and/or functionality.
4. Invisibility – I want this device to be as discrete as possible. I don’t want it to draw the attention of potential thieves or nosy law enforcement officers. A highly visible detector can result in a broken window or unwanted legal attention.

Sometimes these attributes will conflict with one another and/or require some compromise.


Radar and Lidar Receiver/Shifters:

Keeping my priority list in mind, I have decided to mount my radar receiver in the lower opening of the front bumper with clear line of sight forward. This mounting style will provide the absolute best radar detection performance, while sacrificing a little bit of cosmetic appeal because the radar receiver will be visible. In an attempt to make the visual impact of the radar receiver as minimal as possible, I sought to flush mount it into the opening trim cup.

Radar waves will pass through non metallic objects, but not without some reflection of the radios waves. The radar operated door opener at your local grocery store see enough of a reflection from your body to recognize your presences, and you're not made of metal. So placing the radar head behind an object, even if non metallic, will result in a muted signal. How much difference does it make, that's hard to say.

If you don’t mind slightly reduced performance, you may want to consider installing your radar receiver behind the nose. The radar receiver could easily be attached to the bottom of the aluminum bumper cross member, which is perfectly level and would require no mechanical fabrication.

The Lidar transceivers work completely differently. The lidar gun works by reflecting infrared light off of your car. It is imperative that the lidar receiver/transmitters be mounted with a clear view of the road ahead. To determine the optimal location for the lidar transceivers, the use of the lidar gun needs to be considered. Police are trained to shoot at the license plate, center mass or headlights because these areas are most likely to provide the needed reflection. So, the ideal location would be on a horizontal plane that is vertically centered between the headlights and center mass (license plate) location, horizontally centering each transceiver between the center of the headlight and the center of the car. Unfortunately, this location is not practical on the Cayman as it would put the shifters right in the middle of the painted nose panel.

Here's a picture of my car (gamma adjusted so you can see the black on black parts) showing the ideal lidar transceiver location (Yellow), where I mounted my lidar transceivers (Red) and where I mounted my radar receiver (Blue).



Though my Lidar Transceivers are not in the ideal location, I'm confident they will be very effective. The Cayman has a small frontal area, and it's nose is a constant curve with no straight reflective surfaces. The Cayman will be a tricky target for any lidar gun, even without electronic counter measures. With all of those curves, any reflection will be weak, making it easier for the shifters to do their thing.


Rear Lidar Receiver/Shifter:

When shooting at the back of a car, the license plate is the only real reliable target. This makes the mounting of the rear Lidar Receiver/Shifter real easy. The device is created to screw right to the top edge of a US license plate. Oh thank God, a part that I won't have to customize....




GPS Antenna:

Like a GPS navigation device, this antenna needs a clear view upward into the sky so it can see the global positioning satellites. This antenna can be mounted outside of the vehicle on an exterior panel, on the dash top, on the included windshield mount, or anywhere that its upward view is not obstructed by metal.

Keeping my goals in mind, I took it a step further and decided to hide my GPS sensor. I chose to install it under the plastic cowl between the windshield and hood, close to where Porsche themselves would have mounted their GPS antenna if my car was equipped with factory navigation.



This location worked out very nicely. My 9500ci gets a satellite lock very quickly and hangs on to it even deep into parking garages.


Display Module:

I sat in my car and experimented with many display locations. Finding one that I liked was a challenge. Part of me really wanted to get creative and make this thing invisible, but performance and functionality were more important.

For optimal functionality, this display should be easy to see without making a special trip with your eyes. When under a radar or laser attack, the first thing a driver will do is look at their speedometer, to determine if they’re at risk. So finding a location near the speedometer made the most sense. After many considerations, I chose to mount my display on top of the steering column, which places it nicely in line with the other instruments.



After some experimentation, I found that standing it off of the column cover by 0.175 inches provided the perfect height (for me). Depending on your height and preferred seating / steering wheel positions, your mileage may vary.

If you like your wheel all the way up, you may not like this location. I recommend that you test it with your favorite seat/steering wheel position before making any modifications. Place the dispaly on top of the column while sitting in the car and have a look.

Keep in mind that the 9500ci has a feature called 'Auto Speed'. If enabled, the 9500ci will display your actual speed in its display before switching to its signal strength meter. With this in mind, you can get more creative with your display location and still receive all of the needed info in one place.


Control Module:

When considering a location for my control module, functionality came first. As a long time detector user, I understand how important it is to be able to access the Mute button and other controls easily. I experimented with many locations. During this experimentation I realized that the Escort control head matches our interior very nicely. The control is black, like the buttons on our dash, and its buttons closely match the volcano grey trim.

The control head looks very nice against the dash panel of a 2006-2008 Cayman. I also couldn’t help but notice how nicely the control fits between my Sport and PSM buttons. If only I could flush the unit into that location… After a lot of hard thinking and some exploratory surgery, this is what I came up with:




Power Button & Amplified Speaker:

Because I flush mounted my control head, I made it impossible to push to the power button, which is located on top of the module. Access to the power button is necessary to apply product updates and to alter the power state. So I relocated the power button.

The speaker challenged me. I was surprised to find that the dash boards in our Caymans are packed tightly with components and offer very few 'Optimal' locations for something like this. I really don’t want to see the speaker, but I certainly need to hear it. The speaker has a small amplifier inside that's pretty potent, so you don't necessarily have to do what I did to be able to hear it. Once again, I took the custom route and mounted my speaker here:



I came pretty close to sacrificing my center speaker, but ultimately I was not willing to lose any factory functionality. If your car is not equipped with a center speaker (base level 987 w/standard sound package), I would recommend you buy a factory center speaker and wire it into the Escort amplifier. That would be very cool.


Remote USB Port:

The 9500ci kit includes a remote USB port. Easy access to this port is necessary for updating the 9500's traffic camera database and to apply any product updates that may come available.

I’ve seen a lot of folks mount these under the dashboard or in the fuse panel. I sort of suspect that if this system was a factory option, Porsche wouldn’t make us drop to our knees to find the update port, and if they did there would be no end to the complaining on web forums like the Cayman Club. So I refused to go under dash and tried to find a location that would be more consistent with what Porsche would have done. I mounted mine in the glove box. It’s easy to find, easy to access and out of sight when the door is closed:




Central Interface:

This device acts as the brains of the detector. All of the devices plug into this central location. It does not have to be accessible or visible. Because this part needs power, and because many wires will enter the passenger compartment on the Driver’s side, I have decided to mount mine under the driver side dashboard, in front of the fuse panel where I can also easily access a power and ground source.


Software Update:

Once my detector was installed, I registered it on Escort's website. This is a simple process that takes only a few minutes. Once registered, I was able to download their 'Detector Tools' application. It was easy to find and easy to install. Once installed, I took my laptop out to my car and parked outside my window, where my wireless router is. As I proceeded through the update process for the first time, I learned that I didn't need to do this. You don't need a wireless connection. You can download the updates, then take the laptop to the car and load them.

The 'Detector Tools' software is intuitive. There are several pages. The first page/tab presents two options to you.



I downloaded a new firmware, version 1.3, and a new camera database, dated 3/16/2009 (the day before) and used Detector Tools to apply each. I found the updating process took longer than I expected, but hardly anything to complain about. Same for the firmware. The 'Detector Tools' reads the detector, then merges the new data with your True Lock and Marked locations, then writes the new data file to the detector, and then verifies the new file. I'd say applying the new database took about 2-3 minutes.

There are other tab pages that allow the user to erase True Lock and Marker locations, and another page that allows you to set the detectors options with a simple graphic user interface. They're all pretty easy to figure out.

I would like to see Escort improve the 'Detector Tools' a little. I wasn't able to find the current version of firmware or database that were already in my 9500ci. It's very possible that my detector already had firmware version 1.3. I would also like to see some improved compatibility for my Mac using friends. Fortunately, now that Escort has taken this technology to cyber space, these two upgrades are not only possible but probable.


Driving Impressions (0-100 miles):

Once I made that final connection, I anxiously ventured out into the world to test this new setup. Along my first ride there are several false radar sources. The first is an X-band traffic monitor on the highway. As suspected, but still somewhat to my surprise, the 9500ci warned me at least twice as far away as my SRX would have, so much earlier that I actually slowed down because I literally thought it was a different source.

Later in the ride, I was passing a CVS pharmacy that has two K-band door openers. Once again, the 9500ci blew my SRX out of the water alerting me at least 2, maybe 3 times as far away. I had to double back past this point, during which I used the True Lock for the first time. It's super easy to use. You press the mute button once, the detector goes quiet and 'MUTE' is temporarily displayed. Press it again and the 9500ci say, "Lockout this location?" and the word 'Lockout?' is displayed. Press it again and it says, "Stored". It's as easy as that. On the way back home, when I had to pass this location for the third time, the detector remained quiet, but I could see the little satellite spinning as it acquired the signal. This was very cool.

The next day I took the car out again, this time on a pretty long ride. I found the 9500ci to be more noisy than my SRX, simply because I rarely drive with X-band on with my SRX. I've left X-band on in the 9500ci because I want to be exposed to as many signals as possible right now, so I can learn the detector and become one with it. This is an important step that should be done with any new detector. Because the 9500ci can learn the X-band false signals, I am going to try to leave it on and let it learn its way into silence.

The voice prompts and audio tones of the 9500ci are well thought out. Each band has a very distinct tone, brap, double brap etc.. that helps identify the attack. Escort has also provided the 9500ci with a pleasant female voice that loves to talk (typical female ) and her vocabulary is vast. While driving you may hear, "brap - K Band - brap - brap", or " brap/brap - Ka Band - brap/brap - brap/brap...." I entered a parking garage and as I hit the 3rd level I heard, "GPS signal is lost". As I approached the top level, "GPS signal acquired". The voice prompts have been significantly improved compared to the 9500ci's predecessor, the Passport SRX. Still, if you don't like them they can easily be disabled in the preferences menu.

I was a little worried about the Automatic Display Brightness. I didn't feel that it worked well when I was bench testing the 9500ci. But in the car, in natural light, it's spot on. It uses a light sensor to measure the ambient light and it adjusts the brightness of the display accordingly. I also like the fact that there is a manual brightness control. You can chose one of 4 different brightnesses, ranging from dark to bright, or put it back in auto mode. In retrospect, I realize that the because the 9500ci has such communicative audio and such vast brightness control, I could have considered other options with my display (in the rear view mirror, hidden, low, etc..).

Driving Impressions (Long Term):

It's become clear to me that this thing is incredibly sensitive. On X band, it's sensitivity is borderline ridiculous. It's finding X band sources that my SRX never knew about. In fact, the 9500ci has found so many X band sources that I'm amazed that we don't glow in the dark from radiation exposure.

I've made a cool discovery. If you drive in 'AutoNoX' mode, the detector will not alert you to X band sources (obviously), but it's still watching for them and automatically learning them as false signals. I keep seeing, "STORED", as I pass each X band source for the third time. This is great for a new owners. Once it's had some time to learn my routes, then I'll switch back to 'Highway' mode and let True Lock do it's thing.

True Lock is learning and the detector is getting very quiet. I absolutely love the fact that I can go to my local grocery store / bank / gas station without hearing an alert about their door openers. Honestly, this is one of the reasons I didn't want a detector in my Cayman, because I didn't want to have to deal with the constants false signals. It's going to be painful to drive my other car with the SRX in it (the SRX has saved me so many times, I actually feel guilty writing this).

I've had the 9500ci in my car for 2 years now, and it's saved me from dozens of radar traps, and many lidar traps in which I was the targetted car and was moving at a pace that would have definitely resulted in an invitation to pay more taxes.

The Bad and Ugly:

No product is perfect, not even our beloved Porsches, and no product review is complete without discussing a product's weaknesses. So here's where I think the 9500ci can be improved, where other users think it falls short and what I think any potential buyer should know before purchase.

It's not easy to criticize the 9500ci. If Escort asked me how they could improve this thing, I think the first recommendation that I'd make is for them to smooth out the audio ramp up. It seems slightly non linear to me. When I talk about ramp up, I am referring to the speed of the signal strength tones. They increase in speed as the signal strength increases. To me, and to several other users out there, it seems like the 9500ci ramps up its audio nicely from signal strength 1 to 6, but once it steps past 6 it seems to go right to 10. I'd like to see them smooth this out a little. It's important to understand that the visual signal strength meter does not share this behavior. It seems very linear.

Another very minor annoyance that I've noticed is that once you're receiving a signal, you cannot change the sensitivity mode until that signal is gone. It would be nice to be able to activate 'AutoNoX' when you find yourself in the middle of a pile of X band sources. As it is, you need to press Mute, wait until you're away from the signals, then change the sensitivity.

My last suggestion would be to make Detector Tools able to identify the firmware revision that is already in our detectors and to make it easier to delete Marked locations.

I'd like to point out that True Lock has received some pretty strong criticism. There are those out there that insist that it's junk because it could potentially lock out a legitimate law enforcement officer. I simply can't agree. I think this is a fan boy statement coming from those that are so in love with their lesser detector that they simply can't see that True Lock is the most brilliant innovation to ever find its way into radar detectors. Can True Lock lock out a real LEO? Sure it can. But I see the risk associated with this as microscopic compared to the monumental benefits that True Lock delivers. I do believe that it is very important for every user to fully understand how True Lock works, and to use common sense when manually locking out sources and/or when driving in areas where sources have been locked out. If you can do that, in my opinion, there is no risk.


Summary:

The science of speed measurement and traffic citations is changing fast. Police are popping up all over with lidar guns and profit driven companies are pushing the sale of red light and speed cameras all over the USA. These new technologies make the radar detectors of yesterday dangerously incomplete. An incomplete detector can be worse than no detector at all because it can provide its owners with a false sense of security that may lead them blazing right into an ambush.

The 9500ci is Escort's greatest achievement, and at this point in time the most sensitive radar detector on the planet. Beyond being the most sensitive, it's also the most selective. This is very important because sensitivity without selectivity is also dangerous (The boy who cried wolf). True lock makes the 9500ci a detector you can trust. When it speaks up, you know you'd better listen.

Auto Learn and Adaptive Sensitivity make it so easy to use and so accurate that you can take a 9500ci for a ride without sacrificing your driving experience. This is important because a detector that requires constant fiddling ends up in the glove box. The 9500ci is simply the very best detector I've ever seen. It's not perfect, but it's so damn close that I think every Porsche should come with one as standard equipment. Until that day, thank God we've got the engineers at Escort looking out for us.


Note: My original article is humongous (>50,000 characters). I have shared an abbreviated version here that does not contain details about my installation. If you are interested in the installation pictures and details, please see my Complete Article at the PCA Cayman Register.

Great review; now if I could only justify the cost to the one who must be obeyed

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steve on hhi
n/t

Thank you. It wasn't exactly a walk in the park, but that's because I tend to me pretty fastidious (nice way of saying 'anal retentive'). I have a lot of experience with this kind of work, so this job was fun. I did it as a winter project, so I really can't say how long it took me. Little bits and pieces over 2 months.

Here are some snap shots of from the install process.

Wish I would have been using it a week ago when I got stopped. It's saved me many times in the past though, and the gps aspects of it are extremely useful. I don't have any experience with the V1, so I can't compare. Honestly, I don't think I've ever heard complaints from escort people or from V1 people though. Most seem happy with whichever they have.

Although I do use a radar detector, Escort/Passport; I depend primarily on the Mark I detector (eyeballs) and Mark II detector (common sense).

In my old age, I just pay the fine and move on.

In my red 914 and at the age of 27-28, I was always on the verge of losing my license and they only ticketed me half the times they stopped me. In my silver Porsches with my thinning hair, never even been stopped. I think it has to do with some learned behavior..knowing where they are and when you have to be careful. I do have an old radar detector lying around somewhere, haven't bothered to use or update it in years.

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Spanky
In my old age, I just pay the fine and move on.

In my area, one ticket could cost several thousands of dollars. It's not just the fines, but the increased insurance rates that follow for 3-5 years. Plus, in CT, if you are more than 30 MPH over the limit, it's an automatic license suspension plus reckless driving (criminal offense, not traffic).

Keep in mind that most of our highway speed limits here are 55 mph, and the average flow of traffic is 75 mph. You don't have to be a menace to society to do 86 mph (11 mph more than the flow of traffic), but go through a speed trap at that speed and you will be treated like one. I know because it happened to me (many years ago). The fines and lawyer fees alone cost me $1,300. Then my insurance company had their way with me for a few years, charging me $3,900 a year to insure my 944 Turbo (basic coverage).

Today, I pay <$900 a year to insure my Cayman S with all sorts of coverage. I'd like to keep it that way but there have been times when I've succumb to the temptation of the Cayman S. It doesn't take that car very long to put you into license endangering speeds. It can go from zero to suspended in less than 10 seconds. I figured it was just a matter of time before I'd get busted, and figured I'd spend this money either way. Either I'll give it to the courts and my insurance company, or spend it on myself and get some value out of it. I went for the second option.