Trying to choose: Bel RX 65 or ESCORT X50

**Darcy** · 09-20-2005, 04:39 PM

I've read the details on both detectors and will be ordering one next week from RR.

I really like the look of the blue LED on the Escort X50 and although the appearance isn't THAT important, it's worth the $10 difference for me.

I never intend to use the voice option on the RX65, and understand that both detectors are made by the same company and have the same performance.

The only thing that concerns me is the Ku band already avail on the RX65 and not so on the X50. I read on RR's site that Escort intends to allow a firmware upgrade on the X50 to handle this and the whole purpose of this post is to find out:

If the X50 needs the upgrade, do I have to buy data cables to do the upgrade via my computer, or do I have to mail the unit to Escort for this upgrade? How long do Escort intend to wait until this upgrade is available? I'm in Canada (in a nonlegal province), so I don't suspect Ku is going to be a threat soon - but I would appreciate knowing just what the upgrade to the X50 entails before I buy the X50.

Also, if it's not too much to ask: I intend to hardwire my detector to my 12V adapter, but also want to use the 12V to charge my MP3 player. Are typical 12V adapters capable of handling more than one device at once? For the record, it's an '02 Honda Civic.

Thanks all, I've been learning a lot from this site.

**X50 Radar Kid** · 09-20-2005, 05:41 PM

I personally went with the blue 8500 X50 for my choice. I asked escort about upgrading the KU band on it and they said if KU ever comes to the US then they are the ones that put it on their. I recommend getting the 2 extra years of warranty....because you have then 3 years of protection and if KU comes out all you have to pay is $5 to ship it to Escort or Roy and no other costs are needed because you have a warranty.
If you like the blue leds now you will love them when you get it and see them in real life. They are so cool at night too. I am sure that your 12V adapter would work for you.....if should be enough power. The cobra radar detectors include one of those ....so I would imagine that they are intended to share a power source with another device. You could always just hardwire your detector to your fuse panel and then just always be able to use that power source for something else. Oh well....hope this helps. If you have any other questions let me know. But I say go for the X50 you will love the Expertmeter as well....that tells you of 2 K's 2 Ka's and 4 X signals. 8) Isaac 8)

Longsnowsm · 09-20-2005, 07:49 PM

The performance leader between the Belscorts is the RX65. That would be my choice if I were comparing the two. GOL showed that the RX65 is a pretty decent RD. I was a little disappointed by the X50's results.

Longsnowsm

**Joe** · 09-20-2005, 09:15 PM

The expert meter on the X50 is nice, but you can get similar on the RX65 though not exactly the same. The X50 looks better. If you look at the testing the RX65 did great! The voice is a nice feature, but the Ku possability and the increased volume on the RX65 make it my choice.

I have been to Corydon, if I remember correctly the first capital of Indiana???

**stealthJamal** · 09-20-2005, 09:45 PM

I would choose the RX65 over the X50. This is based on my personal experience with both detectors and the Guys of Lidar test results.

After I got my X50(my 3rd one from Escort finally worked right, but thats another issue) I went for a drive and found Ka band. After countless encounters(close encounters) with Ka band I thought to myself, I received more warning on Ka with my older original passport 8500(Rev 15). I switched back and forth for awhile and compared them for months. I determined that my 8500 detected Ka better than my X50 and my X50 detectetd K band better than my 8500. For the longest time I thought to myself how the hell could this be?!?!? According to Escort the X50 is supposed to have "up to 50% more range than the original 8500 on the all important K and Ka bands". Then at the GOL test I saw the 8500 outperform the X50 in Ka band(I was riding in the backseat of the test vehicle). I said to everyone I know I wasn't smoking crack, and I had my proof. I'm surprised more people aren't upset about Escort's false advertising on the X50 since a good number of people got upset at another company that sells countermeasures for false advertising.

Earlier in the year TheVeilGuy was nice enough to loan me a RX65 to try out. That was very nice of TheVeilGuy to do that. After driving with it for about a month the RX65 seemed to have the same K band detection as the X50, but I noticed the Ka detection was better. I ran it with Ka USA mode. The earliest possible alert to radar is the most important feature to look for when shopping for a detector in my opinion. What I did not like about the RX65 is the display and the alert tones. The RX65 display will only show you 1 signal for each bands. The X50 will show 2 for Ka, 2 for K and 4 for X. RX65 tones do not increase in rate or ramp up like the X50, so it is difficult to tell how strong the radar signal is without looking at the display on the RX65. The X50 has better tones if you can hear them. Most X50 users run the detector in Loud tones mode. Overall I like the RX65 better because of it's greater Ka detection range which is very important to me to avoid a ticket.

**Darcy** · 09-21-2005, 04:56 AM

Thanks everybody, tough decision still. But having to send the X50 in for an upgrade is swaying me to the RX65. If the X50 came with the Ku band already, then it's sold.
I'd like to hear Escort's take on why they can't simply start supplying their units ready for this...do they have a customer relations email addy where I can ask this, or maybe get a Ku-ready model?
The blue LED appeals THAT much to me. Otherwise, the RX65 is a slam dunk.

Anyone know if Ku is going to be coming to Canada soon?

**nvr2fast** · 09-21-2005, 06:11 AM

Everyone is comparing the RX65 in USA mode (not INTL mode) versus the X50 (which is always INTL mode).

In USA mode, it only detects the 3 USA frequencies, it won't detect photo radar at all, or if the gun has fallen out of calibration it won't detect it either, or if there is a new gun with a different frequency in KA it won't detect it again.

I would be MOST interested to see how the RX65 in INTL mode versus the X50 (in INTL mode) compare... since both of the new revisions of RX65/X50 share the same horn antenna, i bet they will be much closer... or the X50 will in fact warn EARLIER. I did tests against photo radar and the X50 in fact warned EARLIER than the RX65 with video, so go figure.

**The Walt** · 09-21-2005, 07:46 AM

You know, if blue LEDs mean that much to you, then you will probably always regret not having them if you go with the RX65. In your shoes, I would go with the X50, but that's just me.

So you you *might* end up having to send it in. You'll miss it for a couple weeks, but you'll always have your blue lights.

My 2 Cents...

**squonk** · 09-21-2005, 08:22 AM

When I was looking, I really liked the blue LED idea too. I thought that would look cool. BUT, if I was going to spend over $200 on a detector I wanted the best possible protection. So I went with the RX65. Being in NY state I wanted really good detection of Ka too to pick up the staties and I am VERY glad I got the RX65. Just this morning I got a Ka alert. 20 seconds later..............state trooper coming the other direction...................love this detector sooooooo much.......the display could be orange, green, blue, red, yellow.............don't really care now that I have seen it perform.

**Arashi666** · 09-21-2005, 08:45 AM

I dont know about all that stuff about the bands and all that other stuff, but I got an X50 in red to save some $$$$, but I hated the way it blended with my greenish/blue instruments so I returned it for a blue and was happy. As for the lighter plug, I got a quad-socket adaptor and I run my X50, my cell phone charger, and my light-up sign (I'm a delivery driver for Papa Johns) and they all still run fine, this is all in my CL (the same wiring as a '97 Accord Coupe 4-cyl)