POP on x50 -- Other questions

[maskellxx]

1. "The Passport 9500i, Passport 8500 X50 and Passport 7500S each have a selectable POP feature, so POP mode radar detection can be switched on or off as desired. You may notice an increase in Ka-band false alerts when POP mode radar detection is switched on. "
- Escort Radar

I live in Maryland, and have not turned my POP on yet. First of all I do not even know if they have POP in MD. I am curious, when turning your POP mode on did you indeed revieve more false alerts? Is it worth it to turn on?

2. Are "Loud Tones" actually louder then Standard tones? I listen to music fairly loud often and can't seem to hear it too well.

[Obsidian]

I received more X band falses when I had Pop enabled on the X50. I don't remember any Ka falses on the X50 ever.

Yes, the loud settings are louder. It's still hard to hear with the windows down and the music turned up though.

-Obsidian-

[maskellxx]

Just went out and put it on. Can tell it's a bit more ear catching, I dono I will see tomorrow when I get alerts.
Were any of your POP alerts true?

And what exactly does the expert mode and scanning dot give you?

I don't find the instruction manual much help lol.
Plus. WE ARE MEN. WE DON'T NEED NO DAMN DIRECTIONS!!

[CactusMan]

Just went out and put it on. Can tell it's a bit more ear catching, I dono I will see tomorrow when I get alerts.
Were any of your POP alerts true?

And what exactly does the expert mode and scanning dot give you?

I don't find the instruction manual much help lol.
Plus. WE ARE MEN. WE DON'T NEED NO *BEEP* DIRECTIONS!!

I believe turning POP off lessens alerts on K band. The scanning dot is just for entertainment.

[nascar]

And what exactly does the expert mode give you?

I like Expert mode to see if there are multiple signals especially on different bands. I rode up on an X YSI sign and a 1/4 mile beyond it was a LEO running K. I was able to see both the X and the K and knew there was a real threat lurking ahead.

[TSi+WRX]

I live in Maryland, and have not turned my POP on yet. First of all I do not even know if they have POP in MD. I am curious, when turning your POP mode on did you indeed revieve more false alerts? Is it worth it to turn on?

For me, this question is two-fold.

First, is there POP-enabled hardware in your area.

And second, more importantly, is POP actually being actively USED. Just because the hardware is available doesn't mean that it's used. There's proof of this even locally where I live - a near-by township owns the equipment and their officers are trained for it, but, thanks to the ride-along that a fellow Forum member took, it was noted that they confessed to simply never bothering to use that function.

Unfortunately, the only way to really know whether the second concern is valid would be to verify, through a primary source, whether or not POP is in-use. This can understandably be difficult.

[ Note that while having a tandem-vehicle, dual detector scenario (i.e. one car with POP-off, other with POP-on) would rule-out false positives, it cannot conclusively rule-out a false negative (i.e. neither detector reporting POP, but POP actually being used) - the only way to truly ascertain whether POP is in use is to visually identify the equipment, then have a confession from its operator whether POP was used at the moment it was detected. ]

As-such, you have to evaluate your risk-benefit ratio.

With my x50 Rev5, I do get occasional POP falses. They're annoying, and, to an extent, they also make me somewhat desensitized to the alerts. The former is bad and the latter even worse, as it erodes my trust/confidence in the detector.

The problem with why I keep mine on is because there are surrounding locales with POP-enabled equipment in-circulation. I unfortunately cannot rule-out, positively, their use, so I have taken it upon myself to be more cautions - although I'm always debating the true value of my practice, given the falses.

[maskellxx]

Just went out and put it on. Can tell it's a bit more ear catching, I dono I will see tomorrow when I get alerts.
Were any of your POP alerts true?

And what exactly does the expert mode and scanning dot give you?

I believe turning POP off lessens alerts on K band. The scanning dot is just for entertainment.

When you say lessens alerts, do you mean FALSE alerts or an LEO ahead and it will not go off?

[maskellxx]

Thank you TSI, great post. I really doubt that LEO's in my area of Maryland use POP.. let alone in MD at all. One state trooper I asked gave me a smart ass answer back of "What's POP", when I asked him if he uses it. I have yet to get a cop sitting on the side of the road running radar. (Of course, when I finally get my RD in right). I can understand it would desensitize your thoughts of the alert, that I am really not as much worried about. That pretty much answers my question though.

Nascar, I think I will try professional mode and see what I get. That's very cool.. I didn't know you could do that!

[alpinestars_2002795]

Yes. It falses alot more on pop. Yes loud tones are louder hence why they are called loud. If you are affraid pop may be being used and want to know. Put it in spec display. Drive around for a week with it in spec display. If you see 33.8 or right around that freq, turn pop on! I do this once a month at the least! Just incase they should attain new hardware. When im traveling i always have pop on! YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT A DIFF STATE OR MUNICIPALITY HAS!




AlPiNe~