Concerned with my 9500ix performance today

[Aggie]

Well took my truck on a road trip to Houston and back to Austin. Around Hempstead came up to a very slight hill no alert but saw some brake lights so I did a speed check. As I started to crest the hill there was the DPS lights going with a customer still no alert from the ix until about 1/2 second later when it crested. I would estimate my range to him was no more than 400-600 feet at the point of acquiring his signal. (Alert was a 34.4~ I had the IX in spec mode, no automute, no autovolume, highway mode.) The signal continued until I was about 300 feet past him so I am sure it was rear facing on at the time. Conditions were good, high vis - clear and sunny, mid 90's, average Houston humidity. When I got to Houston went through the East and West RLC's at Jones, 529, and Senate off 290 and the ix did not mention them. In fact on the one west bound at 529 changed from yellow to red in what seemed like two seconds, I had to slam on the brakes and the front wheels came to a stop two feet past the stripe yet it still took my picture! Bastards! I will fight that one if they send it, but good luck I still have the new car tags on!

All in all I have not had a bunch of hits with the IX since I received it, it seems to avoid traffic LEO's ;-). SO far the performance for me has been much worse than the 9500i that I returned, both off axis and KA. If I could only get a few more credible hits to determine if it needs to go in for a tune up.

Trip back was quiet the only action was from the bugs splatting on the windshield, again LEO avoidance system on a well "enforced" route.

[TSi+WRX]

Originally Posted by Aggie

...As I started to crest the hill there was the DPS lights going with a customer still no alert from the ix until about 1/2 second later when it crested. I would estimate my range to him was no more than 400-600 feet at the point of acquiring his signal. (Alert was a 34.4~ I had the IX in spec mode, no automute, no autovolume, highway mode.) The signal continued until I was about 300 feet past him so I am sure it was rear facing on at the time. ....

That's disturbing....

My hits with 34.4 have all alerted at what I would consider to be "tremendous" distances, especially on-axis, for which I would say that the performance is nearly a night-and-day improvement over my old Rev5 x50.

If I could only get a few more credible hits to determine if it needs to go in for a tune up.

Agreed. Drive careful!

RE: your RLC issue ---->

Is 9500ix alert red light cameras when you on freeway?

[mswlogo]

I'm a little concerned on the range of mine also.

It's almost too quiet.

How directional is the Radar? If it's not very directional how do they know which car they are measuring?

[happya$$]

These are the exact reasons why I gave the 9500i a try THREE different times (three different units) and have got rid of them. Now the 9500CI is a different story. The 9500i IMHO lacks major sensitivity for highway use.

[bigalinwv]

Originally Posted by happya$$

These are the exact reasons why I gave the 9500i a try THREE different times (three different units) and have got rid of them. Now the 9500CI is a different story. The 9500i IMHO lacks major sensitivity for highway use.

I had a 9500i for exactly ONE week because of the same thing. My old S7 Rev 5 X50 absolutely thrashed the 9500i, no competition. Bells and whistles are nice, but if it can't beat what you've already got, why have it??

[happya$$]

Originally Posted by bigalinwv

I had a 9500i for exactly ONE week because of the same thing. My old S7 Rev 5 X50 absolutely thrashed the 9500i, no competition. Bells and whistles are nice, but if it can't beat what you've already got, why have it??

Yeah I never understood the fascination for the 9500i. Everyone is raving how quiet it is but then again so are the lower end RD's, quietness usually mean lack of sensitivity 99% of the time. Now the 9500CI has KICK BUTT sensitivity plus the GPS to keep it quiet. If you think about it the 9500i is really nothing special other than having GPS. I mean take a look at the horrible audio ramp up and bad sensitivity! Does this make it an elite RD? I will say it again as far as dash mount RD's there is only one that stands on its own and has since 1992.

[Aggie]

I sent Escort an email, let's see what they say:

Yesterday (Saturday 8/23) I was on a trip to Houston. When entering Jersey Village (a Houston suburb) I went through three separate red light intersections (both east and west bound sides) and my 9500ix did not make a peep. I verified the GPS was operational (with signal) and also made sure alerts were enabled. Upon getting home I found an archive news report indicating placement of the cameras at the intersections I went through.

My question to support is what mechanisms do users have to submit data/questions on the accuracy of the trinity data? Could you possibly add a FAQ on your website (where you download updates) that explains the process to submit data points for verification? Possibly a forum with a list of trusted users willing to validate what is reported on the forum (alleviating escort from hiring staff). I would be willing to go through some sort of “certification” to volunteer and know of several other enthusiasts that would be willing to do the same for free.

I am still looking for the official city RFP since that is what is done in Texas. But my own eyes and the fact I did get shot by a camera at 529 for my front tires going two feet over the line indicates they are up and operational. Thank you for your assistance.

Houston Community Newspapers Online - JV red light safety program poised to go into effect

[MEM-TEK]

Hi Aggie,

Have you tried a factory reset on your 9500ix, and then making whatever changes you want in program mode? Thats the only thing I can think of to try. I don't get it. My 9500i has excellent performance on Ka band and does especially well on 34.7 Ka.

Another forum member's brand new 9500ix continuously falsed on Ka until he did a factory reset, and that fixed the problem. Note that my 9500ci did the exact same thing until I too did a factory reset. This gets me to thinking that there may be a firmware bug. I suggest that all 9500ix and 9500ci users should do a factory reset as soon as they get their radar detector or after upgrading its software after using the Radar Detector Tools program since this apparently seems to instantly resolve any issues.

[Aggie]

My old 9500i was insanely sensitive! In a way I wish I would have never returned it for the RLC/SP data upgrade in the ix.
This is only based on one very "in the wild" hit. I have had other hits with the ix in the same frequency from Round Rock and had more than a mile alert (very annoying when you are going 35 MPH). Is it possible that DPS can "tune" their units to use less power and shorten their distance? Before claiming "the sky is falling" I will be doing some driving to verify. The difficulty has been finding the LEO's to hit me. Since receiving the ix I have not seen that many, it seems to be a traffic LEO repellant.
BTW off axis (90*) sucks! I was hit yesterday by RRPD that keeps theirs on full power and it did not make a peep until he began to turn the corner (this was out in the open very little to reflect off of). He was on my butt and I was flashing every car alerting them to his presence since he was using my truck as cover while driving. Needless to say he found no customers while being behind me.

[Aggie]

Yes I did a factory reset last week while driving through Liberty Hill (always a trusty area to get hit with Laser and KA since it is patrolled by LHPD, WCSO, DPS, and Constables). I was suspecting something with the sensitivity so I reset then. I will do it again today for good measure.