Why even use X Band?

[passport_9500i]

OK, stupid question of the month. Please bear with me. I replaced my Whistler 1580 of 8 years with the new Passport 9500i. In all this time I can never, ever, remember X Band being of any use. It always seems to be generated by a non-threatening signal and has been an annoyance more than anything. I had started to use the cool GPS signal lockout feature on x bands, but then it dawned on me. Why? Why not just turn it off? LEO's in Texas and other states I travel in are using only K and Ka. I can't think of any good reason for leaving it ON. Is there something I'm missing?

Just curious how many of you have turned "X" band off on your primary unit. Please vote! 8)

[djrams80]

Not so fast. Here is a video of X band being used in Texas:
X band in Texas
I know I would be pissed if some local small town LEO started using an old X band radar gun and I drove right by above the PSL, not realizing what just happened. The 9500i with X band on, but all the X band falses locked out protects you from this exact situation, no matter how unlikely. I'd hate to see you get your state-of-the-art RD get smoked by a 20 year old radar gun.

And again, where is the both option? I run my SRX with X off because the false alerts are just too much and I run my 9500i with X on because I can Truelock out all the falses.

[passport_9500i]

very odd indeed. I would have pulled the constable over and asked him specifically. Couldn't it have been something else like the (e.g.) radio or the electronics giving off the signal? I have never encountered this in Texas, to my knowledge, in 8 plus years.

[CJR238]

Not so fast. Here is a video of X band being used in Texas:
X band in Texas
I know I would be pissed if some local small town LEO started using an old X band radar gun and I drove right by above the PSL, not realizing what just happened. The 9500i with X band on, but all the X band falses locked out protects you from this exact situation, no matter how unlikely. I'd hate to see you get your state-of-the-art RD get smoked by a 20 year old radar gun.

And again, where is the both option? I run my SRX with X off because the false alerts are just too much and I run my 9500i with X on because I can Truelock out all the falses.

X2, X band is still alive and well, especially in towns with little to no budget. This is where the 9500I blows away every other RD. You can lock out X all day long but when you go on a trip you don't need to remember t turn it back on.
You never know when X is going to pop up, so just lock the c$@p out of it where you know for sure its not being used.

[Ck15]

there are still counties in smaller rural areas that run x band, tho troopers and most dfw area counties run ka or laser from my experience

[LordV]

Well I voted yes because I do, at times, run with X band disabled. I have found through my travels into Ohio and Indiana, X band is still well in use. So when I leave Southeast Michigan, X comes on.

[hockey005]

Maine no, NJ yes....but in small towns in maine there has to be cops that still use X...i mean i bet in a lot of states there is at least 1 police department that still uses X

[jerry540i]

The X band question really depends on where you live.

NJ State police use X band the vast majority of the time.
Ohio State police still regularly use X band
X band can be found in North Carolina, Oregon, and Wisconsin as well.

J/

[passport_9500i]

I guess my problem is that I believe x band signals to be completely innocuous now. I never brake for x band. Now, if I was out on a long stretch of undeveloped open highway, and I started picking up x band, I might give pause, but then again probably not. What I would REALLY like to see is for Escort to create the ability to turn bands on or off based on the user specified mode, such as City. Turning x OFF while in City mode, but leaving it ON in Highway mode, would be so cool as most of the x band garbage received is while driving in the city (e.g.) at lower speeds.

The manual says "As your vehicle speed increases, the radar sensitivity (X and K-band) is set to maximum range." Or goes from Auto mode to Highway mode sensitivity. That's fine but I'd like to kill x while in (e.g.) City mode or when I reach a specifically predesignated deceleration speed. Software! We need the software!

My gripes are pity. It's a fine product (I bought 2 :shock: ) and is far far better than my old Whistler.

[jdong]

Ohio highway cops PRIMARILY use X-band, apparently because they prefer a particular lightbar-mount radar system. And let me tell you, it's DEADLY in their hands. They love to do IO around the corner. Even on my V1 (king of X) driving halfway across Ohio, I had two encounters where my detector would not have saved me. I start rounding a corner and hear "BEBEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" and 2 seconds later an oncoming cruiser appears.

Ignoring X band is probably not that great an idea unless you are within your home town and know from experience X band is not in use.

Personally, if your detector can track/prioritize multiple alerts, and you don't mind a bit of extra noise, I recommend keeping X-band on. The only time I think turning it off is appropriate is on a detector that can only track single alerts. The LAST thing you want is your detector fixated on that door opener down the road as a cop running Ka is reading your speed.