9500i Review - 2/6/07 - 2/16/07

[nascar]

These are my findings from 10 days of use:

2/6/07 - Took down my X50 and put my new 9500i in its place.

The 9500i is pretty much the same size as the X50 but it does look a bit longer and the front (radar sensing area) is larger.

Once I started my car the 9500i came up and went through the same startup as my X50. I changed the Auto Mute to Off, changed to Expert Meter, and turned SWS On. I sort of missed SWS that was in my 8500 but not in my X50. I only saw a few spots where SWS messages came on so I am curious to see if there are any more now. I also set the display to indicate my speed.

It took maybe a minute for the GPS to lock. It stated (voice) that GPS was locked and the little satellite stopped spinning. In subsequent Off and Ons it took merely seconds to lock. Impressive! My Garmin C320 can take a minute or more each time.

I pulled out and immediately my speed was displayed. It is most accurate once you are going a specific speed for a little bit.

I took a ride past some known Falses but it didn't alert. I was driving rather slowly so I am assuming the sensitivity was way down with my slow speed.

I took a back road and highway ride to Home Depot to get some stuff for my house so it was a good test. On the way I was able to get it to alert. It alerted to K Band. Herd a beep then the clear voice "K Band" then more beeping. It never alerted much more than a subtle beep but I was impressed with the sound and clarity of the voice. I never saw what the source was but the area was on Route 22 in NJ. Anyone in NJ Route 22 area knows what that can be like for a radar detector.

I pulled into the Home Depot lot and as I made the turn that is where the X50 would alert to the door opener. The 9500i remained quiet. I was going maybe 10 to 20 MPH. I had to pull up really close (maybe 50 feet) to the door opener to get the 9500i to alert. Once it did I hit my SmartCord Mute and the 9500i went silent while displaying Mute. I hit Mute again it asked me if I wanted to Store it so I hit the Mute button again and it read Stored. The little Satellite rotated to indicate I was in an area with a stored lock out. I drove away from the Home Depot until the satellite indicator stopped spinning (maybe 200 - 300 feet) then I turned around. I got about 200 feet away then noticed the satellite spinning. This is Very Cool! In my area I have many Falses to deal with. This will certainly make the commute less noisy and distracting. I can only think that when I hear the 9500i go off it will be a real threat.

The drive back was alert free.

Overall, I am really impressed. Now, I have only used it for about 30 minutes but I loved what I saw and heard.

I can't wait to go drive later

Update: I will add to my review as I use the 9500i more.

2/7/07 - Today I encountered a spot with Multiple X band detections. The 9500i alerted me to the X band by beep and voice stating "Multiple signals Detected".

2/8/07 - The area that TrueLock locks out is pretty small. I traveled a two lane road today. I locked out the False traveling one direction. When I returned I had to lock out the same False coming from the opposite direction.

My commute to work and back is False free and I'm loving it! I wonder how many Falses can be stored?

2/9/07 - I had a Ka alert from a LEO about a mile out on a very hilly stretch. I was doing 40 mph, the posted speed. If I was doing 65 would it have been more sensitive and given me a warning sooner?

2/10/07 - Last night I was stopped at an intersection waiting for the Red light to change. Ka alerted to a LEO traveling from my right toward me. I picked him up, what looked to me to be about , a good 1/4 miles away.

My X50 would probably have alerted sooner in these same conditions but I like the fact that the 9500i reduced sensitivity as I was stopped. But even with reduced sensitivity it alerted me to the LEO's presence.

I turned SWS off. Not sure if it is even used or if it may effect radar detection at all.

2/10/07 - I used the "Mark Location" feature today for two known Speed Traps on I287. I returned to the location later to have the 9500i alert me to the Speed Trap location and low and behold there was a Trooper. He was running X band but not constantly. Seemed like he would turn it on and then off on specific cars.

How long after he turns X on does he get an accurate reading? Does it take a few seconds or is it instantly?

2/16/07 - I was coming up to one of my TrueLocked locations. About a 1/4 mile before the location I received a Ka alert (from an on coming LEO) that continued as I drove through the TrueLocked area. Once in the TrueLocked area the 9500i indicated both the Ka and the TrueLocked K.

This CLEARLY confirms that a real LEO threat will override a TrueLocked signal as you approach since the LEO threat will exceed the TrueLocked area.

[ELVATO]

Yay, finally some sort of way of knowing you have multiple signals w/o having to stare at the display

[riley2638]

I have gave a small review on a couple of other pages, but I feel the same..I'm really impressed so far..I love this detector

[crazyVOLVOrob]

SWS doesn't exsist so there is no reason to turn it on :wink:

[nascar]

SWS doesn't exsist so there is no reason to turn it on :wink:

Do you mean it no longer exists? Are you being serious?

[nautica2o3]

I have a question, maybe you can help me out. You locked out the Home Depot location and now everytime you arrive at that area, the frequency for that location is ignored, correct? What would happen when the Home Depot turns off that door opener at night and a LEO shoots radar from that parking lot? The RD would only see one radar source, would it be possible for it to think that it is just the door opener, or does it lockout specific frequency and recognize the LEO is different than the door opener?

[nascar]

I have a question, maybe you can help me out. You locked out the Home Depot location and now everytime you arrive at that area, the frequency for that location is ignored, correct? What would happen when the Home Depot turns off that door opener at night and a LEO shoots radar from that parking lot? The RD would only see one radar source, would it be possible for it to think that it is just the door opener, or does it lockout specific frequency and recognize the LEO is different than the door opener?

Only Day 2 with the 9500i. So what I am led to believe is that the Cop's radar will not be the same exact frequency as the Home Depot's door opener so it will alert as it should.

I will update this post as I find out more in "real world" driving situations.

[Scott]

These are my findings from 5 days of use:

2/6/07 - Took down my X50 and put my new 9500i in its place.

The 9500i is pretty much the same size as the X50 but it does look a bit longer and the front (radar sensing area) is larger.

Once I started my car the 9500i came up and went through the same startup as my X50. I changed the Auto Mute to Off, changed to Expert Meter, and turned SWS On. I sort of missed SWS that was in my 8500 but not in my X50. I only saw a few spots where SWS messages came on so I am curious to see if there are any more now. I also set the display to indicate my speed.

It took maybe a minute for the GPS to lock. It stated (voice) that GPS was locked and the little satellite stopped spinning. In subsequent Off and Ons it took merely seconds to lock. Impressive! My Garmin C320 can take a minute or more each time.

I pulled out and immediately my speed was displayed. It is most accurate once you are going a specific speed for a little bit.

I took a ride past some known Falses but it didn't alert. I was driving rather slowly so I am assuming the sensitivity was way down with my slow speed.

I took a back road and highway ride to Home Depot to get some stuff for my house so it was a good test. On the way I was able to get it to alert. It alerted to K Band. Herd a beep then the clear voice "K Band" then more beeping. It never alerted much more than a subtle beep but I was impressed with the sound and clarity of the voice. I never saw what the source was but the area was on Route 22 in NJ. Anyone in NJ Route 22 area knows what that can be like for a radar detector.

I pulled into the Home Depot lot and as I made the turn that is where the X50 would alert to the door opener. The 9500i remained quiet. I was going maybe 10 to 20 MPH. I had to pull up really close (maybe 50 feet) to the door opener to get the 9500i to alert. Once it did I hit my SmartCord Mute and the 9500i went silent while displaying Mute. I hit Mute again it asked me if I wanted to Store it so I hit the Mute button again and it read Stored. The little Satellite rotated to indicate I was in an area with a stored lock out. I drove away from the Home Depot until the satellite indicator stopped spinning (maybe 200 - 300 feet) then I turned around. I got about 200 feet away then noticed the satellite spinning. This is Very Cool! In my area I have many Falses to deal with. This will certainly make the commute less noisy and distracting. I can only think that when I hear the 9500i go off it will be a real threat.

The drive back was alert free.

Overall, I am really impressed. Now, I have only used it for about 30 minutes but I loved what I saw and heard.

I can't wait to go drive later

Update: I will add to my review as I use the 9500i more.

2/7/07 - Today I encountered a spot with Multiple X band detections. The 9500i alerted me to the X band by beep and voice stating "Multiple signals Detected".

2/8/07 - The area that TrueLock locks out is pretty small. I traveled a two lane road today. I locked out the False traveling one direction. When I returned I had to lock out the same False coming from the opposite direction.

My commute to work and back is False free and I'm loving it! I wonder how many Falses can be stored?

2/9/07 - I had a Ka alert from a LEO about a mile out on a very hilly stretch. I was doing 40 mph, the posted speed. If I was doing 65 would it have been more sensitive and given me a warning sooner?

2/10/07 - Last night I was stopped at an intersection waiting for the Red light to change. Ka alerted to a LEO traveling from my right toward me. I picked him up, what looked to me to be about , a good 1/4 miles away.

My X50 would probably have alerted sooner in these same conditions but I like the fact that the 9500i reduced sensitivity as I was stopped. But even with reduced sensitivity it alerted me to the LEO's presence.

I turned SWS off. Not sure if it is even used or if it may effect radar detection at all.

2/10/07 - I used the "Mark Location" feature today for two known Speed Traps on I287. I returned to the location later to have the 9500i alert me to the Speed Trap location and low and behold there was a Trooper. He was running X band but not constantly. Seemed like he would turn it on and then off on specific cars.

How long after he turns X on does he get an accurate reading? Does it take a few seconds or is it instantly?

What? X BAND and you didn't get any pictures?!

[FUCCO]

I regard to sensitivty:

Auto mode : reduces x and k band when vehicle is traveling 0-15 mph. From 16mph+ the sensitvity is normal (full).

Highway: full sensitivty no matter what speed or band detected

city: reduces x band sensitivity no matter of speed. Full sensitivity on all other bands regardless of speed

[Scott]

I regard to sensitivty:

Auto mode : reduces x and k band when vehicle is traveling 0-15 mph. From 16mph+ the sensitvity is normal (full).

Highway: full sensitivty no matter what speed or band detected

city: reduces x band sensitivity no matter of speed. Full sensitivity on all other bands regardless of speed

Yep. That's it.