Ku alert on the 9500i

[radarguyus]

For the record, I do not have a 9500i yet, but I did flip through the online manual. It states that Ku band is displayed as an x band alert. This surprises me that Escort would do this, since most of us probably disable x band anyway. It kinda sounds like something cobra would do, and doesn't fit a $450 detector. Even the RX65 has a separate Ku alert. Any thoughts?

P.S.-I am well aware that Ku is not currently used in the US, and the debate rages on as to whether it ever will be (roy says Kustom is still working on it). The purpose of this question is not to continue the when/if debate, but rather if you think it is a good idea to use x band alerts to identify Ku. Thanks

[ES13Raven]

I think what it means is it uses the X band alert tone, so if you disable X band but have Ku band enabled - it will still work and use the X tone.

[radarguyus]

From page 10 of the 9500i online owner's manual


NOTE: Ku band is displayed as an X-band signal

Upon speaking w/ the Escort reps they confirm that Ku displays as x regardless of whether you use Expertmeter or the standard bar graph.

[temoore]

From page 10 of the 9500i online owner's manual


NOTE: Ku band is displayed as an X-band signal

Upon speaking w/ the Escort reps they confirm that Ku displays as x regardless of whether you use Expertmeter or the standard bar graph.

This would mean that if you had X disabled, and you got an X alert, you would know it is Ku band!

[radarguyus]

I guess that is true, but still a little disconcerting. I have had Ku enabled on my RX65 for nearly a year, just out of curiosity to see if the false alerts were as frequent as X, and so far I have had exactly 1 Ku false in this 1 year. The first thing I do to any rd I have is disable X band. If I got the 9500i and Ku ever did hit the market, I would probably be smokey's first customer, since I am used to ignoring ALL X alerts on the few rd's that do not allow X to be disabled. I just never considered combining bands as something Escort would do.

[CincinnatiKid]

Yeah that is cheap.

[blowyabackout]

I don't have the 9500i yet but from reading online I would imagine that the alert sound for the KU band may be the same as the X band but it probably displays KU on the screen but has the same sound as an X band alert. What does it show on the self test when you turn the 9500i on? Normally it will list all of the bands that the detector picks up. Does it display KU?

[radarguyus]

Ok here we go...

I just got off the phone with Randall at Escort, and he says that if the standard bar graph display is used, it will display Ku. If Expertmeter is used, Ku is displayed as X. In either case, the X band tone is used. This is NOT what I was told a few days ago when I questioned them after viewing the manual. But in my experience with Bel/Escort, the answer you get depends on what day of the week it is, and which rep answers. So, I am interested in what the current 9500i owners say.....enable Ku band, cycle the power, and tell us if Ku shows up.

Personally, I like escort's Expertmeter display but I don't see why they couldn't sacrifice 2 of the 4 slots dedicated to X and given that space to Ku or even Ka. After all, why does anyone need to know that there are 4 X band motion sensors within one city block of your location? Hope that GPS chip has lots of storage space to lock them all out.

[Scott]

Ok here we go...

I just got off the phone with Randall at Escort, and he says that if the standard bar graph display is used, it will display Ku. If Expertmeter is used, Ku is displayed as X. In either case, the X band tone is used. This is NOT what I was told a few days ago when I questioned them after viewing the manual. But in my experience with Bel/Escort, the answer you get depends on what day of the week it is, and which rep answers. So, I am interested in what the current 9500i owners say.....enable Ku band, cycle the power, and tell us if Ku shows up.

Personally, I like escort's Expertmeter display but I don't see why they couldn't sacrifice 2 of the 4 slots dedicated to X and given that space to Ku or even Ka. After all, why does anyone need to know that there are 4 X band motion sensors within one city block of your location? Hope that GPS chip has lots of storage space to lock them all out.

Whenever calling these folks just a FYI, always make sure you are talking with someone in "support" and not "sales". Have found sales folks not always informed in technical matters.