Brand new 9500i very quiet....too quiet?!?! Settings???

[Cruiser66]

I took my brand new 9500i (2207 build) on a road trip to Atlantic City NJ on the Garden State Parkway.

Here are some encounters:

1) On the way down, I first passed a law enforcement officer (LEO) in an unmarked patrol car, parked on the island near an exit ramp (by exit 159 I believe).
My 9500i (in 'Auto' sensitivity mode) did not issue an alert at all, even when I drove right past him.
I was traveling at highway speed, so it wasn't because my speed was so low (i.e. 15 MPH or less), that the system was filtering it out.
I also do not have any locked out locations.
I believe (it was 4 days ago, so I a not 100% sure now) that he was, however, parked almost perpendicular to the road, which makes it much harder to detect vehicles in front of me being clocked.

My instinct was that he perhaps wasn't running radar at the time (i.e. using instant on and hadn't used it when I was in the vicinity).
With my X50 (rev 5), I often pick up the signal when he clocks other vehicles, even when I am not the target.

2) Later on, while still on the Garden State Parkway, driving at normal speeds, I passed no less than 4 LEO's within about 20 miles, who had pulled cars over.
Some were marked state troopers, others were unmarked.
Once again, the 9500i did not issue a single alert during ANY of these encounters.

The good thing is that the E-Z Pass lanes did not trigger an alert, which they do with the X50.
In fact the 9500i was extremely quiet, until I hit Atlantic City itelf and I got an X band alert.
I did get ONE K band alert during the trip, but didn't see a LEO (that doesn't mean there wasn't one somewhere, perhaps even on a side street or had passed going in the opposite direction.

My concern is / was that 9500i wasn't functioning properly - I couldn't believe that every single LEO I saw (5 encounters, one with two unmarked cars at a single location) had turned off his gun after pulling the vehicles over, although one or so may have been for non-speeding traffic violations.

Unfortunately I didn't bring my 8500 X50, since I assumed the 9500i, based on what I had read, would alert me to speed traps, especially since I am NOT locking anything out (yet).

My detector has 2207 on the bottom, meaning it was manufactured the 22nd week of '07 and is therefore one of the newest "builds".

On the way back home (north), it did seem to work better, which made me feel better (I believe the only difference from the trip down was that I re-enabled SWS (Bands at default [DFT] on the way back). I also turned GPS off completely at one point during the first trip (I don't recall if I did this after ALL the LEO encounters had already occurred, or whether it was in between encounters):
1) At one point it alerted me to X on the Atlantic City Expressway (NJ is one of the few states where X band radar guns are still used) and I did see a LEO up ahead pull out of the median (going the opposite direction), which was presumably the source.

2) It also issued Ka and I saw a LEO who had pulled someone over.
The warning distance was ample, which was nice. The signal never got to full alert though (auto mute is off by the way, so that isn't the issue).
He was quite far to my right though, as this is where the GSP splits and traffic going to Staten Island NY goes right, so that may have at least had a little to do with it.

I guess it IS possible that NONE of the LEO's I saw on the way down had radar turned on when I drove past.
In addition, ONE stop may have been for another type of violation or a broken down vehicle.
It just surprises me since, based on my experience with my X50, MOST of the time when someone is pulled over my X50 would alert me, indicating that the radar gun was still on.
Perhaps they are using more instant on.


Any feedback would be appreciated.
I did re-enable SWS on the way down; however, this was after passing all the LEO's.
All radar bands, with the exception of POP and Ku, are enabled.

I don't know whether this is a software bug with the 2207 build (possibly when certain options are enabled or disabled), just amazing coincidences that the LEO's didn't have their radar guns on when I passed (i.e. my unit may in fact be working fine), or something with MY unit.
Any ideas?

Here are some pieces of information that might help:
- The 9500i's power on self test ('POST') is okay (I'll enable the longer POST to check that it goes through without errors too).

- The unit is mounted as high as my X50.
I did raise it a bit for the trip back, in case that had anything to do with it.

- The car is an '04 BMW 325xi, in case that might have anything to do with it (windshield characteristics etc.), although my X50 worked like a charm.

- The weather (on the way down) was sunny and it was about 90 degrees Fahrenheit outside.

- I do not have any after market modifications (such as tinting to my windshield).

I wish I had my X50 with me.

I do not plan to use True Lock, since this thing is already more than quiet enough compared to my X50, thanks in part to Auto sensitivity, but even at speeds above 15 MPH it is much quieter.

I bought the unit mainly for TRUE (i.e. vehicle speed dependent) Auto sensitivity, SWS support (the X50 issues a K band alert for SWS, which makes it indistinguishable from real radar gun, although SWS is apparently rarely used?).
I also like Auto Volume etc.

Does anyone else here have a 2207?
Have you had any problems?

Thanks for any feedback!

Is there any cheap way to test it against various radar bands?
I recall an amateur video demonstrating TrueLock, where someone was using a device that could tune into radar frequencies.
I assume this would cost a lot.

My goal is to take the X50 with me from now on (I have a dual cigarette plug adapter) and, if possible (depending on the situation), quickly turn off the 9500i and turn on the X50 (and vice versa).

[Stealth 795]

In Md all state police turn there mounted radar guns off 500 out of 500 times that I have seen.
Md state police are really tricky too I have been hit with laser after dark once by one...
Back to your story, I really can't help you because I don't want or have the 9500 ..
Good luck with it though I'm sure its working correctly 100 percent.
The X50 is a close top 1 in my eyes, I have the older revision....
cya

[Cruiser66]

Thanks for the feedback.
That does help, since they may have started to turn them off here in NJ as well now.
If I had my X50 with me, I would have been able to get a confirmation.

I have at least been getting signals on all bands, especially since the trip back up.
I almost wonder, if anything, whether SWS off or GPS off could have impacted detection (i.e. some kind of software issue with certain settings). Hopefully the guns were all turned off.
After all it was all the same group, so it may be policy to turn off the guns (now).
In any case, it is a bit too early to tell, since that was only my 2nd time using the 9500i.
The next time I see one of those "your vehicle speed" signs, I'll be able to test it properly, although just against that band (typically K?) of course...

Based on the March 2007 GOL tests showing it does detect all bands well enough and its performance is good enough (for me at least, especially since any alert is taken seriously with this unit given the very low falsing), I think I'll be very happy with this given the features I bought it for:
The the new Auto sensitivity is a huge plus, for me at least.
SWS is great too, for the afore-mentioned reason.
Auto volume will come in handy when I have the windows down and / or music up.
I honestly doubt I'll need TrueLock much, if at all, based on the few falses I have encountered so far (assusuming MY unit is working properly as far as detecting real radar is concerned.

I noticed what IMO, based on my experiences with my X50 for several years now, what seemed like (I've only used it once, albeit on a 300 mile trip) significantly less falsing than with my X50, which was great considering that the X50 is already decent performer in that area - the X50 did better than its main competitor (I am not referring to the RX65).
At least part of the 9500i's great performance, in terms of falsing, was obviously due to the auto sensitivity mode (being stopped at lights and driving slower than 15 MPH in parking lots where falses tend to occur e.g.).
However, it also did well when approaching EZ Pass lanes and other places where 9500i's new auto sensitivity isn't a factor (i.e. speeds > 15 MPH) my X50 used to go off (in Auto mode); this includes highway driving (I realize using 'A' on an X50 around town is not the best option, so I wanted to highlight that the X50 falsed more on the highway too.

I will run the two detectors side by side (only one powered at a time, but quickly switching back and forth when an alert occurs) and, if possible, write down some results.
I guess an easy test would be to drive a few routes several times with each detector and take a note of performance.

I'll report back with more later.
In the meantime I look forward to the usual helpful comments!

Thanks all!

[oman0123]

I have had my 9500i for about 2 months. I like it, I have had some concerns about its detection range. but each was a unique situation. i have never gotten a mile detection. mostly less than 1/4 mile, but that is moderate michigan taffic. I have yet to get a good test on the e-way. i had a leo that was off axis and didnt alert me to him until i was on top of him. but most detectors wouldnt detect him. so all in all the verdict is still out for it with me.

[iresist]

I think those sneaky-pete cops had turned their radars off - at least the ones that actually had radar.

I had some GPS trouble with my first 9500i but during the 10 or 12 days I had it its' sensitivity seemed fine. It took a while to get a replacement and I still haven't gone on a trip with the new one. But just last night, near my home, I got a steady Ka warning with a nice ramp up that initiated while at least a mile from the offender, and that included a sweeping bend in the road. I like the quiet demeanor and civility of the 9500i. Its' host of state-of-the-art features is what sold me.

[Cruiser66]

iresist and oman,
Thanks for sharing your experiences!

Yes, perhaps they had them off.
The fact that my detector passed the power on self test and has issued alerts on all 3 bands would seem to indicate that it (hopefully) is fine after all.
I was (naturally) just surprised that not one of those LEO's resulted in an alert.

I was also sold by the features and am very impressed by how quiet it is, even without a single location locked out.

Out of curiosity, which build (date code) do you two have (4 digit code on bottom of the detector to the right of the serial number)?

[thestaton]

I took my brand new 9500i (2207 build) on a road trip to Atlantic City NJ on the Garden State Parkway.

Here are some encounters:

1) On the way down, I first passed a law enforcement officer (LEO) in an unmarked patrol car, parked on the island near an exit ramp (by exit 159 I believe).
My 9500i (in 'Auto' sensitivity mode) did not issue an alert at all, even when I drove right past him.
I was traveling at highway speed, so it wasn't because my speed was so low (i.e. 15 MPH or less), that the system was filtering it out.
I also do not have any locked out locations.
I believe (it was 4 days ago, so I a not 100% sure now) that he was, however, parked almost perpendicular to the road, which makes it much harder to detect vehicles in front of me being clocked.

My instinct was that he perhaps wasn't running radar at the time (i.e. using instant on and hadn't used it when I was in the vicinity).
With my X50 (rev 5), I often pick up the signal when he clocks other vehicles, even when I am not the target.

Good observation. When they are parked perpendicular they are either running a hand held laser unit, or hand held radar. New Jersey has a LOT of X band. However on the interstates they are really stepping up laser enforcement. Because the 9500i is mounted high it probably won't alert.

However I've found from running both of my 9500i's in Auto mode for some reason it just doesn't do as good as Highway mode. perhaps some day I'll get around to doing some real world testing to see if I can get some numbers behind this.

2) Later on, while still on the Garden State Parkway, driving at normal speeds, I passed no less than 4 LEO's within about 20 miles, who had pulled cars over.
Some were marked state troopers, others were unmarked.
Once again, the 9500i did not issue a single alert during ANY of these encounters.

Most of the times officers due not leave their radar equipment turned on. I think it would be safer to due so but, they don't.

The good thing is that the E-Z Pass lanes did not trigger an alert, which they do with the X50.
In fact the 9500i was extremely quiet, until I hit Atlantic City itself and I got an X band alert.
I did get ONE K band alert during the trip, but didn't see a LEO (that doesn't mean there wasn't one somewhere, perhaps even on a side street or had passed going in the opposite direction.

My concern is / was that 9500i wasn't functioning properly - I couldn't believe that every single LEO I saw (5 encounters, one with two unmarked cars at a single location) had turned off his gun after pulling the vehicles over, although one or so may have been for non-speeding traffic violations.

Unfortunately I didn't bring my 8500 X50, since I assumed the 9500i, based on what I had read, would alert me to speed traps, especially since I am NOT locking anything out (yet).

My detector has 2207 on the bottom, meaning it was manufactured the 22nd week of '07 and is therefore one of the newest "builds".

On the way back home (north), it did seem to work better, which made me feel better (I believe the only difference from the trip down was that I re-enabled SWS (Bands at default [DFT] on the way back). I also turned GPS off completely at one point during the first trip (I don't recall if I did this after ALL the LEO encounters had already occurred, or whether it was in between encounters):

Good call. however just flip it on Highway mode next time. You can leave the GPS on and watch your speed.

1) At one point it alerted me to X on the Atlantic City Expressway (NJ is one of the few states where X band radar guns are still used) and I did see a LEO pull out of the median at that point (going the opposite direction)

2) It also issued Ka and I saw a LEO who had pulled someone over.
The warning distance was ample, which was nice. The signal never got to full alert though (auto mute is off by the way, so that isn't the issue).
He was quite far to my right though, as this is where the GSP splits and traffic going to Staten Island NY goes right, so that may have at least had a little to do with it.

I guess it IS possible that NONE of the LEO's I saw on the way down had radar turned on when I drove past.
In addition, ONE stop may have been for another type of violation or a broken down vehicle.
It just surprises me since, based on my experience with my X50, MOST of the time when someone is pulled over my X50 would alert me, indicating that the radar gun was still on.
Perhaps they are using more instant on.

The 9500i is very fickle when it comes to off axis encounters. From what I can tell the officers needs to be same lane, or on your side of the highway.

Any time the angle increases it just doesn't seem to do as good.

As per the audible ramp up, it's not that great. Actually, the tones are nice it's just that it's not that linear unfortunately.

Keep up with the real world testing and let us know how it works out for you.

[Cruiser66]

thestaton,
Thanks for the comments.

Well, I hope the 'A'(uto) mode works as well as 'H' since I'd rather not have to turn it to 'H' manually whenever I am on the highway - the biggest reason I bought the 9500i was the vehicle speed-dependent sensitivity, which so far has lived up to its promise in terms of eliminating false alerts.
In fact, even at speeds higher than 15MPH (where A doesn't make a difference, as opposed to 'H'), it falsed less than my rev 5 (S7) X50.

My biggest concern, other than MY unit working properly or not of course, which only time will tell, is the off-axis performance in the latest GOL test.
EDIT: Upon reading further about the foam characteristics and other test conditions, I think I will focus more on the more typical March 2007 GOL test results which were good enough for my needs and where it was the best in the the forward facing test where the difference in detection distance is the most important due to the average distance being significantly lower for the detectors than any of the other tests.

I do like that the 9500i did well against the 35.5 gun in the test, especially compared to the V1 at 15 degrees.
I also saw azonehits' video of the V1 vs. the 9500i.
I guess only real word testing against my X50 will show how the two perform relative to one another.

I usually use Expert Meter, but may switch to Spec Meter mode for a little while just to see which frequencies are in use the most around here.

[oman0123]

mine is a 2207. like i said i really dont need a 2 mile warning. Just give me enough time to slow down to the speed limit and im happy. what really sold me on the 9500 was the features. im still overall pretty satisfied with it so far. But still not 100% sure about it.

[CJR238]

I agree with "thestaton"

I have found that "H" mode seems more sensitive than "A" mode, but I also very rarely use "A" mode. I always use "H" mode and it’s still very quiet. I usually use "A" mode when driving around town/city with my girl frend. One Escort rep told me that for "A" mode "we consider Highway speeds in excess of 55 MPH" even though we all know the sensitivity is adjusted dramatically at 15mph.

In all likelihood the LEO didn’t have his radar on. As far as off axis I have had some pretty good detection ranges if they were an actual threat.

I just did a 1300mi round trip from CT to NC and the 9500I only went off 6 times 4 were LEO's with plenty of notice and the others were falsies. That includes 3 hours in NJ with not a single beep. My old 8500 use to go off dozens of times on that trip.
I definitely react better with this detector not having to judge what are false and what are not.

give it more time to fulley apreceate what it can do, or not do. :wink:

Quote from Escort, not that it means the guy knows what he’s talking about:

It's good to hear from you! Here's what I can tell you, being restricted by proprietary reasons. In a nutshell, the City, Highway and Auto Modes affect X-Band & K-Band sensitivity ONLY. X-Band is in very limited use in the US. There are only three states that still use X-Band in and numbers. (OH, IN, NJ).

The AUTO mode simply senses if you are getting a lot of "urban falsing" on the X-Band and K-Band. If you are in an area with lots of falsing, the AUTO mode responds by shifting to the CITY sensitivity. This reduces the X-band & K-band sensitivity. When you leave the area, the AUTO mode responds by increasing X-band & K-band sensitivity.

The City Mode constantly reduces X-Band & K-Band sensitivity, and the Highway Mode keeps X-Band and K-Band at their maximum sensitivity. It is based on your vehicles speed and we consider highway speeds in excess of 55 MPH.

Regarding the City Mode, the sensitivity is always the same, in what manner it reports changes according to the speed of your vehicle.

I called before this e-mail and was told the "sensitivity is reduced to City mode at 15mph or less" and thats it.

Update!
Just tested Auto sensitivity and at 40mph I got the same detection range at 65mph. 2 separate k band in the same vacinty. So the Escort guy was incorrect about the 55mph highway speed threshold for auto going out of city to highway mode from my test.I will try and test at lower speeds but it appears that 15mph should be the cut off.