Cost To Upgrade Revision

I'm new here, but I've been "lurking" around for a while now but recently decided to join.

Let my explain my situation-- I have a "road trip" coming up and I've wanted to purchase an RD for quite some time, so I figure now is a good time to do it. I'm somewhat of a poor student and I cant afford to purchase a NEW escort but the more I read the more I find myself wanting the X50.

My question is-- Would it be a good idea to purchase a 3rd party/used escort 8500 X50, which is in good shape at a great price, to get the idea if this model is suited best for my driving situation. Then if I found that I liked this model, I could pay to have the revision upgraded, or buy a new one later when I have the funds.

I've done some searching for threads similar, sorry if this had been repeated.

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Originally Posted by KurtM

I'm new here, but I've been "lurking" around for a while now but recently decided to join.

Let my explain my situation-- I have a "road trip" coming up and I've wanted to purchase an RD for quite some time, so I figure now is a good time to do it. I'm somewhat of a poor student and I cant afford to purchase a NEW escort but the more I read the more I find myself wanting the X50.

My question is-- Would it be a good idea to purchase a 3rd party/used escort 8500 X50, which is in good shape at a great price, to get the idea if this model is suited best for my driving situation. Then if I found that I liked this model, I could pay to have the revision upgraded, or buy a new one later when I have the funds.

I've done some searching for threads similar, sorry if this had been repeated.

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Rev upgrades are not worth the investment if the unit is performing good. I would say buy the best used unit for the buck and make sure it is in good shape, use it and see how it performs. It can cost up to 80 bucks to get it upgraded and tuned up, might as well buy a new one. Honeslty, I would look into a Bel 955 if money is your concern.

If you can get a legitimate (and by that I mean one with a valid serial number) x50 for a good price, I'd say go for it. You probably won't need to have the firmware updated. The performance across all revisions is pretty much equal for Belscort products. Its not like the V1 where different firmware revisions mean new or changed features.

The only differences on Belscort platforms is with the old S7 horn versus the new M4. And even this has been highly debated because the performance differences are negligible.

REV's are not upgradeable for the x50 that I know of

If you want something good and with warranty, why not buy a whistler pro-78? it does come with 2 year warranty and it's a killer detector for its value

The I've heard tremendous things about the pro-78/XTR- 690/695, they dont seem to have the build quality that the higher end RD's do. My thinking was, if I can get a good quailty escort or something high end why not go for it? Is there anyway to check the serial number on the unit to make sure its not been tampered with/legit?



Thanks for the quick replies and good advice

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Originally Posted by KurtM

The I've heard tremendous things about the pro-78/XTR- 690/695, they dont seem to have the build quality that the higher end RD's do. My thinking was, if I can get a good quailty escort or something high end why not go for it? Is there anyway to check the serial number on the unit to make sure its not been tampered with/legit

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I wouldn't say that the Belscorts have the highest quality. I've got a few Belscorts in the family and they're excellent performers but they have had their issues. Whistler offers a three year warranty (the best in the biz), and Michael B. on this forum is always willing to help out if there are problems. If you do want a Escort though but find the price of a new one a bit too high, why not try a new Bel Vector series? Similar internals and performance as an X50 and you get a warranty too. I think repair prices for an out of warranty X50 are $80 and you have to ask yourself is it worth getting a used one and paying more later to get it fixed if it needs be?

What you may have heard about Whistler not having the quality of the top tier detectors may be because Whistler also produces cheaper units and people may be grouping their flagship model with the lower models.

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Originally Posted by KurtM

The I've heard tremendous things about the pro-78/XTR- 690/695, they dont seem to have the build quality that the higher end RD's do.

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Err... if by high build quality / reliability, you mean "Escort/Beltronics".... I might suggest you to reconsider your weight on reputations.... They are certainly no more immune than Whistlers to operational problems.

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Originally Posted by KurtM

The I've heard tremendous things about the pro-78/XTR- 690/695, they dont seem to have the build quality that the higher end RD's do. My thinking was, if I can get a good quailty escort or something high end why not go for it? Is there anyway to check the serial number on the unit to make sure its not been tampered with/legit?



Thanks for the quick replies and good advice

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Hi KurtM,

The Whistler Pro78/XTR-690/695 models have an excellent build quality. Check out my review of the Pro78. I completely disassembled the Pro78 and thoroughly examined its build quality for the review. See:

MEM-TEK's Whistler Pro78 Review

Everyone here knows that I am a huge Belscort fan, but the Pro78 rev C and the new XTR-695 (which I know for a fact will have performance just as good as the Pro78 rev C) are the only radar detector models aside from a Belscort or a V1 which I completely trust as a reliable radar detector in terms of performance on K band and especially on Ka band. If, however, you either live in or regularly drive through NJ where X band is still heavily used, then you would want any of the Bel Vectors or the Escort X50 since these models perform better on X band.

Yet in terms of product reliability due to inherent design, the Pro78 can't be beat.

whistler is rock solid in build quality. never gives any problem even if baked in sun heat for a while, escort has probs with heat and throw calib errors.

I'll be doing a lot of highway driving, from which I hear X is common...but I'm not sure what they use in my specific area. I'll be on the highways in OK and TX, if that helps anyone out.

So what Im coming to think from the repies i've been getting is that a $175 RD(pro 78) will preform just as good as a $300(the x50) and possibly beat it in reliability and durability...?

The Whistler pro 78 is a great rd. But if you get a Escort X50, please keep the revision # 5 since these are getting harder to find. Quite sensitive on k band and offer great off axis k band detection.:)

Well the x50 im thinking about buying is in good shape, great price, and rev 5. Even if I have to send it in for $80, I'll still be WELL under the price of a new or the price of some used units.