NEW RD OWNER AND RD.NET USER

**RoadTrip** · 08-02-2007, 10:07 AM

Hi everyone....going on a road trip leaving tonight and coming back Sunday. Will be leaving Wilmington, NC and heading to Erie, Pa. And yes Virginia is one of those states in between. I have never owned a RD before so I did a little research on here and radartest.com and went to best buy last night and bought an escort passport 8500 X50. Whether that was the right buy or not, I dont know, but it was in the price range i was looking to spend. ($300)

I have read through the book about all the fancy features and all, but if i just want all-out protection, i just need to plug and play right? You people on here have an endless supply of knowledge and i will continue to learn more as time goes on, but for now, i just need some quick answers on getting the most protection out of it for my departure tonight.

Also, am i best to just unplug the thing and throw it in the back seat while in VA, or unplug after alerted? Because I seen the video where the X50 failed the VG-2 test. I certainly didnt buy a RD to get hit with illegal equipment fines!!! And just one more thing, As long as the state you are in does not ban RD's, It doesnt matter if a cop knows you have one or not right? Thank you in advance.

**thestaton** · 08-02-2007, 10:18 AM

welcome and you made a fine purchase with the x50. as per Virginia I would say run it. It's only a $40 or $50 dollar fine, and since you are out of state its no points. So the threat of a speeding ticket is the bigger risk.

next I would recommend you pick up a hardwire kit from escort or from radarbusters and mount it up on your visor or up above your rearview mirror. this way while traveling through VA an officer will not be able to visually spot it.

and if it's mounted high it's very easy to reach up and turn it off. so if you do get a K or Ka alert in VA just slow down then reach up and turn it off.

enjoy your new toy.

**xrs9430** · 08-02-2007, 10:18 AM

welcome to the forum

**ELVATO** · 08-02-2007, 10:20 AM

Welcome

Go here and here to see what the states you are going through have.

But basically, yea, it'll just be plug and play. I'm assuming you're going to be on the highway alot, so run it in Highway mode.

And yes, if you are in a state where radar detectors are legal, it doesn't matter if a cop knows.

As far as Va, maybe one of the Va drivers can chime in as to what they do. From what I understand, people just turn it off when they get an alert, then just turn it back on after a little while. Either way, they won't take your radar detector, and may only give you a ticket with no points. Also, you may want to run it in all Dark mode when going through here. That way, only the audio is heard, but there is not visual way of seeing the detector.

**RoadTrip** · 08-02-2007, 10:57 AM

thanks for all the advice.....unfortunately i do not have time to hardware the unit as it is 1:02 now and i have to hit the road at 4:00. The three hours in between are going to be stuck sitting at this desk of mine.

**RoadTrip** · 08-02-2007, 11:00 AM

Also I am driving my wife's Ford Escape Hybrid as it gets three times the MPG as my gas guzzling Ford truck V-8....so she probably wouldnt want me ripping and tearing into her car to hardwire.....GO FIGURE!!! Women!!!

**RoadTrip** · 08-07-2007, 08:02 AM

Wow....seriously dissapointed with the performance of my new purchase. Just got back from PA today.

**pronacyk** · 08-07-2007, 08:05 AM

Details please?

**thestaton** · 08-07-2007, 08:16 AM

VA uses a lot of forward facing and it's hell on detectors. my guess is that

**RoadTrip** · 08-07-2007, 08:50 AM

Ok...so i started keeping track of my encounters on a piece of paper all the way from wilmington up until i was so pissed off in fredericksburg, va that i was ready to throw the thing out the window.

Considering the number of cops i passed with no alerts, its hard for me to believe that they weren't running radar.

12 cars in NC
out of 12, 8 cars were in median facing me with 1 alert when i was on top of him
2 cars in median facing other direction with no alert
2 cars rolling opposite me with no alert

10 cars in VA
out of 10, 4 cars in middle facing me 0alerts
Out of those 0 alerts, myself and 3 other cars were running 85 MPH when we passed one in the middle, he pulled out and busted the last car in line. So obviously the cop was using some kind of speed detection device and it was missed by the X50.

3 rolling my direction with 1 alert as he passed me....didnt have time to unplug it.

3 rolling opposite direction with 1 alert on top of him.

I stopped keeping track at that point, but i would guess i passed a total of 25 cops from the rest of my way to PA and then back to NC and had 5-6 alerts.

The only thing it picked up from quite a distance was the road work message boards and for some reason the X50 just screamed at overpasses on the interstate. Dont know why as i am new to this! All i can say is if what happened to me was "normal" performance, i'll take my $320 back and take my chances with eyesight and luck!!!!!