Question: X50 vs V995 vs RX65

[Thalinor]

Greetings,

I found this forum as a result of doing research about my new Bel Vector 995. Christmas Eve i decided it was time to upgrade my old radar detector. I purchased a high end (cant remember the model) cobra and with in 30 minutes of driving from the store to my house i had ripped the thing off the dash and was using my old detector again. My main complaint with the cobra? False signals to the point where I had a migraine. Anyway, i turned around in my driveway and returned to the store. At this point i was talked into the bel v995.

I cringed at the $320 while handing over my credit card, but decided it was worth the money if the thing worked like the guy said it would. My drive home was silent and i was happy.

Two days later the thing popped up with "failed calibration: Needs Service". This message eventually cleared itself but I was worried that I might have a bad unit so i brought it back and swapped it out. Later that day I talked with bel and was told that the unit might have gone bad because I turned my car off with it still on and this is "known to damage the unit". I thought that was a load of Cr.ap and even if it is true, for $320 the da.mn thing should be making coffee for me in the morning, not blowing up when i turn my car off. I decided it was time to do some research.

First off, I don’t want a V1. The thing is ugly and outdated looking. I don't care how good people say it is, I don't have an 8 track in my car and I certainly don't want something that looks like it belongs along side one!

So with that in mind i have narrowed it down to three choices:

Passport 8500 X50
Bel RX65
Or just keeping my Bel Vector 995

I am shying away from keeping the v995 because for $20 more i can get the other two units which have a lot more bells and whistles; so unless someone can come up with a good reason why not to get rid of the V995, its between the RX65 and the X50.

Here is what i like about each unit:

X50 Blue display is really nice. Basically it’s the reason I am seriously considering the unit over the RX65. Actually, it’s the only reason.

The RX65 has voice which in theory is nice, but functionality wise is lacking. Just like the v995, the RX65 voice only announces the type of signal it’s detected which while its helpful, its not absolutely needed. Now, if the thing would say not only the type of signal but the range... that would be much more enticing. Second, I don’t know why buy they used a guys voice. It may sound stupid but with a higher percentage of guys using detectors, you think they would put a female voice on the thing like the cobras. I would much rather here a southing female voice then some guy blurting out "k band, k band". Remember Hal went crazy and tried to kill the crew, the enterprise never did that! Bel needs to stick with a female voice. :P

Anyway, back on topic. The RX65 seems to have better test results which is a little more important then the cool blue screen but as we all know those tests can be BS. I guess I am looking for a bottom line: Which of the three I have listed above is going to out perform the others? Every test I see provides different results which are a bit confusing if not annoying.

I called bel and asked them which would work better, the RX65 or X50 and they told me the both the internal components and the software were EXACTLY the same so that there should be no difference. Again, this information was different then what I have read, but I figured it was worth mentioning. Also, I am a bit worried about bel phasing out the escort line of products and being left with a unit that will no longer be able to be upgraded. Then again, if what bel says is true then they should be able to use the same software the use on the regular bel’s as they claim “it’s the same software as the escort”

Tomorrow I am going to make the decision on what to do. I know it’s a limited amount of time but I sincerely appreciate any advice people here can provide on the matter.

Thanks much!

Have a safe holiday and don't drink and drive. I'm an EMT and don't want to have to scrape any of you off the road :)

Jonathan


(PS: Sorry for the long post)


EDIT: I just read a pdf linked to a thread on this site that said Bel is owned by escort not the other way around. kinda makes my concerns about bel discontinuing the escort product line seem a bit absurd : )

[compu44]

First off, I think the whole line about turning off your vehicle with the detector still on is BS. My detector powers on and off with the ignition every day. Many others do too. Most likely is that you just got a bad one to start with.

The 995 is a fine detector. It should be pretty much equal to the X50 as far as range. The RX65 will have a little better Ka range than those two due to it being the only model to feature AccuSweep. K and X should be about the same.

[stealthJamal]

You should return that 995 if you paid $320 for it. Check out Roy's price on the 995. I think the best Beltronics-Escort detector is the RX65 if you are still thinking about which detector you might want to try the RX65.

[sethy]

return the 995, get it from roy- he will cut you a great deal.

Besides the rx65 and the x50 for the same price outpreform that one. Dont get me wrong, you have a great detector- but there is never a thing as to great :wink:

Welcome to the board

[Radar 4 Ever]

Here is what i like about each unit:

X50 Blue display is really nice. Basically it’s the reason I am seriously considering the unit over the RX65. Actually, it’s the only reason.

haha dude same here

[Thalinor]

The RX65 will have a little better Ka range than those two due to it being the only model to feature AccuSweep. K and X should be about the same.

Do you mean Autoscan? I dont see anything on bels site that says anything about AccuSweep. If this is something different what does it do?

Second the X50 uses Varactor-Tuned VCO and the RX65 uses GaAs FET VCO. Whats the difference? Does one work better then the other?

I just watched the vid on roy's site which explains the difference between the X50 and the RX65. He says that we will soon see the ku band in the us so he feels its important to have this feature. A lot of people say differently though so its a bit of a toss-up. I guess the only thing that is attractive about the X50 is the blue display. I really like the blue over the red as i find it much nicer to look at but as was pointed out in another thread it may become a strain on the eyes or a distraction.

I am defiantly going to return the 995 and while its still a toss-up between the x50 and the rx65, i am leaning towards the rx65. I just can’t get over the nice blue screen of the x50!

Second, While I love the black case on the rx65, I know what happens to black plastic objects that sit on your dash in the sun. My old detector was a black battery powered unit. After several years in the sun, the plastic became warped and the plastic cover that held the batteries in place would pop off, thus turning the unit off. My guess in the X50 unit being silver would absorb less heat from the sun and might hold up better then the rx65 black plastic unit. Just a guess.

Since they are the same company I just don’t understand why they don’t merge the product line and combine all the great features from both products!

So what do we think… KU in the US any time soon? Year, two years, never? Which is better Var-tuned or GaAs? What’s the difference?

Those of you who have the blue X50; how is it on your eyes? I don’t care if the cops see it as I am in CT where its legal to run a detector and I don’t mind them messing with me. If they do it only confirms my detector is working : )

[crazyVOLVOrob]

You got ripped off on your 995.....Return it and buy one from roy at 270(what it is suppose to cost)

[Mackid343]

$320 :shock: for a v995 :shock:

about voice alerts, i thought they were great, but i disabled them within the 1st 3 days of driving with it. you will definately get used to hearing the different tones and wont even need to look at your detector after a few days to determine band and signal stregnth.

i'd have to agree with the others that have said this, return the v995 and get it from roy. i did not know about this forum or radarbusters when i got mine from circuit city. it was $290 and i thought that was bad. for $320 you should get either the rx-65 or x50. i have not been able to use either of those before so i couldn't tell you which one i liked better. however if you do want to save a bit of money, get the v995 from roy. its a great detector and i feel completely confident in it. especially for that price!

[mjldba]

I joined this forum & my first contact from Roy offered a 10% discount on the RX-65 .... and I got free UPS Ground shipping. Really great bargain on an excellent RD for a bit over $296.

I bought a RX-65 off eBay (in ignorance), had problems & sold the replacement & I've been thoroughly pleased with the performance of the RX-65 I bought from Roy.

I've had no lases falses, POP is activated & I've had 3 POP falses in just over a month which I attribute to other leaky RD's. The eBay unit was falsing frequently & POP was unuseable it falsed so much.

[RensoreK]

First off, I don’t want a V1. The thing is ugly and outdated looking. I don't care how good people say it is, I don't have an 8 track in my car and I certainly don't want something that looks like it belongs along side one!

Ditto. That and POP was the reason I got my RX-65. Loved it ever since. 8)