Help with Passport 8500 radar detector

Un4given · 11-27-2001, 03:57 PM

Hi everyone,

I need some help determining if I may have a problem with my new passport 8500. I'm not looking to start a V1/passport debate. I've already read them and have determined that they both are great detectors. I decided to go with the 850 because of price and friends that have them and love them. Sorry for the length.

I just completed a 1800 mile round trip from Jacksonville, FL to Cleveland and back and was using my new Passport 8500 (except for Virginia of course), but I'm not sure it was working correctly. It was mounted center window on bottom half of my BMW 530i (I understand that these may have a metalic coating on the window that can interfere with the detector.) My reason to question the detector is the range in which it worked.

I was driving all interstate with traffic up front, running the detector on Auto mode. It just seemed that I did not get the amount of warning that I should get before seeing the police car or it went from a beep to constant in just a few seconds. This was on all X, K and Ka bands. I never encountered laser.

This was during Thanksgiving, so the police may have been doing all instant on radar on cars that appearred to be speeding, but it seems unlikely that would be the norm over 1800 miles.

I'm questioning whether my detector is working properly or should I exchange if for a new one. Anyone ever encounter this problem and know it to be a faulty detector? Does the BMW windshield interfere with detectors?

Thanks for anyone who has anything to contribute.

C4 4Me · 11-27-2001, 06:37 PM

I've been running my Valentine now for almost a year and only had it detect Laser like twice. This is a mixture of city, country, backroad, interstate drving as well. Not as many cops use Laser as I originally thought.

X-band sometimes but almost always K or Ka is what I find.

XTRME 94 · 11-28-2001, 12:09 AM

If your car has a heated windshield (not the defroster), then yes, it will really interfere with detector performance. I'm not fimiliar with BMW's so I don't know if they have a detector opening or not. The ZR-1's that have heated windshields do. If you look at your windshield from outside, there should be a clearer spot than the rest of the glass if you have a detector opening. If you have one, mount the detector so it "sees" through there. You might check or owners manual or contact BMW, I'm sure they would know.