I've been having problems with my 8500 x50. My first x50 lasted 7 months before I had to return it to Best Buy because I got the Self Calibration message so frequently... When I returned that one and go a new one, that same day, the new one went into Self Cal, failed Self Cal, and I got the Service Required message. So.. A second one was returned to Best Buy that same day and now I'm on #3.

Can anyone think of what could be causing this issue or do I just have bad luck? I thought it could be the way I hardwired it (similar to Speedoholic's way, pic below), but I never lost power to the x50 so I don't think it could have been a power surge since the smartwire is fused as well.

Any thoughts? Until I figure this out, I'm using the provided cord that goes into the cig lighter.

 

I hardwired mine directly into the drivers side fuse box and just grounded it on the nearest bolt. I haven't had any problems. The volt readout on mine reads from 13.9 to 14.5. Seems alittle high compared to older cars I have owned, but its not given me any problems.

 

Sounds like you've probably hardwired it incorrectly. Get a voltmeter and verify that you're getting ground and +12 to the correct lines on the x50.

 

man..... and i was ready to buy one....... is it still worth buying or should i go to valentine?

 

I would wait a month or two because Escort is supposedly coming out with a X50 replacement.

 

I bought both a Valentine and an X50 at the same time to take advantage of their "try both and you decide" return policies. I ran around with both of them on the dash and with each by themself for about 2 weeks. My conclusion was that the Valentine had WAY too many false alarms to the point where you would just start ignoring. Every single real threat was picked up by both the X50 and the Valentine, and usually by the X50 first. I tested radar from the rear and again the X50 could pick it up just fine with reflections off of the car's interior. Coupled with the MUCH better display feedback of the X50, and it's reflashability for a small charge, I sent back the Valentine and I've been very happy ever since. I've knocked the thing off of my window while it's been powered countless times and it just keeps on ticking no problem! I like the battery voltage display where it displays your current battery voltage whenever there is not a threat present.

 

thanks for your review..... gives a nice insight to the real world working of these things...... anyone else?

 

My x50 just saved my a$$ on the way home from Vegas yesterday... Cop was hiding behind some bushes on the 15. The highway was almost completely open, flow of traffic in the fast lane was 90+. The x50 went off far from the cop so I quickly slowed down and moved over to the slow lane. If it wasn't for the x50, I would have had a big ticket for sure! It paid for itself right there (and many other times in the past).

 

The Valentine One is the best radar/laser detector on the market today.

http://guysoflidar.com/shootout05/radartesting.html

http://guysoflidar.com/shootout05/pop.html

http://guysoflidar.com/shootout05/spectre.html

http://motortrend.com/features/consu...r_buyersguide/

"This year, the measurement of the radar and laser detection abilities of each of the over $200 units gives the Valentine One ($400) a small edge over the competing BEL Vector 995 ($260) and Escort Passport 8500 X50 ($300 with red display or $340 with a blue display) units."

V1 is the best in laser detection:

http://www.radardetector.net/viewtop...213&highlight=

V1 has the best rear radar detection because it is the only detector with 2 antennas to locate radar:

http://www.radardetector.net/viewtop...214&highlight=

V1 is the least detectable detector by RDD's or Radar Detector Detectors in states where radar detectors are illegal. The Spectre III is the most used RDD in the world and it can only pick up the Valentine One if it is 166 feet or closer which is better than the X50 which can be detected 954 feet away.

http://www.radardetector.net/viewtop...383&highlight=

The Valentine One which accounts for only .6% of radar detector sales wins every poll when it comes to being the favorite detector. The X50 doesn't even get an approval rating as high as George Bush's worst rating. :lol:

http://www.radardetector.net/The-Ult.......-5523t.php

Which of the "Big 3" is really the best overall - in your opinion?
V-1
64% [ 45 ]

RX-65
12% [ 9 ]

X50
20% [ 14 ]

Other (state which and why)
2% [ 2 ]

Total Votes : 70

http://www.radardetector.net/viewtop...ghlight=#42353

Radar Roy from Radarbusters.com said this about the Valentine One, "Just spoke with Carl Fors from SML, his website will be going online tonight with the 2005 results. He has declared the V895, 8500 and the Valentine One as the top performers. Motortrend, who was also at the test, will be declaring the Valentine One as the top detector based upon its detection of laser.

http://www.radardetector.net/viewtop...=4696&start=90

Radar Roy said, "There were results that they (Guys of Lidar) got during the test that I was not exactly pleased with, such as the discovery of the Blinder not having Stealth Mode installed and the Valentine beating out the Escort and Bel in the range tests. Even though I don’t sell the Valentine, it does have slightly better range than both the RX65 and the 8500 and I also show this same fact on my site. Would love it to be the other way around."

 

The RX65 and the X50 are junky because they are plastic, poorly made, and they overheat.

They did a Self-Calibration poll at a radar detector forum and almost 50% of the X50 owners had problems with their X50:

http://www.radardetector.net/viewtop...light=self+cal

 

Wow, someone is a huge Valentine fanboy. You don't sound biased at ALL.

The crazy Valentine fans are too in to the hype. I tried them both in my own environment, and the X50 outperformed the Valentine and had an order of magnitude fewer false alarms. The X50 is simply a more intelligent unit and a better detector, in my opinion. They'll both work just fine, and one isn't going to save your butt over the other in any situation, but you're a heck of a lot more likely to pay attention to the X50 since it's not going off every second. And don't think that just because it goes off every second means it's more sensitive. Some basic detector intelligence can determine if the source is a false alarm, and the Valentine is clearly lacking in this area.

 

Anymore information on the x50 replacement? Are they not going to make the x50 anymore or are they just going to come out with another 8500 x50 with more features?

 

Read up on it here:

http://www.radardetector.net/viewtop...126&highlight=