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My new Passport 8500 arrived this week. My V1 is the one I purchased from www.valentineone.com in November, so it is not the absolutely latest V1. V1 customer service says that they've changed the form factor slightly and "tweaked" the sensitivity a tiny bit since then.
My tests consist of two main components: sensitivity on X, K and Ka bands and display-alert ergonomics.
To test the sensitivities I do the following. I find a fixed source and then drive towards it with only one detector switched on. I note the place where the first indication of radar is given. Then I repeat the drive with the other detector. I repeat each "approach" several times for reliability.
For this test, I'm ignoring the sensitivity from the rear. I'm also ignoring Laser sensitivity since I've never encountered Lidar and I've never seen evidence that any detector can give you warning before you get stung.
I've programmed each detector for maximum sensitivity on every band and for maximum sound volume. I double checked this after I got surprised in my testing.
My test X band source is a fixed X band emitter on traffic lights at an intersection. This X band set-up is designed to change the signal when cars approach from the side street. It is not from a radar speed detecting gun, but I don't think that that matters.
My K band source is a fixed K band speed detector from a "This is your current speed" set-up that our local police place around town in various places from day to day. The thing emits K band radar, times your car and displays your current speed on a huge sign right under the speed limit for that location.
I have not yet found a Ka band fixed source to compare. I will do that somehow, even if I have to sweet-talk a Sheridan County Sheriff's deputy to do it.
For what it is worth, here are my preliminary findings. The V1 and Passport are identical on K band sensitivity. Both first alert at almost exactly the same point. I get a warning at approximately 2/3 mile from the "your current speed" sign and I cannot measure any difference in triggering difference.
The V1 alerts on X band at six city blocks before the source. The Passport alerts at four city blocks before the source. This was a big surprise so I checked and rechecked it.
The V1 maximum volume is much louder than the Passport 8500 maximum volume. The Passport 8500 "expert mode" display is much more clear than the V1 display. The Passport does not over-estimate the number of radar sources, but the V1 does.
Even if the V1 had no rear display, I would prefer it overall based on these tests. I like the louder display and I like the greater X band sensitivity. I do find the "bogie counter" on the V1 annoying and the Passport 8500 is certainly better.
In my location both X and K speedguns are commonly used. Ka is also used but less often. I would say my actual speedgun encounters are about 50% X band, 40% K band and 10% Ka band. Also, I don't mind false positives from door openers and traffic timers since it keeps me knowing the rf environment for a specific location.
If you have a different radar environment or if you have lots of Ka my tests are not as useful for you.
I've reread the tests on www.speedzones.com and I see that they really didn't compare sensitivity the way I did in their 2001 tests. I wish they had. They did do a similar comparison (distance of first indication) in their 2000 review of the Passport 8500 and got similar results.
(1) The suction cup mount on the Passport 8500 sucks. It is the same mount I've been using for about 9 years on my Passport 4500 and Passport 4600 in my Prelude. The suction cups lose their suction power and can be a pia to apply. The V1's cups are bigger and seem to work better. Admittedly, I have much less experience with the V1.
(2) The programming on the Passport 8500 is elegant, easy and intuitive. V1 should take note.
(3) Except for the lack of radar locator, the display of the Passport 8500 (expert mode) is much better than the V1 or my older Passport 4600. I can tell exactly how many "bogies" are on each band and what their relative signal strength is.
(4) Both the V1 and the Passport 8500 use an RJ11 for power. While their remote displays are different and not compatible, you can use the power cords interchangably to supply 12 volts.
At this time (with no Ka band testing) I still prefer the V1 over the Passport 8500 because of the V1's superior X band, louder audio and "locator" capability. When I bought the Passport 8500, I thought I would keep it for my Prelude and keep the V1 for my S2000. Now, I'm thinking the Passport 4600 is good enough for my Prelude until I go to either swapping the V1 back and forth or until I get a second V1.
My results are consistent with the radartests.com results and the previous year's speedzones.com tests.
radartests.com
8500:::: 31K feet----- K 27Kfeet----- Ka 40K feet
V1 :::::: 40K feet----- K 27Kfeet----- Ka 25K feet
speedzones.com (year 2000 Passport 8500 review)
8500 :::: 1.2 miles----- K 1.5 miles----- Ka 1.9 miles
V1:::::::: X 1.4 miles----- K 1.6 miles -----Ka 1.8 miles
Much to my surprise, the speedzones.com data from last year's Passport 8500 test is no longer on line.
This afternoon I finished comparing the V1 and the 8500. The V1 is the clear winner. It always identifies radar before the 8500 on X, K and Ka. The X and K are hugely better on the V1. The Ka is a touch better.
I only had two Ka encounters. Both were Wyoming HP cars with their guns left on cruising I-90. I had both detectors turned on. I know that it is better to test each separately, but I never found any interaction between the V1 and the 8500 on either X or K, so I presume there isn't any on Ka either. (My old Passport 4600, on the other hand, definitely causes the V1 and the Passport 8500 to false alarm.) During both encounters, the V1 signaled radar before the 8500. During one long straight encounter, the 8500 would go to "no radar" and back to "Ka weak" but the V1 stayed at "Ka" going from weak to medium.
The V1 laser falsed once at a gas station in a glint of sunight. The 8500 gave no laser indication, for what it is worth.
The V1 continues to give a falsely high number of radar sources. I still prefer the "expert mode" display on the 8500. Those are my only two factors leaning toward the 8500.
Leaning toward the V1, it is as sensitive or more sensitive on all bands. It gives an indication of where the radar is coming from. It is louder. Its size is similar.
The 8500 goes back to the company tomorrow and I'm ordering an extra windshield bracket for the V1 so I can more conveniently move it from car to car.
From the number of responses in this thread (zero), perhaps I'm beating a dead horse. I found it interesting that I could not replicate the results of either www.radartest.com or www.speedzones.com .
I test mine (8500) every time I take the car out and the only benchmark I care about is NO TICKETS, so far it's worked just fine, thank you. It's small, it's pretty, it unplugs in a jiffy, it fits in the side pouch easily (temporary storage), or the first room of the hidden storage (more permanent storage). I attached a Radio Shack male/female line that allows the plug in remote control device to be within 3" of the gearshift lever, if I wish to tell it to shut-up completely -- although it has a nice program which tones it down automatically after a couple high notes. I've not had any trouble with the suction cups. No doubt the V1 is an equally good device but hey, I'm a happy camper and it only cost $250 (ie, $50 under list). And, trust me, I had one upset law enforcer in Iowa tailgate me for nearly 20 miles he was so upset it worked so well.
Thanks for reporting your results. I'm already a proud V1 owner and know its Ka detection is quite good... I often driver VERY FAST on hiway 5 from San Fran to LA ( I can make the trip in just under 3 hours for those who know how far it is).
My V1 has saved my ass three times from a nice trip to the local county jail. I had plenty of warning to slow down (slam brakes at those speeds to get to legal limits fast). I usually slow down and find that I had way more time then I needed. But, its always "safe" to slow down fast...
I forgot to mention in my post on this afternoon's results that I repeated my K band testing using three different K band sources: the "this is your speed" display now in a different location, the local Walmart front doors and a local supermarket's front door.
Today the V1 detected the K band at all three sites significantly before the 8500. I can't explain why I found them equal yesterday and the V1 better today. I spent quite a bit of time and there's no question in my mind that the V1 will warn you before the 8500 will warn you on all three bands. It was just a smidgen on Ka and I didn't have ideal testing on Ka since the officer's wouldn't hold still for me. I did at least have two observers in my car during the second Ka encounter.
I bought the 8500 thinking it would be better and I'd use it in my S and move my V1 to the Prelude. I based this on the www.speedzones.com report. Now I really question their technique.
Perhaps my results are based on sample variation, but I'm convinced. Maybe I got a poor 8500 or a great V1, but I'm just keeping the V1.
dlq04 I agree with everything in your post. I think the 8500 is one of the best two radar detectors in the world. I think its better in several ways than the V1. I was ready to admit that the V1 is no longer king of the hill. I was ready to say, "I'll give up a little sensitivity for a locator display." but now I believe the V1 is worth the price difference. It is just plain the best.
The Passport 8500 definitely does the job and gives fewer false positives than the V1. It just doesn't listen quite as well.
I rang Escort today ( www.escortradar.com ) to set up the return of my 8500. They were great. It only took about five minutes on the phone. They are sending me a UPS label so I don't have to pay for the return.
They wanted to know why and I told them I found the V1 better on every band, in spite of the tests on www.radartest.com and www.speedzones.com . They were pleasant and thanked me for comparing them and invited me to consider them in the future. Pleasant and SMART !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I encourage anyone interested in having the best radar detector compare these two side by side. I am sure they are number 1 and number 2 and whether you find the Valentine better or the Passport better, you can't go wrong with checking them out yourself.
By the way, look at what Mike Valentine has done at www.valentineone.com . Not only does he encourage you to buy both and return the one you don't like, he even posts Passport's order phone number on his web page. Nice touch, Mike.
Escort Radar and Valentine One make doing this comparison so painless, anyone who really wants to own the single best radar detector should order both and test them for himself. If you decide you don't like either one, or don't like both of them, you can return them for a full refund.
For my purposes, traveling Wyoming's city and interstate roads, the Valentine One is better. You get more false warnings but you get all true warnings faster and you get a good estimate of the radar's direction of origin.
I've gotten my return label for my Passport 8500, but I decided to run some extra Ka tests today before sending it back. I took photos (being uploaded to photopoint now), weighed the detectors, and then found local police, sheriff and Wyoming Highway Patrol running X, K and Ka speedgun radar.
On every band the Valentine One warned of radar before the Passport 8500.
I was lucky enough to cruise behind a Wyoming Highway Patrol car, about a mile behind, while the HP left his Ka gun on. This was along I-90, mileposts 17 through mileposts 25 which is generally straight. I finally got to compare the two detectors one at a time on the Ka band while I held my distance behind the HP. The Valentine One gave more warning than the Passport 8500, although it was close. On X band there is no comparison. On K band, the Valentine One is consistently more sensitive than the Passport 8500. It is not as dramatic a difference as on the X band, but more of a difference than on the Ka band, as far as I can tell. On X band, the Valentine One consistently warns at almost twice the distance of the Passport 8500. On Ka band the Valentine One warns about one smidgen sooner. On K band, the Valentine One wars a few smidgens sooner.
Both detectors were again set at maximum sensitivity on all bands. When you set the Valentine One to "city" mode on X band, (large "L" in Valentine One parlance) it is slightly less sensitive on X band than the Passport 8500 is on "Highway" mode on X band.
The Valentine One weighs 245 grams and the Passport weighs 260 grams, both without windshield mount or cord. The sizes are about equal. The Valentine One is wider and shorter. The Valentine One ossilates much less than the Passport 8500 in its mount. This is due to the Passport being longer and supported by a shorter length of mount and supported less close to the center of the detector.
Here's two pictures of the two side by side, along with my old Passport 4600, my sunglasses, my keys, and a 12 inch ruler for scale.
08-11-2001, 04:56 AM
31K feet----- K 27Kfeet----- Ka 40K feet 
