Escort 8500 tuning question

[ahunt01]

I ordered the 8500 last night , but I was reading the online pdf manual and had 3 questions about it that I was hoping the Escort users could help me with.

Do you guys use the Auto mode, or do you manually switch between City and Highway? I'm not sure exactally how the Auto mode works, and how good it works.

Also, which meter do you guys use? The Signal Strength Meter, ExpertMeter, or SpecDisplay? To me, the ExpertMeter looks to be the most useful, and what helps the Escort rival the V1.

When using any of the three meters, does the audio alert work the same? Alert you to the strongest radar source?
Thanks a bunch for any help.

[dmarcus48]

As far as the meters go, try all of them and you'll settle on the one you like best. I tried the others and wound up using the default one, it was easier to read at a glance. But its easy to change them if you want to experiment. I've had the 8500 and now have the S2, I just leave them in auto mode, seems to work fine. Don't know how it works but I always get plenty of warning. The trick with any radar detector is when you drive the same route everyday you know where the false signals are, and I don't care what kind of detector you have they all give false warnings. When you're in a new area, just be more cautious.

[RadMon]

Originally posted by ahunt01

Do you guys use the Auto mode, or do you manually switch between City and Highway? I'm not sure exactally how the Auto mode works, and how good it works.

I keep it in Highway mode at all times. I find the Auto to not be "alert" enough. You get no flase alerts (at least I don't) but you can get a delay on a "real" signal. No thanks.

Also, which meter do you guys use?

I use the Expert Meter.

To me, the ExpertMeter looks to be the most useful, and what helps the Escort rival the V1.

Bingo!

When using any of the three meters, does the audio alert work the same?

I'm pretty sure it does.

Alert you to the strongest radar source?

I believe, like most detectors, the Ka alert is given precedence over K which is given precedence over X. And in the Expert Meter mode, each of the eight possible signal sources have their own vertical bar to represent signal strengh. That's where you can look for your strongest and weakest signals.

[ahunt01]

I guess in Auto mode, it jumps back and forth between Highway and City X-band sensitivity. According to my whilstler, , police do not use X band radar where I live, but almost always K band. If that is the case, then I guess Auto mode would only have a delay effect on the X band, which I'm not really concerned about.

[2500Hemi]

I use city with no X band with no problems here in SC.