PASSPORT 9500i Tech Talk
from the ESCORT Radar And Laser Detector Experts

The new PASSPORT 9500i with GPS-powered intelligence is the most intelligent radar and laser detector in the world - this new technology provides permanent relief from false alarms including automatic door openers, motion sensors and other radar-based sensors. As with all ESCORT radar detectors, the new PASSPORT 9500i radar detector delivers extreme long-range warning on all radar bands including X, K, Superwide Ka, Ku and laser.

The new PASSPORT 9500i's GPS-powered intelligence provides a permanent solution to the single greatest weakness found in all other detectors (that being their inability to identify and eliminate false alarms). This new GPS intelligence is extraordinary technology that can be remarkably clever in its ability to discern received X, K, Superwide Ka, Ku signals from all other false signals. Here is a brief overview on the inner 'thinking' that the intelligent PASSPORT 9500i exercises in signal processing and discrimination.

The PASSPORT 9500i new GPS-powered TrueLock™ feature allows you to simply press the mute button a couple of times and never hear a false radar-based threat such as an automatic door opener or motion sensor again. How? By use of a patented design that captures the location coordinates and the exact frequency of the signal that you initially determine to be an unwanted signal. When an alert sounds, especially when driving in familiar terrain, you simply press the Mute button (a short total of three times) to confirm to the Passport 9500i that this signal is not an actual alert - the Passport 9500i then stores both the signal frequency and its GPS location in memory. Once stored, TrueLock™ will reject these signals - however, if a new threat should ever appear in the same area, Passport 9500i is intelligent enough to warn you of a new or different signal in that same location.

In order to accommodate typical situations where a newly identified false signal has been discovered, the Passport 9500i processes the incoming data through a series of simple rules designed to completely remove any and all future false signals. To keep things simple but solid, the Passport 9500i by design cannot lock out Ka band signals (presently no typical falsing sources such as door openers or motion sensors are Ka band signals). Here is what happens when a driver engages the TrueLock™ feature when driving with the Passport 9500i and a threat signals an alert. Upon hearing the alert, when the driver activates the signal lockout feature, the 9500i blocks out every signal it sees within a 1/10th of a mile driving radius of the lockout activation location (again, excluding Ka band sources). The 9500i does this because door openers come in pairs (one outside and one inside) and many locations have two pairs. The closest outside door will alert the 9500i first but the detector will keep looking for the inside opener and the other pair. If the driver hits the 9500i with a radar tester (A.K.A. radar gun) the 9500i will add that frequency to the locked out frequencies for that location. Therefore, it is important that if a 9500i driver sees a patrol car right after activating TrueLock™ it is advisable to unlock that location and set it for lockout again in the future when a patrol car is not present. As with every complex technology, the more you understand the process, the better equipped you are to handle atypical situations that rarely occur. Normally, for example, just like you, I drive the same route to and from work and home 5 days a week, twice a day. If I receive an alert while on that very familiar route, several scenarios can play out: 1) the first and most likely, is that I go ahead and engage TrueLock™ regardless of the source, or 2) I use acute common sense and slow down upon hearing the alert, do a quick but thorough scan of the area to determine if the threat is real or false, and if false, I lock out with TrueLock™ (a third but insulting scenario involves the driver who hears an alert and does nothing so the result, like the character, is insane so its not rational - I mention this because its also a bit like the critic or reviewer who applies unrealistic test scenarios, makes inaccurate observations because he doesn't understand either the insane test parameters or the complexity of the technology of the 9500i, and then goes ahead and publicly displays his ignorance for all to see).

In all scenarios, the 9500i protects the driver from incorrect lock outs by continually scanning and comparing locked out signals to current signals seen. What are the odds of locking out a patrol car inadvertently and not seeing the same car again? Very slim indeed and here's why - patrol cars rarely are in the same place two times or more in a row, or, if the patrol car is present again, the odds are even greater that the car will not be in the same exact location, so a different location will cause the 9500i to alert. In my daily driving, not once have I locked out a patrol car and most importantly, as I have already set my lock out for my most routine routes, I am unlikely to ever encounter the very rare occasion where I might inadvertently lock out a signal. As the odds are so incredibly thin for this to occur, when others argue this point, they have to be doing so for some other reason than that based on the performance and capability of the 9500i and the obscure chance to lock out a true signal - most likely they are a competitor and cannot perform the same feat (that being, to be able to design a detector that can permanently lock out all false signals), or they are likely a low level cheerleader of the incapable competitor.

Again, the Passport 9500i protects you from even the incalculable chance of locking out a true signal - in summary, the 9500i will inventory every frequency at a locked out location in subsequent passes to an original lock out.

Click Here to view a TrueLock™ demo

Click Here for a TrueLock™ video

Let's talk about the Passport 9500i's new Mark Location feature. In its simplest form, the Passport 9500i simply stores the alert type you choose for the exact location in which you mark. For example, you know of a specific speed trap or maybe a known camera location (both are common). The first time you pass this potentially troublesome spot, you simply press the Mark button, select the appropriate type of threat and from then on, when you pass your previously marked location, even when you don't always remember, your PASSPORT 9500i will - you'll be alerted to the threat (by specific location in stored memory). In determining when to alert, the PASSPORT 9500i utilizes its ability to measure your speed - if the vehicle is traveling greater than 50 mph, the alert comes at about a mile before the marked location, less than this threshold and the alert comes at a bit more than one-half mile out. Obviously the Passport 9500i attempts to alert in a timely manner that keeps you at your best defense, not allowing you drop your guard for too-early warned alert. The Mark Location feature is a great specific location reminder (that you have set) that could one day keep you from being ambushed by instant-on radar or laser the next time you approach, or be really original and mark that hard-to-find vacation 'hidden driveway' on your next trip.

Click here to view a Mark Location demo

Click Here for a Mark Location video

One more new feature designed into the Passport 9500i earns mention here - Variable Speed Sensitivity. This feature enables the 9500i to provide real-time radar protection based on vehicle speed. The PASSPORT 9500i uses its onboard capability to track your speed to automatically vary its sensitivity proportional to the speed of your vehicle. Simply put, the faster your speed, the greater your sensitivity. For example, at interstate speeds, all radar bands are operating at full sensitivity, providing the best possible performance. However, exit the highway and dramatically slow your speed for a stop at the mall, a parking lot or even a stop light, and forget about the fuss over all the potential falsing sources - you won't need to repeatedly mark the false sources. That's because the sensitivity is turned down to almost zero. The Passport 9500i gives real-time on-demand radar protection (if however, you prefer maximum sensitive at all times, you can select highway mode - see the manual here).

Click Here for a Variable Speed Sensitivity video

Is the new Passport 9500i easy to operate - you bet! The 9500i works right out of the box and gives complete protection from the first moment of use. Is the 9500i complex? Not to use, but, from a technological perspective, the answer is yes - the 9500i with built in GPS intelligence is the new standard in radar detection protection and at the same time, prove the ultimate in convenience by not alerting ever again to false threats. Can the 9500i seem confusing? Only if you try to simulate or speculate about situations that are unrealistic. For example, set the 9500i up in a stationary position and press the TrueLock™ feature and then subject the 9500i to various signals. The 9500i will do exactly what it is designed to do - it will lock out all signals seen at that specific location (not bands, as has been erroneously interpreted by amateur radar testers). In the end, the Passport 9500i with GPS intelligence is the most capable radar detector ever designed, and, it protects completely without ever crying wolf (which can't be said of any other detector ever designed).

Want more info about the Passport 9500i? Please call us at 800-964-3138.

Until next time, drive safe!