"The Escort 9500i represents the next generation of radar detectors..."

See Radar Roy demonstrate locking out a known false alarm location so the detector doesn't alert to that false alarm again.

(click on image to view)

See Radar Roy demonstrating marking a known speed camera (or red light camera) location using the GPS function of the 9500i.

(click on image to view)

Back to Top

REVIEWS - see all our radar detector reviews here

I have loved the concept of permanently locking out a (known) false alarm location using GPS since Uniden trialed it with their GPSRD unit many years ago.  You drive to work and home everyday, most of the time traveling the same route each day, and muting your false K-band alerts at each and every automatic door opener, petrol station and shopping centre.  In fact it can almost become an unconscious act of reaching for the mute just before you approach each false alarm spot.

It isn't until you ride with a passenger that asks you what that god forsaken noise is beeping away consistently that you begin to wonder if this annoying beeping was worth the money you forked out for it?

The concept behind the "True-lock" feature of the Escort 9500i is quite simple.  A GPS receiver is built into the radar detector which can pin-point the RD's exact location to within a few metres.  If you approach a (known) location that triggers a K-band alert on your RD, you can mute that false alarm once and for all!

Instead of muting it each time you pass the same false alarm spot, you can elect to mute the false permanently by pressing the mute button  three times.  The radar detector then stores the GPS location, with the strength & frequency of the signal, so that future proximities to the known false alarm location are ignored by the RD.  Well, the detector displays a visual icon (a spinning satellite) but doesn't trigger the audio alarm unless it detects a different frequency to the one stored.

What happens if I mute a known false alarm spot and the next time a Highway Patrol Officer is shooting radar there, will it not alert me?

The beauty of the 9500i is that it will "see" there is a second radar signal over-lapping with the first (muted) signal and alert you to this second, new radar source.  Well that's the theory anyway.

Another feature of the GPS technology is manually marking points of Interest (POI) as you're driving.  You can store known fixed speed camera points, red light camera intersections, Vascar or any other location you wish to be warned about in the future.  Next time you approach the stored POI the 9500i will alert you to this danger.

In the future, it is also stated that Escort will provide a "national database" that can be downloaded from the Internet and uploaded to your 9500i by the USB socket, although this feature is not currently operational.  Users can theoretically share their POI database with other users providing a viral sharing of speed trap information around the world!  Very cool.

Thirdly, the GPS system can work in with the sensitivity of the 9500i, so that when you are traveling at slow speeds, the sensitivity of the radar bands can be greatly reduced.  If you are driving around the city slowly, you probably don't require notification of the (usually false) K-band signals anyway.  Therefore at slow speeds the 9500i can be programmed to ignore all but the strongest of signals.  Once you hit Highway speeds, the unit automatically adjusts up to full sensitivity once again.  Very cool again!

At this point in time, with recollections of wanting to throw your last radar detector out the window with all the beeping and chirping it did / does as you drive through the city, this whole GPS technology merged into a radar detector sounds like the greatest thing since the stealth STi from Bel, but before you want to rush off and buy one, remember this:

The STi had its own teething problems upon launch, particularly with over-heating and it took a couple of tweaks until the STi reached the stable platform it operates at today.  Similarly the Escort 9500i isn't without it's own set of teething problems, and will require a few adjustments from the manufacturer, until it is ready to be considered a stella performer, in our minds.

Some of the feedback from 9500i customers that pre-ordered the detector directly from Escort:

"So i lock out one k band false signal and tomorrow pass that spot with a leo shooting k band radar the 9500 should alert because now there is 2 signals detected and u only lock out one. however the 9500 is not doing this. What it is doing is locking out all k band signals at that specfic spot." View Source

Are you satisfied with your 9500i or returning it? View Source

My SECOND 9500i - More bad news...

"...To start, I really don't know what Escort did to the circuitry of the new 9500i. Their 8500 and X50 was great. I'm on my second unit of the 9500i and got problems again."

We suggest doing a search on radardetector.net for "9500" and "9500i" and reading the feedback to date.

We believe this detector will be a truly remarkable unit when all the bugs are ironed out, but until then, we recommended holding off on your 9500i purchase.

Back to Top

PRODUCT TESTS