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Display
Brightness Levels
Of the three radar detectors tested, the
Bel RX65 Pro easily had the most
readable display at its maximum bright
settings, followed by both Valentines,
and then the 8500 X50. The display
brightness differences only became
apparent in a direct comparison and all
were more than adequate.
The Bel Rx65 Pro and Escort 8500 X50
each had three brightness levels (min,med,max)
in addition to a dark mode which proved
to be very convenient when we intended
to reduce unwanted attention to
ourselves at night. The X50’s display
has the additional ability
[programmatically] to be completely
turned off during operation.
Bel RX65, Escort 8500
X50 (Red), V1 v1.8 /w POP2, K40 On
Steering Column
Bel RX65, Escort
X50 (Red), Valentine V1 at Night
Both the
X50’s and RX65 lighter adapters have an
alert lamp built-in that illuminates
during an encounter regardless of the
display settings.
The Valentine One only offers a "dark"
mode when used in combination with its
accessory remote display unit which is
not included although this radar detector has
an auto-dimming function on the primary
LED which varies brightness in different
lighting conditions.
Information Conveyed
The Valentine One is limited in its
display (relative to the other two)
because of the utilization of a single
LED, whose primary purpose is to display
the number of "bogeys" (concurrent radar
sources) that one encounters. Band
identification is performed by four
single LEDs that alert to four bands, X,
K, Ka, and Laser. Personally we think
the band identifiers are somewhat
superfluous given the superior audio
tone quality and that clear visual
identification is only possible during
the day and only after close scrutiny.
Both the RX65 and X50 allow for three
different display modes - two of which are
virtually identical in nature –
radar band id, followed with signal
strength bar meter in standard mode and
radar band id, followed by actual
frequency (although we' re not completely sure of their absolute accuracy, as they
never agreed).
The third display
mode approximates the behavior of the V1 in
that the radar detectors can display multiple
radar sources concurrently along with
their relative strength levels. As we
got comfortable with the operation of
both the RX65 and X50, we preferred
using this mode as
multiple radar sources are easily
identified at a glance.
Utility
The displays of both the RX65 and the
X50 allow for very easy programming
without reference to a manual.
The RX65 has the additional capability
to quickly familiarize its user with the
majority of alerts and signal gradients
both with audio and visual demonstration
- a very nice touch, indeed - through the
use of a tutorial mode that is entered
during the power-up sequence.
We believe both the Escort 8500 X50 and
the Valentine One do not
lend themselves as well to right-hand drive usage as
the display is angled somewhat to face
the left requiring proper placement to
be to the right of the driver (center
windshield) for easiest viewing.
In right-handed drive scenarios, if the
radar detector were mounted at this
location, the display would face away
from the driver making it harder to view
at a glance (more so with the X50).
If one were to place the radar detector to the
right of the driver, it would have to be
mounted on the extreme right side of the
vehicle which would likely undermine
rear sensitivity to both radar and laser
given the likelihood of an obstructed
line-of-sight to the rear.
As the Bel
RX65 Pro has a flat
face, it would work equally
well in either a left or right-hand drive
scenario.
Video/Audio Clips (DivX
Codec):
Tutorial Mode of Beltronics RX65 Pro (Hi Bandwidth)
Tutorial Mode of Beltronics RX65 Pro (Med Bandwidth)
Update 20 SEP 08: Read about the new Beltronics GX65 Pro
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