Escort Announces New Passport Max Detector and an End to False Alarms

Today I was cruising along I-95 south, coming out of the GWB. Right after the 80 split, I get passed by an Accord hauling ass. I slow down, because I know better; A Jersey State Trooper always camps out on the left, waiting to pounce on the unaware speeder coming around that bend. Even though he is right out in the open, by the time the Honda saw him, it was already too late. Speed traps down here aren’t always on the side of the road, sometimes they stalk congested traffic in unmarked units as well, and even use the occasional air unit. I have yet to find a detector that works effectively in metro NY. It’s a challenge for any system because the amount of signal interference makes it constantly chirp for false alarm. 

I got news the other day of a new detector announced from Escort, which makes some lofty promises and might be worth checking out. Apparently this device is a bit different because it contains an intelligent signal analysis which reads signals differently to cut down on the amount of false alerts. It also packs in a longer range, and faster response time, so you get that extra split second to hit your brakes if needed.

But back to the guy in the Accord - This radar detector also has access to GPS location technology, so if he had this system, it would have likely alerted the offender that there was always a speed trap here. The “Defender Database” as it’s called also flags the location of speed cams and other threats to provide advance warning.

At $549 it’s a bit of a lofty price for a windshield unit, but it has some nice features such as a customizeable OLED display that flows with your ride’s interior, and displays a wealth of useful information.

https://www.escortradar.com/passportmax/index.php

See below for press release from Escort

ESCORT Debuts Ultra-Fast PASSPORT® Max™ HD Radar Detector, Powered by Advanced Military Technology

WEST CHESTER, Ohio, June 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Category leading innovator and holder of over 85% of radar patents,ESCORT Inc. (escortinc.com) raises the radar detector performance benchmark again with the release of its all-new High Definition PASSPORT^® Max™ radar & laser detector. Using advanced military technology, PASSPORT Max™ delivers high definition performance with ultra-fast signal processing and unprecedented noise filtering. 

“Our new PASSPORT Max™ is the best detector we have ever made," said John Larson, ESCORT President and CEO. 

True Digital Signal Processing allows PASSPORT Max™ to achieve ultra–fast processing speeds, unprecedented range reporting and DNA intelligent signal analysis for the ultimate in alert clarity. 

PASSPORT Max™ establishes never before seen performance levels for radar and laser ticket protection. 

By designing PASSPORT Max™ around advanced military high speed digital signal processing (DSP) technology, ESCORT engineers have given PASSPORT Max™ the ability to search for threats fifty times faster than any other radar detector.  PASSPORT Max™ literally scans for radar threats faster than 'the blink of an eye' (a human eye blink takes several hundred milliseconds while PASSPORT Max™ scans signals more than twice as fast).  

This dramatic increase in speed delivers a corresponding leap in detection capability and range. 

In an advanced new product test overseen by the category's leading authority, Speed Measurement Labs (SML), PASSPORT Max™ established three new benchmarks for the detector category.  Setting new records for longest range, fastest response time and greatest sensitivity, PASSPORT Max™ displayed the best performance that SML had ever witnessed. 

"In 30 years of impartial testing, we haven't seen this level of reporting range or immediacy of alerts by any other radar detector," said Speed Measurement Labs President and CEO.

In one test, physicists used an extremely low powered radar gun to test sensitivity. Typically, detectors do not see this source beyond the one-mile mark but PASSPORT Max™reported the same source from beyond seven miles! 

In another SML test, PASSPORT Max™proved its extremely fast response time by alerting to measured test signals more than four times faster than any competitor detector ever tested. 

To determine how far PASSPORT Max™could alert, SML engineers used the longest physical distance on the range. PASSPORT Max™reported every gun, every signal, to more than fifteen miles (standard detector testing for the SML range ends at nine miles as detectors predictably cannot pick up such weak test signals). PASSPORT Max™simply reported alerts from the longest distance ever tested. 

Additionally, high speed military DSP enables the PASSPORT Max™ to process signals with more than an order of magnitude increase in measured selectivity. An order of magnitude translates into a ten-fold increase in performance. This new level of selectivity, or intelligent signal analysis, is similar to the dramatic performance increase seen in forensics when technicians moved from fingerprint readings to the science of DNA analysis. 

PASSPORT Max™ 'sees' the DNA of every received signal, a technology that no other detector possesses. 

For drivers this means an entirely new level of signal information and awareness. PASSPORT Max™ filters the true alerts, those from radar guns, from unwanted false alerts, such as automatic door openers and motion sensors, that competitor radar detectors cry 'wolf' to over and over again.  PASSPORT Max™ reports with an accuracy that exceeds any other technology ever driven.

"...this is the best radar detector ever made," said leading industry analyst, Radar Roy.

PASSPORT Max™ also features a new high definition OLED (organic LED) multi-color graphics display. Drivers can choose up to four different colors for displaying critical driving information such as posted speed limits, over speed alerts, driving speed and more. 

The high speed DSP detector also includes ESCORT's patented GPS Location Awareness technology, which enables PASSPORT Max™ to alert to fixed position threats including red light and speed cameras, major speed traps and future threat technologies as they unfold. 

PASSPORT Max™ includes a mini-USB port for quick connection to the internet for software expansion, data base updates and more. With Internet connectivity, ESCORT engineers can always keep PASSPORT Max™ at the leading edge of detector performance.

PASSPORT Max™ is designed to connect with ESCORT's multi-award winning ESCORT Live™ ticket protection network. ESCORT Live™ helps customers drive smarter by dramatically increasing overall knowledge of their driving environment through threat and information sharing among networked drivers.

"As the category innovator, we simply keep pushing radar detector technology to new performance standards – PASSPORT Max™ establishes a completely new level of driving awareness and protection," said Tim Coomer, ESCORT Product Development Vice-president. "PASSPORT Max™ is the new best-in-class performance with record measured alert speed, record measured range and record measured selectivity for superior performance."

PASSPORT Max™ continues ESCORT's 30 plus year dominance of the radar detector category.

PASSPORT Max retails for $549.95 and is available factory direct. 

For more information on the new ESCORT PASSPORT Max™ HD Radar Detector, ESCORT Live™ ticket protection app and ESCORT's complete line of premium automotive products, visit ESCORTinc.com or, call the company direct at 800.433.3487.

About ESCORT Inc. 
ESCORT Inc. is the leading manufacturer of high-performance radar and laser detectors, the patented ESCORT Live™ real-time ticket protection network, ESCORT MobileTV™, Guardian Alert reverse obstacle detection systems, Entourage GPS-enabled navigation and tracking products, ESCORT QuickStart™ and other Drive Smarter products.  ESCORT manufactures products under the ESCORT, PASSPORT, Max, REDLINE, SOLO, Vector and BELTRONICS brands. The company is headquartered in West Chester, Ohio, with its principal manufacturing facility located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.