Review Escort Redline Radar Detector
Escort and Beltronics had taken over the long range arena several years ago, first with the introduction of the Bel STi-R and then with the Escort 9500ci both of which are remote mounted units and immune to all RDDs.
However many radar detector enthusiasts or “V1 Zombies” that they are sometimes referred to on the popular RadarDetector.net forum discounted Escort and Beltronics achievements as this technology had not been followed through with their M3 platform dash mounted radar detectors.
Review of the Escort Redline Radar Detector
But then in June of this year rumors began leaking out in the radar detector community about some new extreme long range radar detector that Escort was working on.
A few days later I spoke with one of my contacts at Escort and pressed for more information. He confirmed that they were starting production of a new radar detector unit called the Redline which he compared to a high performance race car stripped of all the bells and whistles found on the Escort 9500ix.
He related that Escort took used their knowledge and know how utilized in developing the M4 platform and integrated this into the Escort Redline radar detector to develop a dash mounted unit that would be unmatched by any other radar detector currently in production in both range and sensitivity while also being completely stealth to all radar detector detectors (RDDs).
I told him about a planned business trip that I had scheduled in a few weeks to the east coast and of my vacation to Sturgis SD. He related that they would overnight me one of their first units as soon as one became available.
A couple days prior to my trip to the east coast the UPS truck showed up with a spanking new Redline and I packed it up for my trip, thinking that this would be a great opportunity to review the Redline’s performance against the New Jersey State Troopers X band guns.
My first encounter with X band was while I was northbound on the Parkway in Bloomfield NJ. When the Redline first alerted two bars and three miles later increased to five bars, I felt confident that I had scored my first NJ State Trooper. As I approached the state police barracks the Redline was at full alert.
I pulled into their parking lot and at the far end, at the full pumps sat an unoccupied trooper’s car.
I continued north to Route 3 then onto the New Jersey Turnpike south. While on the Turnpike I encountered two more New Jersey State Troopers that were operating X band. In each of these encounters the Redline began alerting several miles away and as I approached the signal gradually ramped up to full alert.
I then headed back to the Garden State Parkway north, and then headed into New York and onto Connecticut.
During my east coast trip the Redline gave me ample warning against K and Ka threats, but how would had these compared to the Valentine, I had to find out.
After returning home I called a “V1 Zombie” that lives in the Phoenix area and made him a deal. If he would let me borrow his new V1 for the next few weeks I’d allow him to test out a new radar detector after its official release announcement, he agreed.
My next journey, Sturgis South Dakota for the 69th annual motorcycle rally .I loaded up my forty five foot Freightliner with my “Stealth Hog” and mounted the V1 on the right hand corner of the passenger windshield and the Redline on the left hand corner of the driver’s windshield to allow for maximum separation as to reduce the chances of any crossover interference.
Perhaps the greatest threat to “lead footed” motorists like myself in Arizona are the Redflex photo radar vans that the state has contracted with for automated traffic enforcement.
When these Redflex vans first made their appearance last year in Arizona, you stood a fair chance of detecting them with a good radar detector. However, it appears since that they have fine tuned their system using lower powered emissions while also changing the polarity.
Making my way north through Arizona and onto New Mexico, I encountered seven of the Redflex photo radar vans.
In each encounter the Redline alerted first of up to a distance of 100 feet prior to the Valentine One.
Outside of Williams Arizona the V1 scored one against the Redline. There was an Az DPS officer parked in the medium using instant on K band. The V1 alerted a second prior to the Redline alerting to this threat.
Later that same afternoon a similar situation occurred when the V1 alerted a second prior to the Redline on short distance instant on Ka.
While traveling up to South Dakota through New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming we encountered a total of eleven verified K and Ka hits, eight of which the Redline alerted to prior to the V1 and during one encounter they alerted simultaneously.
In several of these encounters the difference in range was very noticeable. In one constant on K band encounter in Colorado the Redline had a quarter mile advantage.
After my arrival in South Dakota I installed the Redline radar detector on my Harley Davidson Ultra Glide Screamin Eagle edition that has been dubbed “The Stealth Hog”.
I spent the following week riding over 1200 additional miles through the Black Hills of South Dakota, northwest through Wyoming and Montana to the outskirts of Yellowstone Park, then into North Dakota and finally south back to the Sturgis.
My most interesting Redline experience while it was installed on the Stealth Hog was actually while it was parked in Redford SD, population 25.
Roshford is at the end of a fourteen mile paved county road and is a popular spot for bikers attending the Sturgis bike rally because of the “unofficial” burn out competitions that take place in front of the community store/bar.
Typically officers from the South Dakota Highway Patrol and the local Sheriff’s Office set up radar enforcement on a ridge overlooking the area and once they hear the squealing of the tires and see black smoke they converge down the hill with their ticket books.
The riders coming into Redford were all reporting the road was clear and plans were underway to start that morning’s competition.
As my bike was parked directly infront of the bar and the staging area, I thought it was prudent to move it.
As I started it up and pulled out from my spot, the Redline was full tilt K band!
I flagged one of the participants that was lining his bike up that there was an officer laying in wait somewhere in the area.
About ten minutes later a group came into town on their ATVs advising those in the staging area that there was a deputy’s SUV parked on a ridge overlooking the town, about a half mile out.
On my return trip home from Sturgis I had another unique encounter while driving through Mohab Utah.
In this encounter the Redline programmed in spec mode, where it alerts by the frequency not the band. The Redline first alerted 24.128 (K band) and then alerted 35.75 (Ka Band) and then went back to 24.128 (K band).
A few hundred feet later the V1 alerted, also reporting a double boggie.
Halfway through town I noticed the familiar glow of a speed trailer, but again the frequency changed on the Redline to 35.75 and then back to 24.128.
After I passed the trailer the signal strength decreased on 24.128 but then went full alert 35.75!
I then spotted a white and green patrol unit a few hundred feet after the trailer on the west side of the roadway.
During the course of this review of the Redline, I logged over 8,000 miles travelling through 13 states driving passenger vehicles, a commercially rated motor home, and on a high performance motorcycle.
In over 80% of the encounters when it went head to head with the Valentine One the Redline came out on top.
Another area where the Redline came out on top is filtering. I do give Valentine Research credit by improving their filtering capabilities after Automotive Weekly dubbed the V1 as the “Chicken Little of radar detectors” in 2005.
However the Redline reigns champ in this area, as an example; while traveling through remote areas of Utah the V1 alerted over 12 times to what I suspect were other radar detectors in my immediate area. The Redline only alerted three times to what I would label as a false alert during my entire South Dakota trip.
The Redline has become a permanent fixture on my high performance Screamin Eagle Harley Davidson, but would I recommend the Redline for everyone? No!
As the tech I spoke with when I first became introduced to the Redline, he referred to it as a high performance race car stripped of all the bells and whistles found on the 9500ix.
Living in an area that is saturated with photo radar enforcement I find that the Escort 9500ix is a better alternative as it comes equipped with the photo enforcement database.
Also as my normal area where I drive is in a more urban environment where false alerts are more prevalent I find the GPS filtering capabilities of the 9500ix very refreshing.
However, if you’re a “road warrior” with a spending a majority of your time travelling interstate highways, have a CDL (Commercial Drivers License), or drive in areas where radar detectors are illegal and need a “stealth radar detector” immune to all RDD’s then yes, the Redline is hands down the worlds best super charged extreme long range radar detector made today!
44 Responses to “Review Escort Redline Radar Detector”
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amazing video and review on the redline! thanks a ton!
“…new radar detector unit called the Redline…stripped of all the bells and whistles found on the…9500ix.”
That doesn’t make sense unless I’m misinformed. The ix is M4 based and the RL is M3. Right?
PLEASE POST SOME REDLINE VS V1 VIDEOS!!!!!!!
Hi Roy,
Thanks for the review.
Could you ask your contacts at Escort if they would decide to add GPS capabilities to the Redline in a future model, or to use the great Redline antenna in future 9500ix series?
I really enjoy my 9500ix, which I bought partially to your great review. It is a great detector in the city, it’s so quiet, I forget it’s there.
On the highway I’m not too happy about the signal ramp up. It doesn’t let me judge distance very well. At the same time I don’t feel it gives adequate range in difficult (around a corner, hidden behind a hill, etc.) situations. Is the Redline better for that?
Could you review the 9500ix vs. the Redline side-by-side?
Thanks
I really enjoyed your review. I tested a 9500ix vs V1, And I like the 9500ix much better due to a lot less false alarms, I have a commercial drivers licence and sounds like the new REDLINE is like the new version of the 8500 x50 so I was wondering if you are planning on doing a REDLINE /8500 x50 comparission, just to see how much difference to expect.
Seems like Escort wants to get as much Hype going before any actual controlled testing occurs. If I had the Redline weeks or months before its sell date I would put it up against the V1 and the 9500 in some type of formal test unless told not to do so
The head to head testing was already done by SML but as it was a prototype was not published
hey roy i would like to know where you got that holder for the radar while in the big truck or if its something homemade
Homemade…..
Made it while we were on the road
Roy, I would like to see lidar test results
against the all new Escort Redline. Let see
how good it is against all types of laser guns &
if it can beat the V1 in laser detection
Thanks!
I have no plans on doing any laser tests with the Redline or any other detector because of one reason, radar detectors are totally useless when it comes to laser. If you want something that works for laser I recommend laser jammers, not a radar detector
Thanks for the great information. As one who needs similar, “open-desert protection”, I’m going to be using Redline as soon as the shipping backlog unwinds.
In your video, you match redline vs V1. You said you used some protection to keep interference to a minimum. What is this precaution/protection?
Separation between the two units
I’m going to use a screamer on my motorcycle with the Redline when it finally comes out. There’s is a different screamer for the escort redline and the beltronics sti. Since some say the redline is very similiar to the sti which screamer would I need for the Redline. thanks bob z
Good question, don’t know
The output is different so I don’t think a STI one would work
Very helpful information, I was torn between the escort 9500ix and the RedLine. Thanks for the info.
How did you mount it onto your Harley ?
1″ Chrome Handlebar mount, Radar busters sells them:
http://www.radarroysbuyersguide.com/radarbusters
I just purchased the STi before being aware of the new Redline. Perhaps I made the wrong choice, I don’t know. How does the redline compare up against the STi, is it any better or not? Does the STi have better reduction of false alerts than the Redline? Is the Redline’s range of detection any better than the STi’s range?
I drive almost 100% in a large city/urban area as a courier with only the rare trip into the country, so which of these two units would be the better choice for me to use? Thanks Roy.
I just purchased the STi before being aware of the new Redline. Perhaps I made the wrong choice, I don’t know. How does the redline compare up against the STi, is it any better or not? Does the STi have better reduction of false alerts than the Redline? Is the Redline’s range of detection any better than the STi’s range?
I drive almost 100% in a large city/urban area as a courier with only the rare trip into the country, so which of these two units would be the better choice for me to use? Thanks Roy.
The STi is a good radar detector. The only drawback is you’re giving up a little range, The positive, you will not receive as many false alerts.
What is the best laser jammer? Where can I buy?
Where can I go online and find tests done on The Redline vs V1?
Personally I like the Blinder, you can use this link to buy online from radarbusters:
http://www.radarroysbuyersguide.com/BlinderM27
Roy.
Any idea when escort is giving the redline GPS capability?
Never…
Hello Roy!
Base on your opinion, is the Redline better than the 8500 x50 ? Thanks
In performance, yes the Redline is better
Use this link:
http://www.radarroysbuyersguide.com/redline
It activate a 10% discount code
At check out use promo code FB-8259
Hey, Roy!
Do cops normally use laser to tag your speed during the night ?
Roy, we have a Redline, a 9500iX and a Valentine1 so I could relate to your review very well. I do like the redline for it’s distance, the 9500Ix for the gps (redlight and speedtrap) functions and the benefit of downloading new info on them from the Escort site but have a special place in my heart for the bogeys and arrows of the Valentine1.
Thanks for the review
thanks roy, your review was the best out of google. Went ahead and ordered redline. Thanks for the promo code!~
Used your link, Roy:
http://www.radarroysbuyersguide.com/redline
…and the promo code FB-8259 to get my Redline AND the $50 accessory pack for under $450 WITH FREE 2nd DAY SHIPPING!
I’m thrilled, man. Thanks…
-jjg
Gravelle.us
Roy, Does the new passport IQ GPS radar detector
comes with map updates for Alaska, Hawaii &
Puerto Rico.
Radar Roy Rocks!Due to his help i ordered the redline that i will be taking to Switzerland!Thanx Roy!!!Keep up the Great Work!
Love my RL!!!
I had an encounter the other day that was very interesting. I have a 9500ix interfaced with a ZR3 and encountered several LA State Police units on Hwy 90 running steady Ka band. Given the large margin of warning, I slowed down and then noticed that one of the group was also measuring speed with a laser. However, since I had a full alert to the steady on Ka band, I did not once receive any warning about the laser signal nor if it was shifting. Can you advise if this unit was “jammed” by the steady Ka band which did not allow the Laser jammer to register the signal? Perhaps this is a downfall of the linking of these two systems.
Thanks
kac
I believe there are some kind of bias going on. On the laser detection valentine one is outperform all escort or bel. The over false alarm from V1 coz it is a very sensitive unit, more sensitive will give you more protection.
I use escort, v1 and Bel. V1, no doubt scored number one.
Laser who cares, if it actives and provides a laser alert it is too late
As far as false alerts, yes, the V1 gets tons of them, but this does not mean that you will be getting better protection, just means that the filtering sucks!
ROy, you there’s any concern with motorcycle vibration?
The Redline, no problem with vibration on a bike
The Bel RX65, yes
Mr. Roy let me say I’m a fan of you!
Help me out on this , I’m debaitting between thes two radars redline and 9500ix please, as your expertly tell me which one would you get? An honest a pinion . Thanks much
Depends on a couple things
1) If most of your driving is on the Hwy, then go with the Redline
2) If most of your driving is in town and/or they have photo enforcement cameras where you live, go with the 9500ix
Hey Roy !
What’s the range on the highway between the redline and ix? Do you think the 9500 will so ok on the highway? Or you prefer the redline more ? I am a speedster I had the rocky mountain radar 450 (scrambler) for about 3 years never got a ticket when I had it exept once when I was driving my x5 @around 95 miles per hour and passed a vihecle, and saw in rearview red/blue ligths, he came to me asked how fast was I going I said like 60 mph in a 55 miles zone ! He said I was doing 73 in a 55 ! That’s when realized he never got my speed of 95 mph and in sted he got the other guy. I heard the escort is pretty good what do you say??
On this page we have the comparison charts of the performance of the top radar detectors; http://www.radardetector.org/radar-detector-info/radar-detector-testing/
The Escort is #1 in my book!