Escort is going further upmarket in windshield-mount radar/laser detectors with a $649 model that is its first with front and rear antennas to show whether a police radar gun is firing from ahead, behind or off to the side.
At $649, the Max 360 is the brand’s highest priced windshield-mount detector to date, up from the current Passport Max 2’s $599. The brand also offers installed radar detectors with dual antennas from $799 to $1,999, excluding installation.
Like a dual-antenna windshield-mount model available direct to consumers from Valentine, the Max displays four directional arrows (one pointing ahead, one pointing back, and two pointing to the left and right.) The front- or rear-pointing arrow flashes when it detects radar coming from the front or rear, respectively. If the detector is moving toward the source and passes it, the arrows pointing to the left and right flash simultaneously.
Unlike the Valentine model, however, the Max 360 simultaneously displays multiple signals simultaneously with their signal strength, Escort said. The multiple signals can come from different directions or from the same direction. Signal strength is displayed on bar graphs.
Also unlike the Valentine model, an arrow flashes in a different color to signify whether the radar gun is operating in the X band (green), K band (blue), and Ka band (red), a spokesman said.
When the Max 360 detects laser guns, all four arrows flash simultaneously to indicate an immediate threat. The simultaneously flashing arrows indicate that the detector could be picking up laser-light reflected off cars, guardrails, and other objects or passing through the windshields of vehicles in front or behind. Because laser-detection sensitivity has increased over the years, “there is a good chance you will pick up scatter,” the spokesman said.
The Max 360 also incorporates GPS and the brand’s previously available AutoLearn technology, which learns the location of a recurring K-band false alarm after a driver passes through the area several times. The detector reads the false signal’s RF fingerprint and suppresses an alert when the driver passes again through the area.
The GPS also leverages Escort’s database of stationary “threats” to alert drivers to red-light cameras, air-patrol areas, and speed traps and speed traps.
“This combination of GPS, AutoLearn technology and arrow detection has never before been incorporated into one radar detector,” Escort claimed.
The Max 360 is available starting today through Escort’s online store and 800 number for a month or more, after which it will be rolled out to Escort’s other distribution channels, which include online stores and brick-and-mortar stores.
When purchased factory-direct, the Max 360 comes with the brand’s first ticket-protection guarantee for an Escort windshield-mounted detector.
