Radar Detectors ExposedExplaining the pros and cons of the different types1/31/2012
Windshield-Mount Radar Detectors As the name suggests, a windshield-mounted radar detector clings to the windshield with suction cups. The term is interchangeable with "dash-mounted" since the same model can be affixed to the dash with Velcro hook-and-loop fastener. The chief advantage of a dash- or windshield-mounted radar detector is versatility. It can be easily moved among different vehicles and powered by their cigarette lighter plugs or power outlets. On the downside, even the best windshield mounts are inherently unstable, depending as they do on flexible suction cups and adjustable pivot points. Plus, windshield-mounting a detector entails using suction cups—a lot of them if the detector sees much use. South of the Mason-Dixon line where the sun's rays are more intense, expect to burn through a set of suction cups every three months or so. How to know when to replace them? Easy: the detector will start falling off the windshield, often in the middle of a curve, with the detector skittering along the dashtop until it falls onto the floor and disappears under the seat. (Fortunately, the extremely heavy GPS-enabled models from BEL and Escort can be fitted with the optional Super Cup Mount, which is far more effective.) Pro
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Cordless Radar Detectors The battery-powered radar detector can be invaluable if you're frequently driving other people's vehicles—rental cars, for example. Other candidates for a cordless radar detector are those who prefer not to string a power cord around the cockpit.
With its bargain price and more modest performance, the Whistler XTR-540 occupies the low end of the cordless radar detector market segment. One unique feature is its use of NiMH rechargeable batteries (included, believe it or not). These high-capacity Nickel Metal-Hybride batteries last considerably longer than standard AA alkalines and better yet, can be recharged inside the detector by attaching the power cord. Only two manufacturers offer worthwhile cordless radar detectors: Escort and Whistler. Search the Internet and you can still find rebadged PNI cordless models from the nineties—now sold under the Road Hawk label, but these remain as inept as when they were introduced back when George Bush (the first one, not W) was in the White House.
Most come with power cords to allow operation when the batteries inevitably die—but don't expect a power boost when it's hooked up to the car's electrical system: Performance remains the same. Pro
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Remote radar detectors A remote radar detector offers the best of both worlds: high performance but without advertising that you're packing protection. It has discreet components: a radar/laser antenna that mounts in the grille area and a control/display module for the cockpit.
There are three classes of remote detectors: low-end (Whistler Pro 3600, about $259); mid-priced (Escort Passport Qi45, $549) and high-end (Escort Passport 9500ci, $1,699) and our favorite, the BEL (Beltronics) STiR-Plus, $1,599.95. Upmarket models add laser-detection/jamming modules front and rear. Features and performance rise in lockstep with price. There's an even pricier remote, the K40 Calibre, but after having tested it, we'd advise shopping elsewhere. Read the K40 Calibre review... Pro
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GPS-enabled GPS in this application won't keep you from getting lost. But it can keep you from getting nailed by a red light- or speed camera. With camera location GPS coordinates stored in the detector's database, a good GPS radar detector will alert as you approach one of these devices.
Those same GPS coordinates allow the best radar detector models in this class to nearly eliminate false alarms in town, an enormous advantage—at least if you don't like spiking the brakes unnecessarily. Warnings of camera-monitored intersections have a safety payoff as well since our studies show that these locations always experience higher crash rates—usually due to other drivers spiking their brakes unexpectedly. Escort was the first to offer a state-of-the-art GPS-enabled radar detector and its patent-protected GPS technology gives it a commanding lead. For instance, Cobra manages to skirt the Escort patents by using a plug-in GPS module that extends from the side of its GPS radar detectors. This not infrequently falls out when the detector is handled, sometimes even when it's on the windshield. But there's a much bigger downside to lack of access to Escort's GPS technology: None of the most valuable features afforded by GPS is available on Cobra models like the XRS-9970G or XRS-R10G. Some examples include the ability of a user to mark a red light camera location manually—and have the detector add that location to the database labeled as a red light camera location. Instead, it's marked vaguely as a "user location". Next time it alerts in that spot, unless you have total recall, it's your responsibility to remember what impelled you to mark the location, whether it was a speed camera or perhaps the nearest store with a twofer sale on TV dinners that day. The detector isn't going to help. A more significant shortcoming imposed by Cobra's limited access to GPS radar detector technology is an inability to regulate detection sensitivity according to road speed, one of the secrets to the Escort and BEL GPS-enabled radar detectors' phenomenally quiet operation, particularly in town. Those models lower sensitivity when GPS tells them the car is not going fast enough to worry about radar and laser speed traps. Now instead of alerting to every radar-controlled automatic door opener as you cruise past strip malls and commercial businesses, they keep silent. In contrast, every Cobra GPS-enabled radar detector we've reviewed continued to shriek warnings which, even had they been police radar, would have posed no threat at all.
Escort GPS-enabled radar detectors have another exclusive feature: Autolearn. Cruise past the same non-police radar signal three times and its location is automatically flagged as a nuisance signal. The next time you roll by, there'll be no alert. It's all transparent to the driver; all you'll notice is a near-total lack of alerts in town in reaction anything but real police radar and lasers. Aside from photo enforcement cameras, Escort's use of GPS to keep a radar detector quiet in town is a huge advantage over the rival Cobra units, something borne out by our recent test and review. If you're shopping for a GPS-enabled radar detector, most are windshield-mount designs. The exceptions are remote models like the Escort Passport 9500ci whose small GPS antenna can be mounted any place where it has a view of the sky. The rest of the components are built-in, with only a tiny cocpit-mounted control/display unit inside. And if even that's too much of a visual distraction to bear, the Escort comes with a multi-color LED to supplant the control/display unit. The tiny LED can be panel-mounted or placed inside the instrument cluster, making the system nigh impossible to spot. Other GPS-enabled remote models include the superb BEL STiR Plus and the lower-priced Escort 8500CI Plus. By tracking vehicle speed, the Escort Passport 9500ix and the BEL (Beltronics) GX65 GPS radar detectors vary the onset of an alert, giving about 500 feet of warning at speeds below 55 mph and up to three times that at higher speeds. By tailoring the length of an alert to the circumstance, the driver won't be pestered unnecessarily. In contrast, Cobra's GPS-enabled models alert at up to one mile away, despite your speed, creating interminal alerts in slow-speed city traffic when only a few hundred feet of warning is needed. The Escort and BEL GPS radar detectors also count down the distance to a danger location in hundred-foot increments, allowing drivers to respond at the appropriate time without needless panic-braking for distant cameras. They also inform you about what type of camera is being encountered: red light or speed. Red light cameras often are set to monitor speeds, making them 24/7 speedtraps, and knowing their nature is invaluable information. One other step I'd advise before investing in a GPS radar detector is to scrutinize our stories on the quality of their camera-loation databases. The Escort Defender database, which scored the best of the bunch, warned of 95 percent of the cameras, a remarkable performance considering how quickly these camera are proliferating. But the next-best database—the Cobra Aura system—missed one camera in three, remaining silent as we cruised past the threat. Decide for yourself if the Cobras' lower prices make that risk worthwhile. Find out which GPS camera-loctaion database was top-ranked in effectiveness...
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Whistler XTR-540 cordless radar detector. Lower performance but a far lower price makes it an attractive alternative to some.
Escort Solo S3 cordless radar detector uses two alkaline AA batteries but doesn't pay the usual penalty of lowered performance as a result. This makes it a top choice for travelers who want cordless mobility while retaining high performance.
The Escort Passport Qi45's small control/display module and discreet components allow low-profile installation. Many prefer not to advertise the detector's presence to curious cops and light-fingered passersby.
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