Whistler XTR-190 Radar Detector Review

Driver Experience Test
Over the past two weeks I have logged in over 1200 miles testing various low priced radar detectors for my “Low Priced Radar Detector Review”. This morning we are installing the Whistler XTR-190 for its road test.
The Whistler XTR-190’s retail price is $129.95 and is a cordless all band radar detector.
I’ve never been a big fan of cordless radar detectors because my experience has shown that performance wise, cordless have much less sensitivity then corded models when compared to other detectors in their same price range.
First up on my route, was the K band trailer that the Wickenburg Police Department placed on SR93, around the corner from my home.
The trailer is located approximately 1500 feet after a banking right turn at the bottom of a hill. The Escort 9500i alerted approximately 3000 feet north of the trailer and the Cobra gave its first chirp 1500 feet away.
This morning the Whistler XTR-190 gave its first alert just shy of the 1500 foot mark that the Cobra alerted to the day earlier.
Again at this distance and depending upon traffic flow and my speed, it is debatable if either the Cobra or the Whistler being tested today would have given me enough time to avoid the kill zone.
We headed south to Interstate 10 on Vulture Mine Road travelling through a sparsely populated area, void of any devices that would normally activate a false alert on a radar detector.  During this 25 mile leg the Whistler logged in over 21 false alerts.
As noted with the XTR-140 and the XTR-185, the display is absolutely washed out in bright sun making it difficult if not impossible to read.
Heading into the Phoenix area on I-10, I encountered two Arizona DPS vehicles running Ka band radar, both parked facing toward my direction.
In each encounter the Whistler alerted K/Ka within a 2000 foot range. As flow of traffic was heavy to moderate, I was well outside the officer’s kill zone during both encounters.
We then headed north to Surprise to start our trek back home on US 60.
Outside Wittmann I began getting a K/Ka alert from an approaching Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office patrol car that was approximately 2100 feet ahead.
I feel that the overall performance and filtering of the Whistler was fair with my chief complaint being the LED display. I each encounter I received adequate warning as long as I wasn’t grossly going over the posted speed limit.
Radar Roy’s Badge Rating – Two Badges

Read more...

Cobra XRS9830 Radar Detector Review

Driver Experience Test
Yesterday afternoon I installed the Cobra XRS9830 into my pickup for its road test for my “Low Priced Radar Detector Review”
The Cobra XRS9830 retail price is $209.95 and is a corded all band radar detector.
Again, Cobra uses what I would consider misleading advertising on their packaging indicating that the XRS9830 is a 12 band “ultra” radar detector. The detector has X, K and Ka bands which are the standard bands used in the USA along with laser. However the detector also has Ku which is a European radar band and sliced up the laser band into four segments and add the capability to detect POP as one band, the ability to detect Spectre as a band, the ability to detect VG2 as a band, strobe alert as a band and then safety alert as a band. Their 12 band advertising could lead a unsuspecting buyer that the Cobra units deliver more than other models on the market which is completely untrue.
Yesterday morning prior to my testing of the XRS9830, the Wickenburg Police Department moved their K band radar trailer around the corner from my offices on SR93. When I first found it at its new location I was using the Escort 9500i and I visually marked the location to where the detector first alerted and the location where the detector went full alert.
So I slightly deviated  from my route this afternoon to add the radar trailer to my testing. The trailer was located approximately 1500 feet after a banking right turn at the bottom of a hill. The Escort 9500i alerted while I was inside this turn, approximately 3000 feet north of the trailer. As I approached this same location with the Cobra detector, it was completely silent.
After making the turn, I visually observed the trailer approximately 1800 feet away, at this point yesterday the Escort was at full tilt, however the Cobra was just giving out its first “chirp”. It wasn’t until the trailer was within 1500 feet that the Cobra began its full alert of the K band trailer.
At this reporting range and depending upon other traffic on the highway, it’s debatable if the Cobra provided adequate warning to avoid a ticket if this was a real encounter.
After this encounter, we headed south to Interstate 10 on Vulture Mine Road.
This area is a sparsely populated area, void of any devices that would normally activate a false alert on a radar detector such as microwave towers and door openers. During this 25 mile leg the Cobra logged over 15 X band and 3 K band false alerts.
Heading east on I-10 the detector made its first Ka alert just prior to me noticing a west bound DPS trooper. Traffic was light in this area and I could not determine from the nature of the alert, if the officer was using constant on or instant on radar. However, I would consider the alert notice adequate in that it provided ample time to slow down.
Turning northeast on the Sun Valley Parkway, I began my lookout for the Buckeye Police Officer that frequented this area with his Ka radar gun. Although I did not spot him, I did get a contestant on Ka band hit from a Surprise Patrol car further north. The officer was parked on the opposite side of the roadway facing my direction and the detector alerted within 2200 feet, well outside the kill zone.
However as I still had some time and it didn’t appear that the officer was heading anyplace soon, I turned around and installed the 9500i that I had in my truck as I was interested in seeing how that unit would do under the same situation.
After travelling two miles back west and turning around I was at least five times further away then the Cobra alerted and the Escort alerted at this location much further away the moment I applied power.
I reinstalled the Cobra and returned to my normal route and headed home on US 60.
The overall performance and filtering of the Cobra XRS 9830 was good when compared to the other detectors tested in this price range. A few added value features that I did like was the LED plasma like display that made the detector easy to see in bright light and the LED voltage meter. Does it have the performance and range to save you encounters when you’re traveling 20 or more miles above the speed limit, probably not, but I have not found any detector yet in the price area that would.
Radar Roy’s Badge Rating – Two Badges
 

Read more...