Whistler Pro 78 Radar Detector Review

Driver Experience Test
Today I resumed my “under $200.00” radar detector review with the Whistler Pro 78 (Version C).
The Pro 78 retails for $179.00 and is a corded all band radar detector.
The Pro 78 does have the blue dual periscope LED lights and has a blue LED display with a Geiger counter read out.
The K band trailer that I have been referencing in my review was moved to a new location near my office, so I visually marked the alert of several other detectors to use in this test. The new location is in a business area that has a slight approaching curve. High end detectors such as the Bel RX65, Escort 9500i and the Bel STi were alerting to the trailer approximately a half mile away. The lower end units such as the Cobra models would alert approximately 1500 feet away.
As I approached the trailer today with the Whistler Pro 78, we received a short chirp and a reading of “pulse alert” at 2100 feet away. The detector then fell silent until it went into full K alert at approximately 1700 feet away.
I then headed south to Interstate 10 travelling through a sparsely populated area that is void of any devices that would normally activate a false alert on a radar detector. When compared to other detectors in the “under $200.00” price range, the Pro 78 did a superb job, only alerting twice to “pulse alert on K band.”
Upon reaching I-10 I headed east to the Phoenix metro area.
Just east of the SR85 turn off in Buckeye the Pro 78 flashed its first Ka alert. Three quarters of a mile ahead, I observed an Arizona Highway Patrol unit pulled behind a stopped vehicle in the west bound shoulder.
I turned off I-10 at the 101 loop and headed north. Just past the Cardinals football stadium I received my second Ka alert and rounding a curve observed another Arizona DPS unit parked at an exit ramp just a quarter mile ahead.
At US 60 we turned off and headed back to Wickenburg.
In the city of Surprise the Pro 78 alerted K band and in a few moments I observed an approaching patrol car in the opposite lane of traffic approximately 1300 feet ahead.
Being a veteran “Fireballer” where a quality radar detector is of utmost importance to avoid hefty speeding fines, I would classify the Whistler Pro 78 as being one of the only radar detectors costing less than $200.00 that I would ever consider using in my own car.
Even though the overall range and sensitivity is less than the higher end Bel and Escort units, it range is superior then most of the other models we have tested in the $200.00 price range.
I found that they blue LED was very easy to read even in bright sunlight and the flashing LED periscope is an attention grabber when it alerts.
The Pro 78 is a great value for the price and I feel that it will be one of my top picks when I complete the entire review in the coming weeks.
Radar Roy Badge Rating – Three Badges

Read more...

Mojo Network – Need For Speed

Back in July I headed up to Seattle to Take part in a new television series airing on the Mojo HD network, “Test Drive – The Need For Speed” The episode that I’m involved with is now airing, where I outfit a Saab with an Escort 9500i and a Blinder M-27 laser jammer and go head to head with the Washington State Patrol. This episode also explains the differences between radar and laser enforcement and demonstrate various speed counter measure devices.

Read more...

Beltronics STI Remote Review III

Bel STi R Driver Experience Review
Last week we had our first opportunity putting the Bel STI-r through its paces during a 1200 mile road trip through Arizona, Nevada and California in our 2005 Columbia Freightliner.
During this trip we also had the dash mounted STi installed in the cab, affixed to the sun visor approximately four feet higher than the remote mounted antenna mounted in the front grill.
Both units were programmed to the Highway sensitivity setting with X band on.
As we were leaving Wickenburg, we passed by the K band speed trailer that we have been using for our “Under $200.00 Radar Detector Review”. Both STi units alerted simultaneously approximately 3500 feet away which triple the range that we experienced with most of the detectors costing less than $200.00 in our review.
On Interstate 17 heading toward Flagstaff, the remote STi alerted Ka band with a few short chrips, while the visor mounted STi detector remained silent. Most experienced radar detector owners will recognize such an alert as an indication that instant on radar maybe in use, so we slowed down and kept an eye out for Smoky.
After traveling another quarter mile both STi units alerted Ka with a few short chirps as we cleared an embankment in the median.
The next half mile both detectors remained silent and I was starting to feel that the prior alerts may have been false alerts. However just as I was starting to accelerate both STi units went full alert Ka as I eyeballed a southbound Arizona Highway Patrol unit heading my direction.
Entering Flagstaff, we experienced a few X band alerts from what we expect were automatic door openers. However I feel that these X band false alerts were far less then we would experience with a lower end detector that didn’t have the filtering capabilities of the STi.
Just west of Flagstaff, the STi-r display alerted us to a connection problem with our remote mounted antenna. I pulled into a truck stop in Belmont, raised the hood and found that the connector plug on the cable extension became disconnected. We reconnected the antenna, fueled up and headed west toward Kingman.
Just east of Williams the remote STi unit alerted to constant on Ka band a few moments prior to the visor mounted unit. A mile further west after both detectors displays were at full alert we observed another Arizona DPS unit parked in the median facing our direction.
We continued west on I-40 and just outside of Kingman the display again alerted us to a wiring problem with our remote antenna.
Once in Kingman we found that the connection plug had again loosened. This time however we wrapped the connector plug with electrical tape to prevent this mishap from occurring again. From Kingman we headed north on SR 93 to Hoover Dam.
Just south of the Dam both the STi units alerted simultaneously to a constant on K band signal. A mile further down the road, we observed a Federal Bureau of Reclamation patrol car parked in fifteen mile an hour speed zone.
We called it a night after arriving in Las Vegas; however we continued our road trip later in the week traveling an additional 900 miles through Nevada, California and Arizona.
During the entire trip the STI-r’s long range performance was stellar; giving us advanced warning of impending threats while remaining stealth to all radar detector detectors and to the eye!
I found the STi Remote was very easy to program for advanced functions such as band select and expert mode. One of the new programmable features found in the STi-Remote is the segmentation of the Ka band into 10 portions allowing the user to select the Ka band frequencies for scanning.
I also found that the remote powered external speaker was more than ample in providing audible alerts that could be heard over the roar of the turbocharged diesel engine, the chatter on the CB radio, and over the full volume of the trucks stereo.
With my experience as a certified commercial vehicle enforcement officer and as a certified police radar instructor for over twenty years, coupled with my ten years of experience in the speed counter measure industry I can say without doubt that the STI-r is the ONLY CHOICE that professional owner operator has if they want their radar detector to be stealth to the eye and to all law enforcement detection equipment.
Radar Roy’s Rating – Five Badges

Read more...