Uniden R7 – Uniden’s New Radar Detector Gets Arrows
Introduction
The Uniden R7 is Uniden’s answer to the Valentine One and Escort Max 360. Available starting in April of 2019 the R7 should be appealing to those accustomed to the high performance of the Uniden R3 but who wish to own a detector with front and rear-facing antennas.
The Uniden R7 retails at $599.95 which puts it close to the price point of the Escort Max 360c, Escort’s top-of-the-line GPS-enabled dual antenna radar detector.
Chassis
The detector itself appears pretty large, to account for all of the additional hardware required and its large OLED display (the largest found on any detector). It’s size is reminiscent of the original Escort Max 360. The display is angled to the left which makes it well suited to left-seat driving (sorry right-hand drivers).
The early prototype is solid black and will therefore not be reflective on the windshield, which is a good thing.
Large Mult-Color Display
The Uniden R7 will sport the largest OLED display of any conventional radar detector. The Escort Passport iQ had a larger display–to support GPS navaigation maps–but that unit is no longer available. The display has room for a host of information including up to four directional arrows each capable of displaying the radar band detected and its signal strength,
The R7 now comes with auto dimming based upon actual lighting conditions.
Sensitivity
Uniden is claiming a 1dB increase in sensitivity (approximately 12% increase in range) over the Uniden R3.
FMCW K-band signal rejection will be on part with the Uniden R3 although it’s safe to expect an increase in falsing just by the simple fact that the R7 will be able to better detect radar from the rear. The Escort Max 360c will remain the to beat in filtering and will be the better choice for someone who wants great performance while at the same time having the quietest ride available today.
MultaRadar Detection
While only found in small pockets of areas in the United States, American Traffic Systems has set up fixed speed-cameras that operate using a variant of MultaRadar. While a good GPS database will alert you to these systems, the R7 has the ability to alert to their radar emissions. We will have to see how well the R7 can alert to these systems while not overly falsing to the K-band collision avoidance systems that appear very similar.
RDD Undetectability
Uniden is claiming that the R7 will be immune to SPECTRE RDDs (radar detector detectors) which would make it the first detector of its kind, a dual antenna stealth detector. No other company has such a unit at this time. They’ve made that claim with the R1 and R3, but we have found in our testing that these detectors were not truly undetectable like the Escort Redline EX. If the detector proves to be undetectable or nearly undetectable, it could be well suited for driving in Virgina (provided it’s sufficiently hidden from view).
Power Supply
Unlike the Uniden R3, the power connector is located on the right side of the detector. The power cable itself should be improved in quality, which is a very good thing because the power cords of the previous models were prone to breakage. Like the Escort Live! power cords, Uniden’s power cords will be angled towards the driver slightly, will sport a USB connector for powering smartphones, an led, and have a push-button that can be used for muting and marking of locations.
Availability
The R7 is due for release in April of 2019. Positioned as the top-of-the-line Uniden detector, the new R7 should be a very capable radar detector which should be popular with fans of Uniden.
