Uniden R8 Review – Best Directional Radar Detector Ever
By: RadarBusters Staff, January 9th, 2022
Introduction
The Uniden R8 is Uniden’s answer to the Escort Redline 360c. Available starting in April of 2022, the Uniden R8 should be appealing to those accustomed to the high performance of the Uniden R7 but who wish to have even more sensitivity.
The Uniden R8 retails at $699.95 which puts it at $50 less than asking price of the Escort Redline 360c, Escort’s top-of-the-line GPS-enabled dual antenna radar detector.
What you get is a detector that has more capability and higher performance than the Redline 360c.
Radar Sensitivity
Like the new Uniden R4, the Uniden R8 has incorporated two low noise amplifiers (LNAs) into its circuitry to raise sensitivity to radar by about 3 dBs or 4 dBs over its predecessor the Uniden R7. That amounts to a potential increase of 40% or mode of alerting range, given the right conditions.
Chassis
The Uniden R8 has an improved case design which appears more upscale than the R7 and the two buttons that were hidden on the left side of the R7 have been moved to the front for easier access. They are also backlit.
Large Mult-Color Display
The Uniden R8 has the largest OLED display of any radar detector and is far easier to read than every other detector with an OLED display. 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 R8 now comes with auto dimming based upon actual lighting conditions.
MultaRadar & Gatso Detection
Detection of MultaRadar radars continues to be a strong point with the R8 and now Uniden has the ability to detect Sensys Gatso RT3/RT4 which is beginning to make its appearance in North America.
RDD Detectability
We tested the Uniden R8 and found it to be only detectable to SPECTRE RDDs at close distance, but not completely invisible like the Escort Redline 360c.
Laser Detection
The R8 appears to have better detection to laser and can identify either the make or model of the laser gun being used, the first detector we are aware of that has the ability to do so.
Power Cord
The power cord supports a USB connection to power smart phones and a new RJ12 connector to support the daisy chaining of new Uniden accessories. Like the previous cords, the new ones provide a push button to mute and mark locations as well as a flashing LED.
Availability
The R8 is due for release in April of 2022 and RadarBusters has provided a Uniden R8 wait list for early adopters. Veil has penned a Uniden R8 review which goes into more detail of the specifics of this extreme performance radar detector.
