Review Whistler XTR-185 Radar Detector
Driver’s Experience Test
Over the next couple of weeks I’ll be reviewing various radar detectors costing less than $100.00 for our Radar Detector Buying Guide.
First up in my review is the “Solar Enhanced” Cordless Whistler XTR. I first became acquainted with this detector at the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) where it was a recipient of the “CES Best of Show” for its unique solar powered panel.
For those of you that have been following my past reviews you’ll know that I am not a big fan of cordless radar detectors. First off, many cordless must turn themselves on and off in milliseconds in order to preserve battery life. This cycling of power has a tendency of reducing the radar detectors sensitivity and range and is can be very deadly on the higher Ka bands.
Plugging in a cordless radar detector does not change the cycling properties of a cordless detector; it just means that you’ll be spending less for batteries.
One of the first things I noticed with the Whistler XTR-185 when I took it out of its packing was that the detector utilized three AA rechargeable batteries. Most of the cordless detectors that I have previously tested have only taken two AA batteries, so I was hopeful that perhaps this little extra voltage would help in the detectors overall performance.
I was interested in learning more about the ability of the solar panels ability to charge these batteries, however the manual mentions that the “panel provides an additional charge to the batteries” and was not functional when the unit was plugged in.
Therefore the day prior to doing this test, I placed the XTR-185 on my truck’s dash for twelve hours, to see if the solar panel had any effect in charging the batteries. Utilizing a digital volt meter I took readings from the batteries prior to and after this test and only observed a variance of approximately .1 to .2 volts. Therefore I doubt that the solar panel would be capable of maintaining a full charge on the detectors batteries, but admit the panel is a cool feature.
False alerts continue to be the chief complaint of radar detectors owners, specially the lower ended models. Therefore I started my day’s review of the XTR-185 with a normal route that I follow when I perform this test that involves 30 miles through remote desert area, 20 miles of Interstate Highway driving, 20 miles of city driving and then 35 miles of driving on a state highway. From experience a high end radar detector such as an Escort 8500 or a Beltronics RX65 may notice up to five false alerts during the entire trip. But from experience in testing low end radar detectors that do not utilize any filtering what so ever, I’ve had some radar detectors just go “wacko”, and just continually false until I finally turned them off.
Normally I keep my radar detectors in the highway mode at all times. This is when the radar detectors receiver is fully open wide. Also if the radar detector has the capability to disable bands, I disable X band and POP as it is not used in my area of test
At the onset of the test, I programmed the XTR-185 to highway mode.
The first leg of my test was south on Vulture Mine Road from Wickenburg Arizona to Interstate 10. Vulture Mine Road is sparsely populated with little or no traffic. Therefore I was somewhat dismayed during this 30 mile leg, when I logged over 12 short interval K/Ka alerts.
I also noticed while driving in the mid afternoon Arizona sun, the display was completely washed out by the sun. Therefore in order to see the LED alert and giguere counter display, I had to place a newspaper over the detector.
Once on the Interstate, heading into Phoenix, I started getting frequent X band alerts as I neared highway exits. Many would not consider these X band alerts as falses as the common culprit are gas stations, restaurants and/or other business establishments that have door openers or other devices that transmit on the same X band frequency; however I do find these alerts annoying.
The XTR-185’s manual related that when programmed in city mode II, X band was deleted and K and Ka sensitivity band remained the same. Also the audio alerts were shorter and not as frequent on K/Ka unless the strength of the signal increased. Therefore I switched the detector over to city II.
The frequent X band alerts did diminish, however they were now replaced with frequent K/Ka alerts. However since I was still utilizing the city mode II, the false alert beeps were very short in duration.
Once in the city and then back on the state highway back to the office, we kept the detector on city mode II.
From my experience, you’re going to be “hounded” by false alerts on any detector costing less the $250.00. So when compared to other detectors in the same price range, I would rate the filtering ability of the Whistler XTR-185 average.
During my seventy five mile loop, I did have a concern on performance of the unit. From experience driving this same route on a frequent basis, I knew of one “fishing hole” that is used by a Buckeye Police officer on the afternoon shift. Just off I-10 on the Sun Valley Parkway you can often find this officer typing out his reports while parked in the median, while running constant on 35.5 Ka band. As I began rounding a curve, I picked out the reflection of his windshield over a half mile away. Normally one of the high end Beltronics or Escorts that I normally use, would had been crying out before I ever started in the turn, but the Whistler was completely silent and remained so until the detector started picking the Ka alert up at as I closed in within a distance of 1600 feet. The detector did alert as I was entering the “kill zone”, but I would had been more at ease with having a longer alert that I have grown accustomed to.
At the completion of the “driving experience” tests with all of the detectors, we will be performing a range and sensitivity test on all the units.
My overall experience with the Whistler XTR-185 was fair with my chief complaint being that I could not read the LED display in bright sunlight. The alert tones were average and the overall performance was average to other detectors that I have tested in this price range. I doubt if the “solar panel” has the power output to keep the detector’s batteries fully charged, thus I cannot make the call that the panel is a true “value added” benefit, unless you want to look that “going green look” while driving your Hummer.
Radar Roy’s Rating – Two Badges
