- 1.5-inch full-color ExtremeBright DataGrafix II display provides enhanced data display in easy-to-read vivid colors
- GPS Locator and Lifetime Subscription to AURA Database alert you to verified Speed and Red Light Camera locations
- Detects all 15 radar/laser bands with super-fast lock-on detection circuitry; provides complete immunity to VG-2
- 8-point electronic compass, Voice Alert, car battery voltage display/low car battery warning and much more
- One-year limited warranty
- NOTE: The product is a Cobra XRS 9960G (composed of the XRS 9955, RDA GPSL55 GPS locator
February 21, 2013 Update: The replacement unit has worked flawlessly for more than three years now. The new screen saver blacks out the screen leaving a flashing dot, so there is less chance for burn in. I still use this unit. I used a newer model and dislike it (the one with the big touch flip down screen the Vedetta). This old standard just keeps working. I banged the GPS unit and loosened the connector when I dropped it on the floor of the car. If I spent some time and glued the cover on the GPS unit back together (it is a really simple clamshell snap together deal), the thing would work perfectly again. I don't really care so much about the GPS updates anymore. Photo enforcement is at virtually every single intersection in Chicago now, and I don't use this much in the city. Honestly, if the thing could just display my speed without that wart, I'd be really happy. You can read the long review, or just take my word that a guy that has owned this for three years, has never gotten a ticket while using it, and is still happy with the thing. It is ugly as sin but it works just fine.
January 8, 2010 update. The Railroad signal also works, it went off near a railroad track. The Emergency Vehicle alarm has gone off a lot lately, for police cars and Ambulances. Very nice.
The display has gotten a distinct burn in for the speed display (I'm testing Cobra's warranty repair service with this January 23, 2010 a brand new core unit arrived quickly, Cobra made good on the warranty, no questions asked). The display does not work at all if you leave the detector in the cold, around freezing. Once the unit warms up it finally works, but it will be an ugly orange for a long time. And see the comments about getting a bean bag mount the suction cups do not work at all in the cold.
SOFTWARE update Cobra now offers 64 bit for Vista and XP software. It only took them 6 months to deliver the update. Boo on Cobra for pitiful software support. They get really bad marks for their inability to support their device. Follow the install directions very carefully.
October 10, 2009 update. The Emergency Vehicle alarm finally went off. Another that made me almost jump out of my skin, the noise is a lot like a police siren. A police car was pulling somebody over with siren going. Well before I could hear the siren, the alarm went off on the screen. I had already seen the lights before the alarm went off. If a police car is equiped with a special transmitter, the Cobra will go off.
September 26, 2009 update. Laser detector finally went off. About made me jump out of my skin. The sound is kind of Star Wars, crazy buzzy sound. The goofiest icon come up, its an image of a gun with a laser sight on it. But the good news it works. Definately works just fine. I've also had some fun with this unit, the Chicago area has a ton of construction with threatened photo radar speed enforcement. The amazing thing, if they ever turn on those radar guns that are out there right now, Chicago will make a ton of money. This unit warns for those guns a long ways in advance, and it beeps like insanity whenever I am on top of one. This thing really works.
June 2, 2009 Tech Support update. Well this is not the fastest company I have ever met. Web support via the web form is pitiful at best. Twice I entered the exact same information and never got a response over a 1 week time period. I finally used an email address (it's buried in an advertisement looking thing on the FAQ's) and got a response within two hours of their normal business hours. And I got a nasty gram from somebody telling me to relax, tech support would get back to me (after over 7 work days, I lost all hope), they did receive all three of my emails. Frankly, a really poor showing on their part. God help you if you need tech support from this company. The FAQ section for the radar detectors is just awful. Pretty well worthless.
Back to Original Review:
The really great news, this radar detector flat out works. It works well. I'm amazed at how well it works. Photo, Ka, X, and Caution Zones saw them all, they all work just great thank you very much. Haven't seen a laser alert, emergency vehicles, or a Railroad crossing alert yet; but I'd have every reason to believe those will work when they are really there.
The good 1/2 mile down the road, Ka chirped on, the lovely lady said Ka Alert, and two balls of signal strength. Sure enough, a 1/2 mile later down the raod, a policeman with radar pulled somebody over. Pretty darn good proof the unit can detect radar.
Unboxing I've posted some pictures of unboxing. It's actually some pretty decent packaging and got my heart rate up just a bit. You see, I used to be addicted to radar detectors. And then Laser came along, and I lost interest, (I'd already been through X band, then get a new one that would do Ka, enough already). Well that whole world has settled down now.
What is in the box? This funky looking radar detector with a big honking screen on the back end of it. And this really hideous half arm, half wart hanging off the side of the body; the GPS receiver. A coiled power cord. A goofy looking female mini-USB to male USB cable. A really crummy cheap window suction cup mount. A chunk of velcro. And an instruction book bag.
The installation. Ouch. The first step, you have to register the GPS and update the database. If you use the wrong model number to register the GPS you'll be ripped off your lifetime Aura database updates. Make sure you use the XRS 9960G model number not the number on the radar detector. And you have to input the serial number off the little dinky GPS receiver. Once registered, you then have to download and install a little piece of software that will live on your computer forever it's called RDA GPSL-55 (you got me how they came up with that gorgeous name). Then you are supposed to plug in the USB cable and the GPS receiver. Now if you have Vista, the website says you are on your own. With XP they give you step by step instructions. Well, the best deal, if you have Vista or XP 64 Bit don't even bother. The software / driver will not work at all, nothing, nada. So you have to find a 32 bit machine to do this update. My Aspire One netbook did the job. Then you have to remove the GPS when you start up the RDA GPSL-55 software, and you have to enter the GPS serial number. Once all that craziness is done, you might get lucky and the GPS will update with it's brand spanking new database. Mine finally did after three tries.
So software set up just not cool at all. Forget 64 Bit operating systems. And forget about any kind of real live software support on the Cobra website; it just doesn't exist at all.
So now that the little reciever is updated, I installed this in the car. Cobra needs to take a lesson from Garmin, or the GPS industry, about car mounts for devices. They shipped the cheapest piece of garbage to hang this on your windshield. The metal is nothing to bend. The suction cups are exactly that, suction cups that are very hard to push on or remove. So, bottom line this thing looks like garbage hanging from the windshield.
The power cord is way too short. I had to stretch is a long ways to work in my Buick Rendezvous (I know a radar magnet) if those suction cups ever let go, this unit is flying to the back of the bus quickly. The Mercedes was a little better.
There's one other critical design flaw. The socket for the GPS receiver is a standard mini-USB connector; cheap and not exactly super secure. Definately not an automotive type connection. The power socket is right beside that GPS socket. The GPS almost covers up the power socket, and when you stretch the power cord, it stresses the GPS connection. First time around, the GPS wasn't seated right because the power cord pulled it out.
Now the good stuff. Power this up, and you are greeted by one of the nicest female voices I've heard on an electronic device in a long time. And then you get to look at the display. Well Cobra could have spent maybe five more dollars on this display. It is super low res, the icons are really goofy looking and super clunky. For some unknown reason, they love how much electricity the unit is getting, there's this huge battery in the default display that tells you 14.7V, or whatever is going in. I would haver rather seen the speed displayed.
Customization through the menus is not super intuitive, there's only 4 buttons to work with. They don't always do exactly what I thought they should, a minor annoyance.
Now on to the testing. About 1/4 mile from a camera monitored intersection, the displayed turned to a camera with a green donut, and the Cobra lady said Photo Alert. A bit closer, and an arrow appeared at the top. Closer and the donut got larger and yellow. Closer still, the donut turned red, by that time I was pretty much at the edge of the intersection. This was pretty cool. Worked every single time.
I found a policeman staked out on a road, doubled back and got the Ka alert mentioned at the top of the review. Given the two level signal strength, it wasn't a false alarm. And the fact that he pulled somebody over, well it was real.
The Caution zones is kind of interesting. It's apparently areas where a lot of accidents have been reported. Sure enough, Caution came on with an exclamation point in the middle of the donut, and Cobra lady told me Caution Alert. The color change was exactly like the Camera alert. The two that came up were in front of a school at a very busy intersection. And the second was in front of a hospital.
False alarms. It did a pretty darn good job rejecting them. O'Hare airport is notorious for heavy duty false alarms everywhere. I got X and Kz alarms, but all were only one ball signal strength. The other great thing this unit does, once the alarm is set, you get the voice plus a tone. Then you get tone. And if the signal doesn't get stronger, the tone gets quieter; but the X or Ka radar gun icon stays lit up. It's a really great way to work.
Multiple alarms got a caution and an X band alarm at once. The Caution stayed huge and the X band radar showed up on the screen. So both were there to see.
Highway driving. Well this is a bit strange and will take some getting used to. Those Caution and Photo alarms are all based on GPS coordinates data. When you travel along a highway, sometimes you will pass near one of those areas. Well you have to look closely at the icon for the direction the arrow is pointing. If it's pointing straight up, that zone is probably on the road in front of you. If it's to the side, well it's probably not a highway warning, but a street parallel to the highway. It's tricky to see at first.
Oh the GPS speed was off by between 1 and 2 mph. I know this because I've calibrated this vehicle's digital speed display with two Garmin GPS units. The Cobra thinks the speed is really 1 to 2 mph slower than it really is.
So bottom line it's a really good unit, that does exactly what they say it does. It could be much better built. The Passport series from Cincinnati Microwave is much better built their GPS receiver is built in. However, their displays are all words, no pictures. So Cobra wins there. As Cobra's highest end radar detectors, they did a great job on the things that count; and did a poor job on the visual part.
The part that I find amazing, couple this with a Garmin Nuvi GPS; and it will be hard to look at the road. I'll almost need a copilot to help me with all these gadgets! Safe travels.So I have been using this Radar Detector for about 5 days now and loving/hating every moment of it. I am not convinced....here are my thoughts.
The box includes the detector, a suction cup mount (works well), a piece of velcro for dash mounting, a gps receiver dongle, a usb to mini usb cable (12 inch cable), and of course the power cord.
What I like:
1. The unit is designed well and mounts very easily using the suction cup mount (I do not want to permanently attach adhesive backing velcro to my dash).
2. The ability to update the GPS dongle with up to date camera and speed trap information (When the site works)
3. The intuitive (compact) display that gives you basic GPS info (direction and so forth).
4. The voice feedback when an alert is detected.
What I dislike:
1. The website was down for-ever and in FireFox shows that it is blacklisted by Google. Internet explorer does not show it blacklisted and works just fine.
2. The updates to the GPS dongle must be on a Windows based PC running a 32bit OS. MAC's are not supported.
3. Horrible support. I tried to call when the site was down to see if they had a solution....no response, no call backs.
**NOTE: You download a small software from the website which you install on your pc..once installed you plug the dongle in and you must enter the serial number on the back of it so you can get the update...
My experience:
I live in the land of State Troopers (New Jersey) and commute to the city that invented the Traffic-Cam (New York City). My total round-trip commute is about 125 miles daily...therefore I spend a lot of time in my car. I have never felt the need for a Radar Detector because I was afraid that it would make me drive a little bit more faster then I do already.. That being said I definitely wanted to give this puppy a shot and see what it detected and what it did not.
I finally got the GPS dongle updated with the latest database that had updated information about camera's, speed traps, etc....apparently this is updated every 24 hours (when the site is up and running). Plug in the dongle and turn the unit on and you are ready to go.
First test, locally around my home where I know we have 3 live cameras at traffic lights and 2 dummy cameras. I drove my little car near the dummy cameras and no alert...drove past the live cameras and 2 of them showed an alert while the 3rd did not. I made a note of the 3rd one so I could add it to the database (you are allowed to login to the site and add updates for all users .. nice feature). Quick Note: June 25th Evening Drove home via this camera that I added to the database and voila it actually worked...the device notified me of a camera.
Second test, the police department in our area tries to be nice and instead of issuing citations they install these radar's on wheels that notify you of your speed so that you can control yourself (ha...I do live in the boonies). What better way to test a radar detector then to drive by these things...without facing a real officer. :-) I know of 4 of them on a regular basis. I drove up to two of them...meaning driving towards them and the detector started to signal an alert..probably about 3/4 of a mile before I got there. Awesome. Now then I drove up to two of them from behind....on one I got an alert 1/2 mile before and on the other about 1/4 mile before I got to it. It works..
Third Test The good ole' NJ highways with state troopers galore now in unmarked Dodge Chargers. Woo Hoo...this was going to be fun...but I didnt go nuts driving fast...just wanted to see this puppy work. I start off by changing the device to Hwy mode and off I went. I drive on i78 about 45 miles one way each day and there are a lot of speed traps. The rate of detection here was disappointing...about 50% of them never caused a signal...but that could simply mean the trooper wasn't looking for anyone. Still...pretty good. PS. I did turn on all of the available bands on the unit (it covers 15 different ones).
Fourth and final test, The city of the cameras! I drove through the Holland Tunnel into NYC ( I had turned the device to City mode before entering the tunnel). Naturally I got a lot of false K Band alerts (to be expected in dense areas with lots of wireless garbage). However here is where this thing came out in full force. It detected EVERY camera at EVERY light and warned me about it.... Gotta love that. I knew about most of the cameras it found but there were 6 that even I missed on my route from the Holland tunnel to midtown NYC. AWESOME.
Why then is my rating of this product 4/5 (i would have given it a 3.5 if I could). I simply dis-like the fact that the website is useless and blacklisted to boot. I also am a bit annoyed that I have to use a Windows PC at 32bit to install/update the GPS dongle. I use 64bit operating systems on a regular basis and mac's when I can...so the ability to update on any of them would be awesome...but I cant hate them for not supporting 64bit...a lot of companies don't. My main complaint is that its not MAC friendly. Last but not least...my main concern is that if people don't buy enough of these types of devices, the database will become outdated and thus the GPS dongle will be just that...it will tell you which way you are going but not be able to alert you to traps, troubled areas etc.
I still think the product is great but Cobra needs to work on implementation a little bit more. 3.5/5 for me...but since no halves are allowed its rounded up to 4.English-speaking Cobra Radar/Laser Detector is truly one of the best, bar none! While relatively easy to operate and comprehend, this device is recommended for city dwellers and highway travelers alike.
After opening the package and viewing the sophisticated electronics, we dreaded having to spend lots of time reading the operation manual; however, this was not the case. After roughly 22 minutes of reading, probing, and mounting the unit on our dashboard, the device was ready to go. Note that the product includes fixtures for optional windshield mounting too, but dashboard operation seemed more agreeable to avoid having the required power cord dangling above.
The four buttons are pleasantly minimal with settings for:
* City or Highway
* Dimness or brightness (via OLED technology = Organic Light Emitting Diode)
* Mute
* Power on/off with volume control
* Menu for further optional programming
Mute is a good feature when using this device with a normal GPS system; both sound and image are dually indicated. However, the unit includes an audio jack if one desires to connect to a speaker for sound amplification. Plus, using the Mute control, one may view additional features, such as the vehicle's actual voltage read from the cigarette lighter, which provides a 'low battery' warning; and there is a programmable compass; display of numeric longitude and latitude (via the GPS), and much more.
The Global Positioning System addition is brilliant, but we wished it provided directions like ordinary GPS's. This one detects new and existing photo enforcements; caution areas; speed alerts; programmable user location alerts, updatable GPS database information and more. Perhaps in the future, drivers will have all of these features worldwide including telephone and email capability all-in-one.
We did not experience false alerts in our tested urban and suburban area. For example, there were warnings for speed indicator units (warning drivers to be cognizant of their speed); law enforcement vehicles in transit (note that "parked" unattended units generated no alert); regular (non-cargo) trains did not alert; however, regular rails like AM-Trak picked up signals. At the local international airport, the device did not beep constantly, but rather it alerted us correctly when obvious vehicles were nearby. Note that in the city, we had unclear alerts, but realized there are often "unmarked" vehicles that aren't so obvious. With Intellimute technology, the system worked as expected. In fact, Cobra knows if our vehicle is moving slowly or stopped; it detects and displays RPM and may be programmed with Activation Points.
The only potential downside is the laser's need for 360 degree view of the vehicle's surroundings. If the laser is obstructed by object(s) or severe foul weather (i.e. dense rain, snow, smoke, or fog), such Acts of God may prevent its operation. Also, the alerts only speak, "K Alert" or "Ka Alert" and few others; therefore, one must read the manual to decipher the alert code.
Thus far, Cobra XRS 9960G is fully legal in all 50 states.I purchased this item almost immediately after it came out. I have had it for about 14 months.
My experience with this radar detector is a mixed one. I have found it useful several times but this device has many fundamental flaws in the design.
1. GPS receiver stopped working.
It worked OK for over a year. Then all of the sudden GPS reception started to become intermittent. It would say "GPS signal OK" but show the wrong direction of travel and then get "disconnected". The satellite symbol on the screen showed no reception. I have not moved or changed cars or position of the radar detector or anything to affect the performance of the GPS. Recently, it says "NO GPS signal. See user's manual". I have even held the device under an open sunroof for 20 minutes. It still does not receive the GPS signals.
2. Screen is burned-in.
I like to keep my screen on. It displays the battery voltage and the direction of travel (when it worked) which I find informative. In the beginning, i loved the OLED display colors and contrast. However, over the 14 months that I have owned the product, it has severely burned a pattern on the screen. The pattern is easily visible on any other screen and it is very annoying. A pixel that is brightly illuminated on the home screen glows dimly compared to one which is off on the home screen if these pixels are the same color and intensity on another screen.
3. Form and fit
One word. UGLY. While useful, this device could stand a face lift. The screen is larger than the thickness of the body, requiring the front of the detector to be taller than the back. Also, the GPS receiver stick out like a sore thumb and it gets in the way of the power cord.
4. Response to actual radar signals.
I find that this receiver is not very fast at detecting radars. I see the cop car with the radar before this ever warns me most of the time. Also, it is impossible to drive past a drug store (walgreens, cvs, rite aid etc) without setting of the detector. I can live with the false alarms but I would prefer that it would warn me sooner when the real radar guns are present. Also, the signal strength of police radar rarely gets above 4 dots. It is rare that I see the red dot glow.
With that said, it has saved me from at least a couple of tickets so it paid for itself but I think it should perform better.
I hope Cobra is reading these reviews and actually working on improving their products. I think there is great potential in these devices but somehow this one is missing the final touches to make it a great product. Improve your software cobra, and improve the reliability of your hardware and hire a better mechanical designer for the external form of the device and you will have a product your competitors will envy.
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I purchased this unit for my wife, who needed an upgrade.There are already some very thorough reviews on this, so I'll just cover the salient points.
First, there is some criticism of the GPS unit sticking out the side of the unit. It does look a bit punchy, but there is a reason for this design. Cobra had come out with an integrated GPS design, but they were sued by Escort, who has a patent on the integrated rd/GPS design. Cobra got around the patent by their new design.
I think that most rd's have sufficient sensitivity, so the issue for me is falsing. My wife's old rd falsed on everything, so it became almost useless as one learned to ignore it. Not a good thing if this time it's really a wolf out there.
I have the gold standard in rd's (after the Escort 9500)the Bel rx65, so I'll compare to that.
The Bel consistently falses in 2 places in the town next to me. The Cobra did likewise, as well as a few random other places, presumably from other rd's (a huge mis-feature of the old model).
It falsed on an X band door opener is Worcester. The Bel never does.
It seemed to have about the same detection range as the Bel when I encountered real radar.
Conclusion is that the Cobra will irritate a bit more that the Bel, but not bad.
I think that the LCD screen is a bit of overkill, but for any setup tasks, it's superior. I prefer the simpler LED setup for in-use.
The overall design is a bit bizarre, and the unit is quite large.
The mounting suction cup bracket is a joke flimsy, and the rd is just supported by the bracket's strength. Consequently, it bounces up down as you drive along. There is an alternate Velcro patch provided and we will go to that, once the other problem is solved...
The freaking power cord is too short! As mounted on the windshield, the power cord is pulled tight across the radio and heater controls (Ford Fusion). I figure that the accountant that did most of the design work decided that they could save 13.7 cents per unit if they shortened the cord.
For the GPS, you download a small program from the Internet, so that you can plug the GPS into your PC (not a Mac), and periodcally update the database. After installing the program, you plug the GPS in for an update, and Windows detects new hardware. It now wants a driver. The instructions never mention this part, but after 2 tries, I figured it out. When you install the program, you are putting the driver on the PC.
Other than the few design gaffs that I mentioned, it's not a bad rd.
I would not recommend this model. If you don't care about the GPS feature, there are better options out there.
This unit cost $208 from Amazon. The Bel rx65 can be found for as low as $263 at the time of this writing. For the extra ~$60, you can get a better unit. Remember, one avoided ticket will probably pay for the purchase.
In this case, my wife was OK with this model. I would have sent it back.
For a comprehensive review, you can search out Radar Roy on the web. He has several reviews on you-tube, including this rd. He does give a thumbs-up on the rd.
Addendum, 1/26/2010
Although my wife is the primary user, I have driven her car quite a bit in the last few months.
I have to admit a change of heart with this device. I now recommend it.
I like the auto-off/on feature, where it detects when the car is off, and shuts the detector down after 15 minutes. It then starts up automatically when the car is started. Totally hands off. All Fords keep the cigarette lighter live with the key off, so this eliminates the hassle of turning on and off.
It detects emergency vehicles that send out an alarm frequency.
The GPS feature is not a big deal where we live, but it does know, and warn, about naughty intersections. There are only a few in our area.
It falses maybe a bit more than the bel RX65, but then again, it doesn't false on the low morning sun on laser.
I like the lcd screen versus the typical led display. It allows for a very flexible display of information. I have found that after it self-mutes, a quick glance at the screen gives a very good status update.
In short, I've come to like this detector a lot and recommend it.
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