PNI - Certainly No POS :-)
Written: Sep 19 '02 (Updated Aug 10 '03)
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Pros: Price,
Looks,
Size,
Compass.
K Band detection
Cons: KA Band somewhat weak
False LASER warnings when first powered up.
The Bottom Line: Yes recommended - works as advertised
Still in good shape after all these months too!
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| gtd65's Full Review: PNI RX500 Radar Detector |
Well I shall keep the revised section at the top here:
Edit
After several months of use I can honestly say that the PNI unit serves the purpose for which it was designed very well.
Living in Florida previously I was not really convinced of the radar detecting features of this unit, however, I can now say without a doubt that it does indeed work.
I have no idea to this day if the Laser detection is reliable as I have not once encountered a real laser signal detected on the unit.
The unit will constantly warn of laser when you first start the car in the morning (or any other time) but this seems to be something to do with the interference of the cold wires or the warming up process of the unit. PNI recommends a capacitor in the powerline to solve it.
I have found the problem waries by vehicle - my current ride a PT Cruiser GT Turbo seems to cause the laser warning for only a minute or so, however, some cars cause the warnings to continue for 10 minutes or so! My Nissan 240SX SE was guilty as was a recent Hyundai Tiburon GT.
The workaround for this is to simply turn down the volume until the unit/car/wiring signal has warmed/cleaned up.
This unit is absolutely excellent at detecting K band radar - very impressive indeed!
I'm so used to KA band in Florida that I generally anticipated a real life warning distance of some 500 to maybe 600 yards - you might get an odd cheep or chirp half a mile down the road though - all enough to slacken off the gas though.
Well since I moved up to Canada they seem to use K band radar and it must give a warning of around a mile. I was driving at a reasonable speed (80-90mph) for at least 20-30 seconds and receiving K band warnings when I noticed a RCMP highway patrol coming the other way some 800-1000 yards away (I have very good eyesight!). I had actually assumed it was a meaningless warning as I'd never really encountered K band signals in Florida and was not worried about it - myself and my buddy were looking everywhere and seeing nothing! ........Then the RCMP cruiser eventally appeared over the horizon!
I was very impressed indeed with the range of detection for K Band!
The built in compass function is very handy indeed and would recommend this unit for that function alone.
Hope this helps anybody considering the purchase of a PNI RX 5000.
End of Edit
Well I received my RX5000 (not 500 as listed here) on Monday this week.
The packaging was fine and the unit in perfect condition. I was quite excited to get this thing installed and tested out.
Powering on the unit gave the various tones for each waveband and function.
I then decided to "calibrate" the compass function which is done very easily turning around in two circles.
So far the compass function would appear to be pretty accurate and it is a nice "toy" to have in the car.
I drove around for a bit on my way to lunch and never heard any "chirps" or "cheeps" from the unit. As it is mainly out of town I was not concerned with this. After lunch on my way back to the office I was observing the unit and my speedo not long after looking in my rear view mirror, when I decided to look back in the rear view once more - almost taking up the full reflection of the rear view mirror was a FHP Camaro right on my tail which appeared to have come out of nowhere.
I was actually overtaking another vehicle at the time but eased off the gas and allowed the officer to pass - along with two additional Camaros behind him!
The unit did not give any warning of radar being used.
That evening I drove to the post office to post a letter on my way back home I saw a Police cruiser sitting in the darkness observing traffic - again the detector made no response.
Yesterday I was on my way home from the office and saw a car which had been pulled over by a FHP Camaro as I drove by the unit, as per usual, did not respond.
I have also pointed the car towards automatic door openers in car parks and the unit has still failed to respond - this is while using the HIGHWAY mode and I would have expected some reaction from the unit.
Other colleagues have Escort and Valentine One detectors - both of those units seem to fire up/respond when any police vehicle is in the vicinity.
It may be the case that in each and every encounter with a police vehicle my unit has not responded because they were not using radar?
It may also be the case that it is not actually working as a RADAR DETECTOR.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
gtd65
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Member: Gavin Davidson
Location: Sunny Florida for now!
Reviews written: 7
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
e-mail me if you really want to know ;)
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