Great attempt
Written: Apr 12 '02 (Updated Apr 28 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Plenty of features. Great anti-falsing. Wide band coverage.
Cons: Inadequate range.
The Bottom Line: Spend the extra money to get a Valentine One or Passport 8500
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| chenley's Full Review: Uniden GPSRD Radar Detector |
I've owned a few radar detectors in my day. I'm of the opinion that speed limits are intentionally set too low due to the flawed method used to arrive at them and the fact that it brings in a large revenue base for the police department.
I've been waiting for this detector to come out for quite some time. One of the most annoying problems with radar detectors is that they pick up false stray signals from numerous other sources. When your detector is constantly going off, you tend to turn it down and/or tune it out which defeats it's purpose.
When Uniden announced this product, I was very excited. A detector that could filter out false alarms through GPS points was just what I was looking for. I own Uniden police scanners and have been very happy with their products.
After searching the web for reviews and coming up empty time after time, I saw my local store had them on sale for $200 and decided to give it a try.
The GPS works great. It shows what direction you're traveling in and the speed you are traveling. You can mark several locations such as home and work, then navigate to them from any other location. The navigation is very limited however, using a directional arrow to show you generally where you need to go. You can also navigate to numerous major cities across the US. It also shows the remaining distance, time and average speed traveled.
This detector also covers X, K, KA and the new Laser bands. The most useful features is the anti-falsing. When a signal is picked up for the first time, the band, strength and location are recorded. The next time you pass that location, if the signal is the same frequency and equal to or less than the strength recorded previously, the display will show an alert but the sound is muted.
Another useful option is the ability to mark a location where speed traps are commonly set up. When you approach this location, an alert sounds to make you aware of a possible speed trap.
All these features and others not mentioned are great, especially the anti-falsing. The only problem is the sensitivity of the detector. When true police radar was encountered I didn't receive a warning until the police where already within visual range. This flaw unfortunately is enough for me to advise against purchasing this. Detecting radar is the main function. If it can't do that adequately, all the other features are for naught.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
chenley
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Member: Chris Henley
Location: Waterford, MI
Reviews written: 20
Trusted by: 3 members
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