Satisfactory Mid-Price RWR
Written: Apr 16 '07 (Updated Oct 22 '07)
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Pros: Excellent visual display, compact size and weight, good ergonomics and hardware.
Cons: Updated: Susceptibility to "Shack attacks" and interference from companion RWR's. DSP Stalker gun sensitivity.
The Bottom Line: Purchase for everyday use from used/surplus/pawned stock for good protection in 85% of driving situations.
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| lentulus's Full Review: Uniden LRD2200SE Radar Detector |
I purchased my Uniden LRD-2200SE new at a discount variety store in 1994 for about $80 and have used it frequently in daily driving around town and occasionally on road trips every year since.
The unit is sufficiently sensitive on X-, K-, and KA-bands for normal driving habits. It detected Nebraska's roadside KA-band excessive-speed warning radar signs at approximately 0.7 - 0.9 mile consistently around sweeping turns and over rolling country. (And a blacked-out state trooper posted in the median between two of them one night.)
The unit rarely suffers band-discrimination problems and offers a very useful visual display, with a LED-backlit alarm light at left of the display that flashes green for X-band, strawberry-red for K-band, and deeper cherry-red for KA-band with distinct audio alarms. There is a row of LED's to indicate signal strength and additional LED's to indicate functions such as mute and city modes. There is also a dim/dark mode. All are visible in daylight and even direct sunlight. Audio alarms are loud enough to overcome highway noise at speed and are distinct for each threat, including laser. There is a low-volume/muted mode. The laser detector claims 360-degree coverage but I have never observed an actual laser contact from the rear.
The Uniden LRD-2200SE is susceptible to interference from other radar detectors nearby. The unit does not always alarm when another RWR unit is operating in the vehicle but occasionally shows a significant desensitization to radar. In the Nebraska test scenario above, the presence of a working Passport 2500 X/K or Whistler 1655 reduced detection distances to about 0.5 mile [revised], nearly within lockup range of the radar-cart units. Detection and acquisition ranges would differ, of course, with different radar guns. Even desensitized, the unit gave (barely) sufficient warning of a Dallas freeway speed-trap (an unusual configuration, in the median strip on an upslope on the far side of an underpass).
The city filter is reasonably effective but the unit is prone to falsing on door openers and burglar alarms. I have occasionally used city mode deliberately in highway driving to reduce "Shack attacks." It is also susceptible to interference from other RWR's as noted above. I haven't used the muted or dimmed modes very often. I understand from reading published tests that this unit is very probably VG-2 detectable at a distance.
With its contemporary Uniden stablemates in the LR6599 series, this unit is a good medium-quality RWR unit and would be a good pawn-shop/eBay find. The lack of POP and Ku-Band additions of the last couple of years at the high end of the market will not affect this model's serviceability for the intermediate future. Not recommended for commercial drivers or in confiscatory states where VG-2/Spectre units are in common use.
10/07 Update:
The power cord, after 13 years, has begun to ravel and shed its outer rubberized layer. Fortunately, both Uniden and Whistler power cords sharing the same voltage rating and plug size are readily available, as are Rat Shack replacements. The detector itself soldiers on.
This unit does not have Digital Signal Processing, which would tend to reduce K- and Ka-band (Stalker gun) detection distances against the newest radar guns which have DSP. Noted: Some Texas state police are being trained to use their older, non-POP K- and Ka-band radars as if they were, manually triggering very short bursts in an attempt to "get inside" radar detectors' spectrum-sweep cycles (which makes their radar pulses look like random noise spikes to the detector's CPU). BEL detectors (see articles on their "Accusweep" feature) should be able to defeat this tactic.
Simultaneously, the good news is that this older unit won't be susceptible, as are detectors containing DSP processor chips, to heat damage from being left turned on in closed cars in direct sunlight (145 deg F is the danger level). See Craig Peterson's 1/2007 article comparing a BEL STi Driver vs. Valentine V1, in which he discusses the problem (while beating up Valentine).
Several post-2002 user reviews on Epinions of the Escort Passport 8500 report mysterious early failures in service (after abt. six months and the sudden appearance of self-diagnostic codes and user warnings) which probably trace to the same cause. Now the vogue for shiny top-surfaces in newer detectors suddenly seems understandable -- and burdened with an appearance of unseemly reticence.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
lentulus
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Reviews written: 6
Trusted by: 0 members
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