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The Cobra RAD 700i hits that candy spot between efficiency and value, making it a superb selection if you wish to buy your first radar detector or improve from an older unit. As the newest in Cobra’s RAD household of radar detectors, the 700i simply outpaces its brethren and provides different higher-priced radar detectors just like the Uniden R4 and Radenso DS1 a run for the cash.
In the weeks main as much as the discharge of the Cobra RAD 700i (September thirteenth, 2023), I frolicked driving with the unit round metro Detroit, later taking it on two prolonged journeys: one to Sandusky, Ohio, and one other to the Twin Cities.
I’ll hit the hit factors of the Cobra RAD 700i right here and summarize my expertise with it. Not counting any specials that may run every so often, the RAD 700i retails for $250 on Cobra’s official web site and for a similar value on Amazon. To aid you make one of the best buy resolution, enable me to supply further context on the place the Cobra RAD 700i lands on the planet of radar detectors.
Escort vs. Cobra Radar Detectors: Features & Pricing
Under Cedar Electronics are two widespread producers of radar detectors: Cobra Electronics and Escort. And below every of these is a “family” of radar detectors: RAD (Cobra) and MAX (Escort). In essence, Cobra is the extra budget-focused model, whereas Escort is the premium nameplate. For instance, in Escort’s MAX household of radar detectors, the least costly unit (the MAX 3) is $400, whereas nothing in Cobra’s RAD household exceeds $250, the retail value of the RAD 700i.
Spec-heavy and feature-laden Escort radar detectors, just like the MAX 360c MKII and Redline 360c, can run as excessive as $700 and $800, respectively (and extra but if you happen to go for further equipment like radar-mounted sprint cameras and laser shifters). Escort could be the popular model over Cobra for radar detector fans who need to squeeze each final drop of juice out of their countermeasures setup. Higher-end items from Escort have a extra sturdy materials building, great detection vary, elevated false alert filtering, and directional alert arrows, which illuminate on the detector to point the place the police radar is coming from.
By comparability, Cobra’s RAD household is extra just like the “life hack” model of radar detector. It’s that “one simple trick” you need to use if you happen to solely want the occasional light reminder to maintain your proper foot in verify. Cobra’s RAD household doesn’t have the identical efficiency muscle or detailed function set as Escort’s MAX household, however the value is correct contemplating the supposed utilization. Where the Cobra RAD 700i will get fascinating, nonetheless, is that it borrows sure technical points from Escort’s MAX household, like Digital Signal Processing.
On the left is a digital pace restrict check in Northville, Michigan, and on the proper is a Kroger parking zone simply down the road. Usually, radar detectors, whatever the model, will alert on a Ok band false right here. That’s not the case with the Cobra RAD 700i, a welcome and nice shock. My Cobra RAD 480i tends to alert the Korger doorways, as do my Uniden R4 and Radenso DS1.
Cobra RAD 700i: Digital Signal Processing
Digital Signal Processing expertise helps radar detectors decipher false alerts (the proverbial automated doorways of a grocery retailer or pharmacy, for instance) from legit police radar. Often written as DSP for brief, the expertise analyzes and processes the entire radar indicators that could be current in a given space, prioritizing solely probably the most related radar sources on the detector’s show display, displaying issues like sign energy, band sorts, and frequency. Radar detectors with the proper steadiness of DSP will provide you with a warning to legit police radar each time whereas preserving false alerts, particularly on the Ok band frequencies, to a minimal.
Escort radar detectors have greater levels of DSP than Cobra radar detectors, so they’re much less susceptible to false alerts, which is a part of the rationale why they value extra. The Cobra RAD 700i, though nonetheless not on the extent of an Escort product by way of DSP, is miles forward of its fellow relations, the RAD 480i and RAD 380 (the latter of which doesn’t have DSP in any respect because it’s a $100 unit). As far as Cobra’s RAD household goes, the 700i has one of the best software of DSP, making it the quietest of the lot. Whereas my RAD 480i struggled round metro Detroit with false alerts, the RAD 700i hardly made a peep, a lot to my shock and delight.
Additional false alert filtering comes from Cobra’s proprietary IVT Filter, or “in-vehicle technology” filter, and Traffic Sensor Ranking (TSR) function. The IVT Filter decreases the variety of false alerts brought on by collision avoidance and adaptive cruise management techniques of different autos, that are radar-based. Meanwhile, the TSR function filters out Ok band indicators generated by visitors stream monitoring and measuring techniques. Regarding mounted location false alerts, Cobra’s proprietary TrueLock GPS Filter is accountable for storing, ignoring, and finally locking these out (lined additional beneath).
Cobra RAD 700i In-Depth: What It Offers
The RAD 700i comes with a 12V energy wire, a suction cup windshield mount, and a fast begin information (you obtain the entire proprietor’s handbook from Cobra’s web site). Unfortunately, the Cobra RAD 700i doesn’t include a carrying case, so we advocate choosing up one thing cheap on Amazon if you’d like one.
Band Detection
The Cobra RAD 700i will provide you with a warning to X, Ok, and Ka radar bands, laser (lidar) weapons, and MultaRadar CD and CT, written as MRCD and MRCT for brief. MultaRadar is commonly related to visitors gentle cameras and different photograph enforcement units. During an alert, the audible tones will repeat quicker as you method the sign supply (the RAD 700i points a separate tone when a laser gun is detected, given the accuracy and urgency of a laser menace). You can hold the audible alerts to a minimal by turning on the Quiet Drive possibility within the settings menu, wherein solely the primary few seconds of an alert will sound.
The Cobra RAD 700i will alert to VG-2 indicators, often known as the notorious “radar detector detectors,” or VG-2 RDDs for brief. Police can use these to find out if a car has a radar detector, nevertheless it’s not trigger for concern as radar detectors are authorized in all however one state. The manufacturing unit setting for VG-2 is off. Here in Michigan, I’ve solely seen a VG-2 alert a handful of instances during the last 5 years.
Unlike its premium Escort cousins, the Cobra RAD 700i doesn’t detect Mesta Fusion, a long-range, multi-lane, and multi-target enforcement technique provided by French expertise firm IDEMIA. Mesta Fusion towers, which mix a Doppler radar and high-resolution digital camera, have been deployed in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, after metropolis officers obtained an indication from IDEMIA in 2017.
Ok Band Low Detection
In the settings menu, you’ll discover one thing referred to as Ok Band Low. As described by Cobra Electronics, Ok Band Low was added in case the RAD 700i have been to go on sale in Asia. As the title suggests, it permits the Ok band detection frequency to go decrease than what is usually seen within the United States. The default setting for U.S.-spec items is off, and Cobra recommends preserving it off.
Detail Displays
You can experiment with two totally different “detail” shows within the settings menu. In “More Details” mode, the band sort, frequency, and sign energy by way of 5 illuminated bars will likely be displayed. By distinction, the “Less Details” mode will present one, two, or three bars to point how probably the alert is to be a police radar or laser gun.
I favor the More Details mode, as it can aid you grow to be higher accustomed to what police radar bands and frequencies are mostly utilized in your space. Over time, it is possible for you to to take a fast look on the detector and know what is fake and what’s a legit menace by the knowledge being displayed.
Sensitivity Modes
The Cobra RAD 700i has 4 totally different sensitivity modes relying on the place and the way you drive. You can scroll by every mode by urgent the SEN button on high of the unit. Here is how they perform:
- High: Zero filtering for optimum sensitivity (greatest for freeway or open highway driving).
- Medium: Minimal filtering to assist cut back some undesirable alerts.
- Low: Maximum filtering to cut back undesirable and/or false alerts (greatest for metropolis driving).
- Auto: Adjusts the sensitivity based on your present pace.
While I’ve experimented with the totally different sensitivity modes, I at all times gravitate again to the Auto setting because it’s speed-dependent. In Auto sensitivity, the Cobra RAD 700i turns into a “set it and forget it” sort of radar detector. The worth is in attaching it to your windshield and going about your day, which the Auto sensitivity lends itself properly to. Be it across the Detroit metro, down the Ohio Turnpike to Sandusky, or by Chicago on my technique to the Twin Cities, I’ve used the Auto sensitivity mode on the Cobra RAD 700i with no points.
AutoStudy Intelligence (Auto Lockouts)
As we mentioned above, Cobra is taking a web page out of Escort’s e-book with this function. AutoStudy analyzes fixed-location radar over time to find out if such alerts are legit or false. Should the Cobra RAD 700i encounter the precise frequency in the identical location roughly thrice – and that frequency is deemed false – it mechanically locks it out and flashes a “Stored” message.
Conversely, the Cobra RAD 700i will unlearn indicators to stop itself from inadvertently locking out actual threats. If a selected sign is not current at a location that was beforehand locked out, the RAD 700i will unlock it.
Press the Mute button thrice to manually lock out a set location false alert. The first press will silence the audible alerts, whereas the second press will generate a “Lockout?” immediate on the show. Pressing the Mute button a 3rd time will affirm the lockout with the identical “Stored” message because the auto lockouts. In the longer term, the RAD 700i is not going to audibly alert if you happen to drive previous the realm once more, though it can show the locked-out alert in gray.
Mark Locations
The MRK button on high of the unit will flag a location and notify you from a couple of mile out the subsequent time you might be about to cross it. Unlike the lockouts (handbook or automated), the Mark Location function is meant for areas with legit threats, like purple gentle cameras and pace traps.
Drive Smarter App
When paired to Drive Smarter, your cellphone will obtain real-time menace notifications in your space, be it a radar supply, purple gentle digital camera, or police patrol, as reported by different Cobra homeowners utilizing the app (i.e., shared alerts). It additionally exhibits the pace restrict of the highway you might be driving on the radar detector’s show display, a useful function if you’re in an unfamiliar space and didn’t see the posted pace restrict.
These real-time alerts present an additional layer of situational consciousness and add worth to the Cobra RAD 700i, an already moderately priced detector. Drive Smarter is changing the earlier iRadar app and has undergone some critical revisions within the final yr to extend its efficiency, performance, and total consumer expertise.
Early variations of Drive Smarter have been hit and miss for each Cobra and Escort radar detectors. In the previous, we skilled Bluetooth connection points between the app, the detector, and our cellphone (and if we might get a connection, it might typically crash). The Cobra RAD 700i is best, however not each time. When it connects, it really works flawlessly, however that’s after we can get it to attach. It was a couple of 50/50 shot for us every time we jumped into our car as as to whether or not the RAD 700i would connect with Drive Smarter.
The excellent news is that Cobra is constant to refine the Drive Smarter app for each Andriod and iOS working techniques (and when it’s working, it’s already much better than it was even only a yr in the past). Refining the Drive Smarter app is a high precedence for Cobra, so we anticipate future variations will run seamlessly. It’s additionally not essential to run the Drive Smarter app with the RAD 700i, particularly in case your main motive is to have an inexpensive radar detector with good false alert filtering. Forgoing the app will save your cellphone battery, too.
Is The Cobra RAD 700i Worth The Money?
Speaking personally, I’ve had a generally difficult relationship with Cobra radar detectors. My RAD 380 is unbelievable, and I haven’t any complaints there, however I’m much less offered on the RAD 480i (to be honest, although, feedback on my YouTube video on the RAD 480i are constructive). I’m additionally not offered on the Cobra Road Scout, a two-in-one unit that mixes a radar detector and a splash digital camera (the Escort MAXcam 360c is a greater possibility and value the additional money). So once I was supplied the RAD 700i earlier than its launch, I used to be skeptical, however I’m glad I saved an open thoughts. I’ve been pleasantly stunned throughout my drives round metro Detroit and prolonged highway journeys to Sandusky, Ohio, and the Twin Cities.
The Cobra RAD 700i punches nicely above what its budget-focused price ticket would point out, prioritizing a quiet trip with almost zero false alerts and a simplified, easy-to-read show. When it involves “grab and go” sort radar detectors, I often attain for my Uniden R4 or Radenso DS1, however will likely be transferring the RAD 700i to the highest of that record, contemplating it outperforms each of these costlier detectors with regard to false alert filtering. I’m excited to have the RAD 700i in my assortment of radar detectors.
That mentioned, the Cobra RAD 700i is value it if you’re a first-time radar detector consumer and wish one thing inexpensive and dependable. It’s additionally a very good possibility if you wish to improve from an older unit however don’t need to break the financial institution. Not counting any offers that could be operating, the RAD 700i is offered for $250 on Cobra’s web site and for a similar value on Amazon. If you buy a brand new RAD 700i and have questions, be part of us on the discussion board, and we are able to level you in the proper path.
Carl Anthony is the Managing Editor of Automoblog and the host of AutoImaginative and prescient News Radio and AutoSens Insights. As a revered automotive trade thought chief, Carl has appeared on quite a few podcasts and radio exhibits, together with Wrench Nation, Cars Yeah, The Car Doctor, and Brains Byte Back, along with showing as an everyday contributor on MotorMouth Radio on WHPC 90.3 FM. His work can be seen and heard 24/7 on the Automoblog YouTube channel.
Photos: Danielle Anthony.
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