Customer Reviews

Cobra ESD7100 9 Band Radar/Laser Detector

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I purchased two of these inexpensive radar detectors for my wife and kid's cars, mostly to keep them from getting tagged on a photo radar ticket for $80. The Cobra works pretty well with a couple of glaring problems. Mainly, the L or Laser alert falses all of the time and, seemingly, for no reason. The alarm will sound in strange places like parking lots, side streets, and alleys. I'm pretty sure there's no Laser-sighted radar being used in my alley. Each of the bands has a different sounding alarm, which is good, except they all sound like a something from a 1980's arcade game. I've compared the performance of the Cobra to my Escort Solo and the Cobra is definitely less sensitive. My Escort picked up a photo radar van from more than a half a mile away, while the Cobra was nearly in sight of the van. Still, the alarm was early enough to slow down before getting a ticket. Of course, the best thing about the Cobra is the price. It's an amazing value for a relatively sophisticated detector. If all you're looking for is a little extra help spotting the occassional speed trap, then the Cobra will get the job done, as long as you're aware of the limitations. Serious speeding should be left to the pricier Escorts, Valentines, and Beltronics.

When I bought this radar detector I was at first questioning it because it was the cheapest one and a few days went by where I seen no cop and I wasnt sure if it was working, until I was coming home from my girl friends house at around 1:30 in the morning and it started beeping, I slowed down and looked around and seen no lights and I thought I was the only one on the road then I started goin down a big hill and it stoped beeping then as I got back up the other side of the hill it started beeping again so I thought the thing was junk then the radar dector started going nuts and then I seen the cop sitting off to the side with all its lights off (which is allowed in the state of Indiana) and was happy that I had the radar detector, because I would of probably gotten a speeding ticket. I figured the radar detector picked up the cop about a mile before I seen him so all in all it was a great purchase and I am very pleased with it.

I have four vehicles that I am "accountable" for. With the latest addition of number four came my fourth Cobra and the latest technology with 9 bands. I like things simple and effective. This has the same mount, the same jack input and the basically the same simple functionality as the other three. It is a little more precise as it can pick up a signal a bit quicker than the three year old one I also have.
My thinking right or wrong:
They all work extremely well for my needs from a 911 to a Standard Company Issued Impala
The total of all four detectors was under $200.
Someone will think twice about breaking a window and stealing a $40 Price Brand Cobra given the risk for return on a resale is limited to 10 bux maybe??
I like the Cobra line of detectors!

I like it so far, it beeped sufficiently ahead of time before I actually saw the police car. There are some false alarms but that is to be expected in the city & is not a big deal. For $40, I must say I am quite satisfied with this product.

I have used this unit on highway driving and it is fantastic at picking up highway cops running their radars.

However, if you drive mainly in suburban / urban areas you will pick up false signals (automatic door openers set all the radar detectors off). For example anytime I drive past a 7-11 / Walgreens / Grocery Store the detector will get set off because of the automatic doors. It has a "city" feature which will turn down the sensitivity of the detector, which cuts down on the false positives but does not eliminate them.

I work with someone who has a $400 detector and he effectively has the same issues. He has the GPS unit that you can "train" to block out (by saving the location coordiantes) those false positives based on your location (ie. you drive past the same grocery store each day and it gets set off -- the GPS will remember that location and mute the detector); so pretty much for $40 you are getting the same functionality of the $400 GPS enabled unit, but you will not be able to block out the false positives.

I typically only use mine when I get on the highway and it is great for that. I have dodged a few tickets with cops in underpassses or at the bottom of hills by following this thing.

I highly recommend the unit, but I do not believe ANYONE has created a unit that will not get false readings. The GPS units do work to block false positives but they are pretty expensive still.

This is a great price at $40.

I purchased this radar for my mother, who desperately needed one. She's had it for a while now and it's worked really well. I recommend this product to anyone looking for a simple first radar.

I purchased this radar detector for use in my daily commuter car. I have a Valentine one that is hardwired/hard mounted in my truck and didn't want to go through the process of removing/reinstalling when I switched vehicles. Now that being said, I know I'm comparing apples to oranges a bit here. But I was very disapointed in the range offered by the Cobra unit. I expected less features and slightly less performance than my V-1, but honestly there is no comparison between the two. The Cobra's range seems to be about half of my V-1's. The Cobra seems decent as far as false alarms, but several times when approaching rolling or stopped radar units using Ka, the Cobra's warning was barely sufficient. My commute is about 35 miles each way, mostly rural roads. I don't run my commuter car faster than flowing traffic...Just don't want to be the poor sucker picked out of the crowd for running 63 in a 55 zone. If you want minimal performance for a minimal price, this unit is for you. If you want serious enlightenment about the radar units running in your vicinity, spend the money for a better quality detector. I use my truck for trips involving a lot of highway driving and, well, lets just say, I'll keep my V-1 in my truck...

This product is more than I imagine. It works great and for the sale price is well worth the investment. No complaints

For the price, I think that it is the best deal on the market. Free super savers shipping is a great incentive.

I received this item very quickly and used it for a trip down to Florida and back. It works well with few false alarms and two mounting options are nice. I'd recommend this product