Customer Reviews

Whistler Pro-78SE High Performance Radar Detector

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I initially had the pro 78 detector which was excellent. So when that got stolen from my wrecked car it was a no brainer to get the Pro 78se. When I came to Amazon and saw the negative reviews because of false alarms I was skeptical but figured I would give it a try for the price. I used the pro 78se in DE, NJ, PA, NJ and the false alarms were unbearable. I wanted to get a refund from Amazon but since I bought it from another merchant thru Amazon they would not accept a return. I then contacted Whistler directly via email. I informed them that I tried the following modes: City, City1, City2, Filter1, Filter2, KA Max off and none stopped the false alarms. He told me to try and turn the POP Mode off, I did and it is 1000% better. I love this radar detector now. If you have this radar and have false alert issue then TURN OFF THE POP MODE.

I have been using this radar detector for about a month now, and it is great. I would like to start off by saying that I think many people have unrealistic ideas of what a radar detector will do for them. It isn't the Police Spotter 2000, no radar detector will pick up any and every police car in a 5 mile radius of you, it is unrealistic and wishful to believe that it will. I looked at the 9500i and the V1, and guess what, there are bad customer reviews on both of them, people saying that they are the worst radar detectors on the market. It is important to understand what a radar detector will do for you, once you do, you can more fully grasp the Whistler Pro 78SE.

I enjoy the voice alerts, it's useful to not always have to take your eyes off the road and still be able to tell what band the detector is picking up. I do not really have a lot of trouble with false alerts, and I drive with it always on highway mode, with all the bands turned on, and Ka on MaxId mode, with POP mode is on as well. I do get some false alerts from POP mode, but I also believe it has saved me a couple times when it would have otherwise remained silent if POP mode was turned off. Other people have really enjoyed the blue LED "periscopes" on top of the detector, that blink when it is alerting, but I have it mounted high on the windshield near the rear view mirror, so I do not really see the blinking LED lights.
I don't really have any other radar detector experience to reference this review on, but there have been times when this detector has picked up police K band at nearly three miles (wreck on the highway, police had their cars facing the oncoming traffic and had their constant-on radar still active) and there have been times when I have spotted the speed trap before the detector has alerted. I'm sure there are a great many technical factors that play into how and when the detector alerts, and overall I am very happy with its performance.
I cannot stress enough that it is important to be aware of what ANY radar detector is capable of doing for you. A lot of reviews I've read of other radar detectors have people complaining about how they were driving excessively fast, the radar detector didn't go off, and now they have to pay a fat ticket. Having a radar detector does not instantly and inconsequentially allow you to drive as fast as you want wherever you want. If you're going to do that you need to remain very alert, always watching the road and its surroundings, and work in conjunction with the detector to ensure that you do not get pulled over, and be prepared at some point to lose the game, and end up getting pulled over, I drive too fast, and I accept that at some point all protective measures will fail me, and I will get pulled over.

To many times...the product doesn't live up to the advertising...this one does. My truck don't like to operate with-in the set speed limits, and this detector saves me a lot of problems...I like it and want to recomend it to anyone that gets in a hurry once in a while...or stays in a hurry!

I bought this unit to replace an older Uniden detector. This thing is much more sensitive than my old detector, yet seems to provide very few false returns. So far it has given me 100% early warning from radars in LA and MS. The flashing blue lights on the periscope display do a good job of getting your attention when you have the sounds cranked up! This is by far the best radar detector I have owned!

A short notice driving trip from Tulsa to Washington DC came up and I knew that I was going to be driving many miles. I used to own a radar detector back when the national speed limit was 55. When the 55 mph limit was relaxed I was satisfied driving 5 mph over the limit and didn't need a radar detector. That was until I was caught in a Waskom, Texas speed trap. I was ticketed for going 5 mph over the speed limit at a cost of $180.00. Many municipalities are hurting for money and tickets are a source of revenue. "Warning tickets" are a thing of the past.

On to my review of the Whistler PRO-78 SE High-Performance Radar Detector with Blue Text Display. It combines effectiveness, ease of use and an affordable price. The trip to DC and back was great. The Whistler performed admirably. There were a few false positives but not many. I travelled mostly interstates and the traffic was all speeding so I was a fish among many. I travel in my job so I expect many care free miles with my new Whistler Pro-78 SE. Unless you are driving a Ferrari or a Porshe and have $2,000.00 to spend on a state of the art radar detector I recommend this one as a best bang-for-your-buck deal out there! The only reason I didn't give it 5 starts is the short amount of time I have had to evaluate the product. Happy Motoring ;o)

I bought this 2 months ago, works great. Dependable range, strong alert, good options. Have recommended it to friends. A good unit in the middle price range. Thanks.

I had an old Uniden detector and decided it was time to get a new one. Too many false alarms and not enough range on the old one. I did an extensive research, and I established a price point, no more than $200 for a radar detector. That put me to the range of a few Whistler models, as well as two Beltronics models. I just do not drive that much to justify $400+ in a top line Valentine One, nor in a Escort or Bel at that price range. I checked many internet sources before deciding.
During XMAS 2010 I drove around 20 hours back and forth, including states such as GA, SC, NC, VA, DC.
On the road, not many false alarms... figured filter 2 works nice to eliminate interference. A cop coming from a rest area triggered KA band with voice and frequency display, enough for me to slow down a bit. When crossed to VA, I turned it off and moved it to the trunk. I know it has a good SPECTRA IV filtering (detectable only close to the radar detector detector), but I just did not want to be on the wrong side of the law. The BLUE DISPLAY IS GREAT !!!! I decided to pass on the 695SE exactly because of the display. I just could not visualize the LCD display on the 695SE being effective during the day. I believe I made the right choice in choosing the 78SE over the 695SE.
Overall it seems to be a keeper. I got the intelligent power cord to control mute and power on/off from a more convenient position, as well as spare suction cups, a spare windshield support for the other car, and the whistler case. Overall, the final price was close to the Beltronics v995, but I am very happy with my purchase.

UPDATE JUNE 2011 -> The unit still performs like a champ, on the road or in the city. I am very happy with this purchase !!!

UPDATE DEC 2011 -> Recent trip to Florida... Got a direct laser from a police car, the unit captured it and I was able to at least remove the right foot from the gas and engage 3rd gear... just in case.
Detected the Ka band all around Orlando. I have never seen that many police cars since my days in Western NY state. Ah, forgot to mention, a small road was blocked and the WARNING message and loud alarm went off... Very nice !!!

Why spend $400 one of the other radar detectors when you can have this one for under $200. Best money spent!

I had an older Whistler brand detector for a couple years, very similar to this one. The voice alerts are identical even, so it was a smooth transition. The menus are about the same, only with extra options. The casing on this unit is nice, looks great with no shiny "chrome" on the top to blind you with the sun. The blue text LED display is pretty sweet, top notch. Very handy that it comes with extra wire to just connect up to the fuse box. The mount is nice too, good suction cups, they have yet to fall off.

The only issue I really have with it is that it is overly sensitive. I don't mean a little bit, but a lot. I have everything turned down as far as it will go. As in, city 2, filter 2, etc. Which helps some, but this thing will drive you crazy if you don't dial it in right away. Pretty much just went off 85% of the time, sometimes other cars would set it off. Or large box type trucks going by would trigger an alert. After getting most of the pulse and pop and Ka extra turned off (you know, all the selling points) it does a pretty decent job. It does pick up radar, it's just unfortunate that it picks up so many other things too. So much so that it makes me sort of ignore it, so when it really does go off, I am slow to react.

I tried to give it time, see if I could just get used to it, but honestly if I were not over my 30 days I would just exchange it for another model.

I replaced my older Whistler with this one and the new one works a lot better. More sensitive and fewer false alerts. You still have to keep an eye out for the instant on radar and use a rabbit ahead of you. It took forever to get the Whistler in, I guess the vendor sent it "Pony Express". Other than that, the Whistler works excellent and is one of the best Radar Detectors under $200.00.