- Supercharged Performance Radar/Laser Detector, provides phenomenal detection range on all radar/laser speed monitoring devices
- Quad-level IntelliShield lets you choose from 4 levels of city filtering modes for improved false signal rejection
- 2.4 inch, High-Def color display gives you a bright and easy to read/operate screen in any lighting situation with touch-point controls, choose from 6 user-selectable color themes
- VoiceAlert provides user with human voice band annunciation
- Internal GPS receiver and lifetime AURA camera and driving hazard database alerts users to speed and red light cameras, known speed traps and dangerous intersections
Pros:
This detector looks really nice, better than any another one that I tried before including the Escort 9500.
Is a lot smaller than I thought, that was my concern after seen the pictures, but the detector is nice built and really small.
The screen is nice you can change the colors scheme, for colored or mono color to match your car dash, I really liked that function in my case I use Blue Scheme.
This detector is really smart on false alarms, when you are just moving slow the detector doesn't emit any sound just screen alerts, that is really handy when you are on the city.
The design, the looks and the material used in the construction is really higher than the ones used on other detectors that I did try before.
Cons:
In my case can't detect the Multaradar CD K Band.
The support is ugly like the Garmin ones, I didn't liked, so I used velcro on my dash to mount (Velcro Included).
The cord is not coiled, is just the regular cord, so you have to use something to wrap what is left, is too long for my taste.
Very poor information online about this device, the box came with just a really small mini manual, they should put online the tech info about this device.
To resume my experience I felt really bad when I just stopped my car and put the detector face to face with the Multaradar CD and it not even beep!! the cops just gave me the smile and said to me 'How your 300 bucks detector could beat our 50.000.00 machine?" actually he was really nice to let me try my detector so close!!! and no, don't even beep!! this, the suction cup and the poor information available online about this device is the reason that I give 3 stars...
If you have any doubt about this detector, fell free to ask me before you purchase!
UPDATE 08/21/2012
I just received an e-mail from Cobra and they confirmed that they radars can't detect radars operating at K band 24.100 Ghz, however on the radar documents they did send me, that clearly says that the SLR 650G can detect on K band between 24.000 Ghz and 24.250 Ghz. So 24.100 Ghz is inside the range. That is the reason I removed 1 star more.
Cobra claims to detect any threat, any band more than any another one, but unfortunately that is not true so Buyer be aware if you pretend to use this detector to detect low powered K band radars.
Buy Cobra Vedetta Ultimate Detection Systems Series, SLR 650G Radar/Laser/Camera Detector Now
This is the second Cobra radar detector that I've owned. The first Cobra XRS 9960G Voice Alert 15-Band Radar/Laser Detector with 1.5-Inch Full-Color Display, GPS Locator, and Red Light/Speed Features one worked OK but had a weird GPS dongle hanging off the side of it. Unfortunately the display became permanently dim after a couple years. I no longer use it.
The Vedetta has a completely different display which is larger than the display on the previous unit. In addition it offers much greater flexibility in viewing angle and mounting since it swivels and pivots. You even have the ability to electronically flip the display upside down in order to facilitate mounting the radar detector in the way that best fits for your particular car. The Vedetta has an integrated GPS so that means no external GPS module hanging off to one side of the unit.
Power is supplied to the Vedetta via a power port/cigarette lighter plug. It was disappointing to me that the Vedetta does not have a USB power port on the unit itself but uses a proprietary plug. This may be due to its power requirements but I'm not sure. It would certainly be more helpful to have a USB power plug since most other GPS's and other devices have migrated to that and it makes it less cumbersome to be able to use the same USB power cord that many other devices use.
The Vedetta starts up automatically when power to the unit is provided. There is a power button to turn the unit off. The power button serves another purpose as well; if held for a few seconds, the display flips upside down. This helps you to position the unit more easily on your windshield.
The windshield mount provided is the best mount I've ever used. The disc is sticky and uses a suction mechanism. The combination provides a "won't let go" attachment to your windshield that is superb. I've never had the mount loosen and fall off the windshield in heat, cold or any circumstance. It's the best!
The screen is characterized as having "touch-sensor controls" which is not to be confused with an actual touch screen. It's not a touch screen such as an iPhone touch screen. In this case the controls are operated by touching designated areas on either side of the actual information display. In my case, the right side "buttons" or sensors worked easily whereas the left side "buttons" required a more definitive press that I could only accomplish by using two hands. A simple one finger touch to the sensor area was not enough to activate it.
The screen is very glossy and has no anti-glare properties whatsoever. At times it is impossible to see the display due to the glare. Why don't electronics makers utilize anti-glare screens especially when the device is going to be in a situation where external light will always be hitting it? I just don't understand this.
The Vedetta allows you to set filters that determine at what sensitivity the audio alert for radar/laser will activate. I normally keep mine on the highway setting which lets all alerts through since I live in an area with few false alarms. If you are in a dense urban area, you'd probably not want to keep it on highway setting as you'd be picking up all sorts of random signals from automatic door openers, etc.
The Vedetta seems to have a great range of picking up radar. In one instance the Ka alert went off a mile in advance of where the police car was sitting on the side of the road. In another case, I had slightly over a mile advance warning of a speed limit monitor device that was parket in a residential area.
I've had the unit indicate several "speed trap" areas in my area. I'm not quite sure how these areas are added to the AURA database or how frequently the database is updated, but I update my Vedetta weekly if I remember to. One concern for Mac users is the unfortunate reality that you cannot update the AURA database on your Vedetta if you use a Mac. The software is only available for Windows machines. Come on Cobra. that's not acceptable.
I personally do not like the graphics of the display. They are clunky looking and remind me of a cheesy circa 1978 video game or something. I do like the indication of compass heading and speed, I just don't like how that information is presented. There is also an unneeded animation at the bottom of the display that serves no purpose other than to provide some eye candy that you will quickly tire of looking at. It cannot be disabled.
Overall, this is a well-functioning unit. One feature I like a lot is the ability to easily change the radar sensitivity from highway to city by a simple, single button push. But If I had one wish it would be that it gave an indication of what direction the radar signal is coming from. Valentine radar detectors provide this feature. It is more helpful knowing where the radar is coming from. The excellent windshield mount makes this secure on your windshield in all conditions. The sensitivity seems great and lifetime updates to the AURA database are included. Too bad Mac users can't update their Vedetta's AURA database though. That's a big oversight that Cobra should address.I had recently purchased a Cobra XRS 9970G for my new car, and it started out alright. I really liked the GPS function speed trap areas, photo enforcement areas, even a user selectable area it could guide you to. But about the time the Amazon return period was up, it went batty. There's a "smart power" feature that monitors car voltage and turns it off if it senses the battery not charging properly. And on my brand new car, where I can see the voltage on the display, it kept shutting off. Nasty alarm sound and then the voice saying "Car Voltage Low". Drove me nuts because I knew there was no voltage issue. Even *DISABLING* the feature which should have prevented it from happening made no difference. So clearly the unit is bad. One of their higher end units and it was junk inside a month or so. Their support said I should mail it to them to look at, and I may do that now.
So when this one came up on the Vine program I thought it was worth a shot. I loved the looks reminded me of my days in the Air Force, looks almost like some stealth technology with the shape... I liked the looks of the display. I would be giving up my GPS feature, but if it worked without sounding an annoying siren and powering off for no apparent reason, it would be worth a shot.
Shipped quickly, got it unboxed, and it's larger than I had expected. I didn't look at the measurements, but it's considerably wider than the previous one it's replacing. The included mount ONLY works when used on the top hanging from the windshield, because of the shape, There is no way to use the mount on a dashboard pad because of where the slot is in the back and how the mount can only fit the one way. If you want to use this with a dashboard mount you'll need your own mount and velcro.
My other Cobra this is replacing was a dashboard mount because the window mount was such a piece of junk two small nasty suction cups that barely held it to the window, and it kept falling. So I ended up with a dashboard base and a different mount to secure it. This one, though, will stay on the window I believe. It's a very nice mount, and unlike all other suction cup window mount items I've used before, this one isn't just some stiff rubbery plastic, it's a much softer material that actually has its own sticky surface that held the unit to the window before I even flipped the lever to engage the suction. The only downside is that there's so much weight at the far end away from the mount that even just lightly bumpy roads make this thing bounce around a bit. VERY bumpy roads were enough to make the unit break the tension in the ball joint and tip straight down until it was touching the dashboard. The mount stayed, but the "rear" end with the display pivoted down until the dash kept it from going any more. So I may end up using the dash mounted base with this if I can't get the plastic ball joint to stay tight enough.
If you have a Cobra unit, you'll know the voice and the sounds. This is almost identical to my Cobra I pulled out of my car. The display is a thing of beauty, very crisp and clear, even in light, and pivots easily. The touch spots for the settings and volume are lit spots on the outer edges of the screen, and they can be a bit of a pain The screen itself is NOT a touch screen, just those points outside of the display on the sides. I had inconsistent responses with them though when working through the menu settings. Fortunately it's something you only really have to deal with once. The power button is just a button, easily hit on the left edge of the main base unit. With the default setting it automatically powers on with the car anyway, but unlike the others, It's not a rotating volume / power dial.
The unit appears to be at least as good as the unit it's replacing I know all the "normal" places that make these go off on my normal drives around town, and this one is picking them up sooner than my XRS9970 did. And the large display showing what it is in addition to the voice is a much nicer option than the touchscreen one I had previously. It is also sensing the instant on triggered by other cars down the highway in front of me a little farther than the other one did. It also has a smart power feature, but where the other one was reading my battery below 12V (which was clearly wrong) this one is reading everything above 12 and up into the 13v range. Hopefully my "smart power" problems are a thing of the past. But as with all detectors, it's good to have a "rabbit" out in front to flush out any law enforcement people with radar, since no detector helps you with the instant types, that transmit and read the speed in 1/10th of a second not nearly enough time for the detector to go off and you to adjust the speed. But you may catch those brief signals when you have that rabbit a bit down the road in front of you, so you can know to watch your speed ahead where radar might be operating.
There's a green bar across the bottom where it lights up and "sweeps" left to right imagine a Cylon eye slit with a green light rather than red...
The one thing I miss already is that my other Cobra unit showed my speed in the display when it was detecting something this one does not. It shows frequency or pulse rates... I'd find my speed a much better number to display, to save me from glancing back down at the speedometer (which on my car is off about 3 MPH anyway, one reason I liked having another readout of it).
The unit easily comes off the mount for hiding when you're parking and don't want it tempting anyone.
The power cord is a LOT longer than the other Cobras I've had, and is not coiled.
If I were going to buy one I'd probably spring a bit more for the next version up with the GPS. But this is certainly my favorite radar detector I've had so far.
Want Cobra Vedetta Ultimate Detection Systems Series, SLR 650G Radar/Laser/Camera Detector Discount?
The Cobra Vedetta Ultimate Detection Systems Series, SLR 650G Radar/Laser/Camera Detector is the ultimate in automotive gadgets. Features wise, there isn't another Radar/Laser/Camera Detector like the SLR 650G at this price point. Cobra calls the SLR 650G their top of the line radar detector. Performance wise, it isn't perfect, but performs very well. I tested it side by side with a low end Whistler unit, and a high end Escort unit. Here's my results and observations:Out of the box, the SLR 650G's build quality seems a little mediocre for a high end unit. It's completely plastic, including all the moving parts. The windshield mount is quirky, and the suction mount not only relies on suction, but is extremely sticky. My guess is this is to also work on dashboards. Once everything was unboxed, I registered it online, and downloaded the update program. The update program installed easily on my Windows 8 computer, and it updated the SLR 650G's database in a few seconds. Cobra claims the database is updated as often as twice a day, but updating it that often obviously isn't necessary.
Once it was updated, I hooked my other 2 test units, along with the SLR 650G, and took test drive. The Cobra unit looks great on the windshield. The screen is bright and clear. The menus are self explanatory. Volume is not very loud even at the max setting. Living in the New York City area, I have no shortage of traffic light cameras, radar speed signs, and city cops on patrol. My first test was several known red light cameras in my area. The SLR 650G performed flawlessly. It recognized all of them in plenty of time. Next up was a test on a couple of speed zone signs using K-Band radar. My Escort slightly beat out the Cobra in range, but not by much. The Whistler unit was a distant 3rd. I took a ride to NJ, and passed several State Troopers using Ka-Band. Again, the Escort picked them up first, but the Cobra was only a second or so behind. My other observation driving around was that the Cobra was very good at not false alarming. It was as good as the Escort. All the units were set in "Highway" mode. The SLR 650G also has 4 different "City" modes, but I always leave mine on highway, with no extra filtering.
In the end, the Cobra SLR 650G passed all my tests. It easily outperformed my low-end Whistler Radar Detector in all areas, and was only a step behind my high-end, top rated Escort Detector. The addition of GPS Camera Detection, and touch screen controls make the SLR 650G a great gift idea for the guy who likes to have a lot of "toys" in his car. It's loaded with features, performs well, and detects the most common bands currently in use.
Pros:
Loaded with features
Good performance
2.4" touchscreen
Free lifetime database updates
Easy to use menu system
Cons:
Mediocre build quality
Low alert volume
Low quality, non-coiled power cord
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Suction cup is super sticky. I stuck it right to the plastic face of my dash. Downloads speed traps from web very easily. Makes a subtle chime sound rather than irritating buzzer. Easy to use,
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