Edited my review and posted it on epinions.com

[Divewjason]

Good GPS-Enabled Detector for $200 dollars or under. - Cobra XRS 9960G Radar Detector - Epinions.com

Also defined some of our terminology for people who are not very familiar with radar detectors.

[The Chariot]

Can't be viewed... it says "draft."

[Divewjason]

Can't be viewed... it says "draft."

I guess it has to be approved. I'll just post the review here.



"Do you have a lot of red light cameras in your area? Can't afford or don't want to pay $400+ for that Escort 9500ix or that Belltronics GX-65? No problem, Cobra's got you covered.
This Cobra detector can be had for $199.99 for one who is willing to look hard enough. With this detector you will get:
1. A detector with good sensitvity on all bands and frequencies.
2. A 1.5" OLED display that is pretty easy to see, even in direct sunlight.
3. A LIFETIME subscription to the Aura Red Light Camera database and other features unique to Cobra.
I want to define a few terms for people who may not be too experienced with radar detectors:
1. Ka band-Ka band usually is ran by police on 3 different frequencies. 34.7 ka band, 33.8 ka band, 35.5 ka band. These are in order from easiest to detect to the hardest.
2. ramp up-Ramp up shows the strength of the signal the detector is picking up. 1 being the weakest and 5 being the strongest on this model.
3. Sensitivity-How sensitive the detector is to all frequencies in radar.
4. False-When the detector cries wolf. For instance, it beeps and there is no cop in your immediate area. Other radar detectors as well as door openers can cause this to occur.
5. Filtering-The ability to determine whether to alert or not based on whether the detector thinks the frequency it is picking up is a threat or not. Expect falses from door openers because they emit a strong radar signal. Basically, think of filtering as the ability to filter out other radar detectors.
6. Constant on-Constant on radar is the type of radar that cops use that is always on, radar is very easy to detect when used in this manner.
7. Instant on-When the radar gun stays in standby so it will not set off nearby radar detectors. The cop will then briefly shoot a car the officer thinks is speeding. A common tactic by radar detector users is to use a "rabbit."
8. Rabbit-Rabbits are cars in front of you that you follow to avoid getting tickets from instant on or laser. The idea is that if a cop is present, he will shoot the guy in front of you so that your detector will go off and you can slow down while the poor sap gets a ticket.

Now that we have a good understanding of some radar detector lingo, on to the actual review.


I will divide the review into different sections discussing things about his detector that I find to be very important. Now, on to the review.

Filtering: Cobras are known to false a lot on ka band. While this model doesn't false as much as other Cobras, it does still false significantly more than my Whistler XTR-695. At times the Cobra mistakes a strong K band signal for Ka band. If you have the Spectre and VG-2 alert on, you will have more falses. I recommend having these features off. I never had a legitimate encounter with the Spectre Alert, but I haven't seen any leos with Spectre on their windshield. The VG-2 Alert and Spectre Alerts tend to occur around gas stations and certain cars. Overall, I think the filtering of this Cobra model is still sub-par. I think the filtering that this Cobra uses(The Intellishield.) is sub par and needs to be improved.

Ramp up: Not only is sensitivity important but communicating how urgent the threat is is also important. Unfortunately the Cobra needs some work on the ramp up. There are times that the ramp up never goes past one. Most of the time the ramp up doesn't go past 3. The highest the ramp up can go is 5 and that has only happened when the leos were on my side of the road. That is not the only problem either, the 9960G seems to at times have trouble hanging on to a signal. What that means is that sometimes when your detector alerts it will beep for a while then the beep will suddenly disappear. Then a few seconds later it will start again. This has been very common in my encounters. Cobra needs to work to improve this area if they want to compete with the big boys in quality of detectors.

Features:As a lot of you know, Cobra has their detectors packed with a wealth of features, some of them invalid, such as detecting 15 bands. There are 3 radar bands used in the USA, 1 laser band. It also advertises to alert to the Spectre and VG-2. I haven't had a legit encounter with either one of these devices. The OLED display is awesome and can be seen even in bright sunlight.(Even though it's bit faded in the sunlight.) I use the display in full color. The detector can monitor your battery voltage, rpm, and it uses the GPS module to show which direction you are going with the compass. I also recommend using the intellimute feature. What it basically does is silence your detector while your car is below a certain RPM. Otherwise you will hear a constant K band alert while sitting next to a Walgreens at a stop light. Intellimute Pro will shut off all radar detection circuits while below a certain rpm to avoid being detected by the Spectre or VG-2. I recommend intellimute, it's nice to know that an officer is there, even when you are staying still. While you are driving the display will let you know whether you are above or below the required rpms for the feature to be activated. The most compelling feature of course is the ability to detect the photo cameras. From what I have seen, this database is accurate, it did alert to the photo cameras that I came across. When the detector initially alerts it shows a picture of a camera and turns yellow and then red as you get closer. Lastly, and a feature that a lot of Cobra users seem to enjoy, you have the ability to keep the Cobra's screen dark until you get a radar alert. Very useful for stealth purposes. After all, you do not want a cop sitting behind you at night to see your very bright display(it will be visible to people behind you at night.) Some officers will discriminate against detector users so having the option to keep a low profile is always good. At the price that you can find this detector for online, the features are a very compelling package.
The features, however, do need some polishing. For instance, according to Radar Roy the Cobra does not alert to the Spectre. Also if you have Spectre and VG-2 alerts on, you will be plauged with many falses. Second, Cobra claims that the 9960G is immune to the Spectre I. There are NO LONGER any Spectre I's in use. They have all been upgraded to III or IV. The 9960G is not immune to Spectre III and IV.
From what I understand, there is no mac or 64 bit OS support for updating the GPS module for your Cobra. Be sure if you intend to update your GPS that you have access to a windows computer with a 32 bit OS such as Windows Vista 32 bit or Windows XP.
Sensitivity: This is the section you all have probably been waiting for. It will be very long so I'm going to break this up into paragraphs. The sensitivity on this detector is very good on all radar frequencies, including 35.5 ka band. The range on all frequencies varied, I saw at least 3/4 mile warnings. The best warning I got was on 33.8 ka band for 1.43 miles according to my trip b on the odometer. I had a notable forward facing c/o 33.8 ka band encounter where I got a mile of warning. Not bad at all.

This detector tends to alert to K band at around 3/4 of a mile to a mile, much like it does with the other frequencies. I only faced constant on K band and had very few encounters wit K band because of how rare K band is used in this area. Overall I found the K band sensitivity to be good.

The sensitivity on stalker 34.7 ka band is also impressive. I did face forward facing instant on. The Cobra did alert a few times before seeing the threat. I was in Gulf Shores, AL and I was about to go over the bridge then I got the alert. I crossed over the bridge and the bursts of signals got a little stronger. I noticed a cop sitting behind the other side of the bridge, facing the other direction firing radar at traffic coming off the bridge. Total warning was about half a mile. For constant on 34.7 warnings typically ranged 3/4 a mile when around the curve and a little over 1 mile when it is a straight shot. I have actually had this detector alert to officers that were on another road. For instance, I had a 34.7 encounter where I was on Palafox St in Pensacola,FL. I was sitting at a stop light. I got a 34.7 ka band warning, of course, once again I got to witness the detector having trouble holding on to a signal. Well, there is a road called Pensacola Blvd(Hwy 29) that is parallel to Palafox St. that also has a stop light. 10 seconds later after the alert I see the officer pass through the intersection. Why is this impressive? That's because there are a lot of trees and buildings in this area that block the signal. I had another instance where I was at a light and I got an alert for 34.7 ka band. About 5 seconds later I saw the leo go across the bridge on the interstate in front of me.

35.5 ka band sensitivity is also good. For c/o I typically got 3/4 of a mile warning to about a mile. The Cobra does alert to instant on 35.5 ka band. I had quite a few of these encounters in Gulf Breeze, even in heavy traffic the Cobra was able to sniff it out. Typically, even though I've seen some alerts that was a mile from me, most warnings have been about 3/4 of a mile warnings. I did get a half a mile forward facing 35.5 ka band warning however.
Notice that I never mentioned Laser sensitivity. I never did because radar detectors provide very little if any advanced warning to laser. The best protection from laser is a laser jammer.

Conclusion: The Cobra has a lot of compelling features and has good sensitivity. For someone who has red light cameras in their area and has a budget of under $200. This detector is a good buy. However, if the sky is the limit and you have photo cameras in your area, check out some of the Escort and Belltronics models. You can even get stand alone red light camera detectors.
If you don't have red light cameras in your area and you do not foresee any cameras coming to your area, I would go with a different detector for under $200(if that's your budget.) Such as the lower end Beltronics models or the Escort 8500 refurbished for $150. The Whistler SE series is also a great buy in this price range. However, if you are on a low budget and there is photo enforcement in your area, this detector will serve you well.
I would give this detector 5 stars for the features and the good sensitivity, however, as covered in my review, there are some important things that Cobra needs to work on. Therefore this detector will be getting 4 stars from me. However, this is a big step up for Cobra Electronics in regards to radar detectors. Good job Cobra!
If you are curious about radar detectors and want to learn more about them there are two forum sites that I recommend going to: www.radardetector.net and www.aradardetector.com."

[dslrip32]

Can't be viewed... it says "draft."

It came up on my screen, but no review yet, maybe soon.

[mikemote]

bought a cobra 9945 same internals as 9960 smaller LCD screen has GPS option which is and add on . Ran a comparison on Ka range compaired to my V1 ,the cobra was a fraction better,this was a distance of over a mile. Not bad for 125.00

2008 Z06 v1 x band off
2005 super duty cobra 9945

[dpatel01]

Ran a comparison on Ka range compaired to my V1 ,the cobra was a fraction better,this was a distance of over a mile.

Give us some details on your comparison. Did you run them together? How old is the V1 and when was it last tuned? With that kind of a statement, many members will be raisng the flag.

[mikemote]

V1 ver 3.817 2005 it has not been tuned ,it has been the same range with Ka since new,I'm as surprised as you ,about the cobra performance and for my needs in south florida I am satisfied. A friend of mine has a performance shop in hollywood fl. a few of his customers have said the same thing in respect to the new cobra's

[The Chariot]

Who knows? Whistler really stepped up in the last couple of years, making a damn good mid-range detector that matched the high end ones in some areas, so if Cobra does start making something better that can only be a good thing.

Just imagine if they really decided to make something good. With their sales volume it would put pressure on the other players to make better products. Competition is good for the consumer!

Don't get me wrong... not saying Cobras are good.....

[languy99]

FIY, cobra does not make the detector, they just put their names on them. The people who make them are called BG Tech, BG Tech America, Inc. is A World Leader of Developer and Manufacture of Radar Detector, Two Way Radio And Microwave Products! if you look on the radar antenna they are the ones who design and develop the detectors. And reading a little about them, they are an arm of BG T&A Co. based out of South Korea.

[mikemote]

Who knows? Whistler really stepped up in the last couple of years, making a damn good mid-range detector that matched the high end ones in some areas, so if Cobra does start making something better that can only be a good thing.

Just imagine if they really decided to make something good. With their sales volume it would put pressure on the other players to make better products. Competition is good for the consumer!

Don't get me wrong... not saying Cobras are good.....

I'm not saying there good either but my truck has been broken into 4 times I'd rather loose the cobra then the V1 . I don't leave it exposed ,ford's are just easy to break into it's almost and epidemic down here