Hi everyone,
Well, here it is. This is Rayee Tech's only FCC approved RD model even though they claimed to Roy at CES that all of their products have FCC approval. Lets just have a look at Rayee's CARD (Cheap Ass Radar Detector) and see what ideas they have stolen from a variety of competitors:
First an foremost an external examination shows that they have essentially duplicated Whistler's spherical condenser lens which is in front of the laser IR detection circuitry. I can't tell if the small Rayee lens is plano-convex (a true condenser lens) or is merely cosmetic and merely has a convex-convex shape. You will also note that the condenser lens located in front of the antenna has a strong convex shape. At first I figured that this lens was plano-convex and truly acted as a condenser lens for the radar antenna. Examination of another of Rayee's photos shows that this lens is merely cosmetic and is convex-convex with zero optical power with regards to radar. Note that Bel/Escort uses plano-convex lenses on several of the RD models to actually bring the incoming radar wavefront to a focus, and that Whistler uses a convex-convex lens to prevent LO feedback into their horns. Thus Rayee's design basically is purely cosmetic yet it flies in the face of an older B.E.L.-Tronics patent which may or may not be still in force. Here is the Rayee design:
Next, Rayee decided to essentially duplicate Bel/Escort's older style housing for their remote radar detectors. As you can see, Rayee's housing looks nearly identical in design compared to Bel/Escort's tried and true remote radar detector antenna housings:
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Rayee's wave guide (antenna) design features both a double stepped ridge plus a double stepped floor. So far I haven't done any digging to see if this design infringes on any competitor patents:
Rayee also has decided to duplicate the construction materials and some design features which Whistler uses for their LO boards. I also see a few things on Rayee's LO board which appear to be taken directly from competitor LO board designs and which may be directly infringing on several competitor patents. Their LO board design, in my opinion, is just too advanced to not be infringing on competitor patents. It is way more advanced than any LO board which Cobra has produced:
And finally, Rayee's mainboard is called the "GOD-EYE" which is a joke since we all know that its performance is not going to top anything produced by Bel, Escort, Whistler's high end products, or Valentine. Also note the power jack which is visible at the bottom of the board. Apparently Rayee is going to use this antenna and mainboard in some windshield mount RD models:
So, in a nutshell, what we have here is a product which probably performs better than a Cobra yet which most likely infringes on several competitor patents. But I guess that doesn't really matter to Rayee as long as they can get at least a 100,000 units out the door and paid for by distributors before they finally get shut down. I may be wrong, but too many things about their product design suggest outright duplication of competitor product as well as possible multiple patent infringements.
Please note: Whistler has absolutely nothing to do with Rayee Technology, LTD.
Well, what do you all think? I think that Rayee is going to take their money from distributors and run like the wind.
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