Whistler Pro-73 Review: Part One
Hey,
I just got a Whistler Pro-73, and there seems to be very little information on this radar detector, or any Whistler at that, so I'm going to do a review on it for everyone. I only took it on a small trip tonight, but in a few weeks, when I've used it quite a bit, I'll write a big review. Until then, there won't be much on LEO encounters (haven't had one yet), but for now, I'll write everything else.
Important things to note before you read this:
-The detector has been in highway mode every time I've used it so far; however I am driving in the city.
-The detector is mounted below the rear view mirror, as high as it can get without the mirror getting in the way of the rear laser reception.
-POP mode is on.
-I'm driving a '99 Grand Prix GTP. I couldn't mount a detector too low in the car because of the way the dash is designed, although I like to mount high anyways.
*Display*
I can really see where this display would be hard to see in the sun, but mounting it high helps a lot. One of the main reasons I decided to get the Pro-73 vs. the Pro-58, was the display. The 73's display is much more user friendly for selecting options/turning features on and off. Do note, I've never used a 58, just seen pictures of the display, so, this display review is probably a little bias, but the pictures of the 58 give me a pretty good idea of how it would be to work with. Another thing I like about the display is that, instead of just giving a number for signal strength, it gives you a bar graph as well. There is a dim feature for night time too, with 3 levels: regular, dim, and dark mode. Regular is nice and bright, dim is perfect for night time driving in the city where there are street lights, and dark mode is perfect for pitch black roads with no light at all.
*Ease of use*
Once you get used to this detector, it's really easy to operate. Turning it on is simple (obviously :roll: ) and once you turn it on, it goes through a "boot" process, and tests every alert except laser. Then it shows whether certain options are enabled or not. Then it finishes, and says what mode you are in. There is highway, city, city 1, and city 2. Highway is obvious, all bands, full sensitivity. City mode is the same as highway mode except when a weak alert comes about, it beeps twice, and then stops, unless the signal gets stronger. City 1 mode is decreased X-band sensitivity, and city 2 mode has no X-band. Adjusting options is really easy, but first, let's talk about the buttons (you can't set options without the buttons! 8). The buttons are nice, but the only bad thing I noticed is that you have to push them firmly, otherwise they don't do anything. All in all they do work well though. Some buttons have one function, some have two. Basically, if it has one function, you hit it, and it does what it is labeled to do. If it has two functions, you hit it to do one function, and hold it down to do the other function. Once you hold down the menu button, it goes into a mode where you use the volume buttons to turn things on and off, and continue to tap the menu button to cycle through the different options. Here are the options you can set (in order):
-Tone: Select between 3 different tone sets
-Test: Here you choose whether or not you want each band to test its tone at startup as mentioned earlier.
-VG-2: Enable or disable VG-2 detection
-SR: Enable or disable Safety Radar detection
-Voice: Enable or disable a voice that tells you what band the detector has picked up
-POP: Enable or disable POP detection mode
-B SVR: This enables or disables a battery saver, which automatically turns the detector off after 3 hours if no buttons have been pushed. It's nice if you forget to turn the detector off when you leave your car.
*Falsing*
I can't give you a very in depth review on falsing, as I haven't been using this detector long enough. But, on my trip tonight, (round trip), I only got 2 falses (they were Ka). And they were only on my way to my destination, not when I was coming back. And, maybe a coincidence, but I noticed that both falses happened when I was completely stopped. I had POP detection enabled, so that probably played a role. Even though this detector has no special indicator of POP detection, it's pretty easy to figure out. If it's constant on, it will beep, and it won't stop until you leave the area, if it's instant on, the detector will say "pulse", so if it just beeps Ka for a few seconds, you know it must be POP, and there's a good chance it's a false alert.
*Moutning*
This detector is a breeze to mount. Everything about this detector is kind of small, and I mean that in a good way. It doesn't get in the way of your field of view etc. There are two ways to use this detector, mounted on the windshield, or, set on the dash. The unit comes with both a suction cup mount, and a dash pad. Personally, because I like to mount high, I used the suction cups. It uses two suction cups and a small rubber stopper, instead of 3 suction cups, or one huge one. It's in an upside-down triangle shape, two suction cups on top, then the rubber stopper at the bottom. The quick release works great, goes on easy, and comes off easy. No problems there. The metal mounting bracket is strong, but just flexible enough so you can bend it to angle properly with your window. The straight cord (this one doesn't come with a coiled cord) is long and light weight, and goes in the detector well. You can tell when you're plugging this unit in that you won't have to worry about the power cord falling out, both the end that fits in the detector, and the end that goes into your car, fit very tight.
*Quality*
Personally, I think this product is very good in this department, especially for the price. The only thing that I noticed is that when the detector is attached to the mounting bracket, you can wiggle the bracket just a little bit. But, that does not mean that the quick release/mounting mechanism inside the detector is no good, because it works very well, as stated earlier, it slides in and out no problem, and clicks in nicely. This is just a small problem that doesn't really matter anyways, as the amount of wiggle is completely acceptable, it won't be flopping all over the place, so don’t worry about that. When I got this detector, the box was designed nice inside, and held the detector well, for safety in transit. The unit itself seems very solid, and looks very well built. I also noticed that the suction cups were soft and flexible, so much that they reminded me of huge contacts, and they held very well to the windshield.
There's much more to come as I use it more, and have some LEO encounters. Thanks for reading! Expect a part two to be out sometime in October.
Re: Whistler Pro-73 Review: Part One
Quote:
Originally Posted by gtp405
Hey,
I just got a Whistler Pro-73, and there seems to be very little information on this radar detector, or any Whistler at that, so I'm going to do a review on it for everyone.................
There's much more to come as I use it more, and have some LEO encounters. Thanks for reading! Expect a part two to be out sometime in October.
Hey gtp, great thread. Thanks for sharing your opinion and info. I am in the market for a radar detector, and this model (Whistler Pro-73) is one I am seriously considering and looking at.
So since you said you would have a "part two out sometime in October"....and we're nearing the end of the month, what can you add and/or share with us about your experiences?
