Last time....Bel E795 or whistler 1788(for $99)

[zookybeanz]

Due to this new deal from radioshack for whistler 1788 for $99(regular price $199) A new doubt has raised its ugly head..... :twisted: should One go for the bel E795 or the 1788. the 1788 is cordless but it comes with a cord and can be used as a corded RD also.
How is the range on X,K,Ka?which one is better? has there been an comparison done between the two? Any data available?
I m comparing these two cuz I work for Radioshack and I will get some discount off of them and my budget is below $100/-
HELP.......................

[boomerman]

No one here has tested the 1788 from Whistler.
Most of us do not buy cordless units.
You are going to have to decide on your own.
Plenty of info about the 795 some say it sucks others say it does not.
GOL did thier test and it was the worse performing but remember it was compared to all the big boys.

[vw242]

The Whistler DE-1788 has POP, band selection, is the only cordless that does not "sleep" and comes with rechargeable batteries. Should be at least as good as the PRO -58 which did well in the previous GOL test. Thanks for the heads up!

[cardosor]

Hi Guys:

I own both RD's in question. I've owned the Bel since Jan 10th and the Whistler since this past weekend (2/5).

The Bel does work alright. It has no band defeat, no choice of tones, no nothing really, except for auto mute and setting saver. It also does a poor job of 360 detection and has somewhat "tunnel vision". Range is decent if source is directly in front with no obstacles, but it drops way down in traffic or curves/hills. It's kind of deaf on x-band unless you're facing the source. City mode doesn't seem to do anything at all.

The Whistler is a more feature rich detector. It has band defeat, POP detection and 360 detection as well. It's a bit larger than the Bel and hefty. The mounting bracket is larger with larger suction cups, so mounting above the mirror may be problematic depeding on your car and I would suggest resting the RD on the dash or mirror for added stability (did I mention it was heavy?). The volume is also a little on the weak side, so if you're blasting the 12" woofers and rattling your license plate, you have no hope of hearing an alert. The blue backlighting washes out on bright days, but at night it's beautiful... The battery life (with some high capacity batteries I already had that are in good condition) is alright, but they went down about 30-40% (from 100%) in about 2 hrs continuous use with alerts. (I have the backlight off, only coming on during alerts)

Yesterday I lucked out and found a speed control trailer and had both RD's with me...

Both the Bel and 1788 detected at about the same time/distance. Yes, I ran only one at a time, I just kept doing laps around the block... The 1788 detected actually a couple seconds sooner than the Bel (but at a low level 1 of 7).

The 1788 continued sounding alert even after passing trailer, the Bel quieted down as I passed the trailer and only chirped once or twice after I passed it. It seemed to not have rear detection, or it is really weak...

The 1788 would signal at a higher signal strength than the Bel.

The 1788 is not nearly as loud as the Bel.

I'm not sure if I will return the Whistler or not. I like it's performance, looks, but it's a little big and heavy for me and I'm still evaluating the battery thing. The Pro 58 may give me smaller size/weight & same performace...

Boomerman also suggested that range would decrease as battery life dropped. Any way Mike B. from Whistler could comment???

Between these two, I would choose the 1788 based on performance and features. I know this will draw fire from the Beltronics zombies, but from my "seat of the pants" real world use, it seems like the Whistler is more "on the ball" than this particular model Bel.

By the way detecting a K signal in front of a store, is not falsing. The K signal is there afterall... I would rather use my judgement and choose to ignore that kind of "false", versus having some silicon chip do my thinking for me and essentially hide information from me and get me a ticket... This goes out to the "Whistlers False a lot crowd".

By the way, the battery on the 1788 was at 60% during the trailer test last night...

Hope that helps. Whichever you choose, just learn it's limitations before blindly trusting it.

It'd sure be nice if tests included more middle of the road RD's, not just a field of the "big boys", a couple of Cobras to trounce and one Whistler.

Personally I would like to see a head-to-head of the E795, Whistler 1776, pro 58 and a Cobra or two (or a real world test of $150 and less RD's)... I think it'd be more usefull to more people vs, just always comparing to the same three top tier megabucks detectors. Lots of real folks and casual users buy these things at stores like RD, Best Buy etc. and sometimes just want to know which of the Whistlers there is better, or how the Cobra compares to the Whistler etc.

How about you "pro's" do a head-to-head of your BACKUP detectors, which I would guess is what regular folks hang on their windshields...

-Ric

[zookybeanz]

A good post cardoser!!! After reading this Forum I think I have been brainwashed to like Bel products :!: Iguess I will have to test the bel products to get the real picture. I hope the pros here are not the sales reps for beltronic?I like your idea of competing the mid range radars more and getting more info on them for the common man.

[boomerman]

I try to focus on the lower end units because I know not everyone can afford the $$ for the big boys.

There is plenty of good information about the whistlers and low end Bels in the fourm.

I am glad to see that someone bought one of the battery powered units and has been using it.

Since I am the only one who really focuses on the lower end units it makes it kind of epxensive to buy all the lower end ones and do my own testing.
So I have to pick and choose the more popular ones and do my testing on them.
I plan on testing 2 new Whistlers when they come out in the spring and hopefully I can take them with me to GOL testing in the spring.

[cardosor]

Thanks zookybeanz,

Whichever RD you choose, can't you return it if you don't like it? I mean, get both and return the one you don't like before the 30-day mark, that would be the best thing to do. Use one RD one day, one the other. Carry them both with you in case you find a RADAR trailer to do your very own "real world" test where you set it up and see "seat of the pants" results.

Today's update... It looks like my battery life remained the same (it didn't drop down from 60% from yesterday's little road test). It also did not drop after my commute to and from work today (90 minutes total on the road). The battery meter may have a "coarse scale".

I just realized the reason it may be low (60% after only a couple hour's use). Like the impatient guy I am, I grabbed a set of Rayovac Ni-MH batteries I had from my digital camera and used them (versus the ones included from Whistler).
My thought was; they're already "broken in", they're fully charged and ready to go. The kicker is that I believe they're only 1600 maH rated cells. In the Whistler manual, they mention 2100 mAH cells. I'm not sure if the battery meter in the 1788 takes into account the battery capacity if its lower, and the Whistler cells are unbranded, so I have no way of knowing their capacity for sure. I'm confident I will not have to recharge by week's end (total of 450 minutes of road use for my work commute)


Boomerman, the next time you go to GOL, see if you can get those guys to bring their back-up RD's with them. Being "pros", they surely have at least decent RD's, which for the rest of us is probably perfect as a main unit. I'm sure it'd be easier/cheaper than you taking upon yourself to do us all a favor and test lower end units. If their back-up units are last year's X50, ask them to leave them out... Regardless of age would be a good parameter too. Just a thought.

I'm happy to be able to share my experience. In the beginning I actually did not like the Bel at all. But I was fair about it and hung onto it. It proved it had some value. In getting to know it, I also learned its limitations and shortcomings. In the coming weeks I will do the same with the Whistler 1788 and continue to share so that others can benefit.

I plan to use a set of weak batteries on the 1788 to see if the range decreases any...

One thing I've learned about this forum: Most of the pros are very tech savvy, most of the pros have slanted views in favor of the real high-end, most of the pros provide info that is sometimes tough for a newbie to digest. Especially when the tests often don't mimic "real world" scenarios that will really test the RD's.
Range for instance is great, but over the hill, or around the bend is a much tougher test (for ANY RD) and could potentially show a significantly smaller gap in performance, thereby eliminating comments like "... miles behind the big boys in range". It could level the playing field to the point where detection time and slow DSP are weighed more heavily than pure range. It could show that just because a RD may be a little bit more short-sighted than the big boys, its vision is no less sharp at that range (assuming the range is still acceptable for human reaction time).

Anyway, sorry for the ramble.
-Ric

[asianfire]

I haven't used it alot since I got it since I am in VA, but i have noticed that the sound really sucks, very low. But I listen to talk radio so it isn't too bad.

[cardosor]

Just wanted to update you guys on the Whistler 1788.

So far it seems to be working okay.

The peevs continue however. The volume is way too low and I see it being hard to hear with windows open in the summer. I know that power savings was a big deal for Whistler, but this RD just is not loud enough, period. Hopefully they'll correct this in their next gen versions.

Battery life seems iffy. A fully charged set of batteries (although my own Duracel rechargables) went from "Full" according to the 1788, down to 60% after 90 minute's use... I have to charge the batteries more often than I have to get gas for my car. I bought this RD last Monday and have already charged batteries twice...

The 1788 is VERY sensitive to all sorts of microwave ovens, alarm systems and many other wireless signals. Some of you call this "falsing".

The Automute feature works, except the LOW VOLUME makes it a hazard because the tiny beeps can barely be heard over normal road noise+radio (on medium volume)... With the display washing out in bright conditions and its a recipe for a speeding ticket...

The size and weight of this unit (especially the weight) is tough because it limits my mounting to down low (so that it is partly supported by the dash). Down low cuts down my range and it is kind of distracting due to its size. Perhaps rather than AA Ni-MH, Whistler should have used some kind of Li-Ion pack with less weight/volume and higher power density. After all, the MSRP on this detector is $200... At that price I expected a little more. However for $99 I can try to live with it. The first words out of my wife's mouth re: the 1788 "that thing is honkin'..."

I am still within the time to return this for a refund to RS. I think I might actually return it. The VERY LOW VOLUME is the biggest gripe for me. I can live with the battery life issues and the high sensitivity, but the low volume I fear may get me a ticket and that worries me.

So to recap, the 795 seems like it's a little deaf and has tunnel vision + poor rear detection but it can be heard loud and clear. The 1788 is "mute" and has no stamina but otherwise picks up anything and everything.

What to do, what to do...

What I may do is return the 1788 and use the Bel 795 until something better comes along in my price range (up to $150). Granted the Bel is no peach, but it seems to be easier to live with...

[carlito]

I would return the whistler if i was you .I think the express model would be better i have gotten .8 miles from the rear on my 795 it was a kustom signal mount dash KA radar the cop was useing anyway i would test more than 1 795 unit and see if there is a difference in both of them keep the one with tthe more range