Driver Experience Test
Today we selected the Cobra ESD 7000 from our arsenal for my “Low Priced Radar Detector Review.” And I didn’t have to travel far to rate the performance or so should I say lack of, on this detector.
The Cobra ESD 7000 retails for as much as $59.95 and is advertised as being a six band radar detector capable of detecting the three radar bands used in the USA, VG2, Laser and Cobra’s Safety System.
Before heading out of town for our 85 mile trip, we pulled into the local Circle K convenience store to get a cold drink. Parked nose out in the parking lot was a Wickenburg Police Officer running a dash mounted K band radar gun with the antenna pointed forward in my direction. The Cobra did not alert until I was literally fifty feet in front of the patrol car. It was evident that the officer’s radar gun was left in constant on, as the officer himself was inside the store getting himself a cold drink.
I parked alongside and got my cold drink and pulled out of the parking lot with the officer directly behind following. If I maintained a distance less than fifty feet the detector had no problem detecting the officer’s radar gun, any further the detector fell silent.
I continued west to head out of town and came across another Wickenburg Officer that was operating a Ka band radar gun parked along the side of the road. Again the Cobra did not alert until I was pretty much on top of him.
Realizing that if continued my normal test route was worthless and that I would be spending more on fuel then the detector was worth, so I called it a day.
I have tested hundreds of radar detectors in my day and very few have ever received a no star rating. My “Zero Star” rating has historically been reserved for those devices advertized as being capable of scrambling police radar and found as worthless as placing a brick on your dash. I’m very disappointed in that such a well known and respected company such as Cobra has lowered the bar in marketing a device such as this.
Radar Roy’s Badge Rating – Zero Badges
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3 users responded in this post
i thought my cobra was bad that is horrible
Wish I had more hands, so I could give
that detector four thumbs down.
Perhaps it’s a matter of quality control in their manufacturing. My unit has picked up a state trooper shooting traffic coming down a hill… it hit on the signal refracted over the top of the hill by forward scatter, while I was coming up the other side of the same hill. That’s the only time I’ve had a chance to see the sensitivity at work… the other times I’ve gotten hits have been in mixed traffic where I got several seconds warning before I picked out an OK state trooper running with his gun on. One complaint with the Cobra ESD-7000, I was using an old escort passport (and I do mean old.
and I wanted to compare them side-by-side. I know the Passport is sensitive, I’d get intermittent hits on it from metal objects from police gunning on corners. Anyway when I turned the Cobra on, my Passport went nuts, the cobra is apparently putting out a fair amount of microwave signal in normal idle operation. Not really a good thing.
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