Here’s a teardown of the GT-7. It is indeed essentially a Max with different clothing. (Max2 teardown here.)
I did find some minor differences when taking it apart so it’s not exactly a 1:1 swap… things like the new case has one little access area to open it up while the Max2 has two, the two PCB’s have only one connector holding them together rather than the two of the Max2, but otherwise it seems to be basically the same thing in my quick perusals.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.vortexradar.com/2015/10/beltronics-gt-7-under-the-hood/
Let’s take a look under the hood of the Beltronics RX65 M4. 🙂
Permanent link to this article: https://www.vortexradar.com/2015/10/beltronics-rx65-m4-under-the-hood/
Let’s take the Max2 apart and take a look inside to see how it’s put together, how the horn looks, how the laser receiver works,where the speaker is, and so on. This was fun. 🙂
Permanent link to this article: https://www.vortexradar.com/2015/10/escort-passport-max2-under-the-hood/
So as many of you know, I did another RD test last week with the help of many of you guys.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.vortexradar.com/2015/09/sept-2015-rd-testing-stinger-vip-cobra-dsp-radenso-pro-se-etc/
Here’s a side-by-side comparison between the components of the older Stinger DSI and the newer Stinger VIP.
In the video you’ll see the differences between the antennas, the main computer, the speakers, and the displays.
You can purchase a Stinger VIP at StingerRadarUSA.com and save 10% with the coupon code “VortexRadar.”
Permanent link to this article: https://www.vortexradar.com/2015/09/stinger-dsi-stinger-vip-side-by-side-comparison/
Here’s a look at the Stinger VIP components that come with a dual antenna radar detector package.
You’ll find the computer, two antennas, display, speaker, GPS antenna, brackets, and power cable.
It also comes with some other things not pictured here such as the USB drive and cable, extension box, manual, and some additional installation hardware.
You can purchase a Stinger VIP at StingerRadarUSA.com and save 10% with the coupon code “VortexRadar.”
Permanent link to this article: https://www.vortexradar.com/2015/09/stinger-vip-radar-detector-components/
The Beltronics Magnum offers a number of different settings and options that help you customize the detector to maximize your performance and minimize your false alerts. This video will walk you through the different menu options and explain what the different settings mean.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.vortexradar.com/2015/08/how-to-set-up-configure-your-beltronics-magnum/
If you’d like to learn more about the Escort Passport Max2 radar detector, here’s my Max2 review video.
The Max2 is basically designed to be an easy to use, plug and play radar detector that does just about everything for you with little to no setup. It can even filter out false alerts automatically while other detectors will require you to tell it what’s a false alert or not, so it’s a detector that you can put on your windshield and let it do the work.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.vortexradar.com/2015/06/escort-passport-max2-review/
Permanent link to this article: https://www.vortexradar.com/2015/05/affordable-radar-detector-testing-may-2015/
So how good are the inexpensive Cobra radar detectors? Why don’t we do a top of the line Cobra SPX 7800BT review and see what Cobra’s latest and greatest radar detector is capable of?
Personally I’m generally a fan of the higher end radar detectors. My point of view is that while you can save $200 or whatever by going for a lower end radar detector, if you get owned because you were using a lower end RD, the costs of the ticket, lawyer fees, court costs, insurance hikes, time and headache of dealing with the ticket, etc. far outweigh the money you saved by going with a lower tier RD. In a sense, this is a pay to play game.
That said, people keep asking about the more affordable radar detectors. Plus, after a while, I get tired of talking about and testing the usual contenders like the Redline, V1, and Max2. At one point I saw a comment online about how forum members think that the only acceptable choices are the Redline or V1 and how everything else must suck. Reading this, I started wondering just how good some of the less expensive detectors really are. Sure they’re not going to give the same performance as the higher end detectors and we should expect that, but will they still ultimately save us from tickets in the majority of situations? At the end of the day, isn’t that what really matters? Heck, even with the best detector money can buy, you can STILL get owned.
For the sake of understanding more of the big picture both for myself and for others, I’ve been spending time playing with some of the more affordable radar detectors lately. The Uniden LRD950 (now DFR7) has been showing a lot of promise so I’ve been spending time running that to get a better feel of it. This weekend it decided to commit seppuku so it’s currently in the mail heading back to home base to get repaired. Now that my attention is focusing back to the other options out there, I figured I’d start sharing with you guys some of my experiences while I play with a high end Cobra.
I’ve currently got a brand new retail Cobra SPX 7800BT that I’m testing thanks to @BestRadarDetectors. (A HUGE HUGE thank you to everyone who’s loaning me detectors to test!!! The community at RDF is utterly amazing and I’m truly honored to have a chance to work alongside you all. 🙂 )
When it comes to testing, I like to remain objective and unbiased as possible. Sure I’ve heard the typical “Cobras suck!” and “Cobras leak!” comments too, but I haven’t had any first hand experience. Having run this Cobra for a little while now, I gotta say that it’s opening my eyes to what’s possible. Seriously. Some of the things it is doing is just blowing my mind. It’s sucking in ways I didn’t even know was possible. 😯 Sure it costs less than the other options, but OMG…
As I play with it, I figured I’d go ahead and share my impressions with you.
So with that said, what’s the Cobra SPX 7800BT all about?
The SPX 7800BT is Cobra’s high end detector that features their best performing and longest range radar platform, has bluetooth to pair with your phone, RLC alerts, a fancy OLED display, and so on. Think Cobra’s competitor to the Max2 but without GPS lockouts. It retails for $280 but you can find it online for less…
Permanent link to this article: https://www.vortexradar.com/2015/04/cobra-spx-7800bt-radar-detector-review/
Uniden R8 ($699)
Best Performing GPS Radar Detector
Valentine 1 Gen2 ($599)
Best for Radar Detector Enthusiasts
Uniden R7 ($499)
Best bang for the buck with arrows
Uniden R4
($379)
Best non-arrow detector
Uniden R3 ($299)
Best performance under $300
Uniden DFR7 ($199)
Best under $200
AntiLaser Priority ($1069 Dual, $1699 Triple TX BT HiFi)
The best performing and top laser jammer on the market
Stinger Fibers ($1825 Dual, $2525 Triple)
Tiny heads for stealthy installs, great for exotic cars, expensive, poor track record of updates
Adaptiv TPX ($949 Triple)
Best affordable laser jammer (Save 10% with coupon “Vortex”)
Uniden R9 ($3,999, radar and laser)
High performance radar detector & laser jammer combo
Net Radar DSP ($619, $1119 w/ arrows)
Affordable custom installed radar detector, integrates with AntiLaser Priority
