Cobra XRS 9960G Radar Detector

Looks nice - but is subpar to standard radar features of the 1986 model Passport by Cincinnati Microwave

Posted 1 year ago - I was given this new Cobra in return for an honest review of the unit. I'm afraid the advertising group had no idea I would pull out an over 20-year old Cincinnati Microwave Passport for a comparison. The performance of the old Passport even encouraged their use in aircraft by pilots wanting an extra edge in the 1980's. High G-force circuitry also meant little could happen to disable them. Surprise! My antique Passport still worked reliably after sitting in a closet since 1990 when I simply tired of using it - due to my habit of not exceeding speed limits. I had figured it would be interesting to see how the new Cobra would out-perform the old Passport. Boy, was I ever wrong - at least when it came to spotting police radar in operation. For my testing, I used highway mode on both detectors and had them both mounted to the windshield of a new Silverado pickup truck. While the new Cobra clearly tells you each type of radar you've encountered with the LCD, it consistently failed to give warning anywhere near what the ancient Passport offers. When the old Passport began reporting K band hits over a mile away from a police car, the Cobra remained silent until within 500 feet. X band performance again exhibited this same scenario with the Cobra falling far behind the antique Passport in reporting. With X band, I noticed the same poor distance reporting with the Cobra as I had experienced with Ku using it. Of note, the type of radar was also reported by LED display and distinctive sound on the Passport. Falses, well, during my first drive the Cobra only falsed once when I passed a grocery store - and admittedly the Passport falsed on the same signal. The difference was the Passport spotted that signal at 1500 feet and the Cobra didn't alert until within 500 feet. After driving around several towns, I also noticed the 23-year old Passport had no more falses than the new Cobra XRS 9960G - but always gave a report from greater distances. Jesus! This doesn't say much for anything in the way of improvements to radar detection. The old Passport even caught the "POP" radar without problem - and before the Cobra reported. I'll just mention here X and K band radar is still widely in use - so don't count on the Cobra to save you from a ticket where X and K band radar is used. I also had a hard time believing a 23 year old Passport had no more falses than the brand new Cobra - but it was an undeniable fact. Now, as for RDDs (police operated radar detector detection units) the old Passport hid easily from these by having its circuitry hidden behind its rubberized-coated metal case. The Cobra is all plastic, so it handles this a bit differently. The Cobra spots most RDDs and simply turns its radar circuitry off. Well, one thing wrong with that - it could happen just as you need a radar warning. So much for stealth - and another thing is the Cobra is much more visible than the smaller and flat black old Passport. To the credit of the Cobra, the Passport did have a suggested retail for $299.99 in 1986. The Cobra has a suggested retail at $389.95. Well, there has been some inflation since 1986. The suction cup windshield mount of the Cobra also worked fair - but, so did the Passport's. Anyway, the Cobra offers GPS locating and uses the AURA database (a free lifetime subscription to XRS 9960G owners) which gives ample warning to all known traffic photo cams using the Cobra - to use the database you will need to use a computer to load the information to the GPS module that plugs into the side of the XRS 9960G. The Cobra also offers a number of other features using a fairly extensive menu. RPM monitoring allows for early warning of exceeding any speed you can easily set, and can keep the unit from sounding off while sitting still or driving slowly. It also has an active real-time vehicle speed monitoring display using its GPS. Voltage monitoring and auto-shutdown during low voltage means the unit shouldn't pull your battery down too far - if you forget to turn the Cobra off. Last, but not least, the Cobra does have "360" Laser detection. Unfortunately, no Laser detection is very effective if you have already been "hit" by it - so don't count on it giving you much of an edge. If you really need an edge, there are scanners that will report any traffic enforcement vehicle using a computer, and they will do so quickly. There are also tag covers and coatings that defeat photo units by making your tag unreadable to them. Radar and Laser can also be defeated using special coatings - and lastly, there are emitter units to scramble their reflected signals. So, don't rely on a detector alone - and don't expect the Cobra XRS 9960G to save you from anything but known photo traffic units - unless you keep to the speed limit. Note these units are illegal in places such as military bases, some states and locals, and in any commercial over 10,000 lbs.

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