Cobra 480i
- Thread starter gbriggs82
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haha cool, looking forward to hearing your impressions! Out of curiosity, why'd you order one?
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Always been a cobra guy @Brainstorm69 it was my first radar and it was my starting point of getting radar detector it was because of cobra I heard of escort radar if that makes since one thing I do like about it is that it has lock out not automatic you have to use the iradar app to use lock outs
Cobra makes good CB radios and I use their dash cams in both of my cars. As for their detectors I just don't trust the ones made before the Escort take over. For Escort/Cobra to bring out a new detector right now has me wondering just what's going on with it. The only way to find out would be to test it and if it turns out to be good, nice job Cobra. For me the best reasonable priced detector is the R3. You can pick up a factory renewed one on their web sight for about $250, but they sell out fast. Even with that the Uniden is still about $100 more than this new Cobra. Only testing will tell us if it's any good.
Ok, new 480i seems to be a decent unit. But, I bought it for the GPS feature. Yesterday I tried to lock out a supermarket falsie for the first time and it didn’t seem to have any effect? Do I need to be running the iPhone app to have it work? The manual is very sketchy about this function.
That's what I'm talking about. It's the little things that don't work that make these detectors what they are. Crapy features that don't work is why I don't trust them to protect me. I say if a detector saves you ONE time it's paid for it's self. Spend the money it's worth it.
So I felt the need to give my input here. I know im a new user, but have been using the Cobra 480i for a few months now in Texas...
The actual unit does not have a GPS, it connects via bluetooth and uses your phone's gps, and yes, the lockout feature works along with speed mute, speed alert, over speedlimit alert, and more; almost all are customizable(but you must use the companion app for a lot of these). That being said, I wish I could define exact frequency ranges manually to scan instead of just preset bands & lock-outs.
As for an inexpensive yet decent detector paying for itself: i could have bought 3 or 4 of these units had it not gotten my foot in the RD-world. It has saved my butt many times already!
Its not as black-&-white as i thought, there's a learning curb to all this... as I'm sure all ya'll know.
Discovering this forum too would have never happened had it not been for this latest Cobra system! I'd love to see some experienced folks give it an honest chance & provide feedback about the system....
Sincerely,
-Kristian
The actual unit does not have a GPS, it connects via bluetooth and uses your phone's gps, and yes, the lockout feature works along with speed mute, speed alert, over speedlimit alert, and more; almost all are customizable(but you must use the companion app for a lot of these). That being said, I wish I could define exact frequency ranges manually to scan instead of just preset bands & lock-outs.
As for an inexpensive yet decent detector paying for itself: i could have bought 3 or 4 of these units had it not gotten my foot in the RD-world. It has saved my butt many times already!
Its not as black-&-white as i thought, there's a learning curb to all this... as I'm sure all ya'll know.
Discovering this forum too would have never happened had it not been for this latest Cobra system! I'd love to see some experienced folks give it an honest chance & provide feedback about the system....
Sincerely,
-Kristian
If it works for you that's grate & your saving $$$ and getting good performance. Texas is wide open here in the northeast we have trees hills mountains traffic and buildings all around us. It cuts down the radar signal and you need a very sensitive detector to do the job. I tell anyone who asks me the best bang for the buck detector right now is the Uniden R3. It's right up their in range and features with detectors costing $200 to 400 more. It's selling now for about $300 and you can pick up a factory renewed one for $225. It doesn't have arrows but at that price who cares.
You really like the Uniden R3 don't you
. I just wanted to point out your claim of it keeping up with detectors and having range/features of said detectors that cost $200-$400 more is a bold claim to make and it's one I don't agree with. By your own words a detector that's $500 ($300+$200) like the V1G2 is superior to the R3 in just about every category, and has alot of features the Uniden R3 lacks. Heck for the price you quoted you could buy a R7. I know the R3 is good, as I've said my friend let me use his for while as during the COVID-19 crisis as he has been working from home, and while the range on it is very respectable, thats really the only area where it shines. It's filtering leaves alot to be desired also. The R3 is good, but lets come back to planet earth and not kid ourselves here .
I have 2 R7s and have 1 R3, my 2nd one.You really like the Uniden R3 don't you
In all my testing and use, there is no BS to the statement that the R3 can hang with the top 3 arrow detectors.
BSMs are respectable, single horn helps somewhat there.
Feature wise it is packed, minus alll those cool dual horn options.
Yes, it loses most shootouts to the top 3, but by what? 5 to 10 % range at most.
It's still 30%+ range advantage over the best of the rest, excepting new Max 3 seems to fall into the middle of that gap somewhere.
For half the price of the $500 gang, it's by far the best bang for the buck on the market.
I have no hesitation using it or recommending it.
My detector of choice? No. I'm spoiled by arrows. And BIG display.
I want every top end feature I can get now.
Even today, the R7 arrows helped me pinpoint the Ka threat as I went over rivers, bridges and roundabouts.
I knew where those RC's were before I even turned onto the avenue.
An arrowless detector just takes longer to figure out in those situations.
If you're used to a single horn detector, the R3 is the kick arse solution at this time.
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BTW, I'm still awaiting my final billing amount on my first Cobra purchase.
I have 2 R7s and have 1 R3, my 2nd one.
In all my testing and use, there is no BS to the statement that the R3 can hang with the top 3 arrow detectors.
BSMs are respectable, single horn helps somewhat there.
Feature wise it is packed, minus alll those cool dual horn options.
Yes, it loses most shootouts to the top 3, but by what? 5 to 10 % range at most.
It's still 30%+ range advantage over the best of the rest, excepting new Max 3 seems to fall into the middle of that gap somewhere.
For half the price of the $500 gang, it's by far the best bang for the buck on the market.
I have no hesitation using it or recommending it.
My detector of choice? No. I'm spoiled by arrows. And BIG display.
I want every top end feature I can get now.
Even today, the R7 arrows helped me pinpoint the Ka threat as I went over rivers, bridges and roundabouts.
I knew where those RC's were before I even turned onto the avenue.
An arrowless detector just takes longer to figure out in those situations.
If you're used to a single horn detector, the R3 is the kick arse solution at this time.
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BTW, I'm still awaiting my final billing amount on my first Cobra purchase.
I still think that saying the R3 can hang with detectors that are $200-$400 is a bit hyperbolic and again I didn't say anything that's untrue.
If you do order the the Cobra let me know
. A buddy of mine just ordered the DP360 
.
My DP360, Hopefully he didn't get mine from under me!I still think that saying the R3 can hang with detectors that are $200-$400 is a bit hyperbolic and again I didn't say anything that's untrue.
If you do order the the Cobra let me know
LOL.Examples in my local store in Canada today:
Max 360c $1149
R7 $999 (usually on sale @ $799)
Pro M $749
Max 3 $749
Cobra Road Scout $749
Cobra Dual Pro $749
Redline EX $748
DFR 9 $549
Bel GT-1 $449
Max II $398
R3 $448
I've highlighted the one and only detector that can beat the R3 9 times out of ten on receptions.
The others don't come close.
Give up 5 to 10% maximum range, or sometimes nothing, on an R7?
Worth the money?
Personal opinion I suppose.
Value of Cobra DualPro vs Max 360c?
That's why I'm ordering the Cobra.... among a few other reasons.
Everyone should buy the best they can afford withn their RD budget.
Hopefully enough testing and reviews get out there about some of the lesser known models because we can't all go big.
My DP360, Hopefully he didn't get mine from under me!
He bought it on Amazon on sale for $369, you should be fine lol. I think for that price, the DualPro 360 is a steal thats almost $100 off!
My DP360, Hopefully he didn't get mine from under me!
Examples in my local store in Canada today:
Max 360c $1149
R7 $999 (usually on sale @ $799)
Pro M $749
Max 3 $749
Cobra Road Scout $749
Cobra Dual Pro $749
Redline EX $748
DFR 9 $549
Bel GT-1 $449
Max II $398
R3 $448
I've highlighted the one and only detector that can beat the R3 9 times out of ten on receptions.
The others don't come close.
Give up 5 to 10% maximum range, or sometimes nothing, on an R7?
Worth the money?
Personal opinion I suppose.
Like I said, the R3 is a great detector with great range, but to say it compares to the big boys in terms of range/features (range yes, features no) which are in the words of Bluelinex "$200-$400 more" is in my opinion hyperbole. For $300, you have no argument from me or any reasonably minded person that the R3 in its price category is the best in its weight class. But once it comes up a weight class, all it really has is range and that's it, its lags behind in literally every other category but that's to be expected. Like I said when I used my friends R3, it drove me nuts with all the falses. I remember getting a Ka band, only to realize the R3 picked up somebodies satellite dish
. False alerts drive me crazy, alot of Uniden owners I've spoken to don't really mind them and instead want to be alerted ASAP which is fine. Me personally, I want a quiet detector that only alerts when there is a threat nearby with plenty of range, and thats exactly what I have with the DP360.But hey, I recommend Uniden to people who don't want to spend alot of $$ for a RD. Usually it goes like this...
Me: How much do you wanna spend?
Them: $100 (Save your money for DFR7 or R1)
$200 (Uniden DFR7 or R1)
$300 (Uniden R3)
$400-$500 (Cobra DualPro 360, Uniden R7, V1G2)
As you can see I am quite very much in favor of Uniden
. I just feel like the R3 is the Turtle Wax Seal-N-Shine of the Radar Detector world sometimes. Although in hindsight it's definitely not.
Hey, sometimes it's all about the user settings in a particular area.
Any R Series could drive you out of the car with wrong settings LOL.
I've had 1 Ka false in 2 years, a Cobra detector on my street, that no longer is around.
I'm looking forward to a long term in-depth Cobra review when I get mine.
The Max II is noisier than my R7, and it has similar internals to the DualPro and Max 360 detectors.
Hopefully the newer firmware in the Cobra is better than the Max II.
Any R Series could drive you out of the car with wrong settings LOL.
I've had 1 Ka false in 2 years, a Cobra detector on my street, that no longer is around.
I'm looking forward to a long term in-depth Cobra review when I get mine.
The Max II is noisier than my R7, and it has similar internals to the DualPro and Max 360 detectors.
Hopefully the newer firmware in the Cobra is better than the Max II.
Hey, sometimes it's all about the user settings in a particular area.
Any R Series could drive you out of the car with wrong settings LOL.
I've had 1 Ka false in 2 years, a Cobra detector on my street, that no longer is around.
I'm looking forward to a long term in-depth Cobra review when I get mine.
The Max II is noisier than my R7, and it has similar internals to the DualPro and Max 360 detectors.
Hopefully the newer firmware in the Cobra is better than the Max II.
We shall see.
The V1G2 can not detect MRCD/CT and has no red light or speed cam info. For that you need to run two phone apps at the same time. I will not use it in NY for that reason. In NJ it's a great detector in NY you have to use 2 apps to fully protect you. But if you don't need that protection your good to go.You really like the Uniden R3 don't you
I didn't know that about the V1G2. You'd think for $500 they'd have that pat down huh?
Don't go there...
Now you'll have to get a name change here..LOL.
What? I didn't say anything
. 
V1G2 is the best detector ever made and has no problems to speak of. If God drove a car he'd run a V1G2.
