Hey, what's up guys? In this video,
we're going to be taking a look at the best radar detectors available for the money.
Now, in my last video, we went over the best high-end radar detectors.
Those are the very best radar detectors available in the market and they're packed
with a ton of bells and whistles, but they also cost $500 to $750.
Now, in this video, I want to go over some of the more affordable options that are also going
to give you a nice degree of protection, but they're also going to be maybe a better bang
for the buck. Now to keep things kind of short and sweet here, we're just going to
run through some of the highlights here for the different detectors that we want to talk about.
If you want more information about any of these detectors down in the video description,
I'm going to link you guys to my complete reviews for all of these different detectors,
as well as links to where you can go to purchase the detectors and then once you do buy them,
you're also going to find links down there that go over my setup,
guys, that help you configure and program all of these different detectors as well.
And then the last thing to quickly mention is this is not a paid or sponsored video. I've never done
those and I never will. There's a lot of detectors out there. Some of them good, some of them not so
much, and I just want to help you guys figure out which detectors are going to be the best for you.
And so with that said, let's start with the best inexpensive detectors and then we'll start working
our way up in price to kind of talk about what you gain as you spend more money on a detector.
So starting off, your best inexpensive detector is going to be the Uniden DFR7. The DFR7 offers
surprisingly good performance compared to other detectors in its price class and it has better
than average false alert filtering as well. It also has GPS built in to help improve the false
alert filtering even further by giving it low speed muting as well as manual GPS lockouts so it
can learn stationary false alerts around you from speed signs and door openers and shopping centers
and so it's going to be able to stay extra quiet when you're driving around in town.
Plus the GPS is also going to give you your red light camera and speed camera alerts as well.
Now there's a bunch of other inexpensive detectors
that are out there. There's nothing really under a hundred dollars that I'm a fan of.
They're either going to give you a ton of false alerts or a really bad performance.
One that a lot of you guys have asked about is the Cobra RAD 480i. This is one of Cobra's
newest detectors and it retails for $150 so it's going to cost right around the same as the DFR7.
Unfortunately though it lags a good amount here behind other detectors like the DFR7.
VariableWave on RDF recently did some testing here and if you take a look at his results,
you'll see that for example, on 35.5 the RAD 480i is able to almost keep up with the DFR7,
but then if you go take a look at 33.8 you find that it lags quite a bit behind the DFR7,
which is kind of surprising considering the DFR7 is traditionally kind of weak on 33.8. So in
terms of long range detection, it's going to be lagging. There is also a lot of complaints about
it's false alert filtering just getting a ton of falses and it also doesn't have GPS built in.
Now that said there is an app available to the detector so you can pair your
phone with the RAD 480i and add some additional functionality such as those manual GPS lockouts,
but it's not built directly into the detector and that combined with the reduced performance
and increased false alerts, the DFR7 is still going to be the way to go. And in my opinion,
it's going to be the best city and highway radar detector available under $200.
Now, Uniden's detectors, they're in general a really good bang for the buck and they've
got a number of other really nice options as well. Like for example,
if you take a look at the Uniden R1, this is a detector that retails for $200
and it's going to be a great long range detector that's ideally suited for more back road and
highway driving. And if long range performance is really the main thing that you're looking for,
this is by far going to be the cheapest way to get really long range radar detector performance.
The downside though is there is no GPS that's built into the R1 so you're going to be getting
a lot more false alerts in town, which is why I'd recommend this detector if you're in an area
where you don't have as many false alerts, such as out of big cities, if you're in more rural
areas or if you do mostly highway driving. In that situation the R1 is going to be a great choice.
Now, if you do do a lot of driving in more urban areas, in cities, I would actually
recommend that you step up to the Uniden R3. This is a fantastic radar detector and in my opinion,
this is going to be the very best bang for the buck that's available on the market.
The R3 is outstanding. It's going to give you really long
radar detection capabilities just like the R1 but it's going to add the GPS back in,
which is going to make it really good for not only highway driving, but also city driving too.
It's going to give you your low speed muting, your manual GPS lockouts and your red light
camera and speed camera alerts and so it's going to be much more well-rounded than the Uniden R1.
It's also going to be adding in the MultaRadar detection capabilities to give you your low
powered speed camera detection. It's admittedly not going to be quite as good as some of the
more expensive detectors, but you do have the option available here. Compared to the DFR7,
you also get a nicer multicolor OLED display and you're going to be getting more fine tuned control
over the detector sensitivity, but really the main takeaway here is you're going to be getting
a detector with even a longer detection range, even fewer false alerts, and a nicer feature set.
So yes, while the DFR7 will still do the job, I find that the extra money for the R3 is definitely
worth it and in my opinion, it's going to be your best radar detector available under $300.
Next for $400 we're going to take a look at the Escort Max 3. This is a lot like the Uniden R3.
It's also got nice long range performance, but it's going to have even better false
alert filtering. The blind spot filtering is going to be even more effective so it's going
to false to maybe fewer cars nearby that also have radar based collision avoidance systems.
Additionally, the GPS lockouts here are automatic and so instead of you having to teach it where
the false alerts are located around town, the detector can automatically figure it out after
several passes. And so for that reason, it's going to be more convenient than running the R3.
The Max 3 also has Bluetooth built into the detector. So you can pair it with your phone
to do things like make it easier to go in and change different settings in the detector.
It's going to allow the detector to display the current speed limit of the road that you're on
on the detectors display. Plus, it's going to allow the detector to share alerts in real time
with other drivers. Now, a lot of this stuff like the speed limit display and the alert sharing
with other drivers, you can do the same sort of thing with Waze. This is just going to again,
make it more convenient and automated doing all the alert sharing for you and it's also just
going to give you an extra layer of protection. It's not necessary, but it is a nice bonus.
There are some downsides to the detector too. Like for example, it's got some
false alerts on Ka band, more than the R3, and it costs a hundred dollars more than the R3 does.
But if you want a detector with even better false alert filtering and more
automation and convenience, the Max 3 is going to be a great choice.
Now for an additional $50, we can also take a look at the Radenso Pro
M. This is a lot like the Uniden R3, though it doesn't have quite the range,
but again, it has even better false alert filtering, a lot like the Max 3 does,.
With the GPS you've got your low speed muting around town, you've got your manual GPS lockouts
and your red light camera alerts. But the main advantages here are the fact that the Pro M is
going to be even more small and compact than both the R3 and the Max 3. It's also going to
be undetectable by radar detector detectors, something that we can't say for the Max 3.
So if you need a stealth detector this is going to be a great option. Plus this is the benchmark for
MultaRadar detection and for that reason, it's kind of the go-to pick for a lot of
drivers up in Canada who want a detector with MRCD, with good false alert filtering,
and ideally something stealth. Or if you just want a more compact detector with good
false alert filtering and whatnot again, the Radenso Pro M is going to be a great choice.
Then finally, we're going to take a quick look here at the Uniden R7. Now this is going to be
kind of a stretch price-wise. It retails for $500. You can from time to time find it on
sale and cheaper if you go shopping on places like Amazon. Additionally, you can also find it
refurbished a lot of times to save even more money. And so down in the video description,
I'm going to drop a link to both the detector at its normal retail price as well as where you
can find it refurbished if you want to try and save a little bit of cash. And since this video
is all about finding the very best bangs for the buck, we got to talk about the Uniden R7.
Now this detector is based on the R3, but it's going to give you a little bit longer range
than the R3 offers, but it now also adds arrows to help us locate the source of the threat and
the arrows can be really nice just to help you figure out what's going on around you. The R7
also has more memory built in to allow it to get new features coming out over time. Things like
automatic GPS lockouts, something that's going to be coming to the R7, but unfortunately can't
be added to the R3 just due to the fact that the R3 has less memory built in.
There's also some smaller features, things like a wider K band scanning range on the R7. Plus
it's also got a larger display, which makes it a little bit easier to read the information that the
detector is presenting to you. In a nutshell, it's a great all in one high-performance radar detector
that also adds in arrows. Now, if you really liked the idea of getting a detector with arrows,
check out my other video, which I'll also link to in the video description and this is going
to go over the very best high-end radar detectors that all feature arrows as well.
But to quickly summarize things, as far as kind of your best value detectors,
your best bangs for the buck. We've got the Uniden DFR7,
which is going to be your best inexpensive detector, your best detector under $200.
You've got the Uniden R1, which is going to be your great long
range detector for primarily highway and backroad driving.
You've got the Uniden R3, which in my opinion is going to be your best all around
bang for the buck. This is a great long range detector for both highway and city driving.
You've got the Escort Max 3, if you want even better false alert filtering,
and more convenience with the auto lockouts.
There's the Radenso Pro M, if you want really good photo radar detection
and you want a detector that's compact and undetectable by radar detector detectors.
And finally the Uniden R7, which is going to be your best bang for the buck if you also want
directional arrows to help you locate the source of the threat.
Now, for more information about any of these detectors including my complete reviews,
links to where to purchase, as well as my recommendations on how to set up and
program the detectors again, links to all that will be down in the video description.
And yeah, that's it for your quick run through of the best radar detectors for the money.
Make sure you're subscribed to this channel if you haven't done so already. Other than that,
happy driving, stay safe out there and I'll see you on the next video. Bye.