The company claims it has more than 10,000 pinpoints in its database. The info is pulled from Cobra’s AURA Alerts database of verified, crowd-sourced location points for red light cameras, caution areas, known speed traps, and speed cameras. The detector can’t discover these on its own, but it keeps constant tabs on my whereabouts via the phone’s GPS and matches my location with a list of known traps. Within a block of leaving the interstate and hitting city streets, I got an alert for a “photo-enforced intersection.” In addition to an audible warning, an icon appeared on a map on the phone’s screen. Toggling the Cobra’s setting from Highway to City caused the K alerts to stop, but I’d still get the occasional Ka warning. I drove on, and every few miles the box squawked with another K alert. The City setting filters out the majority of false reads.Īfter getting back on the interstate, I spotted a CHP cruiser alongside bushes at the side of the road.
To get around this, the Cobra, like most other radar detectors, has a Highway/City toggle. It’s also the frequency on which many automatic door openers operate, leading to occasional false alarms if you’re driving past a 7-Eleven. “Great,” I thought, “this thing works, but what the hell does K stand for?” I pulled off the highway to find out, since that’s the only intelligent (read: safe) way I can check the radar lingua franca and adjust the Cobra’s app settings on the phone. Ten minutes after hitting the highway, the Cobra sounded a warning, first from a rather friendly sounding female voice announcing “K band detected,” followed by some pulsating beeping sound effect.
Cobra irad 230 review android#
There are iOS and Android versions of the iRadar app, and it works with almost any device that can pair to the unit via Bluetooth.
Cobra irad 230 review free#
This was vital, since most of the Cobra’s functions are controlled by the free smartphone app. There’s a handy pass-through USB port on the power cord so you can keep your phone juiced as well.
Be careful where you mount it - though most radar detectors are perfectly legal, you can be dinged for “obstructing vision.” A detachable power cord plugs into your 12V cigarette lighter port. The $100 unit, a 5.5-ounce plastic box about the size of a pack of Marlboros, attaches to the windshield with a pair of bra-shaped suction cups. To test iRad, I plotted a circuit north out of San Francisco and through Napa Valley, on roads known to be littered with radar detection equipment and red-light cameras. It’s like Siri for giving Smokey the slip. But if you use a detector that pairs with your smartphone like Cobra’s iRad 230, you get a host of fringe benefits too: crowdsourced speed trap warnings, live maps with traffic info, and a more refined experience overall.
Sure, use one and you’ll be better equipped to avoid any number of very expensive moving violation tickets. Note: Do not attempt to bend the mount when radar detector is attached.I’ve recently learned that mounting a radar detector in your car isn’t just about fooling the fuzz.
Cobra irad 230 review series#
*** NOT COMPATIBLE WITH COBRA VEDETTA SERIES *** It may fit other Cobra models which is not listed. The mount bracket is pre-set at 45° angle and you may adjust this angle to align with the road. The 3M Double Sticky Tape is GREY color industrial grade tape, which provides a permanent hold for windshield mount bracket under most weather condition. This Cobra radar detector windshield mount (CBT3M) has been recently redesigned.
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