History lesson on why Cobras sucked?

[AngryPenguin]

My knowledge of RDs fades as days pass but I don't think I ever learned why Cobras sucked so badly. Anyone care to explain or provide a history lesson?

I get that when they were popular companies like Beltronics were busy shielding their RDs from LO emissions with magnesium and other fancy materials, but a RD's primary job is to detect. Why did Cobras suck so badly at that?

Thanks

 

[Run4donut]

Cobra used to make pretty good detectors before Ka band arrived. They really threw the towel in and started producing cheap and inferior detectors. Why bother when they had so many other product lines like CB and 2 way radios.

 

[Super Dave]

^^ this. Plus their poor marketing tactics “10 bands, now 20 bands” etc. every year that only serve to confuse those new to buying rd’s really is not cool. The test results tell the truth. They were pretty good back in the day with constant on x and k but then went downhill fast.

 

[bossdad71]

the new cobra pro360 seems to be doing good, at least for me. the road scout needs a little help on the i/o side, but c/o and features seem to be ok.
the 9200bt was "good" compared to the other ones. but yea, maybe because it was a cheap auto parts, walmart seller, they just didnt invest the time and monkey

 

[bossdad71]

@Super Dave "30 year RD user" how is this possible when you are only 38? you and @Jag42/TMG start the same age

 

[Super Dave]

Well I still look 29 but you know...

 

[Super Dave]

the new cobra pro360 seems to be doing good, at least for me. the road scout needs a little help on the i/o side, but c/o and features seem to be ok.
the 9200bt was "good" compared to the other ones. but yea, maybe because it was a cheap auto parts, walmart seller, they just didnt invest the time and monkey

True I have not tested any recent units so if they are making a better unit I stand corrected.

 

[auskip07]

i was just always advised to stay away. i would try the dual pro if given the chance

 

[bossdad71]

Since they were taken over by escort, I'm guessing the improvements came with them, and the price tag. The original cobras I think were made by cops, to give drivers a false sence of security

 

[Jag42/TMG]

They spewed Ka band for nearly 2 miles on my older V1's on the Texas flats. They were blind to Ka 35.5. I'm not sure how they are now since they now have Escort components. The 9200BT was pretty impressive. Most of them now share the M4 or M4+ platform.

 

[Freebird]

Cobras sucked because they were cheap. A lot of them were priced at 29, 39, 49 bucks and so on. I think Cobra took a different philosophy in making profit off of them. Who cares if they work or not, people will buy them because they're cheap. They figured if they can make a few bucks off of them and sell millions they would profit more then making a high-quality detector that cost more and only selling a fraction of the same amount of units.

So, I think they took the approach of let the marketing department fool them into thinking that it works, kind of like Rocky mountain radar does and focus on making a huge profit off selling millions of units that are a POS.

 

[dudeinnz]

Don't ban me, but I actually used Cobras back in my student days. They saved my bacon on many occasions. Even back then (early 2000s) they used to false alert-especially in the city, but highway driving, they were good at giving you a save. The older models "were kinda cool looking" some of them the ESD models? They had fancy compass displays etc. For "fun" I used a 7200BT in a old car, I knew wouldn't go past 120 km/h and to be honest, if you switched K band off, Ka was pretty decent in terms of giving you a save. The app iradar? is pretty decent as well.

You won't find one on my windscreen, but hey, as a radar enthusiast, you gotta taste all the flavors

 

[GoWFO]

the new cobra pro360 seems to be doing good, at least for me. the road scout needs a little help on the i/o side, but c/o and features seem to be ok.
the 9200bt was "good" compared to the other ones. but yea, maybe because it was a cheap auto parts, walmart seller, they just didnt invest the time and monkey

LOL you said Monkey

 

[bossdad71]

LOL you said Monkey

lol monkey on the brain

 

[dchemist]

I, for one, feel that Cobras traditionally have filled an important niche in the marketplace and that is (or used to be) the sub $100 areas. I won't speak for anyone other than myself but my introduction to radar detectors was a cheap Cobra that someone left in a car they traded in to my Dad. He brought us home and gave it to me and the rest is history. Without the disposable radar detector market, I very well may not be here today.