Cobra - XRS-9960G Review

 First, an admission,  I'm not nearly as aggressive a driver as I was in my earlier years.  It seems my migration to South Florida has helped mellow me.  Sure, like most drivers I exceed posted speed limits, but these days I avoid extremes.

First of all, around town here in Boca Raton our traffic signals are timed such that speeding seldom gets you to your destination any quicker.  You seem only to get to your next red light a little sooner.  So, with gas creeping back to $3.00 a gallon, where's the payoff?

But on our highways, I like most Floridians give myself a little more leeway .  Our highways almost seem built for speeding.    They're smooth, virtually pot-hole free and usually feature wide lazy curves.  Who can resist?  It's a rare individual who can resist driving above the posted speed limits.  I usually give myself a 10 MPH over allowance, but at times have been known to stretch it a little more, especially if it seems that I'm just pacing traffic.

Some Research

A little research about radar/laser/speed camera usage in Florida will come in handy when setting up any detector.

In Florida, X band radar is for all intents and purposes no longer in use.  K-Band radar is on the decline in Florida accounting for only roughly 20% of radar guns.  When driving in town, K alerts are generally false and are helpful primarily for locating the nearest Publix Supermarket or big box store whose electric eye operated entrances scream K -Band energy.

By far, Ka-Band radar units dominate Florida.  They presently account for at least 80% of all police operated radar units.

Radar guns regardless of band used account for only half of all speed guns here in South Florida as most municipalities and the Florida Highway Patrol invest more heavily in the newer Laser (LIDAR) units.   Making up half of all speed control devices, LIDAR seems to be the preference of Florida's Highway Patrol.

Speed Control and Stop-light Cameras are just now being installed in Florida.  As of this writing there are only a handful that appear in the Trinity GPS Database or Cobra's proprietary Aura GPS Database.

Cobra XRS9960G Radar/Laser Detector

The Cobra XRS 9960G Radar/Laser Detector is Cobra's latest entry into the high-end  "maximum performance Radar/Laser/Safety Camera Detector category.  Essentially it is Cobra's recently developed Cobra XRS9955 Radar/Laser Detector coupled with their new GPSL-55 GPS Unit that works with their proprietary Aura Database of known Speed/Stoplight Cameras, Speed Traps, Road Hazards.

Out of the Box

The unit comes attractively packaged and includes:

• XRS 9955 Detector Unit
• GPSL55 GPS Locator and Lifetime Subscription to AURA Database for Verified Speed and Red Light Camera locations, dangerous intersections, and reported Speed Trap locations for entire United States and Canada
• Mini-USB to USB Type-A Adapter Cable for database updates
• Coiled 12V DC Power Cord
• Windshield Mounting Bracket with suction cups
• Velcro Dashboard mounting strips
• Instruction manual

The Cobra XRS 9960G Radar/Laser Detector comes shipped with factory default settings that are a reasonable starting point for any user.  Fine tuning the individual settings for optimal use in a particular geographic area is simple through its superb intuitive user interface.  Before your first use, register the units on-line so that you can update the GPSL55 GPS Locator with the most current data from the Aura Database.  I like this feature.

Features

The Cobra XRS 9960G claims to detect 15 distinct bands of Radar, Laser and Safety Alert Devices in addition to being able to detect the presence of Radar Detector Detectors (RDDs).  The unit will identify the use of VG-2 and Spectre I/IV  RDDs and will make the unit invisible to both  VG-2 and Spectre I RDDs.  The Spectre IV (and Spectre III units will in fact still see you).

For a comprehensive if not tedious set of features of this Detector, go to their web-site, cobra.com.

 Cobra resorts to a little marketing puffery here.  Laser is Laser, regardless of the unit being used, so 15 Bands is an overstatement.  And, while the unit can identify VG-2 and Spectre I RDDs, these are in very rarely used any longer now that Spectre IV is in use.  Remember, that The Cobra XRS 9960G can merely alert you to the presence of Spectre IV, it's not invisible to it as it is to VG-2 and Spectre I.  Cobra detects Ku-Band Radar, even though it is currently not in use here in the US.  It is yet to be seen whether this will become a major threat in light of the rapid adoption of Laser (LIDAR) speed control throughout the US.

 The Cobra XRS 9960G is a very attractive yet ominous looking device that has a distinct military look to it.  It appears that a lot of testosterone went into the design of this unit.  With either its suction-cup windshield mount or the Velcro dashboard strips, The Cobra XRS 9960G installs in your vehicle in moments.  Plug the power cord into a 12V receptacle, power it up and after a set of diagnostics run ( a few seconds) and the GPS Satellite is located you're ready to roll.

 Display

The Cobra XRS 9960G has no rival when it comes to the quality of its display.  The OLED is highly visible and displays useful information and warnings that are attention grabbing.  The display can be set to be visible at all times or time-out after a predetermined time.  The factory pre-set is a 15 second timeout that the screen blanks out until a threat is detected.  The factory pre-set screen is a bit busy.  I choose to drive with it on full-time, set only to display my GPS determined speed.  Interestingly, I find myself much more tuned in to the speed I'm traveling with this feature employed.  The display allows you to alter the degree of brightness to make it more discreet at varying times of day.

Voice & Tone Alerts

This unit can be set to give either or both Voice & Tone Alerts.  When Voice is chosen a pleasant but firm female voice identifies the threat.  Over time, both tone and voice alerts get irritating and fortunately you can adjust the volume.

 Speed Alert

The Cobra XRS 9960G with the GPSL55 unit enabled can be set to chime when a user determined maximum speed has been attained.  For my purposes I keep my unit set at 75 MPH.  That's usually sufficient to keep from being singled out on the highway.

 User Programmed Caution Alerts

The Cobra XRS 9960G can accept up to 1,000 driver input alerts.  So, if there is a particular spot on your daily commute that you recognize as a frequent speed trap you can program it into the unit simply.  Each time you approach this location the unit will issue an alert regardless of whether or not a threat is detected.

My Driving Experience

Since installing the Cobra XRS 9960 G, I have driven a few thousand miles, predominantly in Florida, pretty much equally divided into city and highway driving.

 After disabling X- Band alerts and setting the detector to the "city X-K" setting I started out.  In this fashion I encountered no false X-Band alerts.  Predictably, whenever I was in close proximity of a supermarket or big box store I did get a diminished false K-Band Alert.

 Few false Ka Band alerts were detected.  This was most often caused by the detection of approaching cars that were also equipped with detectors.  Apparently this is common with Cobra units.  Given that Ka Band Radar units are so common here in South Florida, these few false alerts were at most a minor annoyance.

Performance

Despite occasional false alerts, I found that the Cobra XRS 9960 G was highly effective at detecting real Radar and LIDAR threats.  In the case of K and Ka Band Radar, warnings were given with more than sufficient time to adjust my driving speed.  LIDAR, on the other hand is more problematic.  When this (or any other Laser Detector) issues a warning you have considerably less time to decrease your speed.  Some reviewers claim that by the time you receive your warning, you've already been caught.  My experience differed.  I was able to detect weak LIDAR alerts (particularly in city driving) from as far as ¼ mile away.  This was probably the detection of spillage of Laser energy as it splashed off of vehicles in front of me.  I would caution any driver though to treat any LIDAR alert as a serious threat no matter how weak the alert is.

 As far as the Aura GPS Performance is concerned, the newness of this proprietary database must be considered.  On only one occasion did I receive a GPS Safety Alert of a dangerous road condition slightly north of Fort Lauderdale Int'l Airport on I-95.  As I approached the indicated location I noticed scores of skid marks, so I assume this was a user reported location where accidents are common.  This feature too will become more valuable as users of the Aura Database report such locations to Cobra who will then verify them before adding them to the database.

 Summing Up

For a typical driver just looking for a little more effective protection against speeding infractions and their effect on your wallet, there's a lot to like about The Cobra XRS9960G.  In general, it issued its Alerts giving me adequate time to respond by lowering my speed.  But remember, I generally don't exceed the posted limit by more than 15 MPH.  For really hardcore outlaws, they may be better served by a unit like the Valentine One.

 The Cobra XRS 9960G has a street price of about $279 - $289.  At this price point  I  recommend it.

Rudi