Auto enthusiasts have known and appreciated Uniden’s R series detectors for extra long-range radar detection for a long time now. The Uniden R7’s extreme long-range radar detector’s performance certainly won’t disappoint you. No matter the driving conditions, highway, town, or as you travel along that vast open road, the R7 will provide outstanding performance.
Although it is never a good idea to drive at speeds faster than the posted limit, sometimes you just get wrapped up in the moment and forget how fast you’re going. That’s when a great performing radar detector comes in handy. And the R7 is one of the great performers (>>> Find out how much it cost on Uniden.com).
Uniden R7 Review of Main Specs:
 | |
|---|---|
| Uniden R7 | |
| Range | Insane Long Range |
| Built-in GPS | No |
| Display | Multi-color OLED |
| False Filter | Advanced K /KA Band Filter |
| Red Light & Speed Camera Alerts | No |
| Speed-based Auto Mute | Yes |
| Price | Find on Uniden.com Find on Amazon |
What Makes a Great Detector?
Band & Direction Detection – your detector should be capable of sensing every type of radar that is in use these days: X-band, K-band, Ka-band. It is also important that your detector can sense a radar coming at you from any direction so that you can determine the possible extent of the threat.
GPS Ability – the best way to block out false alerts that occur along your routine drive is for the detector to be able to remember where these false alert locations are. There are so many radar applications these days, storefront door opening systems and security light motion detectors to mention a couple, it’s obvious why detectors without GPS are always giving off false alerts. With a detector’s GPS ability you will be able find pinpoint these locales and then program your detector to ignore them.
Voice, Red Light, & Speed Camera Alerting – you should not to have to take your eyes off the road to examine an alert, so broadcasting a voice alert is a definite bonus in a radar detector When it comes to red light and speed cameras, you need to be alerted to them also. A good detector will alert you to these also.
VG-2/Spectre Shielding – in some states around the country, having an operating radar detector is illegal. Because police in these states often have a radar detector, it is important for your detector to be invisible or undetectable. Your choice of detector should have VG-2/Spectre/Spectre Elite shielding to lessen the chance of your detector being detected.
Detailed Uniden R7 Review
The R7 is Uniden’s answer to competition such as the Escort Max 360 and the Valentine One detectors. . Its extreme long-range performance sets it apart from most other radar detectors in its price range. The R7’s use of directional arrows that point towards where the threat is located is an outstanding feature that Uniden has added to this model.
The bright OLED display is angled towards the driver and has easy-to-read text. It automatically dims its display as lighting conditions change and day turns into night. The R7 has a GPS feature allows you to lockout and program up to 2000 locations to halt repeated false alerting along routes that you normally travel. And all it takes for the R7 to remember a location is a quick double-tap on the mute button. It has pre-loaded red light and speed camera locations and accepts updates from a free database provided by Uniden.
Pros
- Customizable alerting tones
- Directional arrows that point toward the threat
- Virtually invisible to VG2, Spectre I, IV
- Alert filtering for BSM and CAS systems
- 2000 manual GPS lockouts
Cons
- Larger than most detectors
- Detection of lasers is weak
- Direct sunlight can make the display harder to see
- Lockouts must be set manually
One other feature that will be appreciated is low speed muting. When you are driving at low speeds, the R7 will basically “sleep”, not alerting while driving past red light cameras or neighborhood speed indicator devices. Then as your speed increases, it will “wake up” and start looking for radars.
Because this detector comes equipped with dual antennas, it can easily detect radar guns over the next hill or around the next curve. It will display which band of radar that has been detected along with its signal strength. And although no detector is totally invisible when it comes to avoiding radar detector detectors (RDD’s), the R7 will “hide” with the best of them.
Conclusion
The Uniden R7 is a proven leader in the radar detector world. The competition should understand that the R7 is definitely a force to be reckoned with. It has great sensitivity and can detect radars long before its competitors can. It does a good job of filtering out false alerts from K band blind-spot monitoring and collision avoidance systems. The R7 isn’t the cheapest detector out there. But then again, with this detector, you get what you pay for and more (>>> Check current price on Amazon).