Whistler DE-1730 Radar Detector
- Mute: With Mute
- Detection Mode: City / Highway modes
- Detection Area: Front / Rear
- VG-2/VG-3 Alert: VG-2 Alert
- Detection Bands: X Band K Band Ka Band Laser
- Alert type: Audio / Visual
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Perfect for the person that needs an occasional reminder.
Pros
Value for money, small size, laser detection.
Cons
Alert volume, display brightness, sometimes mis-id's bands.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Overall, for the person that just drifts a little over the limit and wants something simple and inexpensive, this is a good way to go!
While my normal Beltronics RX65 was out for repair, I purchased a Whistler 1730 for $40 at Wal-Mart to use as a spare. I really just intended to sell it off after getting my RX65 back, but after using it, i've decided to keep it around. For the price, it impressed me. If you have very little money to spend and aren't really a leadfoot, just need a little reminder from time to time, this might be a good choice for you. Speaking strictly from a detection standpoint, it's about in line with Cobra units priced at or near the $75 range. While the Cobra units have much nicer displays and audio alerts, many people simply don't care about that, and if you're one of them, save the money and go for the Whistler!
The 1730 usually gives a several seconds warning before an officer running radar comes into view, which is rather short, but it does work pretty consistantly, which is a major problem with some in the price range. The real shining point of this unit is the laser detection. Whistlers have traditionally excelled in this area, and the 1730 is no exception. Surprisingly, it actually has better laser detection than my $329 Bel RX65, which says a lot about Whistler value.
Falsing is pretty minimal on this unit. In one stretch that would set off laser alert for over a mile on my RX65 (I64 in Illinois passing MidAmerica Airport), the Whistler remains silent.
The main drawbacks of the detector are mainly ergonomics issues. The Display is a little dim, the alerts are pretty quiet even on max volume, and it's a little hard to tell the X alert tone from the Ka tone (at least for me). K and Laser, however, are very distinctive. The detector will also occasionally mis-identify signals (Ex. showing Ka as X.) Most cheaper units that i've used also suffer this problem, so I don't think it's really unique to this unit. It's not really a major problem, just don't disregard an alert just because of the band.
The 1730 usually gives a several seconds warning before an officer running radar comes into view, which is rather short, but it does work pretty consistantly, which is a major problem with some in the price range. The real shining point of this unit is the laser detection. Whistlers have traditionally excelled in this area, and the 1730 is no exception. Surprisingly, it actually has better laser detection than my $329 Bel RX65, which says a lot about Whistler value.
Falsing is pretty minimal on this unit. In one stretch that would set off laser alert for over a mile on my RX65 (I64 in Illinois passing MidAmerica Airport), the Whistler remains silent.
The main drawbacks of the detector are mainly ergonomics issues. The Display is a little dim, the alerts are pretty quiet even on max volume, and it's a little hard to tell the X alert tone from the Ka tone (at least for me). K and Laser, however, are very distinctive. The detector will also occasionally mis-identify signals (Ex. showing Ka as X.) Most cheaper units that i've used also suffer this problem, so I don't think it's really unique to this unit. It's not really a major problem, just don't disregard an alert just because of the band.
