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
Available From
Why are these offers here?
Lowest Price!
- Overview
-
Reviews
- Compare Prices
User ReviewRead All Reviews »
Whistler DE-1730 - The Cheapest Detector Which Has The Potential To Save You
Pros
Cheap, Actually Works
Cons
Hard To Read
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
For the price, this is as good as they come.
The Whistler DE-1730 is one of the cheapest detectors that I've ever used. I compared it face-to-face against the Cobra ESD-6060 which costs about the same. The Cobra may look better with its display, but the Whistler DE-1730 actually manages to scan out police radar and provide some early warning. Here's what I found with the Whistler DE-1730.
-Price-
*The Whistler DE-1730 is a very cheap radar detector. You can find it for about $50 and less. I wouldn't recommend buying a detector for so little money, but at least you're not getting a pile of crap with the Whistler DE-1730. It may not be the best looking detector, but it does provide good X-band coverage, and barely sufficient K and Ka band coverage. If you can't spend more than $50, then the Whistler DE-1730 might be the ideal detector for you, don't go bother looking at Cobra or anything else. Whistlers are known to provide good performance at a low-price, and the Whistler DE-1730 does carry that tradition to an extent.
-Performance-
*The Whistler DE-1730 did fare better than the Cobra ESD-6060 in the tests that I performed. I took these two puppies on a stretch of IL-60 in Lake Forest where there is a very strong X-band sensor, and the Whistler DE-1730 picked it up with excellent range and this would've provided enough time to stop. Alright, so then it's off to K and Ka band territory. The Whistler DE-1730 alerted of K-band gun maybe a second or so before the cop was visible. If you are able to react very quickly and push down on that brake, the Whistler DE-1730 would technically save your behind. The Ka-band performance was a bit worse since the cruiser was already in sight when the radar went off, but at least it actually alerts of it unlike the Cobra which didn't even go off at one point. So therefore, if you occassionaly speed up to 10mph over but not really more, then the Whistler DE-1730 should be a sufficient radar for you. But it's a far cry from anything in the $200+ range where you can have a very long warning and even play around with your speed before you see the cruiser.
-Features & Ease of Use-
*The Whistler DE-1730 is a very simple to use detector. It has three buttons on the top of it. There's the mute button which will mute the alert, the City/Highway mode button, and also a VG-2 button which allows you to turn that function on and off. Then for volume, there's the turn-wheel on the side. My only complaint with its ease of use is the lights, they can be difficult to see. But at least the Whistler DE-1730 gets loud enough when announcing threats. I really liked the display on the Cobra better, but performance is key.
-The Verdict-
*The Whistler DE-1730 is about as cheap as they come. If you occassionaly go a little bit above the limit, then this detector would suit you well. If you're a lead-footed speed demon, then prepare to have a cruiser pulled up behind you with its lights on. The Whistler DE-1730 fares much better than the Cobra ESD-6060 competition. For the price, you actually do get some performance from this thing. Other than the hard to read display, everything else about the detector is good. Whistler knows how to build cheap detectors that perform alright.
-Price-
*The Whistler DE-1730 is a very cheap radar detector. You can find it for about $50 and less. I wouldn't recommend buying a detector for so little money, but at least you're not getting a pile of crap with the Whistler DE-1730. It may not be the best looking detector, but it does provide good X-band coverage, and barely sufficient K and Ka band coverage. If you can't spend more than $50, then the Whistler DE-1730 might be the ideal detector for you, don't go bother looking at Cobra or anything else. Whistlers are known to provide good performance at a low-price, and the Whistler DE-1730 does carry that tradition to an extent.
-Performance-
*The Whistler DE-1730 did fare better than the Cobra ESD-6060 in the tests that I performed. I took these two puppies on a stretch of IL-60 in Lake Forest where there is a very strong X-band sensor, and the Whistler DE-1730 picked it up with excellent range and this would've provided enough time to stop. Alright, so then it's off to K and Ka band territory. The Whistler DE-1730 alerted of K-band gun maybe a second or so before the cop was visible. If you are able to react very quickly and push down on that brake, the Whistler DE-1730 would technically save your behind. The Ka-band performance was a bit worse since the cruiser was already in sight when the radar went off, but at least it actually alerts of it unlike the Cobra which didn't even go off at one point. So therefore, if you occassionaly speed up to 10mph over but not really more, then the Whistler DE-1730 should be a sufficient radar for you. But it's a far cry from anything in the $200+ range where you can have a very long warning and even play around with your speed before you see the cruiser.
-Features & Ease of Use-
*The Whistler DE-1730 is a very simple to use detector. It has three buttons on the top of it. There's the mute button which will mute the alert, the City/Highway mode button, and also a VG-2 button which allows you to turn that function on and off. Then for volume, there's the turn-wheel on the side. My only complaint with its ease of use is the lights, they can be difficult to see. But at least the Whistler DE-1730 gets loud enough when announcing threats. I really liked the display on the Cobra better, but performance is key.
-The Verdict-
*The Whistler DE-1730 is about as cheap as they come. If you occassionaly go a little bit above the limit, then this detector would suit you well. If you're a lead-footed speed demon, then prepare to have a cruiser pulled up behind you with its lights on. The Whistler DE-1730 fares much better than the Cobra ESD-6060 competition. For the price, you actually do get some performance from this thing. Other than the hard to read display, everything else about the detector is good. Whistler knows how to build cheap detectors that perform alright.
