Pros: Cheap; small; volume dial better than buttons (really, though, the answer should be "none")
Cons: Sensitivity so poor that it's worthless; doesn't distinguish between K and Ka band radar
The Bottom Line: "You get what you pay for" doesn't apply here - with the ESD6060, you get less than what you paid for. I wouldn't use it if it was free.
lousygolfer's Full Review: Cobra Electronics ESD 6060 Radar Detector
This is/was (I'm returning it) my second Cobra radar detector and unless some reputable reviews reveal that new Cobra models are tremendously improved, it will be my last. I bought my old Cobra in 1988, it was one of the most highly rated detectors in one of the car magazine's radar detector test, and it worked quite well on X band radar. I haven't used it in years, though, because it doesn't detect Ka band radar or laser (don't even remember if it detects K band). I started thinking about getting a new detector and I recently spotted this Cobra unit at my local Farm & Fleet store in WI, selling for the very low price of $39.99. I usually research the heck out of an item before purchasing, but I figured with a price this low and my good experiences with my old Cobra, why not get it?
This was a mistake. I'm glad that I did get around to reading some online radar detector reviews before I tried out the 6060, as they alerted me to the fact that recent model Cobra detectors are among the least sensitive on the market. If I hadn't read those reviews, I think I'd be facing at least one ticket at a minimum of three to five times the purchase price of this unit. Having been warned, I started out yesterday on a 200 mile round trip a bit cautiously, trying to stick to around 9mph over the limit, which is the fastest one generally can go without being pulled over. On that trip, it beeped around ten times, with only three of those being actual radar alerts. That many false alerts - all X band - is no better than my old Cobra, maybe even a bit worse. I figured that with 15 years of technological advances, a new basic level detector would be better than an old high end one, but apparently that's not the case. However, when I had it on "City" mode, it did cut back the false alarms substantially. This level of false alarms wouldn't have killed my opinion of the 6060 if it had otherwise decent sensitivity, but it doesn't.
The first genuine alert came on a four lane highway with a very wide (100 yds) median strip. The patrol car was approaching from the opposite direction, seemed to have its radar on full time (not pulse) and was using either K or Ka band radar; I couldn't tell which because the 6060 doesn't distinguish between them. The Cobra first alerted me to the oncoming police car at almost exactly the same time I spotted it visually, about 250-300 yds away. I had actually drifted up to about 78mph in a 65 zone and if there wasn't such a big median strip making turning around to pursue me a bit of an effort, I probably would have received a ticket. Nice job, little Cobra.
The second alert was a deliberate test on a known radar trap. I spotted a cop settling into his regular position in a little town I pass through, so I turned around, drove two miles back, and then approached to see how much advanced warning I got from the Cobra. There were plenty of cars in front of me, so I know he must have been been beaming at them at least half a dozen times, if not continuously, before I detected him, but there was no signal from the Cobra. Finally, after another car ahead of me and I were within 150 yards, in visual sight, the 6060 went off, alerting me to the K/Ka band radar he was using. Had I been speeding, I would have been nailed.
The third alert actually came with enough warning that I most likely could have slowed down in time. Coming up a slight hill, the detector went off on X band radar, and as I crested the hill, I spotted a patrol car that had pulled over another car about 800 yards ahead. My 15 year old Cobra would have given me at least this much warning, maybe more, though, plus X band use is on the decline and becoming rather uncommon these days.
The fourth alert simply didn't happen at all. I spotted a cop nestled into a very sneaky little hollow on the backside of a curve behind an overpass facing oncoming traffic, there actually was plenty of traffic, and the 6060 remained altogether silent. Maybe he was taking a break and wasn't shooting his radar, but it looked like he was monitoring traffic to me. Maybe he was using laser (not too sure how many police departments in Wisconsin use laser, though) and this detector didn't pick it up or wasn't at the right angle to pick it up. However, Cobra does proclaim that it senses laser in 360 degrees around the car. The cop was facing away from, rather than toward me, but at some point as I went around the curve near him, I should have detected him if he was using any normal equipment; he didn't have a long enough line of sight to use VASCAR. Perhaps this is just typical of Cobra detectors, as I've read that even better model Cobras have awful rear performance - the model ESD-9110 spotted rear Ka band radar at a distance of just 82 feet - you can read the bold print on the top of the cop's citation pad at that range.
Maybe I have a defective unit. Maybe I stumbled across a few cops who weren't monitoring fairly steady streams of traffic in front of me and by coincidence, only switched on their radar when I was right on top of them. However, I'm not going to take a chance. If I had been lulled into a false sense of security by this Cobra, thinking I could speed safely because I would get sufficient advanced warning from my detector, I'd have at least one ticket on the first day of use. In my mind, that's worse than having no radar detector at all.
I don't know what I will get to replace this unit. I'm not sure I can justifiably swing the $$ for one of the two top rated units, the Valentine 1 ($400) or the Passport 8500 ($300, sometimes as low as $250). The Bel 985 is right in there, just a whisker behind those two, and I can pick one up for around $220. I've also read that for under $100 detectors, the Bel 910 is the best and the Whistler 1753 and 1748 are also very strong, with lots of features (see http://www.radartest.com/article.asp?articleID=2003). At least now my selection process is easier - no more Cobras.
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