Home > Consumer Reviews > Whistler DE1765C Radar Detector

I recently bought this to replace an old Radio shack brand laser/radar detector (X/K/Ka/safety band with pulse detection, and 360 degree laser detection, voice, color LED) that had blown the internal speaker once again after replacing it. So that is really all I have to compare against...

I just installed this radar detector, and immediately noticed the difference. There's a local Speed Radar Display Machine posted near my work, and usually my car has to be in my line of sight of the machine for my old radar detector to detect it. With the Whistler DE1765C, it detects it before I even turn onto the street that has this machine (which is near the other end of the 1/3 mi. long street). I can't test (and don't want to) the Laser detection, but I can say if it does detect it, its already better than my old one. I got 2 tickets via Laser with the Radio Shack one, which didn't even give me a alert at all. Also the "City 2" mode on this Whistler detector is very useful. I live in San Diego and its full of annoying X band signals. "City 2" mode disables X band completely. Very useful if you know what radars your county uses. (San Diego only uses Ka/pulse and laser). On the downside of this detector, it has a larger footprint. Also mine didn't come with any velcro (the manual insinuates you receive velcro for dash mounting). The pivoting display isn't all that great (very limited pivoting), and the red-only LED is kinda hard to read during the day. Also the "Stay Alert" mode is handy, but more of a gimmick.

Now on to the digital compass. Many of you would probably find this a gimmick, but I find it useful for when I get lost, all I know is that I have to go West all the way to the beach and I'm home. Anyway, the calibration was kind of tricky. It said to drive 2 complete circles while in calibration mode to calibrate the compass. But for me When I do just a quarter of a circle, it says "Calibration Done". It appears to be though accurate when I compare it to my liquid filled compass.

Pros:
*Very customizable (lots of option settings)
*Appears to have excellent detection ranges
*City 2 Mode removes the annoyance of constant X band detection
*Claims "All Band" and 360 degree total perimeter detection
*Loud enough to hear over blaring radio, and has distinct sounds between each radar band
*Very Low Price

Cons:
*Big Footprint
*Red only display LED (my old one flashed different colors for each different radar band and laser)
*Didn't come with any velcro for dash mounting
*LED is hard to read during the day, and is of very low resolution
*Old (this is a 2002 model that Whistler appears to be clearing out)


All in all, I give this item 3 stars. Worth is for the price, but if my old radar detector speaker would stop blowing out, I'd rather have saved the money and stick with the old one. If you don't have a radar detector at all and on a limited budget, this is worthy. But learn from me, DO NOT LET YOUR GUARD DOWN AND RELY SOLELY ON A RADAR/LASER DETECTOR. Laser is very hard to detect (and if that laser didn't bounce off the car in front of you, and you are speeding, then you have just been notified that you are going to get pulled over in a few seconds), and you can still get a ticket if the cop "paces" you speeding.

Whistler is a respected vendor in the radar detector market. This is a model that won a few awards when it was first introduced in 2002. The low price is because it is being closed out, although you can still find it available online in the 60-100 dollar range.

I don't think you can find a better detector for under 100 dollars, so unless you are willing to spend 150 or more this is a good entry-level model with the following features:
* A digital compass
* High-visibility text
* Loud audio alerts
* Highway and dual city modes
* Quiet and auto-quiet modes
* All BandTM protection including VG-2 which will conceal your detector from police
* Battery saver that automatically shuts off your detector if you forget

Be aware that this model does not detect or offer protection against the most up to date POP technology, but if you want it be prepared to spend 3-4 times more.

This unit has exceeded my expectations for what I considered a VERY REASONABLE price. I have always been reluctant to purchase a mid-priced detector, but I couldn't resist the "close out" price of this unit. Very satisfied!

Extremely good ratio money / quality. Easy to install and set up. Very sensitive and accurate device. Lots of functions.

This detector is being closed out, and can be had really cheap. For the price it can't be beat. It's an average detector as far as radar detectors go. There are some that are smaller and perform better. There are also much worse. It works well, and the prcie is less than $50 now. What else can you ask for. It also has an electronic compass that works well if you mount it correctly and follow the instructions to calibrate it.