Excellent. Outperforms my Escort Max 360c in range and up to the second strength signal representation.
This detector is awesome. I'm running it along side my Escort Max 360c. ( Sufficiently spaced apart, they do not interfere with each other ). The R3 alerts to signals much sooner than the Max 360c. The ramp up and ramp down is very good, especially after passing a threat. For instance if I pass a police vehicle that is going in the opposite direction with Ka band, the R3 immediately begins to ramp down as soon as I've passed it. This is an awesome immediate response in comparison to my Max 360c, which can take as much as 3 to 5 seconds to update the directional arrows and register that the signal is now behind me. That said, I would actually be willing to use the R3 without it having directional arrows, as the ramp up and ramp down are useful enough to let a user quickly become trained in how to interpret the signal strength the detector is reporting; because the signal strength is updated much more rapidly than competing detectors such as the Max 360c, it is more useful than my relying on the directional arrows that the Max 360c has.
I am no "Escort" hater like there are on some popular RD forums. That said, I'l this review is written with me having an open mind and not biasing myself to one brand over the other. I do own and will continue to use both detectors. At the end of the day if I had to purchase and use just one detector, at this time I would choose this Uniden R3 over my Escort Passport Max 360c with directional arrows.
Since I can and do have both, my thought process was this. I'll run the R3 for long-range advanced alert detection, and the Max 360c for city/suburban driving with its directional arrows. This allow me to get the most advanced alerts on the highway from the Uniden R3, while the Escort Max will alert me to the location of multiple threats in the suburbs. The Uniden R3 can display multiple threats, but it can't show you from which direction they are originating, like the Max 360c can.
I love this Uniden R3, but also don't want to do without the directional arrows my Escort Passport Max 360c offers. The Max 360c has helped me avoid getting into trouble by not speeding when I would have otherwise believed I had already passed (in the opposite direction) the only LEO vehicle I could see. Had it been the Uniden R3 only, I would have thought that the signal I'm seeing is just the high powered rear radar of the LEO; With the Max 360c, I could tell there was actually a separate officer behind me traveling in my same direction.
Take this review for what it is, subjective to my personal experiences. As you look into what detector you want, don't only consider cost and pure distance as a performance metric. Do consider those things, but also consider what type of encounters you have, your driving routes, your personal driving habits, and what you may consider to be your most vulnerable positions. IE, if you never look in your rear view mirror, leaving yourself vulnerable to an LEO sneaking up on you traveling in the same direction until he is already upon you... you may benefit from a unit with directional arrows more than one that just tops the charts for pure range. If you are a driver who never speeds until you are on the open highway with no visible cars around, then you may be better served with the detector that offers the greatest range, more so than one with directional arrows.
TLDR; The R3 is a formidable Radar Detector. The range is extremely good. Uniden puts out regular firmware updates, and fixes critical bugs within days of users reporting them. Purchasing this detector for a daily driver or a road tripper would not be a mistake.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
