Hey folks,
I know these gadgets have been discussed a lot, but I just thought I'd post some observations I made tonight when we put my RA side-by-side with my mate's S4 Neo on a bit of a drive around in case anyone's considering a purchase.
First off, I know there's a bit of a difference in the average going-rate for each box, but I know for a fact the retail margins on RA's is pretty good and places can afford to discount (got mine for £320 inc. VAT and the seller was still in profit).
Anyway, we got the two devices plugged in and mounted on the windscreen and then departed on our travels; the first thing I noticed is that the resolution of speed-readings seems to be higher on the RA - when going from a pretty constant forward-speed to a complete stop, the RA slowed and came to 0mph more accurately. Perhaps this is because of better satellite-tracking, perhaps it's a higher baud-rate from a more powerful GPS chipset; I don't know, but it certainly seemed more 'real-time' accurate.
Secondly, and this was the part that amazed me - the difference in the number of warnings given. I must admit I bought the RA purely because I knew it was the weapon of choice for some individuals who normally use nothing but good kit (including some on here). I read on the box that they claim "no false alerts" - but I figured this was probably just one of those claims; but now I'm guessing this has received quite a lot of critical-acclaim.
I didn't keep a tally of actual alerts this evening, but to give a rough idea...
The Snooper was regularly giving alerts (90% of the total perhaps) for fixed-cameras that proved to be red-herrings (with the cameras actually being located on nearby roads, not the one we were on - in both tight-knit urban road layouts and passing under A-roads on the Motorways). The RA remained silent throughout all the alerts the S4 Neo gave in these instances.
-It's important to note I think the Snooper is set to a higher warning range, but I don't think that this being lower would have given considerably more favourable results in the majority of cases tonight.
We actually came close to only three fixed-cameras this evening...
As we approached the first (on our side of the road), both the Snooper and the RA gave an alert (the Snooper a little earlier because of the increased range setting) - while heading toward it we had to stop at a junction, both devices were silent with the RA screen displaying the warning info on the red background and the Snooper displaying the distance to the camera. When the lights changed we made a left turn - within approximately 10 metres of the RA displaying a postive MPH speed the screen returned to normal. The Snooper gave another couple of beeps and then also returned to 'stand-by'.
A short time later we approached another camera, this time on the other side of the road. When we came in range, the Snooper started the bells and whistles - but the RA remained silent.
The third camera was also on the other side of the road, and the result was the same - Snooper alerted and RA stayed quiet.
I for one was shocked; and I'm already glad I jumped-in. It seems to be a very capable tool and I think will prove to be less intrusive than competing products. I'm still not convinced that it will never give a false alert, because I can imagine some interesting programming-logic confusion in out-of-the-ordinary manouveres or road layouts (maybe with some roundabouts stuck in for the added direction-change) - but if tonight was anything to go by I don't think there'll be many.
I would like to see the option to change the display settings on the RA a bit more though, mainly the addition of brightness control because I think that blue light is going to take some getting used to on un-lit roads, maybe even a time-dependant split level setting for day/night brightness like you see on stereos.
Additionally, in favour of the Snooper, the speech alert system it has is very good. The RA chap only advises of the camera/hazard type, and then the beeps begin - the Snooper also verbally reports the speed limit at that point. That's something I'd like to see (or hear!) on the RA, or maybe even if it didn't actually announce the speed limit, it could alternate a display of your actual speed and the speed limit on the screen.
That said though, I'm not going to let that put me off - at the end of the day I bought it to tell me where cameras/blackspots etc. are, not to tell me the speed limit of the road I'm on (I'm quite happy that's still my responsibility). Also, I wouldn't trade the accuracy of warnings (given tonight's little test) for the extended speech capability.
I think they're both very clever bits of kit, and extremely useful. I'm certainly glad to have the added protection that comes from any decent camera warning system, and I'd certainly recommend them to anyone considering such a device.
Anyway, just some observations as I said, hope someone finds them useful.
Regards,
Rob.
