DriveSmart Alpha Radar, Laser and GPS Speed Camera & Red Light Camera Detector Inc Mobile Laser Detection & Smart Radar

An excellent piece of equipment I have not had cause to go far with it yet but it does detect what it is mean’t to. The only fault it has is it doesn’t tell you when your in a speed limit normally like a sat nav does .

Initial impressions of the unit were that it was well made as it felt heavy and durable.The instructions show the items that should be in the box so it is easy to check. Although they also show the item fitted to a windscreen using the windscreen mount the actual place that the mount is fitted into the body of the unit is not shown and is not immediately obvious. I consider myself technically minded but it was not clear that I had to push the mount into the thin slot on the top of the unit. I felt that if this was the wrong place, the unit may be damaged. Nevertheless I bit the bullet and pushed and I have to say it initially took more force that I would normally be comfortable with using but the bracket did go in so all was fine.Reading through the instructions again it was clear how to adjust all the relevant settings and features which mostly is just turning them on or off apart from the warning distance which could be altered but I just left this in the factory settings. One setting was confusing at first which was the “cruise over speed warning”. This is set to 20mph so if your speed ever goes above 20mph you will get a warning. You should treat this as “the maximum speed I will probably go anywhere” I set this to 75mph.In use it’s not obvious where the actual display is as it is cleverly hidden beneath a black screen so you look at the item and thing. “how is this thing going to tell me anything” There is absolutely nothing in the instructions to show where the screen is or what you are likely to see on it. When you plug the unit in and turn it on it all becomes clear. Moaning about instructions again – there is a part of the screen that shows the general direction of north. There is not even a mention of this in the instructions either in text or pictures which I consider very bad. Being a little technical I could understand this but if you are not used to trying to guess the work of technical writers you wouldn’t know.Driving around the unit seemed to perform well when I went on a tour of known camera sites. Please bear in mind that though this is GPS based the unit does not know which road you are on. It only knows you are a certain distance from a known camera location and will alert you as necessary. Most of the time this is fine but if you ever say drive under a motorway which has speed cameras above you, you will get an alert.A couple of things annoyed me which were 1. The mounting bracket is not strong enough to support the weight of the unit and when driving over normal dual carriageway roads the unit would shake like a jelly making reading of the display difficult. I can only imagine what effect this is having to the internal workings. 2. When the unit detects an operational K band camera the warning beep lasts for the entire duration you are in range – even if you are within the speed limit. This is really annoying if you are having a conversation with someone or just listening to the radio, I was in some slow moving traffic during (but within range of a 40mph camera) and the beeper was going off continuously for 3-4 minutes whilst I was doing 5mph or less !!Generally speaking though the unit performs well. If you do the same journey say to and from work you will get fed up after a few days as you will know where all the cameras are even if you didn’t before. It would be great if you are say a sales rep on the road a lot in unknown territory. But all in all it’s a good thing to have and I must say even though I am not a habitual speeder I have found myself driving more carefully so those who think we buy these gadgets so that we can bomb around at 100mph and just slow down for camera should bear this in mind. When I looked at the company’s web site I found it for sale cheaper than the amazon seller I bought it off and also saw they did speed camera detectors integrated into dash cams. Wish I had seen those sooner.

Yep just picked up a letter from the police that they caught me on camera. Apparently they are at this spot often and have been for a few years. Did not receive warning so now face a fine and points. Just been given a long excuse by them that it may not have been on the data base and told the best way to avoid being caught is don't speed. That is a great help. Its 6 months old so will bin it and go back to road angel.

Have used it only once and I was amazed at how well it performed. Picked up radar cameras before I could see them! When it locates a camera it bleeps then counts down until you have passed it on the screen. I put on the advisory bit which tells you when you are in a known radar trap area and it lets you know if you are over the speed limit which I found handy as I was in an area I didn't know. On the motorway I entered a 50 mph limit zone and it picked up several cameras, two which I couldn't see!It was very simple to install on the dash. I used a sticky pad as the mount it clips in was quite stiff to use. It also has a good long lead with it and can be use from the rear power socket.Very pleased and have given it 5 star, but I have one niggle, the voice on it it rather gravelly and not to clear even on a lower volume. It would be nice to have a smooth clear voice. Still it does the job. Recommended

Wiring connector is not easy to remove to stow the unit. Cant understand why the plug in to the unit is like a telephone plug. It wont last!

I bought this to replace my old Talex, it's OK, it doesn't give off any false reports, sometime misses well known mobile speed traps. Value for money if on a budget. 7.5/10

Not the best product I’ve used. It seems to be preset for cameras! Not live! Stick with a Tomtom there is no difference.

This is complete and utter rubbish. Gave a warning of a 30mph camera on the motorway, a 40mph camera in a car park and a specs camera on the roundabout. Doesn't even have a radar detector just a radar database (which most likely doesn't work). Avoid like the coronavirus.