Cobra Electronics ESD-787 User Guide

Table of Contents

Important information about...

Federal Laws, Safety Alert

Security of Your Vehicle, Customer Support.................................................................................. A1

Installation..................................................................................................................................2-4

Operation–Getting Started ............................................................................................................ 5

Operation–Settings ...................................................................................................................... 6-12

Highway/City Mode ................................................................................................................ 6

UltraBright™ Data Display Brightness ........................................................................................ 7

Muting an Alert ...................................................................................................................... 8

Auto Mute Mode .................................................................................................................... 8

®

IntelliMute

.............................................................................................................................. 9-11

®

VG-2 Alert

Audio Setting ........................................................................................................ 12

Detection .................................................................................................................................... 13-16

Signals Detected .................................................................................................................... 13

Audio Alerts ............................................................................................................................ 13

Visual Display ........................................................................................................................ 13-15

Instant-On Detection ................................................................................................................ 16

Responding to Alerts ................................................................................................................ 16

Understanding Radar and Laser ...................................................................................................... 17-19

Maintenance and Service .............................................................................................................. 20-21

Limited 1-Year Warranty ................................................................................................................ 22

Specifications and Trademark Acknowledgement .............................................................................. 23

Optional Accessories .................................................................................................................... 24

Order Info .................................................................................................................................. 25

®

/Strobe Alert®Safe Driving,

I N S TA L L AT I O N

1

I N S TA L L A T I O N

1

Where to Mount Your Unit

You will get optimum performance from
your detector if you mount it at a point
approximately in the center of the vehicle,
as low as possible on the front windshield
without obstructing the unit's view of the
road either to the front or rear. You can
also mount it directly on the dashboard.

Windshield mounting

Dashboard mounting

The unit's lenses must not be blocked and
the LaserEye
the back window to allow 360° detection.

®

should have a clear view out

Radar and laser signals pass through glass
but not through other materials and objects.
Objects that can block or weaken incoming
signals include:

windshield wiper blades
mirrored sun screens
dark tinting at the top of the

windshield
heated windshields currently available

on some vehicles (Instaclear for Ford,

®

Electriclear for GM,® consult your
dealer to see if you have this option)

Windshield Mounting

1. Attach the rubber cups to the bracket.

2. Make sure the rubber cups and

your windshield are clean.

3. Push the bracket firmly onto

the windshield.

4. Attach the detector to the bracket.

Check the angle of the unit.

5. To adjust the angle if necessary,

gently push or pull on the bracket
to bend it. DO NOT use the
detector to bend the bracket.

6. Plug the power cord into the detector.

7. Plug the cigarette lighter adapter on

the power cord into your vehicle's
cigarette lighter.

8. You can temporarily remove the

Instac lear for Ford®is a registere d tradema rk of Fo rd Motor Company, I nc.

2

Electr iclear fo r GM

®

is a registere d tradema rk of Ge neral Mot ors Corpo ration.

detector whenever you wish by
sliding it off of the bracket.

3

I N S TA L L AT I O N

K Ka V S

X K Ka V S

X K Ka V S

X K Ka V

K Ka V S

X K Ka V S

1

O P E R A T I O N • G E T T I N G S TA R T E D

2

Dashboard Mounting

1. Place the detector on the dashboard

to find a location where the unit has
a clear, level view of the road. The
angle can NOT be adjusted after
mounting.

2. Remove the paper backing from one

side of the hook-and-loop fastener.

3. Attach the pad to the dashboard at

your chosen location and remove the
other paper backing.

4. Attach the detector to the hook-and-loop

fastener. You can remove and reattach
the unit as often as you like.

5. Plug the power cord into the detector.

6. Plug the cigarette lighter adapter on

the power cord into your vehicle's
cigarette lighter.

1. Turn on the unit and adjust audio

volume by rotating the

ON-OFF/VOLUME CONTROL DIAL

clockwise (away from you).

2. You will hear 3 beeps and the letter "h"

will appear in the display indicating that
the power is on.

NOTE: In some vehicles, power is
supplied to the cigarette lighter even
while the ignition is off. If this is the
case with your vehicle, you should
turn off or unplug your detector
when parking for lengthy periods.

4

5

O P E R A T I O N • S E T T I N G S

K Ka V S

X K Ka V S

X K Ka V S

X K Ka V S

X K Ka V

K Ka V S

X K Ka V S

X K K V S

K Ka V S

X K Ka V S

X K Ka V S

X K Ka V

K Ka V S

X K Ka V S

D

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B

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A

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3

O P E R A T I O N • S E T T I N G S

3

When changing the settings on your
detector, please keep in mind:

• Buttons can have multiple functions.

• All settings will be stored in memory
when the power is turned off and recalled
when the power is turned back on.

Highway/City Mode

Setting your detector to City mode delays
all X band audio alerts until the signal
strength reaches level 3. (A single beep will
sound when the signal is first detected.)
This will reduce false alerts while you are
driving in or near urban areas where there
are many sources for conflicting X band

To change from
Highway mode
to City mode

To change from

6

City mode back
to Highway
mode

signals such as microwave towers and
automatic door openers.

To change settings, follow the procedure in
the table below, which indicates what you will
see and hear as you complete each step.

The factory setting is Highway mode.

Tone

1 beep

2 beeps

CITY button

Press and release

Visual Display

appears in

the display

appears in
the display

mode

Procedure

Press and

release the

CITY button.

Press and

release the

CITY button

again.

City mode Highway

UltraBright™ Data
Display Brightness

You can choose from three settings for
brightness of the display.

DIM button

Press and release

Procedure

To change
the brightness
to Dim

To change
the brightness
to Dark

To change
the brightness
to Bright

Press and release

the DIM button

Press and release

the DIM button

Press and release

the DIM button

a third time.

once.

again.

You can cycle through the settings
by repeatedly pushing the DIM button

The factory setting is Bright.

Bright

Dim

Dark

Tone

1 beep

1 beep

2 beeps

Visual Display

Display dims

Display remains

dim (No visual

alerts will be seen)

Display returns

to full brightness

7

O P E R A T I O N • S E T T I N G S

3

Muting an Alert

Your detector allows you to quickly turn off
an audio alert by momentarily pressing the
MUTE button. If you press the MUTE button
a second time during the alert, the audio
alert will be turned back on.

Auto Mute Mode

Auto Mute will automatically reduce the
audio volume of all alerts after 4 seconds
for as long as the signal is detected.

The factory setting for Auto Mute is On.

IntelliMute

®

IntelliMute®is a unique new feature of the
detector that allows you to avoid alerts you
don’t need to hear because you are stopped
or moving slowly. By sensing the ”revs“

®

(RPMs) of your engine, IntelliMute

knows
when you are at low speed and
automatically mutes alerts (except for strobe
signals from emergency vehicles).

®

Before IntelliMute

will work, you must
set an activation point for your engine's
revs (see page 11). Whenever the revs are

®

below that point, IntelliMute

will begin

muting. The activation point will be stored

O P E R A T I O N • S E T T I N G S

in memory and recalled each time the power
is turned on.

The factory setting is IntelliMute

NOTE: IntelliMute

®

may not work with

®

Off.

some vehicles because it cannot sense the
engine’s revs. In such cases, you can reduce
unwanted audio alerts by using Auto Mute
and City mode when appropriate.

3

MUTE button

Press and release

Procedure

To turn
Auto Mute
off

To turn
Auto Mute
on

Press and release

the MUTE button

while no alert

is occurring.

Press and release

the MUTE button

again while no

alert is occurring.

8

Tone

1 beep

2 beeps

Visual Display

none

none

IntelliMute®button

Press and release

To turn
IntelliMute
on

To turn
IntelliMute
off

Press and release the

®

IntelliMute

Press and release the

®

IntelliMute

Procedure

button.

button again.

Tone

®

®

2 beeps

1 beep

Visual Display

dot appears next to

the large character

on the right

none

9