Magene L508 radar, an alternative to Garmin Varia

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req110
Posts: 867
Joined: Thu Nov 22, 2018 10:23 am

by req110

Hey guys. I am fan of radars. Now I an on the fence because :

I have been using

Garmin rtl510 > it was great, but after almost two years I submitted warranty request because the power button was almost unable to press, and got refund

Garmin rtl515 > I paid for it using money from previous return. I was using it for a while, but then I became useless since it went completely crazy and started giving extreme amount of false positives from my girlfriend or my cycling peer. And that happened while he was behind me. For example if he changed position from rear left to rear right, It generated like 7 alarms. Very often. And also the power button was getting into same condition like rtl510. So this one is on warranty claim as well and I hope to get refund.

Now I am considering what next

A) take refund money and purchase again rtl515, hope to be more lucky next time. Only this option will make me keep my saddle rail mounts or additional mounts. Below alternatives are not compatible with them.

B) buy rct715, the camera feature is welcomed but not necessary for me, weight is acceptable for me, but too bulky design is turning me away

C) I am considering new magene l508, it has some additional features opposed to rtl515 like braking indication, usb-c and wider angle of visibility, and the polished design looks fine... I think it's Chinese company what is turning me away, but I am afraid that is the same country the Garmin is made in anyway. Comes with very compact seatpost mount.

Any experience with this?
SW SL8 RTP 56cm @ 9270 / CLX II / CS OSPW / CEMA BB
S Epic 8 L @ XX T-Type / Berg Ratheberg 30 / Quarq / Fox Transfer SL 100mm / 3p

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pritish8287
Posts: 103
Joined: Thu May 02, 2019 3:00 pm

by pritish8287

Where are you located? I cannot find any in USA on any online retailer nor on eBay. I even tried reaching out to eBay sellers who sell Magene sensors but ended up getting no positive response. I have read reviews by DC rainmaker and this radar is pretty good alternative to Garmin at almost 1/2 price. Aliexpress has this on sale, I haven’t used Aliexpress for any of my purchases.


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Mocs123
Posts: 826
Joined: Tue May 11, 2021 9:19 pm

by Mocs123

I noticed the Magene is 65g vs. the Garmin RTL515's 100g. I'm not sure if that's due to battery size differences, or quality of construction but 35g of weight savings is nothing to sneeze at if it's still a quality product.
2015 Wilier Zero.7 Rim - 6.37kg
2020 Trek Emonda SLR-7 Disc - 6.86kg
2023 Specialized SL7 - 7.18kg

StiffWeenies
Posts: 613
Joined: Sun Feb 28, 2021 3:39 pm

by StiffWeenies

How fast do people drive on Czech roads? The Magene will be much more sensitive because the software is optimised for Chinese traffic conditions, where an overabundance of speed bumps and traffic cameras make cars drive at a snail's pace.

req110
Posts: 867
Joined: Thu Nov 22, 2018 10:23 am

by req110

RTL515 is 105g but including mount!

There are two resellers in our country selling it for 133 EUR including tax, so it's a good deal. The RTL515 right now costs 182 EUR.
But price doesn't matter to me, i am just disappointed Garmin consumer. Their watches sucks and soon to be smashed by apple, their edge computers are non intuitive and unstable and garmin connect is very user unfriendly... So i welcome any competitor.

And if the competition is
- has wider angle
- has nicer design
- has brake light as well

That's hard to ignore, even it's Chinese brand!

////////////

How fast do people drive on Czech roads? >>>> LIKE MANIACS. But it's not about the speed, but about respect, i think like 50% of cars which passes me does not giving me enough space.

I have to be extremely precise when planning my routes, to meet as least cars as possible. I have to keep in mind all conditions like weather, season, directions from/to bigger cities in peak/offpeak hour, as well as traffic sentiment.
SW SL8 RTP 56cm @ 9270 / CLX II / CS OSPW / CEMA BB
S Epic 8 L @ XX T-Type / Berg Ratheberg 30 / Quarq / Fox Transfer SL 100mm / 3p

youngs_modulus
Posts: 668
Joined: Wed Sep 20, 2006 1:03 am
Location: Portland, OR USA

by youngs_modulus

StiffWeenies wrote:
Thu Sep 22, 2022 3:52 pm
How fast do people drive on Czech roads? The Magene will be much more sensitive because the software is optimised for Chinese traffic conditions, where an overabundance of speed bumps and traffic cameras make cars drive at a snail's pace.
Huh? I think you're making a joke about Chinese traffic. Is that all, or do you actually have some insight into the signal processing of the Magene unit? "More sensitive because traffic is slower" doesn't make any sense from that standpoint. You're not serious, are you?

StiffWeenies
Posts: 613
Joined: Sun Feb 28, 2021 3:39 pm

by StiffWeenies

youngs_modulus wrote:
Fri Sep 23, 2022 5:34 am
StiffWeenies wrote:
Thu Sep 22, 2022 3:52 pm
How fast do people drive on Czech roads? The Magene will be much more sensitive because the software is optimised for Chinese traffic conditions, where an overabundance of speed bumps and traffic cameras make cars drive at a snail's pace.
Huh? I think you're making a joke about Chinese traffic. Is that all, or do you actually have some insight into the signal processing of the Magene unit? "More sensitive because traffic is slower" doesn't make any sense from that standpoint. You're not serious, are you?
The radar function categorizes alerts according to approach speed. The Magene's threshold for what constitutes a 'fast' approach is lower than that of the Garmin. This means that red alerts will be more frequent than amber.

youngs_modulus
Posts: 668
Joined: Wed Sep 20, 2006 1:03 am
Location: Portland, OR USA

by youngs_modulus

StiffWeenies wrote:
Fri Sep 23, 2022 6:43 am
youngs_modulus wrote:
Fri Sep 23, 2022 5:34 am
StiffWeenies wrote:
Thu Sep 22, 2022 3:52 pm
How fast do people drive on Czech roads? The Magene will be much more sensitive because the software is optimised for Chinese traffic conditions, where an overabundance of speed bumps and traffic cameras make cars drive at a snail's pace.
Huh? I think you're making a joke about Chinese traffic. Is that all, or do you actually have some insight into the signal processing of the Magene unit? "More sensitive because traffic is slower" doesn't make any sense from that standpoint. You're not serious, are you?
The radar function categorizes alerts according to approach speed. The Magene's threshold for what constitutes a 'fast' approach is lower than that of the Garmin. This means that red alerts will be more frequent than amber.
Okay, cool! I hoped this wasn't just a joke, so your response is good news.

It sounds like you have direct knowledge of the embedded code Magene is using. How do you have access to this? Do you work for Magene or a software subcontractor for them? I don't mean to pry, but you also seem to have advance knowledge of the upcoming revision to the Farsports F1 bar, and that's a combination that piques my curiosity.

I believe that you might have inside knowledge of the signal processing in the Magene radar unit. But how? I've not even heard of one being seen in the wild. You must be in Asia; maybe the Magene units just haven't made it to the US yet.

I'm curious: are you a savvy consumer with good connections or do you work in the industry? For what it's worth, one of my professional niches is metrology and sensor design, so I'd love to know more about how Magene's approach to signal processing diverges from Garmin's.

Spill some tea, s'il vous plait.

StiffWeenies
Posts: 613
Joined: Sun Feb 28, 2021 3:39 pm

by StiffWeenies

youngs_modulus wrote:
Fri Sep 23, 2022 8:38 am
StiffWeenies wrote:
Fri Sep 23, 2022 6:43 am
youngs_modulus wrote:
Fri Sep 23, 2022 5:34 am
StiffWeenies wrote:
Thu Sep 22, 2022 3:52 pm
How fast do people drive on Czech roads? The Magene will be much more sensitive because the software is optimised for Chinese traffic conditions, where an overabundance of speed bumps and traffic cameras make cars drive at a snail's pace.
Huh? I think you're making a joke about Chinese traffic. Is that all, or do you actually have some insight into the signal processing of the Magene unit? "More sensitive because traffic is slower" doesn't make any sense from that standpoint. You're not serious, are you?
The radar function categorizes alerts according to approach speed. The Magene's threshold for what constitutes a 'fast' approach is lower than that of the Garmin. This means that red alerts will be more frequent than amber.
Okay, cool! I hoped this wasn't just a joke, so your response is good news.

It sounds like you have direct knowledge of the embedded code Magene is using. How do you have access to this? Do you work for Magene or a software subcontractor for them? I don't mean to pry, but you also seem to have advance knowledge of the upcoming revision to the Farsports F1 bar, and that's a combination that piques my curiosity.

I believe that you might have inside knowledge of the signal processing in the Magene radar unit. But how? I've not even heard of one being seen in the wild. You must be in Asia; maybe the Magene units just haven't made it to the US yet.

I'm curious: are you a savvy consumer with good connections or do you work in the industry? For what it's worth, one of my professional niches is metrology and sensor design, so I'd love to know more about how Magene's approach to signal processing diverges from Garmin's.

Spill some tea, s'il vous plait.
No connections to Magene, just regurgitating what people say on Chinese forums.

tomtom
Posts: 352
Joined: Sun Oct 31, 2010 9:01 am

by tomtom

Interesting but quite expensive. It looks kind of cheap and the "features" are not that distinc from Garmin. I don't want a bigger angle (it will pick up more traffic from parallel roads like there are many in the Netherlands) and probably no more remote from your Garmin Device. If it's anything like their other products; cheap(er) but not so good it's probably not a good plan. And(!) Garmin has a very good guarantee/CS; my mount broke (my own fould) and I got a new one even it was after the 2 years guarantee (so it was expired). Got a brand new 515 instead of the 505 for free. But.....I would definitely like to see more innovation soon from Garmin and maybe the Magene L508 will help speed up that proces :) !
Canyon Aeroad CFR
Canyon Grail CF

MagicShite
Posts: 425
Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2016 3:33 pm

by MagicShite

youngs_modulus wrote:
Fri Sep 23, 2022 8:38 am
StiffWeenies wrote:
Fri Sep 23, 2022 6:43 am
youngs_modulus wrote:
Fri Sep 23, 2022 5:34 am
StiffWeenies wrote:
Thu Sep 22, 2022 3:52 pm
How fast do people drive on Czech roads? The Magene will be much more sensitive because the software is optimised for Chinese traffic conditions, where an overabundance of speed bumps and traffic cameras make cars drive at a snail's pace.
Huh? I think you're making a joke about Chinese traffic. Is that all, or do you actually have some insight into the signal processing of the Magene unit? "More sensitive because traffic is slower" doesn't make any sense from that standpoint. You're not serious, are you?
The radar function categorizes alerts according to approach speed. The Magene's threshold for what constitutes a 'fast' approach is lower than that of the Garmin. This means that red alerts will be more frequent than amber.
Okay, cool! I hoped this wasn't just a joke, so your response is good news.

It sounds like you have direct knowledge of the embedded code Magene is using. How do you have access to this? Do you work for Magene or a software subcontractor for them? I don't mean to pry, but you also seem to have advance knowledge of the upcoming revision to the Farsports F1 bar, and that's a combination that piques my curiosity.

I believe that you might have inside knowledge of the signal processing in the Magene radar unit. But how? I've not even heard of one being seen in the wild. You must be in Asia; maybe the Magene units just haven't made it to the US yet.

I'm curious: are you a savvy consumer with good connections or do you work in the industry? For what it's worth, one of my professional niches is metrology and sensor design, so I'd love to know more about how Magene's approach to signal processing diverges from Garmin's.

Spill some tea, s'il vous plait.
Weibo, Tieba, etc, and an ability to read and understand mandarin.

:lol:

Ahhh Stiffweenies stop posting the good stuff.

req110
Posts: 867
Joined: Thu Nov 22, 2018 10:23 am

by req110

StiffWeenies wrote:
Fri Sep 23, 2022 6:43 am
youngs_modulus wrote:
Fri Sep 23, 2022 5:34 am
StiffWeenies wrote:
Thu Sep 22, 2022 3:52 pm
How fast do people drive on Czech roads? The Magene will be much more sensitive because the software is optimised for Chinese traffic conditions, where an overabundance of speed bumps and traffic cameras make cars drive at a snail's pace.
Huh? I think you're making a joke about Chinese traffic. Is that all, or do you actually have some insight into the signal processing of the Magene unit? "More sensitive because traffic is slower" doesn't make any sense from that standpoint. You're not serious, are you?
The radar function categorizes alerts according to approach speed. The Magene's threshold for what constitutes a 'fast' approach is lower than that of the Garmin. This means that red alerts will be more frequent than amber.
Do you know whether you can reconfigure the radar not to categorize cars as fast (red alert) that much? Most in-use videos are showing that computer beeps like crazy and shows red alert. Which is pretty disturbing.
SW SL8 RTP 56cm @ 9270 / CLX II / CS OSPW / CEMA BB
S Epic 8 L @ XX T-Type / Berg Ratheberg 30 / Quarq / Fox Transfer SL 100mm / 3p

youngs_modulus
Posts: 668
Joined: Wed Sep 20, 2006 1:03 am
Location: Portland, OR USA

by youngs_modulus

MagicShite wrote:
Fri Sep 23, 2022 10:55 am

Weibo, Tieba, etc, and an ability to read and understand mandarin.

:lol:

Ahhh Stiffweenies stop posting the good stuff.
Cheers to you and Stiffweenies for the explanation. The latter was a bit coy about an info source in the Farsports F1 thread, and I jumped to conclusions.

In retrospect: my recent sleep deprivation obviously affected my reasoning. 😬

greycat
Posts: 20
Joined: Sat Sep 11, 2021 9:14 pm

by greycat

I have the l508 varia 515 and 715. The magene mounts 90 degrees from the garmin 515. The l508 has an elastic lanyard. I pull it over seat so I hangs from seatpost. The 715 doesn't rotate to lock and uses a press lock. 715 uses metal tabs.

I like the 5 min. Non motion off and the braking pulse on l508. I like the on off button in the center of the light. I mount my radar on my seat rails. I have turned off my varia with my butt cause it's button I'd on top.

The l508 is type c charger and varia 515 isn't unless you get the 715.

The 715 is thick and uses a large mount. The 715 mount has rubber for round square and aero post. It can mount with 3 zip ties.

The l508 has a fade to the edges (sides) of the light so it's not same brightness as from thr rear. Magene has some weird registry to get more light custom settings. I haven't used it. I can't understand if you get 3 extra settings for free and 5 if you pay $5 or it's free also. The rubber port seal doesn't rotate out of way like garmin for charging.

I haven't done a long enough ride (long day in heavy traffic) to drain the battery on l508 or 715.

I really don't like the 715. I can't load videos directly to strava. The short clips are irritating to use. I don't like the image quality as an action camera. Licenses weren't easily able to read. It's a large wart on the bike if you have issues mounting a bag and the 515 the 715 is going much harder.

Watching gplama the l508 doesn't stay bright til a car passes and won't become bright for multiple cars. I need to have a friend use the l508 to see how it functions. Detection has been fine for me on my wahoo bolt. I need to see if my bolt battery drains more or less from Detections.

Mocs123
Posts: 826
Joined: Tue May 11, 2021 9:19 pm

by Mocs123

Report back your impressions. Not that you can find it for sale anywhere in the US but I've dabbled with the idea of getting a radar.
2015 Wilier Zero.7 Rim - 6.37kg
2020 Trek Emonda SLR-7 Disc - 6.86kg
2023 Specialized SL7 - 7.18kg

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



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