Free Car Mag have from time to time experimented with some of the simple alcohol test kits and although they can be useful there are certainly some limitations. Fortunately AlcoSense have sent us their Pro digital breathalyser to test.
As a rule in the Free Car Mag office we quite simply don’t drink and drive, that’s easy enough to do. However, there are circumstances when you may not be driving that day or evening, but later on the next day when you feel fine to drive legally, are you? There are also different regulations within the UK, not to mention venturing abroad. It has never been more important to check if you are legally capable of driving and we will be finding out for ourselves how it works.
Here is all the information you need to know about the Pro. Check back soon or follow our feed on X to find out when the next AlcoSense story goes up on the Free Car Mag website, which will certainly be in the next issue, 131 out at the end of the month as usual.
Pro at a glance:
- 121mm2 Fuel Cell Sensor – smaller version of Police sensor
- More than twice as accurate as award winning AlcoSense Elite
- Time until Sober & Retest alarm
- Selectable database of all drink drive limits worldwide
- Blow Coach making it extremely easy to use
- Winner – Red Dot Product Design Award
At its price point, the AlcoSense Pro is arguably the most advanced breathalyzer on the market. The culmination of 3 years of research and development, the AlcoSense Pro (and its bigger brother, the Ultra) take accuracy, features and ease of use to a new level.
Designed from the ground up by AlcoSense in the UK with Patented new features, the Pro packs the punch of a breathalyzer twice its price and brings near Police accuracy into the reach of the consumer.
Professional Accuracy
Pro by name, pro by nature. It uses a 121mm² professional Fuel Cell sensor, identical to its 200mm² big brother used in several UK, US & European Police Breathalyzers – and in the AlcoSense Ultra. This gives the Pro unrivalled accuracy at this price point and accuracy of almost twice the AlcoSense Elite.
Advanced Sampling System with Temperature Compensation
The AlcoSense Pro features an advanced sampling system to ensure that only deep lung air (the most accurate part of the breath) is measured. It uses advanced sensors to measure the blow pressure, flow rate and volume of breath exhaled and takes a reading when 1 litre of air has been exhaled, ensuring the most accurate sample is always taken. To improve accuracy even further, readings are fine-tuned according to temperature. These sensors also allow the Pro to get clever with BlowCoach™
BlowCoach™
Most issues while doing a breath test are caused by either blowing too hard, too soft or not for long enough, and with some products this can also cause inaccurate results. BlowCoach™ is a Patent Pending technology from AlcoSense which makes it simple to do the perfect test every time!
The Pro shows you real-time on screen feedback of how you’re blowing. All you need to do is keep the top pressure bar in the middle, and keep blowing until the bottom volume bar is full.
Should you get it wrong, this is where the Pro gets really clever. Using it’s on board sensors the Pro diagnoses exactly why the test failed and gives you tailored tips so you can quickly get it right next time.
Eliminating Under-Reading
Every breathalyzer has an accuracy tolerance of +/- X.XX of the reading – the smaller the number the more accurate the breathalyzer claims to be. The AlcoSense Pro has some clever software to eliminate the downside – i.e. instead of having a tolerance of +/-0.1‰BAC, the AlcoSense Pro’s tolerance is +0.10‰BAC, -0.00‰BAC. This means the Pro will read a little on the safe side, not too low and more than twice as accurate as the award-winning AlcoSense Elite.
Any Limit in the World – Literally
At a click of button the AlcoSense Pro will work with any limit, anywhere in the world! Just select the country/region you’re driving in from the menu and using AlcoSense’s patent pending technology the Pro sets every up for you according to the local legislation. It sets the limit, unit of measure and blood breath conversion ratio to allow accurate readings in either blood alcohol or breath alcohol. Should a limit change the unit can be updated through a software download from our support section. Ideal for cross border or even cross continent travel.
If you want to set your own self-imposed limit, for example maybe half the drink drive limit, you can do that too! Just select “Limit” from the main menu to adjust it to the limit you desire.
Detailed, Easy to Understand Results
AlcoSense Pro features a full colour 1.8 inch (48mm) TFT screen which gives clear and detailed readings of your alcohol level in your choice of breath (mg/L or µg/100mL) or blood (%BAC or ‰BAC) readings. If you’re close to or over your chosen limit the Pro will alert you not to drive.
Time Until Sober & Retest Alarm
AlcoSense Pro will even calculate how long it may take until you’ll be sober and show it with your results, see screen shots above and below. Want to have a reminder to re-test again later? No problem, just press the alarm icon and the Pro will alert you to retest again later.
Re-Calibration Alert
Any breathalyzer requires re-calibration after a period of use, the AlcoSense Pro has an industry leading calibration period of 12 months from the first time you use it. To improve reliability and user friendliness AlcoSense Pro reminds you to recalibrate after 11 months of use. When calibration expires just post it to us and we will recalibrate it using Police spec Breath Alcohol Simulators and return it to you within 5 working days.
Temperature Alerts
If a breathalyzer is used outside its operating temperatures you can get erroneous readings due to temperature affecting the quality of the reaction inside the sensor. For your safety and protection AlcoSense Pro will alert you if the unit goes outside its operating range (note the operating temperature is the temperature of the unit, not the surrounding air temperature) of 5°C~40°C. This means that, unlike rival brands, the Pro will never let you perform a test when you could get an unreliable result.
Saturation Protection
Unlike rival brands, AlcoSense Pro also protects you from inaccuracy caused by “Sensor Saturation”. Sensor Saturation can affect any breathalyzer, including Police units and is caused when extremely high levels of alcohol are blown directly into the sensor. Normally this happens when a breath test is performed shortly after drinking when alcohol is still present in the mouth, the sensor can be overloaded, known as “saturation”. Readings taken after a saturation event can be unreliable until the sensor recovers. For your safety and protection, rather than allowing potentially unreliable readings to be shown, AlcoSense Pro will enter a protection mode which allows the sensor to recover before allowing further tests.
