Random STi thoughts, plus firmware upgrade in Mississauga?

**dmc** · 11-11-2006, 05:15 PM

Sorry if this has been asked before, but I've tried searching the archives, and found nothing conclusive other than a Mississauga address.

I made an impulse buy at a truck stop in North Carolina this weekend and now have an STi. As expected, it was a really early serial, with A1M7 software. Good price, though. (Yes, I was going to buy from Roy, but I had a few hundred USD cash on hand that needed to be spent.)

I'm an RD newbie, but after about 3 hours of driving in NC and VA with the thing, here are my thoughts:

- Lots of K falsing when passing truck stops on Highway mode in the state of NC. Not so many in VA. What am I picking up? Craparas and/or door openers?

- I haven't seen much of the Ka falsing that's been spoken about with A1M7, though the "extra sensitive" Ka might be beneficial because I'm going to be primarily be using it in Ontario and Quebec where other RDs are very, very rare.

- The unit doesn't seem to run hot. I hope it doesn't crap out on me.

Any point in madly pursuing a firmware update from BEL?

Anyone in Toronto with an actual success story getting their STi updated by visiting the BEL office? I've read all kinds of stories about shipping to the US, getting the corporate runaround, etc.

Is it worth the effort to update to A4M9?

I'm really looking forward to participating in this, uhh, community.

**spankyaf** · 11-11-2006, 06:53 PM

I tried to get my A2 updated at the Mississauga site but they have cracked down on the office and will refer you back to the Bel US number. That was about 8 weeks ago. If you are in the area you might drop by and see if they will do it for you. Just tell them you're getting the Service Req'd message.

Yes the A1 version as you've found out is plagued by falses especially on the US highways where crap Rds are plentiful

**Hessen** · 11-11-2006, 06:59 PM

Welcome to the Forum.............

IMHO Bel Canada (Mississauga) will not assist you.

**carter840** · 11-11-2006, 07:53 PM

This might seems stupid but what if you left the unit running well it was hot out, or ran it for a long time near a heater output. That should mess it up and give you the service required msg. Or your could just say that it seems way out of tune really poor detection range tones of flasing. I helped a friend of mine get a new unit...Go to the bel site and write them an Email say you are a member of this site (it helps trust me) and pretend you know what you are talking about. Act like you expect much more from bel. Who knows that might work. I'm sure if you really want ot you'll get it fixed some way or another. Good luck

**dmc** · 11-11-2006, 08:56 PM

Falses from other detectors are most commonly Ka, right? I don't think I received a single Ka alert in three hours of driving around I-95 through NC and VA. Not that three hours is a lot, but the K and X alerts I received plenty of were all identified as truck stops and plazas. (I'm guessing automatic doors.)

I guess with the frequency of other RDs in Ontario (read: zero!) I should be okay with A1M7 for now. At least until I can find some time to try my luck at BEL.

Does the US office in West Chester have walk-in while-you-wait service? It seems pretty close to Cincinnati, and I could conceivably just drop in the next time I'm there for a Bengals game.

**spankyaf** · 11-12-2006, 07:22 AM

All you can do is ask... but if you're not getting falsed to death Ka on the US highways then I'd re consider the geting the newwer version.

X and K bands are not falsing per se since they operate legitimately on the radar frequencies. Ka on the other hand is a common false.

**Toronto-radar-chopper** · 11-12-2006, 10:11 AM

When I was on the 95 just 2 months ago, I must have seen a Ka cruiser every 22 minutes.

I find we have it easy in Ontario for speed enforecement, in the US, they are tight!!

**Daz** · 11-12-2006, 12:02 PM

Is it worth updating from A3 to A4? I'm very happy with my STi, I was just wondering if anyone knows what this upgrade will do.

Another reason RD's should have USB ports so we could do firmware upgrades ourselves. That would rock.