How to make your STi's display a lot dimmer...

[MEM-TEK]

Hi everyone,

The STi is presently the only completely stealth radar detector on the market. It is completely immune to detection by all radar detector detector (RDD) models which are currently being used by law enforcement. Unfortunately, the STi's display is rather easy to see from nearby vehicles both during the daytime and at night. Short of setting your STi to dark mode, the STi's overly bright display does present a problem when using this radar detector in areas where the use of radar detectors are illegal. When the STi is set for automatic brightness mode, the STi's alphanumeric display and illuminated push buttons are fairly visible from behind your vehicle in all lighting conditions. During the day, one can set the STi's display to medium or even low brightness so that you and only you can actually see its display. At night and even when the STi's display is at its minimum brightness, it is still too easy to see your STi's display from other nearby vehicles.

Although I live in a state where radar detectors are legal to use, I still wanted my STi to be far less visible -- especially at night. Shown below are detailed instructions for modifying your STi so that its display and illuminated push buttons will be considerably dimmer. The modifications are easy to perform, and they are easily removed should you ever need to send in your STi for service while under warranty.

NOTE: THE MODIFICATIONS DETAILED HEREIN ARE PRESENTED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. NO WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND ARE EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. YOU ASSUME SOLE RESPONSIBILITY AND LIABILITY IF YOU ATTEMPT TO PERFORM ANY OF THE MODIFICATIONS DETAILED HEREIN.


Modifying Your STi Display and Push Button Brightness

Note: Your STi can easily be permanently damaged by static electricity. It is preferable that you work on your STi at a grounded electronics workstation and that you use a wrist ground strap at all times. Optionally, you can work on your STi if you place it atop the insides of an aluminized mylar anti-static bag. Note that only the insides of most anti-static bags have an anti-static coating. Simply cut the edges of the bag so that you can then open it up, exposing the inside surfaces of the bag. Always keep one hand or part of your arm resting on the anti-static bag while you are touching anything inside your STi which is also resting on the anti-static bag. Choose a table and chair for your workstation which is NOT located atop carpet and which are located in a room which does not have a large carpet. There probably is no carpet in your kitchen, so your kitchen table would be the logical choice for your workstation.

Stuff which you will need in order to perform the STi display brightness modifications:

-- A large anti-static bag
-- Double sided Scotch tape
-- A Torx T9 size screwdriver
-- A toothpick or a paper clip
-- A pair of scissors
-- One pack of Avery #81824 insertable plastic dividers (available at Wal-Mart and office supply stores)

How to do it:

First, you will want to determine how much you want to dim your STi's display. The pack of Avery #81824 plastic dividers contains five dividers.





The yellow and orange dividers have virtually no effect for dimming red LEDs. You would think that the purple divider would dim the display the most, but it doesn't since it is really a magenta color which lets red light pass through mostly unimpeded. The blue and green dividers are by far the most effective for dimming the red LEDs. The blue divider will dim the display by about 60%, and the green divider will dim the display by about 75%. You will only need to use a single thickness of the plastic divider material. At night, take the green and blue dividers out to your car and hold each one over your STi's display. Be sure that your STi's display has dimmed to its minimum brightness setting. Now decide which color to use -- either the blue or the green. I have good night vision, so I chose to use the green color since it makes my STi's display and illuminated push buttons a very dim red which is invisible at night from distances greater than about 40 feet behind my vehicle. Now my STi, visually, is ultra stealthy. Most people will probably want to use the blue plastic since the green plastic makes the display extremely dim whereas the blue plastic makes the display a little bit more than twice as dim. Alternatively and if you use the green plastic, you can manually set the display brightness to low, medium or high using the STi's display brightness menu when driving at night in more populated and brightly lit areas.

Now that you have decided on what color of plastic to use, right-click on the following "STi display filter templates" link, then select to save the file and then print it. The file is in TIFF format, so it should print at the correct size on your printer. I included both a 4" scale and a 10cm scale in the image so that you can check the printout with a ruler to verify that the templates printed out at the correct size. You can't view this TIFF file in your web browser unless your web browser has a plug-in for viewing TIFF files. A really good free TIFF viewer plug-in which also supports printing is AlternaTIFF. Its quick and easy to install.


STi display filter templates (save and print these templates)

After you have printed out your templates, carefully cut each one out and then use a tiny piece of double-stick tape to attach it to the Avery colored plastic material. If you don't want your STi push buttons to illuminate at all, now is the time to use a black permanent marker to blacken one side of each of the plastic pieces which will be installed in front of your STi's push button LEDs. Give the black marker paint five minutes to dry before handling the blackened plastic pieces.

Now simply trim along the lines to cut out the plastic to match the templates. Try to cut very accurately along the lines. Then crease each piece of plastic along the dashed lines. Precisely making each crease is much easier if you align the crease over the edge of a ruler or over the edge of one of your scissor blades. Once you have made each crease, remove the paper template and double-stick tape, then fold each crease completely over and then open it up such that each crease creates a 90 degree bend in the plastic.

Now that you have made your plastic display and push button covers, its time to open up your STi and install them. Set your STi atop the inside of a large anti-static bag. I first placed a cloth underneath my anti-static bag in order to give my STi a bit of padding while it is resting atop the anti-static bag. Use the Torx #9 screwdriver to remove the four screws from the bottom of the STi's case. Hold the case halves together and set the STi face up atop the anti-static bag. Now lift off the STi's top cover and set it aside. Also remove the plastic piece which covers the front of the STi's radar horn and set it aside as well. Remember, always keep part of one hand or your forearm continuously in contact with the anti-static bag when touching anything inside your STi.

Here is the STi's alphanumeric display and photocell:


Click here for a larger version of above image

I designed two different display covers for the STi's alphanumeric display. One display cover simply covers the display, and the other display cover also covers the photocell. If you have tinted windows, use the display cover which does NOT cover the photocell. If you don't have tinted windows and you wish that your STi would begin to automatically dim more rapidly as the daylight fades, then use the display cover which also covers the photocell. See the following photos which show how to install either cover. Use the end of a toothpick or paper clip to carefully apply a tiny dab of contact cement to the areas circled in yellow in order to secure the colored plastic display cover.

Here is the installation of the cover which covers only the display:


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Here is the installation of the cover which covers both the display and the photocell:


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Only tiny dabs of contact cement are necessary to secure the colored plastic display cover. Even the tiny amount of contact cement shown below is more than enough:


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Give the contact cement a couple of minutes to dry. Then place the STi's top case back onto the STi, carefully flip the STi over, and then lift off the STi's bottom case and flip it over.

Now have a look at the clear push buttons. Note that each push button has a small pillar (circled in yellow) which pushes against the push button switches on the STi's circuit board:


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Here are the three push button switches on the STi's circuit board. There are tiny LEDs (circled in yellow) located below each push button switch, and the volume push button switch has three LEDs:


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Here is a closeup of the volume push button switch and its three LEDs:

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Simply set each colored plastic push button LED cover in place as shown. You do not have to contact cement them in place since the push buttons within the STi's bottom case cover will hold the colored plastic LED covers in place:


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Check that each plastic LED cover extends up only enough to cover the topmost edge of each LED. If the plastic LED covers extend up too high, then the pillars on the clear plastic push buttons within the STi's bottom case cover will hit the top edge of the plastic LED covers. Carefully trim if necessary. Note that this isn't the best photo to show this since the colored plastic LED cover wasn't quite sitting all the way down in the reservoir in front of the switch and LEDs, but you get the idea. If this plastic LED cover had been fully seated in its reservoir, then you can see that about 1/2 to 1 millimeter of plastic would need to be trimmed off of its top edge:


Click here for a larger version of above image

Carefully install the STi's plastic cover which goes in front of the horn antennas. Then carefully set the STi's bottom cover back in place and reinstall the case screws. Only tighten the case screws moderately -- do not overtighten them!

Thats it! You are done. Its time to go out to your car and try out your STi with its modified brightness for its LED display and illuminated push buttons.

Best regards to all,

--Michael

[mrcllusb]

MeM that is one helluva right up bro.Your mod makes me wanna go out and buy an STI just for that reason.. Congrads on the mod.I think many STI owners are gonna enjoy this one..My only question is this,once you open the case,doesn't that void the warranty on it?

[Bulldog]

dude, you got too much time on your hands!

btw, great mod. 8)

[MEM-TEK]

MeM that is one helluva right up bro.Your mod makes me wanna go out and buy an STI just for that reason.. Congrads on the mod.I think many STI owners are gonna enjoy this one..My only question is this,once you open the case,doesn't that void the warranty on it?

Hi mrcllusb,

I don't know if simply opening the case would void the STi's warranty. Nevertheless, thats why I wanted to come up with display and push button brightness modifications which are easily removed. Any residual contact cement may be removed using an ear swab moistened with isopropyl alcohol.

Anyway, the brightness modifications really are in response to Virion, who wished that his STi's display and push buttons were much dimmer so that he wouldn't have to operate his STi in dark mode at night in VA. He wanted a much dimmer display so that he could use tech mode to see what radar frequencies his STi was picking up, yet without his STi's display being visible from other cars which are close to or behind him.

--Michael

[allikanbe]

WOW! You are my go-to guy. I should have my Bel this week. If it's too bright, I'll try some frosted cellaphane tape first. If that does not work, I'll call you.
Appreciate the work there.

[Virion]

Extremely well written and documented. Thank you so much for your time and efforts to help many of us Commonwealth of VA residents. I'm still in my decision phase on the STi. I'm so torn between absolutely loving my V1 and the realization that the V1 will eventually get me caught. Of course I would have to get caught roughly 5 times to pay for the STi, but it's also the inconvenience factor. I also need to devise a way to move it up an extra 1-1.5 inches onto the dot matrix/metal strip on the extreme top of my windshield. When in this position it looks like a garage door opener from the rear. Having to add the external speaker is simply rediculous. Bel really needs to work on the STi's alerts and volume level. I wish they incorporated the X50's audio alerts and ramp up which are the absolute best in the industry. Another small pet peave is the inability for the remote display to auto dim at night. Those little led's are bright.

[vliou2173]

Michael,

Another great post! Any luck on extending the STI's display?

Thx,
Vincent

[MEM-TEK]

Extremely well written and documented. Thank you so much for your time and efforts to help many of us Commonwealth of VA residents. I'm still in my decision phase on the STi. I'm so torn between absolutely loving my V1 and the realization that the V1 will eventually get me caught. Of course I would have to get caught roughly 5 times to pay for the STi, but it's also the inconvenience factor. I also need to devise a way to move it up an extra 1-1.5 inches onto the dot matrix/metal strip on the extreme top of my windshield. When in this position it looks like a garage door opener from the rear. Having to add the external speaker is simply rediculous. Bel really needs to work on the STi's alerts and volume level. I wish they incorporated the X50's audio alerts and ramp up which are the absolute best in the industry. Another small pet peave is the inability for the remote display to auto dim at night. Those little led's are bright.

Hi Virion,


Here is my ideal mounting method if the top of your windshield has a dot matrix strip:

I used to use the suction cup mount with my V995 and would mount my V995 a couple of inches above the dash. I really wanted to mount my V995 above my rear view mirror, and to custom install the hard wired remote display in a convenient location. Weeks ago I tried using the grey 3M high strength double sided foam tape to attach the mounting bracket above my rear view mirror. This worked well for a few weeks but eventually the heat caused the adhesive to loose its sticky properties.

I recently had to make a trip from Georgia to Cape Cod. While in Cape Cod, the adhesive started to fail and my V995 started to droop down and eventually come to rest atop the rear view mirror. Obviously I needed a better solution, as I was determined to have my radar detector mounted above my rear view mirror! I didn't want to use something like epoxy, and I couldn't use the suction cups due to the texture of the anti-glare film at the top of the window.

I purchased my new STi on my return road trip from Cape Cod to Georgia. It is a lot heavier than my V995. I got directions to the nearest Radio Shack while at the store where I purchased my STi, went to the RS and purchased a pack of their 64-2360 Hi-Temp/Hi-Strength Superlock Fasteners. The package says that its rated for temperatures up to 200 degrees F.

Two strips went on the inside of the windshield above the mirror. I sandwiched the suction cup part of the radar detector bracket between the other two strips. I also had to use a box cutter knife to remove the gripping beads from the strip which was attached to the back side of the bracket. This was necessary in order to allow either my V995 or STi to slide forward on the bracket without the top front of the radar detector's case being stopped by the gripping beads.

Here is the bracket installation without the radar detector. Notice that the suction cup part of the bracket is sandwiched between two pieces of the Superlock Fasteners. Also notice that I can pull the bracket off and install it either a bit higher or lower as necessary...


I had already previously installed the V995's optional hardwired remote display atop my dash next to the left post...



Here are a couple of photos of my STi installed just above my rear view mirror...





So far the Superlock Fastener adhesive has been holding up just fine in the heat for over two months now. This installation method can easily be undone when I sell my car a few years from now.


With regards to Bel's choice of internal speaker within the STi and their other radar detectors:

The 8500 X50 uses a piezo speaker since it doesn't have voice alerts. Piezo speakers are very tiny yet are extremely loud for their size. The problem is that piezo speakers can't render human speech. Thus Bel was stuck with using a conventional voice coil speaker in order to render the audio voice alerts along with the beep and brap combinations of alerts for each radar band. Bel seems to have a penchant for using very small speakers made by PUI. Whistler uses larger speakers which are much louder, but those larger speakers take up considerably more room within the radar detector's case. Unfortunately us Bel users are stuck with the somewhat inadequate alert volumes within Bel radar detectors unless one uses their external speaker.

If you don't want to hardwire the Bel external speaker, then here is the next best solution:

Radio Shack sells a battery operated speaker which can easily be modified for use with a Bel radar detector. The RS part number is 277-1008C. Simply either snip out or remove the resistor R5 and capacitor C5, cut the circuit board trace as shown with a knife, and then install the 22k and 220k resistors as shown. See the following photos:

Here, I removed the sticker and placed it on the inside of the speaker's rear cover so that I would then have a large area upon which to attach Velcro...


I then removed R5 and C5. I desoldered them, but you could just as easily snip them out with a pair of snips...


I then cut the indicated trace with a knife and installed the two new resistors as shown...


Voila! You now have a portable speaker which you can mount anywhere with Velcro. The 9 volt battery should last about 2 months under normal use. Use a Radio Shack 1/8" to 1/8" mono-to-mono 6 foot patch cable to plug into the speaker and your STi's external speaker jack.

Its cheap, is piercingly loud at maximum volume, and can be quickly moved from one car to another.

Best Regards,

--Michael

[dmc]

Rather than use divider tabs, you may have more options with a set of proper photo/television/film studio lighting gels.

Both Rosco and Lee Filters have free 1x4" swatch books available at most places that sell or rent television/film lighting, or photographic studio lighting.

The booklets look like this:





You can try asking for a "Rosco or Lee Filter swatch book".

Instead of being limited to what you have in the dividers, you can use a neutral density (ND) filter to "tint" it down, or combined with other colors to mix things up a bit.

Great idea, Michael. Thanks for sharing it.

[dmc]

With the STi mounted that high, wouldn't that render the rear-facing laser sensor useless? Not that the rear-facing laser sensor on the STi is much good anyway, but I would imagine at that height, an inverted mount would provide for a clearer view out back.