STi's latest firmware and audio ramp-up...

[MEM-TEK]

Hi everyone,

I called Bel today to confirm the audio ramp-up fix for my STi before proceeding to ship it for a reflash with the latest firmware. Unfortunately I found out that the latest firmware still produces audio alerts which consist of either slow or fast audio alerts, with no ramp-up in between. The Bel customer service representative didn't know if a "fix" would be forthcoming since the two stage audio ramp-up is by design.

I apologize for any confusion caused my my previous post on this subject. Until today I was under the impression that a new firmware flash was available which would give the STi a smooth audio ramp-up.

--Michael

[jdong]

Did any of the reps you spoke to give any justification for why this ramp-up design choice is better than the traditional smooth audio gradient?

I cannot think of a single reason why I'd like this compared to the traditional.

[MEM-TEK]

Did any of the reps you spoke to give any justification for why this ramp-up design choice is better than the traditional smooth audio gradient?

I cannot think of a single reason why I'd like this compared to the traditional.

Hi jdong,

Nope, they didn't offer any reasons for this. Here is my theory though:

The only thing which I can think of is that the STi, even when briefly detecting a very weak signal, always produces four beeps over a period of about 2 seconds. While that is nice for getting your attention to even a brief and weak alert, this might have caused problems when trying to also implement a true audio ramp-up without occasionally generating some overlapping beeps. For example, my 9500i (shipped off today for its ramp-up fix) occasionally produced some overlapping beeps when its audio rate tried to rapidly change due to a rapid change in received signal strength. This has mostly occurred while I was testing my 9500i by using my charging cell phone as an X band transmitter and then quickly and randomly moving my 9500i closer to or further from my cell phone along with pointing my 9500i in random directions. It also occasionally occurred when I made a slow U turn in a parking lot while near a door opener.

Escort has finally gotten to the bottom of the 9500i's ramp-up issues. Hopefully they will get around to resolving and implementing a true audio ramp-up for the STi as well.

[amoney]

This is strange, previous models, older Vector series, had a smooth ramp up, there is no reason why it can not be made so. Ever since the merger of Escort and Beltronics, the new vector series were revamped and features removed, more like escort, the STi is the first to get some of the older vector features back, but apparently not all of them.

Too bad.

[Virion]

Bel used to be considered a premium detector. After the merger it seems like Escort wants to move the parent company up and Bel as the step child.Why can't they just add stealth to the 9500i