STI - Several Months of use and have a couple problems &

[YTCD]

Hey, I have had my STI for several months now (since late Dec/07) and have becoming an experienced user i have several questions from more experienced users....

• Does it matter having highway on in sub-urban areas?
  
  In highway mode do you lose your off axis range?
  
  In a GOL test they tested the STI with certain modes enabled and disabled. (http://www.guysoflidar.com/august-20...ctor-test.html) For instance the sti had extended range with POP off, and with X-band off the range was reduced signifigantly, by a 100 feet. Well I was wondering when x band is off does it reduce the range or was that a fluke or something?
  
  The main reason I turned x band off was because i would be driving around my area, where it is just forest/rurual and I would get random X-band readings when there is nothing around. Just random falses. I wouldn't think that would be common but has anybody else had the same problems?
  
  Is there a new STI driver out? The price is up on the STI (which I could never find out even though I went through the forums.)
  
  Do I have the STI version with the 33.8 bug fixed? (Will be getting that later tonight sorry.) And whats the latest version out?
  
  And for people with the STI, what is your average detection range on Ka and K band? Use the poll or you can comment also.

Thanks and any help would be appreciated.

[hockey005]

every leo runnin radar that you pick up will be different in range because of a lot of variable such as traffic, weather, other things in the way of the source. Also, look on the back of your STi..wat are the last 4 digits on the serial number

[MEM-TEK]

Hey, I have had my STI for several months now (since late Dec/07) and have becoming an experienced user i have several questions from more experienced users....

Does it matter having highway on in sub-urban areas?

Highway mode is simply maximum sensitivity. You will get a lot more false alerts in suburban areas compared to using Autoscan mode or when using one of the two City modes.

In highway mode do you lose your off axis range?

No.

In a GOL test they tested the STI with certain modes enabled and disabled. (http://www.guysoflidar.com/august-20...ctor-test.html) For instance the sti had extended range with POP off, and with X-band off the range was reduced signifigantly, by a 100 feet. Well I was wondering when x band is off does it reduce the range or was that a fluke or something?

Probably just a fluke since turning off X band shouldn't affect the other bands in any way.

The main reason I turned x band off was because i would be driving around my area, where it is just forest/rural and I would get random X-band readings when there is nothing around. Just random falses. I wouldn't think that would be common but has anybody else had the same problems?

I have an older 700MHz cell phone which causes falses on my STi when it is powered off and charging in my car. Mike B. pointed out that 700MHz multiplied by 15 is 10.5GHz, which the same as X band police radar, and that my cell phone obviously is poorly shielded. Try turning your cell phone completely off and see if your random X band falses disappear.

Is there a new STI driver out? The price is up on the STI (which I could never find out even though I went through the forums.)

The only new model is the STi-R which is the new remote installed model.

Do I have the STI version with the 33.8 bug fixed? (Will be getting that later tonight sorry.) And whats the latest version out?

What is the manufacturing date code on the serial number sticker on your STi? Look at the serial number. There should be a space after the serial number and then four digits. The first two digits indicate the week of manufacture, and the last two digits indicate the year of manufacture.

And for people with the STI, what is your average detection range on Ka and K band?

I live and drive in moderately winding and hilly terrain. The terrain usually limits my maximum alert range to anywhere from 1 to 1-1/2 miles.

[soniko]

i tried one time...on the highway, i got a k band alert once for about 1-2 second, and then i thought that was a false alert, and then about 4-5km later, i started to have a constant on alert, and the police was right ahead. i was ...WOW...4KM ???

[MEM-TEK]

i tried one time...on the highway, i got a k band alert once for about 1-2 second, and then i thought that was a false alert, and then about 4-5km later, i started to have a constant on alert, and the police was right ahead. i was ...WOW...4KM ???

On a dry day and on a straight, flat and open highway any of the top performing RDs can give you 4 to 5 kilometers or 2 to 3 miles of range.

[Freebird]

I agree that range of alert is different due to a range of variables. Hills and off axis affect range most in my opinion.

[MEM-TEK]

I agree that range of alert is different due to a range of variables. Hills and off axis affect range most in my opinion.

I so totally agree. Even worse is the murderous combination of a hill plus a curve as in a curve which progresses over a hill. All bets are off then -- no matter what RD you have. If you are crazy enough to speed through this particular scenario, particularly if the radar being used against you is Ka band radar, then you deserve the ticket!