Sti is dead

[GTO_04]

BEL used to have a 2 year warranty on its high end RDs. That pretty much stopped when they were bought by Escort. You can buy an extended warranty though.

GTO_04

[jerry540i]

I suppose that this could happen if either the X band or the K/Ka band LNA dies due to leaving a STi baking in the sun. This is a question for Jimbonzzz! Jim, where are you?

Jerry540i, was your STi totally dead on Ka band, or just having horrible Ka band sensitivity? Just curious.

Hey MEM-TEK.

The Sti wasn't totally dead, just deaf to K and Ka. In one test, it wouldn't alert to forward facing 34.7 until it was turned around the face the radar gun.

However, props to Escort. They took my Sti in for service free of charge, even though it was about 6 weeks out of warranty!!!

J/

[Roadghost]

Word on the street an individual got a spectre ticket not to long ago in VA using a STi...

So something could be up...

Word on the street is always very iffy. A lot of people are using the old 90s STi and thinking they are Spectre immune. The tests that have been done clearly show a dilemma for the RDD world with the new STi Driver. You can't detect a radar detector that doesn't emit a signal. I've been past dozens of them up here, even sat right behind one for a mile looking for the Spectre to go off. There is just no way to detect an STi Driver. It's a great detector all-round.

[thestaton]

Word on the street is always very iffy. A lot of people are using the old 90s STi and thinking they are Spectre immune. The tests that have been done clearly show a dilemma for the RDD world with the new STi Driver. You can't detect a radar detector that doesn't emit a signal. I've been past dozens of them up here, even sat right behind one for a mile looking for the Spectre to go off. There is just no way to detect an STi Driver. It's a great detector all-round.

What if I told you the source was from a officer in VA, that is GoL approved?

[happya$$]

What if I told you the source was from a officer in VA, that is GoL approved?

Maybe the person that did get busted will find this forum and post about it. I am sure it was a defective STI. It happens to all manufacturers. No one is perfect

[MEM-TEK]

Hey MEM-TEK.

The Sti wasn't totally dead, just deaf to K and Ka. In one test, it wouldn't alert to forward facing 34.7 until it was turned around the face the radar gun.

However, props to Escort. They took my Sti in for service free of charge, even though it was about 6 weeks out of warranty!!!

J/

That means that the K/Ka band LNA died due to overheating. There is no way for the firmware to detect this even during self calibration. The big clue, as you discovered is reduced K and Ka band sensitivity. Escort/Bel uses extremely high quality LNAs in their STi, STi-R and 9500ci radar detector models. But LNAs do put out a fair amount of heat in addition to whatever the ambient temperature is. The LNAs can withstand quite a bit of ambient heat (up to about 180 degrees) when they are not operational. If you accidentally left your STi powered off yet roasting in the sun inside a hot car then let it cool off for at least 15 minutes either in the shade or by holding it in front of an air conditioner vent before powering it up, or one or both of the LNAs might cook when the STi is powered up. For those who are wondering...no, there is no way to put a heat sink on an LNAs used inside the STi. The closest thing which can be done (which Escort/Bel already do) is to put vent holes on the circuit board underneath the X band LNA. The K/Ka band LNA is so tiny (about 3/16" long) that this is not possible. Instead the board traces are used to conduct some heat away from the K/Ka band LNA. Obviously if the board traces are baking hot too due to excessive ambient heat, then the K/Ka band LNA can cook when powered up.

[SmaartAasSaabr]

What if I told you the source was from a officer in VA, that is GoL approved?

That's not word on the street that is "the word"

[MEM-TEK]

It occurs to me that a dead X band LNA could allow reverse leakage of the STi's primary oscillator and thus allow detection by the Spectre. Jimbonzzz, can you comment on this idea?

[jimbonzzz]

It occurs to me that a dead X band LNA could allow reverse leakage of the STi's primary oscillator and thus allow detection by the Spectre. Jimbonzzz, can you comment on this idea?

It's possible, but I can't say for certain because don't know the electrical characteristics of a failed LNA. Although the LNA handles a large part of the reverse isolation, there are other things which could fail and cause leakage that could be detected by Spectre.

And in jerry's STi: there are several components in that signal path (both passive and active) that could have failed and caused the symptoms that jerry described, so I wouldn't be so quick to blame the LNA.

[happya$$]

It's possible, but I can't say for certain because don't know the electrical characteristics of a failed LNA. Although the LNA handles a large part of the reverse isolation, there are other things which could fail and cause leakage that could be detected by Spectre.

And in jerry's STi: there are several components in that signal path (both passive and active) that could have failed and caused the symptoms that jerry described, so I wouldn't be so quick to blame the LNA.

or it could be capacitor 47jib28