M4 off Axis

[CJR238]

MEM-TEK, you have radar transmitters so you can verify this:

I have a strong suspicion that there is as much as a 1 second delay between the onset of a signal and the sounding of an alert on the X50... If that is the case, it can easily explain this perceived "more aggressive filtering" in real world cases.

I agree with this, the 8500 & 9500 are actually receiving a signal and doing something with it before it alerts (less than a second in all modes). I have seen this only because i use Expert mode exclusively.
for example:
There is one area I have a false and i always get alerted at exactly the same spot. On 3 different occasions there was a LEO shooting in that same area and when it alerted to the LEO's radar (using expert mode) it showed the false about 100ft before it usually goes off.

[MEM-TEK]

If its a weak signal then generally there can be up to a 1 second delay before the alert is displayed. I suspect that during this 1 second delay the RD is searching for LO emissions from another RD in order to eliminate a false alert. If the signal is an X band signal and if Autoscan mode is being used, then a 1 second delay is always used so that the RD can search for a second weaker X band signal in order to kill a false alert to an X band door opener.

Bel/Escort has been tweaking their algorithms over the past year so that their RDs are more responsive to really short (less than 1 second) yet distant and fairly weak I/O bursts. A STi flashed with the new audio ramp-up fix has this feature. Likewise 9500i's which were flashed with the ramp-up fix made available last fall, or which were updated using RD Tools, have this feature too. My guess is that these algorithm tweaks have made it into all of their current production radar detectors since my 9500ci has this feature as well.

[jdong]

Thanks, that's interesting to know that the alert filter behaves differently depending on the strength of the incoming signal. Sounds like an entirely sensible thing to do for an Escort detector which is targeted at drivers who don't appreciate constant conversation with their detector on long road trips

[MEM-TEK]

Thanks, that's interesting to know that the alert filter behaves differently depending on the strength of the incoming signal. Sounds like an entirely sensible thing to do for an Escort detector which is targeted at drivers who don't appreciate constant conversation with their detector on long road trips

Exactly. A while back I dug up an old article on the Internet with comments from one of Escort's higher ups. One thing which caught my attention was the statement that the number 1 reason why radar detectors are returned is false alerts. I have even mentioned that I suspect that Cobra deliberately designs their RDs to cause false alerts on RDs produced by other RD manufacturers. After all, why in the world would you park a signal sweep at the end of the signal sweep for several milliseconds before restarting the signal sweep? That just doesn't make any sense to me.

[jdong]

And not just park for a few milliseconds anywhere -- parking EXACTLY 1/3 of 33.8 for EXACTLY 80-100ms. It almost sounds like.... they wanted to false POP on as many detectors as they could?