STi sudden Ka-alerts

**AlexC** · 05-02-2010, 01:34 PM

When I'm driving with my STi on I do get Ka alerts all of a sudden like out of nowhere. It just suddenly starts alerting almost at full strength. Usually it starts alerting when I'm very close to the radar.

After I've passed the radar the alert speed slows down little by little and the detection lasts much longer compared to when approaching the radar. The direction the radar is facing to doesn't have any affection on this. Always the same thing. Any thoughts?

**KaPro** · 05-02-2010, 08:40 PM

Do your officers track you with their rear antenna?

Do you already see the leo before the STi alerts?

**AlexC** · 05-03-2010, 01:08 AM

I dunno if their rear antennas are always on. Hard to say. I believe that Stalker Duals which they're using switch both antennas automatically on when they're using them.

Some of these alerts have happened in the urban area. I would've seen the patrol car if I would've known where to look when I got the alert. So yes to this question.
Once I was going on a freeway and there was a wall made of rocks. It's shape was like inverted letter "C". And the road was going so that you coudn't see inside before you almost reached the "edge". There was a bus stop "inside" that inverted C and a moving patrol car with no Police signs had stopped a car there. I got alert like out of nowhere just a bit before the "edge" of the wall and when I passed them the alert continued with a decent ramp-down. One bar by one. It lasted much longer than when approaching even in front of the car was totally identical wall compared to rear which was covering the signal.

Hope this is understandable and helpful!

**Carrots** · 05-03-2010, 07:26 AM

Originally Posted by AlexC

When I'm driving with my STi on I do get Ka alerts all of a sudden like out of nowhere. It just suddenly starts alerting almost at full strength. Usually it starts alerting when I'm very close to the radar.

After I've passed the radar the alert speed slows down little by little and the detection lasts much longer compared to when approaching the radar. The direction the radar is facing to doesn't have any affection on this. Always the same thing. Any thoughts?

It sounds to me like you may be experiencing I/O "instant on" radar.

The little by little ramp down after passing the radar is normal and my STi-D does the same.

The wall you describe may be blocking the radar signal until you pass it then the STi receives the full signal strength which will give a similar result.

Both are dangerous situations be careful.

**AlexC** · 05-03-2010, 08:04 AM

I will try to be, thanks mate. I am quite new RD user so I hope this doesn't have anything to do with my detector unit. I just have to drive and use it more and the time will probably give me my answers!

**Carrots** · 05-03-2010, 08:19 AM

I'm sure your unit is fine and yes the more encounters you have the more you will get the feel for how it works in different situations

**AlexC** · 05-11-2010, 11:32 AM

So, today I got a confirmation that the unit is alerting suddenly when the radar isn't facing straight towards it. + I got a great save at the same time

I was driving on a road with two lanes to both directions. I had just passed some van and was coming back to my own lane. I was going quite fast as I added some throttle while passing, just for fun, to overtake him fast even though there was no other cars on the other lane behind and obviously no oncoming traffic as both lanes were going to the same direction. Then, suddenly, Ka-alert. BRAKES!! After few seconds I passed a small building on the right side of the road and saw a cop right behind it. He was a motorcycle cop and measuring the speed of passing cars. Probably he was going to go after the speeding drivers. Luckily I wasn't one of them, thanks to my STi. Without it, I wouldn't have even noticed him as he was so close to the building, right behind it.

The alert started to ramp down little by little, but it did not dissappear. It stayed at one/two bars. I thought that I was still receiving his signal as the radar was facing to the same direction where I was moving. Suddenly, my unit started alerting faster and was ramping up. I realized what was happening. It ramped up little by little, okay not climbing through bars one by one, but sometimes increased by one bar, sometimes two bars all the way to the top. After very long distnace, another motorcycle cop. He was standing on the opposite side than the previous one. He was on a "acceleration lane" which was coming down from the bridge. He was measuring speed of passing cars too (they were doing identically same things, just for different directions). This time the actions weren't dangerous for me, but the risk for oncoming drivers to get caught was huge as they obviously couldn't see him.

Like I said, when the radar was facing towards me and not to the same direction where I was moving, I got good ramp-up and early detection. Couldn't be happier. I should've had made a U-turn and tested how well would my STi detect the radar which was used by the cop standing on the acceleration lane. He was higher than the road level, and the road which he was inspecting went under the bridge which was blocking the signal when approaching from the rear I guess. So it would've been a real performance test for a radar detector to detect such threat in time. But I was too happy to spot a good chance, and I just drove home smiling