How Does AutoScan Really Work?

How does AutoScan really work? Does anyone know the details? Is it just raising the alert threshold on X and K bands? Does it do anything at all on Ka band? Is there any "intelligence" to it at all?

I ask these questions because I don't see anything special happening when I use it. All I have noticed is the tighter alert thresholds on X and K. I don't think it's a delay because when I drive away from an X or K source, it cuts out way before the signal is undetectable. Hopefully someone has some info on this. (Jimbo? :lol: )

Jim will know the answer...

it just affects X band actually

I am pretty sure it effects both X and K bands, but I'm not 100% on how it works. Probably signal level averaging with time.
Many people on here don't trust it, and use the other city modes instead.

Jim

I use autoscan in areas that i'm not familiar with, since I don't tend to speed in those situations anyways. Never know if you're going to run into X-Band from a city cop around here, and with City-X setting, you may get little warning to it, Autoscan, however, can still give decent warnings to X while cutting many of the false alerts out.

It works on X and K for me i believe....But i am a fan of CityLoX for X falsing problems

I Stick with Highway mode i need the most detection possible

I usually keep mine in Highway mode rather than Auto because it gives a greater warning distance, Auto on almost all detectors will only affect the x-band. Basically it will decrease how sensitive the alert is making it where you'll have to be right ontop of the source for it to alert.

according to escort, autoscan on the x50 affects X only.

This may be true. I put mine in threat mode and noticed X4 or higher was all that would alert. I thought K was also suppressed, but K1 signals were alerting. Sometimes when a K alert showed, an X1, 2, or 3 would then show along with the K alert, but no X sound was made. Strange! But I could swear my K door openers were less annoying in AutoScan mode. I might be loosing it! :shock: :lol:

I'll watch it and take notes. Hey, two locals in two different areas were using K band while I was testing. The alert range was very long! Good news! :D

When I talked to escort they told me that autoscan rapidly scans all known police radar frequencies and then scans the whole range for each band, exact frequency matches get an immediate alert any other signals are not reported until they pass a certain signal strength. That is ok if the police radar is in tune. I always used city or highway I would rather be alerted to all signals and decide if they are real or not.

X50 red rev5

Highway mode here....much better on open roads ;)

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Originally Posted by red04svtfocus

When I talked to escort they told me that autoscan rapidly scans all known police radar frequencies and then scans the whole range for each band, exact frequency matches get an immediate alert any other signals are not reported until they pass a certain signal strength. That is ok if the police radar is in tune. I always used city or highway I would rather be alerted to all signals and decide if they are real or not.

X50 red rev5

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Interesting info though. I wonder if it is true, and just how "exact" they would need to be :shock:

Although a far cry from the description in the operator's manual, maybe there is some statistical relevance to such a scheme...

Jim

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Originally Posted by jimbonzzz

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Originally Posted by red04svtfocus

When I talked to escort they told me that autoscan rapidly scans all known police radar frequencies and then scans the whole range for each band, exact frequency matches get an immediate alert any other signals are not reported until they pass a certain signal strength. That is ok if the police radar is in tune. I always used city or highway I would rather be alerted to all signals and decide if they are real or not.

X50 red rev5

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Interesting info though. I wonder if it is true, and just how "exact" they would need to be :shock:

Although a far cry from the description in the operator's manual, maybe there is some statistical relevance to such a scheme...

Jim

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Yeah, that may be what is happening. So we are back to USA mode on Ka? What is the high sensivity window on K band? So many questions, so few details from Belscort. I don't like that about Belscort. They should tell us how it works so we can decide if it's what we would want or not.

Highway mode for sure out of town, but noise in town is almost non-stop where I live.

Autoscan sucks on the 985. Using that mode is asking for a ticket. It cuts the range on all bands dramatically, which is fine if your main goal is reducing false alarms.

From what others are saying, Belscort must have reconfigured Autoscan for it's newer models like the X50 and RX-65.

GTO_04

Sounds that way. Until I know what it is doing, I won't use it in any serious way. Belscort needs to describe their features far better than they do now. The manual really sucks on the RX65.

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Originally Posted by red04svtfocus

When I talked to escort they told me that autoscan rapidly scans all known police radar frequencies and then scans the whole range for each band, exact frequency matches get an immediate alert any other signals are not reported until they pass a certain signal strength.

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So is it like having both USA and International mode on at the same time?

Personally I see no difference on the RX65 when it comes to AutoScan and Highway, except AutoScan seems to "burst" out (like instant-on when the source is constant) and false in POP more. But nothing dramatic, I've driven in both modes and they seem equally even. But yes, Bel/Escort should describe the feature more.

P.S: My X-Band is disabled, I have no need for it in FL.

This could be the answer:

http://www.radardetector.net/Autosca...tent-5805t.php

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AutoScan™ is only available on higher end Bel models. It is an "automatic" City/Highway mode. Autoscan™ is designed to automatically adjust sensitivity to X and K Band Radar whatever your driving environment. Whether driving in densely populated urban areas or “wide open” rural areas, AutoScan™ will automatically reject virtually all false signals which are shared with traffic radar on X and K Bands such as door openers and security systems. AutoScan™ is a “no-fuss” means of achieving optimum signal selectivity.

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I found this detailed explanation from an online authorized Bel dealer.


I have asked Roy to talk with a knowledgeable engineer from Bel, and find out exactly what AutoScan filters out and how it works. He said he was with Bel all day Friday and would talk to them about it.

Additional information would be great help. I have somehow either imagined it, or actually noticed with POP mode, AutoScan doesn't do much, but with POP mode off, it cuts off my falses on my daily route by about (I would say) 85%-90%. I haven't seen it cut down the range on real alerts, but I will need more encounters to make sure.

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Originally Posted by RensoreK

Additional information would be great help. I have somehow either imagined it, or actually noticed with POP mode, AutoScan doesn't do much, but with POP mode off, it cuts off my falses on my daily route by about (I would say) 85%-90%. I haven't seen it cut down the range on real alerts, but I will need more encounters to make sure.

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Interesting, I don't think i've ever tested it with POP off. I'll give that a shot tomorrow!

I sent this email to Beltronics and Escort:
(I changed AutoScan to Autosensitivity for Escort)

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I am thinking about purchasing an RX65, among other radar detectors on the market. I would like to know more about what exactly Beltronic’s “AutoScan” feature does.

A few of your Authorized Dealers state on their websites:

“AutoScan™ is only available on higher end Bel models. It is an "automatic" City/Highway mode. AutoScan™ is designed to automatically adjust sensitivity to X and K Band Radar whatever your driving environment. Whether driving in densely populated urban areas or “wide open” rural areas, AutoScan™ will automatically reject virtually all false signals which are shared with traffic radar on X and K Bands such as door openers and security systems. AutoScan™ is a “no-fuss” means of achieving optimum signal selectivity.”

And:

“Beltronics' patented AutoScan feature continuously analyzes all incoming signals and automatically rejects unwanted false alarms.”

“New features include AutoScan mode, which automatically adjusts X/K/Ka/Ku sensitivity levels wherever you drive to minimize false alerts.”

And your manual states:

“X-band sensitivity is not affected when used in “AutoScan,” or “Highway” modes.”

This is all kind of confusing.

• *How does AutoScan really work?
  *Is it just raising the alert threshold on X and K bands? If so, what is the minimum level that it will alert to?
  *Does it do anything at all on Ka band?
  *Is there any "intelligence" to it at all?
  *Does it just affect X band?

If you cannot answer this, please forward this email to a knowledgeable engineer who can.

Thank you for your time.

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I also asked Roy to find out from Bel. This is the response Roy got:

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Originally Posted by RadarRoy

From Bel

AutoScan monitors up to eight background radar signals (both bonafide and false) and adjusts alert patterns based upon the likelihood of an actual radar encounter. The feature is primarily an X-band monitor for multiple low level signals. This software and corresponding patents are proprietary with Beltronics.

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I have not heard back from Bel yet.
These are the respones that Escort sent me:

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It is good to hear from you! In a nutshell, the Auto, Highway and City mode affect X-band sensitivity ONLY.
In the Highway Mode, X-Band is always at the most sensitive level.
In City Mode, X-Band sensitivity is reduced according to the level set in the Programming Mode when used in the City setting. City sensitivity programming is ignored when used in Highway or Auto Mode.
Auto mode will begin with slightly reduced X-Band sensitivity, but will Automatically reduce sensitivity even further when it encounters multiple X-band alerts in an area or alerts that do not represent true police frequencies. When you are out of the area, the Auto Mode will Automatically increase the sensitivity of the X-Band.
I hope that helps, and thanks for your interest in Escort!

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It is good to hear from you! The AUTO mode simply senses if you are getting a lot of "urban falsing" on the X-band. If you are in an area with lots of falsing, the AUTO mode responds by shifting to the CITY sensitivity. This reduces the X-band sensitivity only. When you leave the area, the AUTO mode responds by going back in the HIGHWAY sensitivity for full X-band sensitivity.
Thanks for your interest in Escort!

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I replied to Escort, asking them why then is the "X-band sensitivity is not affected when used in "Auto," or "Highway" modes." statement in the manual, and if the Auto mode in the X50 is different than the AutoScan mode on the Bel RX65.

When I asked Escort if AutoSensitivity and AutoScan do the same thing or not, they replied:

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Although there are different approaches to come to the same result, the Autoscan mode and Auto Mode are designed to reduce stationary alerts from grocery/convenience stores, etc.

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I also talked to Chad at Beltronics today. He was well-informed and a pleasure to talk to. He said that Escort's AutoSensitivity is different software, and filters X band only. He also said that AutoScan filters X-band and possibly K-band, but the K band filtering would be minimal if it was there. They have been getting a lot of questions regarding AutoScan lately, and the higher-ups have told them not to tell customers more than that due to patent infringements etc.

He let me know that the RX65 and X50 have basically the same hardware in different cases, but the software and algorithms etc. are quite different. We talked about testing as well, and he said that every detector has its differences in performance, and 2 of the exact same model would perform slightly different in testing.