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Looks like the Beltronics STi Magnum is now available and for the same price as the STi Driver. Beltronics is claiming a 60% increase in performance over the STi Driver. I can’t tell for sure yet, but based on what we are seeing on the page (https://www.beltronics.com/store/sti-magnum.html), it doesn’t seem to have any of the STiR Plus’ sweet features (RDR and Ka band segmentation). Based on that we are thinking this will end up being similar in performance to the Escort Redline. When reading over this year’s SML radar detector testing results, something caught our eye. They mention an “STi Magnum” radar detector in the test results (see here). We aren’t sure what it is, but we are hoping that it’s a windshield mounted version of the STi-R Plus (that includes Ka segmentation and RDR on/off), but we’ll have to wait and see. We’ll be sure to let you know if we hear anything. Question: I recently had my V1 taken in Ontario even though it wasn't being used. Which radar detector is the best in sensitivity? and also is their a reasonably priced version of a grill mounted unit? Do the grill mounted units offer front and rear facing installation? Answer: Radar detector use is prohibited in Ontario, so if you drive there often, you aren't just going to want any radar detector. While we don't advocate breaking the law, if you are going to use a radar detector in Ontario, you'll need to get one that is undetectable by police, and you'll need to mount it very discreetly as windshield mounts are very visible from outside the car. Currently, there are only a few undetectable radar detectors, they are the Escort Redline, Beltronics STi-Driver, Escort Passport 9500ci, and the Beltronics STi-R Plus. None of these detectors have a dedicated rear antenna so you won't get the locator arrows like you had on your V1. I have both the Redline and the STi-Driver and would recommend both. Driving on the Garden State today reminds me how much I need to install a laser jammer on my car. I drove from exit 168 to 130 and back today and saw about 10 police officers using laser guns. I was clocked at least three times based on my Beltronics GX65 alerting to laser. Twice out of the three times, I had already noticed the police officer and slowed down, but one time the GX65 went off even before I saw the officer. I attribute this to sloppy laser gun work as the officer must have been constantly shooting cars and moving the laser gun around because it was the only way I would be able to pick up scatter from his gun. Let me say though, that I am super glad he was doing this as out of all three encounters, he was hidden the best out of all of them and I certainty wouldn’t have seen him and been able to slow down in time as I was able to with the others. This shows that while laser saves are possible, they are very unlikely and if you keep relying on your radar detector to protect you against laser, you are going to get burned sooner or later. I’m currently saving up to buy the Laser Interceptor, which you can get either from Amazon or RadarBusters (Amazon is 3rd party, but it is the manufacturer. RadarBusters is an authorized reseller). I had another X-band encounter in NJ today. This time was also on route 17, but it was in Ramsey, NJ and was a Ramsey Police Officer. The officer is over the hill and off axis, I think the Beltronics GX65 does a pretty good job picking it up. The officer is on the other side of the highway, so it was never a threat, but just goes to show that X-band is out in full force in NJ. This video shows a car pulled over in NJ by police using X-band radar. Just another piece of evidence that shows that you should not disable X-band while driving in NJ. The police can be seen at position :28 on the left (on the other side of the highway). New Jersey police use every type of radar and laser speed measurement device out there, which makes it fairly hard to recommend a radar detector for use in the state. I live in New Jersey and I have personally seen laser, X-band, K-band, and Ka-band units patrolling local streets and highways. To select a radar detector in New Jersey, you’ll need to have one that protects well against all radar bands. This also means that you’ll need a detector that does a great job of filtering out false alerts. Way back in the day, probably about 10 years ago, I owned a Beltronics 950 radar detector. At the time, this was as close to top of the line as I could afford, the top detectors back then were the Beltronics 980, Escort Passport 8500, and the Valentine One. The Beltronics models back then had an auto mute feature that worked a little differently than they do today. The first few beeps were full volume, but afterwards, the detector made a “click” noise instead of the X, K or Ka beep noise. It was still at full volume, but the sound was much less annoying than the actual beep tone. You can still hear the same sound on the STi driver (in the features menu when you switch through the different settings). I prefer the click noise to the lower volume beeps that exist in radar detectors today. The volume after the automute is just too low. I’m not sure if it’s just me, or if I play my radio too loud, or maybe I just liked the click sound too much, but I don’t turn on auto mute today anymore because I’m not able to continue to track the radar source without looking at the detector. I wish Beltronics would bring this back and put it as an optional feature, but I doubt there is much demand for it. Recently, I’ve been driving around with the Cobra XRS 9970G for the review that we just wrote on it and for the most part it provided ample warning of radar signals, it didn’t overwhelm us with its range. On the other hand, it also didn’t overwhelm us with its false alerts either. This brings us to a huge question about how to buy the correct radar detector for your lifestyle. Do you want one that goes off at every little thing and annoys you and your passengers, but picks up the real stuff from miles away? Do you tend to drive the speed limit, but would like the situational awareness that a radar detector gives you for those times when you may drift above the speed limit? Are you just a casual speeder who needs ample warning, but doesn’t want the radar detector to go off and disturb others? The dreaded “Service Required” message on Beltronics and Escort radar detectors has haunted me a few times in the past. I actually got it twice on my Beltronics RX65 (once within the warranty and once out of warranty). So what does it mean? According to my Beltronics STi Driver manual, it means that the detector has “failed the calibration test and you’ll need to contact Beltronics for repair”. I can tell you that while this is a nuisance, the process to send the radar detector back to Beltronics was fairly easy and it came back pretty quick and in perfect working order. If you see this message, it’s time to call Beltronics or Escort. |
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