( 6 reviews )
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( 0 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: Jun 16 2009
I've owned and used my STI everyday for two years. It is good about not falsing and I like the fact that I can invert the display. It came with a nice carring case, leather pouch and also a external speaker. I don't use any of the last three mentenioned items and I doubt that many people do. The windshield mount is cheap. For such an expensive radar detector it seems that Beltronics would make a better one. I bought a windshied mount for a GPS and adapted it to work. I would rather that Beltronics drop the carring case and speaker and provide a better windshield mount. Now to the important aspect of the STI for which I purchased it. I'm finding mine less and less reliable already. The police in middle Tennessee are using something the STI does not detect about forty percent of the time. It's obvious when they are there on the side of the road pointing something at you and there is no alert. Then again it will alert me over the hill, around the curve, two miles away. If I had it to do over I would purchase a less expensive model.
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Posted: Jun 16 2009
Here is my "short list" of the top performing windshield mount radar detectors which are available from any manufacturer and at any price. This list is grouped in order of decreasing performance. Models within a particular group have nearly identical performance: Valentine V1 Beltronics STi Driver Escort 9500ix Beltronics GX65 Escort 9500i There you have it. That is the short list of the top performing windshield radar detectors. In a nutshell, the V1 and the STi are designed primarily for highway driving and long road trips. The models listed in the second group are designed mainly for suburban and city driving since they feature GPS in order to filter out known false alert locations. Those false alerts are caused by either X band or K band microwave automatic door openers and by alarm systems which use radar motion sensors. The V1 has front and rear antennas plus arrows to indicate where the radar source is located -- front, back, or to the side. Yet the V1 is readily detected by the Spectre radar detector detector (RDD) which is used by police in VA and by the DSP in Texas to nab motorists who are using radar detectors. The STi, on the other hand, is completely immune to detection by the Spectre RDD or any other RDD since the STi does not emit any type of microwave radiation. In short, the STi truly is a stealth radar detector and its steath makes the STi worth its weight in gold. I have extensively road tested both the V1 and the STi. Both perform very similarly in terms of overall performance, with the V1 having a very slight edge. Yet the STi's stealth, combined with its superior quietness when used in cities or other suburban areas makes the STi the clear winner in my book. The STi, unlike the V1, is also extraordinarily easy to program in order to configure its settings to perfectly suit your needs. My one major caveat regarding the STi is that its built-in speaker isn't very loud. But this issue is easily solved by installing the extremely loud amplified remote speaker which Beltronics includes with the STi. You can hear the remote speaker with the top down and with the radio blaring. In short, the Beltronics STi Driver is my favorite windshield mount radar detector. It is so good that I use it all the time even though I also have the Escort 9500ci remote installed radar detector and laser shifter system installed in my car. I always operate one or the other radar detector in bar graph signal strength display mode with the other radar detector in radar frequency display mode. This way I not only know how strong a radar threat is, but also the specific nature of the radar threat. For example, 24.7 frequency Ka radar guns are relatively easy to detect, but 35.5 frequency Ka radar guns are harder to detect since these radar guns have very long and narrowly tapered radar antennas. You have to slow down immediately when detecting 35.5 Ka radar since most of the time there is no easy way to determine just how far away the 35.5 radar gun really is. Finally, although the Beltronics STi Driver is my favorite windshield mount radar detector for my particular driving needs, it may not be the most ideally suited radar detector for you. For example, if most of your driving (or my driving) is suburban/city driving, then I would pick one of the radar detectors which I listed in the second group. On the other hand, if you are a road warrior who logs hundreds of interstate miles every month and if you frequently travel through VA or TX, then the STi Driver is your only real choice. Excluding these two states, then the V1 also is an excellent choice, and at that point it boils down to your own personal preferences as to what features between these two radar detectors which are most important to you. If you buy a used STi, keep in mind that most likely it will not have any warranty. If you buy an STi from an unauthorized dealer, then it will have no warranty whatsoever. If you buy a used STi, then you should be willing to send it to Beltronics and have it flashed with their latest firmware which addresses several issues and which improves overall performance. Yes, there will be a fee for this service, but on the other hand, a used STi with the latest firmware flash will perform exactly like a brand new STi. Something to think about. So, there you have it! I always try to cut to the chase and write unbiased product reviews.
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Posted: Mar 12 2009
Called company to make sure Amazon was authorized dealer to cover warranty - Check this out - They have a list of over 100 unauthorized dealers, it's on there site. Customer service is the worse. I would recommend the Whistler XTR-695 Laser/Radar Detector with Radar Signature ID, Laser Signature ID, 7-Color Display, Real Voice Alerts and External Audio Jack - It is a better price and has the latest features and they did away with the authorized dealer program - all are covered under warranty.
