Is Beltronics STI Magnum and STI Driver still good?

[markjosefino]

Hi everyone, I recently purchased a beltronics sti magnum and sti driver, i live in Toronto and I hear from some people that they are still undetectable here, I know they are a bit old, (don’t know how old though) but does anyone know if the police can trace these ones or not?

 

[mikeoxlong]

Those detectors are completely undetectable. I have an sti magnum that was upgraded from a driver and the only reason I stopped using it was its lack of BSM filtering.

 

[stamp4]

^ what he said!! I used an STI original in my semi here in the states for years and logged at least over 300,000 miles with it and never had an issue, even in Iowa where they DO still run RDD's. If you segment it for Ka, their beasts! They'l serve you well...

 

[Holla]

And they are KILLER on KA----awesome!

 

[sdrawkcaB]

It is a truly stealth detector, and is not detectable by the Spectre RADAR-Detector Detector (RDD) at all. In an area where RADAR detectors are prohibited, I would never advise anyone to risk using a non-stealth detector.

The STi Magnum with the Band Segmentation and RADAR-Detector Rejection firmware is the one to have and keep.

The STi Driver was the predecessor to the later released STi Magnum. The STi Driver was not able to get the firmware update, but you could mail it in and get the internals replaced. This is no longer offered, as they no longer have parts on hand and no longer service them. The STi Magnum, came with an initial firmware that was standard, and then later Escort / Beltronics released the Band Segmentation and RADAR-Detector Rejection firmware. We often refer to it here as simply the BS/RDR firmware. If you have an Beltronics STi Magnum without the BS/RDR firmware, you can still mail it into Cedar Electronics (company that owns Beltronics, Escort, Cobra, and Snooper), and get the firmware installed by them for a small fee.

That firmware allows you to optionally enable and disable specific segments of Ka Super Wide. In human terms, you can configure the detector to ignore frequencies that aren't used by police around you, and only focus on the frequencies that are. There are risks to this, as sometimes one may encounter a LEO using a RADAR gun that has drifted off of its center frequency.

 

[markjosefino]

Those detectors are completely undetectable. I have an sti magnum that was upgraded from a driver and the only reason I stopped using it was its lack of BSM filtering.

That’s good news, where are you located

Post automatically merged: Apr 15, 2020

Let’s say the police is doing radar, dues to to my radar detector, is there any way his radar gun can go all crazy or his will work like nothing is going on?

 

[mikeoxlong]

No, absolutely not.

 

[markjosefino]

No, absolutely not.

Absolutely not as in it won’t affect any of there equipment? And this is for both sti magnum and sti driver?

 

[thebravo]

yes, they will have no idea that you have it, they cannot detect it with an RDD and RD's have no effect on their radar guns. They can visually spot it, so mount it up high behind a tint strip and they can also suspect you have it if they hit you with instant on radar and you slam the brakes right afterwards. other than that it's completely stealth and they should have no idea you have it, if you don't see much real Kband in the area I'd run it in city mode to reduce the Kband falsing.

 

[markjosefino]

yes, they will have no idea that you have it, they cannot detect it with an RDD and RD's have no effect on their radar guns. They can visually spot it, so mount it up high behind a tint strip and they can also suspect you have it if they hit you with instant on radar and you slam the brakes right afterwards. other than that it's completely stealth and they should have no idea you have it, if you don't see much real Kband in the area I'd run it in city mode to reduce the Kband falsing.

Are you from Ontario? How do I know if there’s much kband or ka band? What do the police run off of here? I was told it’s ka band. I’m still a complete noob at this

 

[mikeoxlong]

Where do you drive?

 

[stnky1]

hey OP i am in Ontario and drive from KW to GTA every day. I also have an STi Magnum. keep in mind these RDs don't have much for K band filtering so they will be pretty chatty on highway. here is how i have mine set: X-band OFF, K-band ON, TSR ON, RDR OFF, LASER ON, KA-band segements 2,5,6,8 ON others OFF. i generally leave the sensitivity on AUTO but if im driving in the country i put it on HWY. those are the important settings the rest you can fiddle with. OPP uses lots of lidar and K-band and the locals depending on where you are use KA as well as the others. good luck!

 

[Brilliant]

Magnum works well, is undetectable but is a bit noisy at times with BSR. On a two lane highway it is the best, in a multi lane environment it can get you desensitized a bit to a real alert with cross chat of BSR.

 

[Deacon]

The STi Magnum with the Band Segmentation and RADAR-Detector Rejection firmware is the one to have and keep.

Ideally with the wirebonded LNA. Like mine

Mine stays right on the heels of the hottest wirebonded Redlines we’ve tested, which are right up there with the R-series still (with BS/RDR). The downside is the BSM filtering is not up to date. Great stealth detector for road trips and the like, but I don’t run mine in the city unless K and X are off. I have the original magnesium case on mine but still hanging onto the factory new plastic replacement (with new buttons, too) just in case someone wants it.

 

[Freebird]

Always loved the STi units. Performance is about equal to an Escort IXC.

 

[sdrawkcaB]

Just want to add in following @Freebird ’s comment so as not to confuse anyone... the iXc is definitely not stealth to RDDs such as the Spectre. @Freebird is referring to raw sensitivity and detection range in wide open terrain.

 

[eric15178]

Suggestion since you're new. Wish i would have done this long ago. If k is even remotely in use by you, leave it on. Back in the day i didn't see it as much and ALMOST thought about disabling it but have seen it more in recent years. You'll get a lot of falses but better than missing a real hit and getting nailed. I have never segmented a detector. Never wanted to risk missing a real alert. Speaking of that, I'd leave pop on too. Hadn't seen it in probly a good 6 months and got a hit of that last night while pulling into the driveway-trying to be sneaky

Put your detector on the mode where it shows the exact signal number, ex 24.131 ghz. Everytime you get a 100% real k hit write it down. Then as you go you can form a range of where your local guns are running. Yeah, you'll still have your detector false but you can look at it and see the signal, if it's not in your established range, it's PROBABLY not a cop. Always use caution with k thou, never know if they got a new gun, you traveled out of your normal driving area, etc... Give it time to get a decent amount of hits to know what signals they usually run on, then you can form your range, but still always use your eyes and caution if it's going off. You don't want to ignore your detector thinking it's a mazda setting it off and get nailed when your detector was doing it's job

 

[bigdog19671]

Hi everyone, I recently purchased a beltronics sti magnum and sti driver, i live in Toronto and I hear from some people that they are still undetectable here, I know they are a bit old, (don’t know how old though) but does anyone know if the police can trace these ones or not?

No your fine best radar out there I wish BELTRONICS never sold out,as they would up date them for $100.00 I had Sti driver and then had it updated to the latest model before they sold company to escort and there phasing them out as they say there is a on line update I can’t find! There selling the redline predecessor to the driver. Hope this helps

 

[sdrawkcaB]

If you have an STI Driver, they can’t receive the firmware update, unless the internals were previously upgraded to an STI Magnum circuit board. This hardware upgrade is no longer offered, as there are no more circuit boards available.

If you have an STI Magnum, you can get the BS/RDR firmware upgrade, but only by mailing the detector in to Escort’s offices, and paying a $39.95 service charge. You just need to call up Escort Radar and setup a service ticket with them.

 

[Beetle]

Hi everyone, I recently purchased a beltronics sti magnum and sti driver, i live in Toronto and I hear from some people that they are still undetectable here, I know they are a bit old, (don’t know how old though) but does anyone know if the police can trace these ones or not?

They are still good but k band is used a lot in Ontario and the false alarms can be overwhelming
I run mine auto scan tsr on. highway mode will drive you crazy. Best advise segment detector KA auto scan or city mode to quiet down K band and run escort live to quiet down false alerts in Toronto area to lock out false alarms in your area.
It will take work on your part Redline Ex would be a more plug and play for you as it learns on its own .I own both detectors and believe it or not STI
Has better ramp up and range

Post automatically merged: May 10, 2020

Are you from Ontario? How do I know if there’s much kband or ka band? What do the police run off of here? I was told it’s ka band. I’m still a complete noob at this

Are you from Ontario? How do I know if there’s much kband or ka band? What do the police run off of here? I was told it’s ka band. I’m still a complete noob at this

Post automatically merged: May 10, 2020

RDGS canada