New 'supercharged' Max - Detailed reports (running thread)

[cruiser66]

Update (10/26 and 10/27):
In all cases on 10/26 and 10/27, the detector was held in my hand and not mounted on the windshield.
Not sure how much that affects detection range.

No Ka 33.9 falses so far (although we only drove on the GSP a short distance this weekend 4 miles each way).
We did drive on Route 10 a reasonable amount, I-287 extensively, I-80 a reasonable distance and no Ka falsing there either.

I plan to drive my usual NJ GSP toll-laden test route tomorrow night; this (and a few more passes in the coming days / weeks) should give me a better feel and put my new Max to the test agst Ka falsing on the road where it happened frequently with my prior Max.

I am cautiously optimistic that either the falsing has been resolved with new Max (received last week) or, if it does occur again, that it is seeing signals that are valid Ka 33.9xx or, at worst (if these are proven to be invalid signals) that it would not be a unit-specific issue.



Notable Weekend Detections (both 34.7)
We had two confirmed LEO Ka 34.7 detections this weekend (both on Saturday):


Confirmed LEO 34.7 detection #1 (10/26):
6 lane highway (I-287):
Short range detection although the LEO was five lanes and a divider away from us (opposite side of highway in grass / shoulder, fully perpendicular[/b] to the road - these guys are tricky.


Confirmed LEO 34.7 detection #2: (10/26)
Driving toward a LEO parked at a gas station (pretty sure he was facing me), I got a warning at relatively short range but I don't know when he turned his gun on (pretty sure it was C/O) but I was with a passenger and muted it quickly.

[stirthepot]

cruiser - what section of the GSP are you driving. I live in North NJ as well and commute daily, might be interesting to compare notes.

[cruiser66]

Originally Posted by stirthepot

cruiser - what section of the GSP are you driving. I live in North NJ as well and commute daily, might be interesting to compare notes.

Absolutely stir! I was hoping someone would eventually report in from the area to compare findings.

I typically drive the far northern sections, some examples:
166 Southbound - Washington/Westwood
165 Southbound - Oradell / Ridgewood
159 Northbound - by Saddle Brook
but have also driven further South in the recent past on weekend day trips.

Looking forward to your observations!!!

[cruiser66]

20 minute drive this morning:

No unusual falses.


Ran into a LEO running 34.7:
Got a warning as he approached from behind (traveling the same direction as us) from probably about .15 miles behind (but just a guess on the distance).

The detector was held in my hand and not mounted on the windshield.
Not sure how much that affects detection range.

[LSULaker]

I really appreciate the work going into this thread and am following it closely.

[fiberrich]

Originally Posted by LSULaker

I really appreciate the work going into this thread and am following it closely.

X2 - Even though I'm not getting any 33.9 falsing I'm enjoying reading about your experiences. I'm curious as to what the final source of these falses end up being.

[cruiser66]

Originally Posted by LSULaker

I really appreciate the work going into this thread and am following it closely.

Originally Posted by fiberrich

X2 - Even though I'm not getting any 33.9 falsing I'm enjoying reading about your experiences. I'm curious as to what the final source of these falses end up being.

No problem guys.
I have obtained a lot of very useful info via this forum (as well as on RDF.org and the old GOL (GuysOfLidar) testing days), so I am happy to contribute to the CM community and hopefully helping to improve the Max by posting my experiences (not just referring to this 33.9xx testing but also other threads about Autolearn lockouts, voice volume relative to alert (beep / brap / double brap) volume.


Okay, today's update:

I drove most * of my usual GSP '33.9xx false test' route again tonight.
* I might take another run if I am up to it since I think I may be coming down with a cold to do the one piece I could not do since I had an errand to run that took me off the GSP)

10/30:
No real LEO hits this evening.

The good news is I still have not gotten any 33.9 Ka falses on the GSP with Max #3(wanted to do a little more given I skipped one relatively small portion).

At one point I got a Ka hit on route 17 South.
At first I figured it might be a LEO.
I quickly knew it wasn't when I looked at the display (I'm running in Spec mode currently).
As soon as I saw the first two digits 33.xx I thought for a split second I might be getting the 33.9xx falses again.
However, I quickly noticed it was actually just33.6xx, of which I have only had 3 in the last several months, which was good news - likely simply a leaky detector, e.g. near Cobra RD perhaps).


The other good news is that my GPS signal was lost in the exact same spot as the other evening and it quickly returned, so something around that small street is simply blocking GPS signals.


Anyway, that is it for now.
So far still so good. If this continues, I'll be thrilled.
I have not driven all that much on the GSP with it since getting Max #3, but still compared to my last Max, this is already much better - in the amount of time I have had Max #3, I would have had a 33.9xx with Max #2 already.
I figure 3 or 4 more trips on the GSP or so and I'll feel 85% (or more) confident Max #3 is working really nicely and that the 33.9xx falses with my last Max (or perhaps with both my previous Maxes 1 and 2 - I was not using spec mode with Max #1 but did get Ka hits on the GSP far further South than my area mostly though at that time).


Thanks again Larry for taking care of my Max hardware issue!

The last thing to do is test 34.7 some more since I have not been impressed YET with Max #3 in limited (4 in all) 34.7 encounters most of which were short range, although one was FF and one was completely off axis (LEO perpendicular to traffic). The third was neither FF nor off axis and was also short range. The fourth was from the rear and was one of the better ones but still seemed to only be .15 miles.

Note, even with my Redline I never got long 34.7 against some of these LOW power Stalker guns they use up here (in Edison NJ 2 or 3 years ago I had a much longer range Ka detection though). Typical range was .2 miles or so.
I did have a nice longggggg C/O 34.7 detection from a NJ state trooper around the bend coming toward me on Route 80 with Max #1.I'll have to hope I get one from the same gun with Max #3 for comparison purposes.

If I continue not to see 33.9xx with this Max, it will remain my daily (primary) local detector.

PS: I have turned AutoLearn off for now since K is used in my town.
I may turn it on everywhere else for a while and then turn it off completely once it has learned my usual routes (too bad I can't turn GPS Filter off with a single button like on my 9500ix.
But with K reportedly about to make a comeback, I may have to think twice.

[cruiser66]

Going to keep this short since it is getting late:

Great news:

I just went out for the second drive of the night.
I ran my full NJ GSP test loop (back and forth between exits 168 on the upper end (166 on way down, 168 is on way back) and 157 on the lower end (actually 154 this time) and did not get any 33.9xx Ka alerts on the NJ GSP, not even by the toll booths; plenty of K, as expected.

It appears the hardware issue found with my prior Max may have (also) been responsible for the 33.9xx falsing.
I may never know for sure, but I am very happy right now.

A few more days of this (i.e. no Ka 33.9xx falsing with Max #3) and I can probably claim victory.

[cruiser66]

Quick update - Some more Parkway driving wit Max #3 last night to and from a mall (added a little extra leg on the Parkway on the way home for testing purposes).

• Still no 33.9xx falses.
  
• No LEO encounters.

Got my trusty 'old' Redline back from repair (a little over 2 1/2 years old and still under ESP luckily).
Will be in upstate NY tomorrow with fiancee and in-laws so may use AutoMute so I can put both detectors to the test.

[cruiser66]

As I noted today in the existing falsing thread, I got my first 33.9 Ka false with Max 3 this past weekend (not my car this time and not on the NJ GSP).
I have yet to get a 33.9xx false on the NJ GSP which hopefully bodes well for the future.

Hopefully Escort can get to the bottom of it (find the route cause and fix it) or, IF these 33.9 detections are ultmately found to actually be legitimate 33.9 sources, then offer a workaround such as Ka Band Segementation on Max.

33.9 false post today (11/2):
http://www.escortradarforum.com/foru...ead.php?t=9511



The good news is I got 8 confirmed Ka LEO hits on the same day 11/2, perhaps more LEO Ka hits than I have had since getting my Max (albeit not as much as the 20 plus confirmed 34.7xx hits I got with my Redline in New Paltz one 45 hour period just before this summer spent at a B&B in upstate NY).
Keep in mind I don't drive much currently (put a lot of miles on my car last year and the beginning of this year, so I am lowering my average significantly).
35.472 Ka (i.e. 35.5). So I see Kustom or Decatur is now used in Mahwah (explains why I got an alert at 35.4xx the other weekend with Max #2 at the time).

33.902 false (near Township or Washington / [Upper] Saddle River)

34.707 New Paltz area

34.702 Marlborough Township NYS

34.721 Rt 87 S (15 miles north of Exit 15 - 287)

34.726 Franklin Lakes PD

34.72x again (and 34.734 for 2nd LEO now at this location) - same location as above but in opposite direction getting back on 287 from 208N.
Note - these two were not checking for speeders but left their guns on by tending to an apparent motorbike / car accident injury).

34.744 Rt 23 South - Windbeen Road (near 287 N entrance on opposite side of 23 - i.e. 23N).

34.688 - Rt 23 South near VW dealship and Honda of Rt 23: Pequannock Police.