AutoLearn issues.

[CJR238]

First I am very happy with my ix, its a truly impressive peace of technology. I was particularly excited that Escort stated in there manual that AutoLearn will unlock a particular signal if its no longer present at a location that was previously locked out.

what TrueLock does with all models is when a false is present it locks the signal but when its not present its not locking the signal. all 9500's do this and always did.
This is fine, but it still has the signal in memory and will lock it the first time it sees it again. My problem is they claimed specifically that if signal is no longer present at a location that was previously locked out, PASSPORT will unlock that signal, and its not doing it. (In a real life scenario and a controlled scenario it didn't work)

When I first got my 9500ix I had a A&P false locked out from when my ix was a 9500I. The store got taken down so the lock out was gone after a month or so they built a Walgreen's there.
Now this is where it got interesting, every day for days i passed and got no alert or spinning icon (auto doors weren't set up yet). A few days later the doors were back on and my 9500ix was still locking that location with no alert. This brought up my main concern about AutoLearn because this is the only useful feature of AutoLearn IMO.

The ix should of unlocked that location according to the manual.


NOTE: When AutoLearn is on,
PASSPORT will also UnLearn signals to
protect you from locking out real
threats. If a particular signal is no
longer present at a location that was
previously locked out, PASSPORT will
unlock that signal

I used a "mini bushnell radar gun" (K band door sensor, which runs for me at ~24.106 K band), to do some controlled testing using AutoLearn only and this is what I found:

I live in a pretty rural area and about 1/4mi from my house i decided to test the AutoLearn feature to see if it really had the ability to unlock a AutoLocked signal.
Day 1. On my way to work I turned on the "mini bushnell" and got a K band 24.106 alert and proceeded to drive then turned it off. The signal completely faded in about 8 seconds. (Escort RD's hold the signal when its gone for about 5-8 seconds) On my way home I turned it on again in the same spot and got 24.106 again.

Day 2. Again on my way into work I turned on the "mini bushnell" and got a K band 24.106 alert and proceeded to drive then turned it off. As the signal started to fade the 9500ix announced "signal stored" (3rd time is a charm). On my way home I flicked it on again and got the spinning icon.
I had to go out a few more times so I confirmed the spinning icon one more time and the last pass didn't turn it on.

Day 3-6. I didn't turn on the "mini bushnell", so I passed the AutoLearned area at least 8-10 times. Today I turned it on on my way in and got the spinning icon...???#$%&*!

We all know I tend to look at things positively, and are pretty forgiving about how a company uses vague words to describe a feature in a positive light. But I am a little upset that Escort blatantly, clearley and obvousley lied about AutoLearn unlocking falses that are not there anymore. Sure when the signal isint there its not locking out anything, but thats not waht they said this time...

The # 1 thing the 9500 series needs to do is have the ability to unlock an alert that is no longer there. On my rout to work there sometimes is a LEO running K band while driving. If i left auto lock on and that LEO got locked out there would be no way of unlocking that lock out unless i pass him again and unlock the signal or completely delete all my lockouts.

So my recommendation is to only use AutoLearn for your first month of having the RD than turn it off and manually lock out falses from there forward according to your areas risk. I will try testing this in a few other spots but for now other than for testing I will not be using AutoLearn.

On a more positive note:
I have a shopping center off from the road with quite a few K falses that I manually locked the c#ap out of. So i turned on the "mini bushnell" and got "Multiple Frequencies Detected", i thought cool but figured it was just because the frequency was in a different 30MHz block.
The next day i drove back to that area and got "Multiple Frequencies Detected" and no spinning icon... For some reason the ix unlocked that area initially, do to the different signal from the other day?
It seems Escort improved the 30MHz blocks around 24.150 and added a multiple threat safety for locked out locations.

[CJR238]

I spoke to Escort again this morning and the rep i got on the phone knew exactly what I was talking about with my first explanation. I thought ether i was getting better at my explanation and communication skills or some good stuff was about to be discussed.

The rep said they are aware of the problem and the programmers are working on it. Apparently its a glitch that doesn't happen to all units and primarily with upgraded 9500I's. The USB update isn't going to be available for a while, and we will be e-mailed of the update. They are also working on a few other updates as well for that USB update.

My guess is I was the first to bring it to there attention and the reps didn't know what to say. Hope the USB update comes soon.

[CJR238]

This is what i said to Escort, i hope to get a clear and detailed answer:

This is taken straight from the 9500ix owners manual.

NOTE: When AutoLearn is on,
PASSPORT will also UnLearn signals to
protect you from locking out real
threats. If a particular signal is no
longer present at a location that was
previously locked out, PASSPORT will
unlock that signal.

I interpret above to mean ("will unlock that signal") as the 9500ix AutoLearn will delete the data/alert frequency (lock out) for that GPS location if it becomes no longer present, there for the next time that, or any other signal becomes present it will alert. I noticed the issue I'm having with a real scenario first so i decided to do some testing.

The tests were controlled scenarios with GPS on and AutoLearn on, there were no other radar sources within miles. There was no spinning icon for days after the AutoLearn lock out, and the manual specifically states it will unlock the signal. The icon was not spinning at any point for days after the auto lock out, implying no signal was being seen.

I used a door sensor connected to a switch and runs for me at ~24.106 K band, this is what I found:

I live in a pretty rural area and about 1/4mi from my house i decided to test the AutoLearn feature to see if it really had the ability to unlock a AutoLocked signal.

Day 1. On my way to work I turned on the K band door sensor at a specific location and got an alert and proceeded to drive then turned it off. The signal completely faded in about 8 seconds.

Day 2. Again on my way into work I turned on the K band door sensor at the same specific lock out location and then turned it off. On my way home I turned on the K band door sensor at the same specific lock out location and then turned it off. As the signal started to fade the 9500ix announced "signal stored". I had to run out that same night and to test that it indeed locked out the alert I flicked it on again and got the spinning icon. I had to go out a few more times and didn't turn it on again.

Day 3-6. I didn't turn on the K band door sensor for a few days, I passed the AutoLearned area at least 8-10 times. The last day I turned it on on and got the spinning icon. According to the manual it should of unlocked the signal...

I spoke to multiple sales people at Escort and got many different answers. From we know about it, to all upgraded ix's don't unlock to i never herd of that.

Just because there is no spinning icon doesn't mean its unlocked (9500I did this) If a door is locked but you don't try to open it doesn't mean its Unlocked? So why is AutoLearn not unlocking like the manual clearly states? Please help me clear this up.

Here is one of the video tests i did with my 9500ix and AutoLearn.

YouTube - 9500ix AutoLearn issues.

[lgs460]

I had the similiar issues with my 9500ci with the lock out features. this was my experience, If the system detected a false and locked it out then I drove by that same area it would not only lock out that false but it locked out every other band including laser so it had no detection for a 1/2 mile around that locked out area. When I called Escort they could not tell me anything. I had so many issues with that system that I since changed to the K40 Calibre and have been very happy, I would highly reccommend the Calibre.

[CJR238]

Originally Posted by lgs460

I had the similiar issues with my 9500ci with the lock out features. this was my experience, If the system detected a false and locked it out then I drove by that same area it would not only lock out that false but it locked out every other band including laser so it had no detection for a 1/2 mile around that locked out area. When I called Escort they could not tell me anything. I had so many issues with that system that I since changed to the K40 Calibre and have been very happy, I would highly reccommend the Calibre.

Not a good idea, the 9500ci is the best radar unit available today, and the K40 is a sub par unit at best, no offense.

AutoLearn/lock doesn’t lock the whole band or anything like that. Trust me i know how it works.

[lanesf430]

That is not true..... I am a newbie to this forum and the only reason I signed up is because of the issues I am having with the autolearn and lockout features with my 9500.

[CJR238]

Originally Posted by lanesf430

That is not true..... I am a newbie to this forum and the only reason I signed up is because of the issues I am having with the auto learn and lockout features with my 9500.

I don't doubt you might of had problems with AutoLearn, its a tricky feature that some don't like/trust including me. but i know for a fact it doesn't lock the whole band.

Do you still have it, i may be able to fill in some blanks for you about TrueLock and AutoLearn.

[lgs460]

CJR,

What do you mean it doesnt lock out the whole band, are you telling me it is able to decipher band freq?

[CJR238]

Originally Posted by lgs460

CJR,

What do you mean it doesnt lock out the whole band, are you telling me it is able to decipher band freq?

yes in ~30MHz blocks in K band and ~13MHz blocks for X band. Its pretty cool solution to help decrease the chances of a LEO lock out.

[lgs460]

Alright, I understand.

So your telling me they lock out in 30MHZ blocks, so how many blocks are there to be locked out and how big is the spectrum? Specifically with K band, X band is almost irrelevant. Basically from what I am hearing is it is a gamble that the LEO radar would not be in the 30Mhz block that is blocked out. Is that right?