Review Summary

Pro

• World-class range
• User-friendly
• Superb alert system
• Robust construction

Con

• Not immune to false alarms
• Pricey

The Beltronics STi Magnum claimed a long list of innovations: first to have twin forward-facing radar antennae, with low noise amplifiers, for instance. The payoff was world-class radar range.

The BEL STi Magnum's metal case was matte black to keep it stealthy and to resist windshield reflections. The three front-mounted control buttons are red-backlit—another industry first—to make nighttime operation easier.

A red LED text display automatically varied intensity or was adjustable in four steps from all-dark to maximum brightness. Visual alerts depicted the radar band—X, K or Ka—accompanied by a bargraph that showed signal strength, or proximity to the radar.

There was an audio jack to link the BEL STi Magnum with a powered external speaker, useful in overcoming the high ambient noise levels. Drivers with CDLs were big fans of the Magnum due to its immunity to the radar detector detectors used to ferret out illicit detectors.

Another unique feature was selectable band defeat to deactivate a radar band and heighten the Sti Magnum's resistance to false alarms.

On rural highways the BEL Sti Magnum showed good resistance to false alarms, many of them caused by radar detectors in nearby vehicles. It also had Tech mode a handy feature that shows whether a Ka-band alert was police radar or a false alarm.

The BEL STi Magnum held the record for long-range radar detection—nearly 12 miles—until the arrival of the Escort Redline, with a staggering 14 miles of warning range. Those records were set under perfect conditons on flat desert roads; range elsewhere is less.

With its solid array of features and sparkling performance, the BEL STi Magnum was the tool of choice for those shopping for extreme range, anvil-like durability and user-friendly operation.