Requests for Future Improvements with the AL Priority

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Originally Posted by LI2624

BRD - are you saying, for 3b, that everyone will have to purchase BT module? How will this affect owners without ALP Connect.

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What I meant was in the future BT users would have no need to create setup files over the website. If you are not a BT user than you are not effected.

New BT modules (Due out in January) would be wise for everyone though in the future since it will make it very easy to always be current with the automatic firmware updates and the new ability to automatically switch back and forth between the wired controller and BT depending on your BT Connection. If you want to use BT just connect with your smartphone and if you dont connect it will automatically power on with the wired controller. Its also another fail safe in which if you are a BT user and you lose connection for one reason or another the wired controller will automatically take over keeping the system on and protected.

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Originally Posted by BestRadarDetectors

1. Normally it does if it can determine the issue with a specific sensor it will tell you which head is having the failure.
2. The Radar Antennas are self contained and we only report the responses from the Radar Detectors themselves. If there is a connection issue or the head stops responding the ALP will already tell you that your "Radar Antenna is Disconnected"
3. As I mentioned above lots of cool stuff is coming and you will have to stay tuned/
3b. Eventually ALL settings will be done via ALP Connect and Setup Files online can be eliminated. There are only so many projects we can do at once and eventually it will get there.

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Can't wait to see some of the things AL has in store for updates going forward, sounds like you guys know what we want and are responding.

To really have the unit be completely controllable on it's own sounds great... but I am more than willing to be extremely patient so that when we get the updates they have been fully worked through and have few-to-no glitches/bugs.

Another suggestion: offer a PC (and Mac) application for creating setup files without needing an internet connection. Handy for those who need to change a setup in the field but don't have the BT module or app, and no internet connection available.

I can see why they do it web based now, since it ensures the application is always current, but a self updater in the application would handle that for a standalone version as well, if an internet connection is available and the user launches the application, it can check to see if there is a newer version of itself available, and it could even see if new firmware is available and download that for you too.

The application could also display statistics when given a file with statistics in it, and even could compare prior to current to see what new guns have been seen since the last statistics file was generated.

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Originally Posted by radargeek

Another suggestion: offer a PC (and Mac) application for creating setup files without needing an internet connection. Handy for those who need to change a setup in the field but don't have the BT module or app, and no internet connection available.

I can see why they do it web based now, since it ensures the application is always current, but a self updater in the application would handle that for a standalone version as well, if an internet connection is available and the user launches the application, it can check to see if there is a newer version of itself available, and it could even see if new firmware is available and download that for you too.

The application could also display statistics when given a file with statistics in it, and even could compare prior to current to see what new guns have been seen since the last statistics file was generated.

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Where would such an application be useful though? I've actually updated my ALP from the car, with my laptop tethered to my phone's mobile hotspot. So the only places this would actually be useful are areas where there's no cellular coverage. Furthermore, I can't imagine that changing the LIDAR settings in areas where there is no cellular coverage would be very useful, because those out of the way places tend to not use LIDAR...so it would primarily be useful to people who want to change their integrated radar settings when driving in areas with no cellular coverage.

Admittedly, this group of people includes me, but I already carry around multiple USB flash drives in my car with different radar settings, in case I drive into areas where I need to change them. And I have multiple files stored in a subdirectory on the USB flash drive and labeled according to the configuration stored inside, that I can copy to the root directory and rename as "setup.alp" with my laptop, even without an internet connection.

Not everyone has tethering in their data plans, and some don't have data at all (no smartphone). Also, if your wifi signal doesn't reach the garage/driveway and you're tweaking and trying different settings, you'd have to run inside the house everytime you want to change something and create another setup file. While with an application, you can have a laptop by/in the car and trying different settings on the fly.

I'm also thinking in terms of testing meets held in remote locations, away from any wifi. Though in that case, chances are someone there has a phone with wifi tethering someone could use if they need to change a setting.

Last but not least, if the ALP website goes down, no one can create setup files until it comes back up. And what if, in 5 years or so, the ALP gets replaced with something new and AL decides not to support it anymore, and they take down the ALP setup website?

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Originally Posted by radargeek

Not everyone has tethering in their data plans, and some don't have data at all (no smartphone). Also, if your wifi signal doesn't reach the garage/driveway and you're tweaking and trying different settings, you'd have to run inside the house everytime you want to change something and create another setup file. While with an application, you can have a laptop by/in the car and trying different settings on the fly.

I'm also thinking in terms of testing meets held in remote locations, away from any wifi. Though in that case, chances are someone there has a phone with wifi tethering someone could use if they need to change a setting.

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Root/jailbreak your phone, problem solved. And if you're really the type of person who doesn't even carry around a SIM with any data plan at all, you're unlikely to carry a laptop in your car. Also, if you KNOW you won't have access to the website and you're going to a testing meet, you'd be prepared and generate all of the files beforehand, right? If not, it can't be that hard to find a coffee shop nearby with WiFi, especially in areas without cell coverage. The only place where this would probably be impossible is in the National Radio Quiet Zone, but does anyone really test there? :)

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Originally Posted by radargeek

Last but not least, if the ALP website goes down, no one can create setup files until it comes back up. And what if, in 5 years or so, the ALP gets replaced with something new and AL decides not to support it anymore, and they take down the ALP setup website?

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That, I think, is a legit concern. But there's another issue that you might not be aware of. Every time there's a new firmware (or at least, every time there's a new feature added), the format of all of the setup files changes. I've tried selecting the exact same options as before and sometimes when I run diff on the two files, they do differ. By downloading an app, you'd be restricting yourself to generating only files with a specific format, unless the app actually checks with AL's servers every time it launches to see if there's an updated version of itself. Assuming AL implements the app itself but not the ability to auto update, this would be even more annoying than just going to the site and getting the new files.

As far as end of life, well, AL could simply release an app when they EOL the device. Or release the server side code that generates the file so that people can run it on their own machines. But right now, there's no telling what the final format of these files will look like because they're still actively adding features.

Surely legitimate suggestion , tough i doubt it could be done without endangering the safeguard anti-cloning-copying of the alp system ...at least this is my thinking.

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Originally Posted by radargeek

Another suggestion: offer a PC (and Mac) application for creating setup files without needing an internet connection. Handy for those who need to change a setup in the field but don't have the BT module or app, and no internet connection available.

I can see why they do it web based now, since it ensures the application is always current, but a self updater in the application would handle that for a standalone version as well, if an internet connection is available and the user launches the application, it can check to see if there is a newer version of itself available, and it could even see if new firmware is available and download that for you too.

The application could also display statistics when given a file with statistics in it, and even could compare prior to current to see what new guns have been seen since the last statistics file was generated.

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Originally Posted by Tman

Surely legitimate suggestion , tough i doubt it could be done without endangering the safeguard anti-cloning-copying of the alp system ...at least this is my thinking.

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There's nothing in there that's encrypted. I've examined the files in emacs (or any other binary editor) in hex mode and it's pretty easy to tell which bits correspond to which items. The firmware is encrypted, but there's no need to encrypt the config files.

It can be done without affecting or compromising the encryption. Only the firmware is encrypted, the config files aren't. I found the same thing awj223 did, the file seems to be clearly defined; certain bytes always change when a certain parameter is changed. At the end there is some sort of checksum or CRC code that changes when the data changes.

Even if the application downloads the firmware for you, it would just be grabbing it from the same website you get it from now. You'd have to put your serial # in to download it, and it would download the firmware and copy it to the USB drive the same way you do manually now. There's no compromise in security there, unless perhaps you store the serial number in the registry or .ini file so you don't to punch it in every time. A browser with auto-fill can do the same thing. I wonder if there's a checksum or hash in the firmware file that can be verified without decrypting the file, to ensure the download was successful before copying it to the USB.

I haven't read this entire thread, just skimmed over, so I'm not sure if this was covered. I would like to see a more visually attractive controller that lent itself to a more integrated installation in car. The cable placement and width doesn't offer much flexibility. Something closer to the size of the STiR controller would be great. There are only two buttons and an LED, should be a bit more compact in my opinion.

Also, It looks like I read this might be taken care of with a future hardware update, but the ability to use the BT with the Controller and HiFi would be perfect.