Had simular problems with my XS, got it in late Feb 02, sent it back after having it for about 3 weeks, it would cut off with no warning, would only run for about 3-4 hours on a new set of alkaline batteries. It would'nt boot up sometimes and when it worked on the NiMh battery it was only for about 15-30 min before quitting. I checked the batt contacts and load tested batteries for good voltage. The book seems to indicate the unit should work down to about 8.6 volts, I never could get Las-Vegas to tell me what the cut off should be. Got it back and seemed to work for a couple of weeks and then started doing the same thing again.
I sent it back again and they stated that they had had a run of bad parts that caused this problem. They replaced my power supply board and added a diode to one of the other boards. So far so good, now if they will just return my NiMh battery which they lost and now its 3 weeks and still not here.
My opinion so far is less than favorable, I have had the XS 6 months and it has not proven to be very reliable. I love the detector but if it fails again I just might try and get it replaced or a refund.
I have worked in electronics for 40+ years and this does'nt impress me as far as reliability of equipment goes, some of our transmitters went 24/7 for years with out a single problem.
Any body else have an opinion or have you had simular troubles.
Tom Blanchard