i got the "service needed" message about a year ago. unplugged and beat the radar detector against my leg a few times and then plugged it back in..the message went away..for about a month..beat on it again and it went away..this went on for about 3 months with the message coming on daily then hourly telling me to send it in. the message went away on its own one day. no more message.. detector is still working great.  could it be that BEL put in a "virus" to get more money? Or maybe a timer like on HP lazer printers after so many copies made you get a service message to replace worn parts? of course you don't wear out electronic parts. this is just a thought.