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Racal 25 questions?

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SCPD

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3 questions

1. What's the benefit of upgrading my radio from Version 7 to 8.1?

what does LITE mean in this menu section?
abd726b2cf3b04e000e80eb934664dc0.jpg


when pressing the O key on the keypad the circle around the C next to the channel ID goes away... to bring it back press the Diamond button on the keypad... what does this function do?

1144a7ba35a5de0170d06caa4431112b.jpg


one more questions is 12.5khz narrow band? this radio offers that and 25khz spacing. So far I really like this radio a lot my only small gripe is its scanning doesn't always land on a channel and sometimes it clips the audio every second and there is no nuisance delete...
 

SCPD

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Racal

Can't answer question 1.
I used to have one of those. I believe the Lite is the display lighting. On means the display is lit up.
Yes, 12.5 is narrowband.
 

SCPD

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OK thought 12.5khz was narrowband but had to be sure..
so my buddy upgraded from 7.1 to 8.3 but says AES can't be used unless you remove an smd or something... and the update made scan function worse..
 

mancow

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If it's above 5.1 hardware version you can flash it to 8.1 firmware that supports AES.

AES is a flash option. The software and instructions are at p25.ca.

The software includes a keyloader. No special AES loader is needed. No smt part or any other hardware mod is needed.
 

SCPD

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If it's above 5.1 hardware version you can flash it to 8.1 firmware that supports AES.

AES is a flash option. The software and instructions are at p25.ca.

The software includes a keyloader. No special AES loader is needed. No smt part or any other hardware mod is needed.
how do I find out which hardware version I have?
 

SCPD

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I loaded desofb fine not to concerned about AES. I just want to know if upgrading my firmware to 8.3.3 is a good idea... the radio is working fine for what it is now...
 

SCPD

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does anyone here have any knowledge with using encryption with these radios? could we possibly talk about it via PM due to those who frown on it.
 

prcguy

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Unless the moderator has a problem, who cares what others think? The T25 does not need a key loader and you can make up keys and program via the normal channel programming software. Your radio probably has DES and you can select encryption on and off via the keypad once the radio has valid keys inserted.

DES and AES encryption will not work through a repeater unless its specifically designed to pass those modes. Going from analog to DES will reduce your range somewhat and it will be slightly worse than using P25 mode. What else might you want to know?
prcguy


does anyone here have any knowledge with using encryption with these radios? could we possibly talk about it via PM due to those who frown on it.
 

SCPD

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What do you want to know?
I have 20 keys loaded via the software for OFB use. however if I reread the radio with a new fresh software it makes me rewrite the keys via software. if I build off the same codeplug the keys retain. is this normal operation or did I miss something in the programming?

yesterday I FPP 5 zones and forgot that I have to build from the software first so now I'm stuck unless I get access to the keys again which is sort of a pain.
 

prcguy

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That's normal protocol for encryption, you should not be able to read a radio and view the encryption keys. Otherwise your encryption could be compromised by someone borrowing one of your radios and pulling out all the secrets.
prcguy

I have 20 keys loaded via the software for OFB use. however if I reread the radio with a new fresh software it makes me rewrite the keys via software. if I build off the same codeplug the keys retain. is this normal operation or did I miss something in the programming?

yesterday I FPP 5 zones and forgot that I have to build from the software first so now I'm stuck unless I get access to the keys again which is sort of a pain.
 

SCPD

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That's normal protocol for encryption, you should not be able to read a radio and view the encryption keys. Otherwise your encryption could be compromised by someone borrowing one of your radios and pulling out all the secrets.
prcguy
it appears writing to the radio also deletes the keys. well guess I need to make sure everything I need is in the radio once I keyload it it stays that way.

I have to ask should I upgrade my firmware to 8.3.3? is it worth it?
 

TDR-94

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Version 8.3.3 has the added performance improvements that were added with v7.1 such as increased sensitivity while scanning, improved receiver response time, and provides more reliable shadow channel selection. It also adds AES which was added with v8.2

Not sure of anything else.
 

SCPD

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Version 8.3.3 has the added performance improvements that were added with v7.1 such as increased sensitivity while scanning, improved receiver response time, and provides more reliable shadow channel selection. It also adds AES which was added with v8.2

Not sure of anything else.
do you really see a difference with upgrading? I have noticed the scan mode is pretty crappie compared to Motorola, Harris, EFJ
 

TDR-94

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do you really see a difference with upgrading? I have noticed the scan mode is pretty crappie compared to Motorola, Harris, EFJ

With the V8.3 firmware and all the features enabled the Thales 25 radios will have scan channel type and number of channels scanned limitations and quirks due to the available memory.Scanning lots of digital CH's and AES enabled take up a big portion of that available memory. With the earlier firmware versions, the radios don't seem to have those same limitations or quirks that result from v8.3.

The scan speed and function is still not the greatest either way compared to the Harris radio's I have.
 

prcguy

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Yea, but can you get your Harris for under $100? There are lots of Racal 25s on Ebay real cheap these days.
prcguy


With the V8.3 firmware and all the features enabled the Thales 25 radios will have scan channel type and number of channels scanned limitations and quirks due to the available memory.Scanning lots of digital CH's and AES enabled take up a big portion of that available memory. With the earlier firmware versions, the radios don't seem to have those same limitations or quirks that result from v8.3.

The scan speed and function is still not the greatest either way compared to the Harris radio's I have.
 

SCPD

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Yea, but can you get your Harris for under $100? There are lots of Racal 25s on Ebay real cheap these days.
prcguy
have you seen the 505s pop up on eBay? those seem to be even newer then 503. 501 is a joke too old. and yes for $4,990.00 you can get a beautiful xg100 multi band
or prc148 mbitr multi band for $400 more than the Racal25 PRC6894.
 

TDR-94

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have you seen the 505s pop up on eBay? those seem to be even newer then 503. 501 is a joke too old. and yes for $4,990.00 you can get a beautiful xg100 multi band
or prc148 mbitr multi band for $400 more than the Racal25 PRC6894.

I haven't used a 505 or 506,but I have used 503's and 504's and all had the same issues for me when using v8.3. They also had the same exact internal boards.The 501's didn't have enough memory for AES at all.

I don't think you can get a Thales PRC-148 for $400 more than a Thales/RACAL 25. They cost about $7000 new and used ones go for around $2000 to $3000 if you can find one.
 
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