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Spectra A4 head with an XTL2500??

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bmwfreq

Member
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May 27, 2003
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12
Location
Northern Utah
Hello Everyone!

I have a very neatly installed Spectra A4 control head mounted in the center console of my car, and because of the rebanding I was able to swap a few of my old Spectras out for a new XTL2500.

My question is, can I utilize the Spectra A4 control head that I have mounted with the new XTL2500 brick?

If so, what will I need in order to do so?

Note: My XTL2500 is a remote mount configuration, so I do have all of the cables necessary to remotely install and mount the XTL2500.

Thanks in advance to all that reply!!

-KD6HXH
 

b7spectra

EMS Dispatcher
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Jul 8, 2002
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Location
Cobb County, GA
The XTL would have to be an "A4" model radio to accept the head. All depends on the model. Many jurisdictions were able to keep their 5 & 7 heads when they upgraded from Spectras to XTLs. Just Google: xtl with spectra head .
 

wd9cms

Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2004
Messages
79
Location
New Mexico
Hi,

The XTL2500 will need a M5 remote control head, a CAN bus control head cable, and a power / speaker cable that plug into the rear of the control head. The remote head cable is a very thin cable compared to the A4 spectra cable. The good news is the M5 head is very close to the same size as the A4 so it should fit in the same location. The control head power / speaker cable is just that it allows you to power the head as well as ignition if the radio is programed correctly and a stander speaker plug.

Bill
 

mikewazowski

Forums Manager/Global DB Admin
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Location
Oot and Aboot
The XTL would have to be an "A4" model radio to accept the head. All depends on the model. Many jurisdictions were able to keep their 5 & 7 heads when they upgraded from Spectras to XTLs. Just Google: xtl with spectra head .


The XTL2500 was never offered in anything but an M5 head.

To upgrade, they would have to have had Astro Spectra's with a W head (A series heads are for analog Spectra's) and the radio they would be upgrading to would have been an XTL5000.

Bottom line, the OP needs an M5 head or an O5 head with some minor hacking.
 
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