Is the XG-100 reliable? Why so much less than APX 8000?

[human8472]

I currently own a Motorola APX 6000 VHF that I use daily and I am very happy with. However, in my quest for an all band portable I cannot even approach the price of an APX 8000 ($4,200+). The Harrison XG-100P can be found for around $1,000 and covers the same bands as the APX 8000 and supports P25 and analog. I see State Police using Harris portables so I am thinking they can't be junk. Am I wrong? Why are they priced so much cheaper than Motorola APX 8000 portables? Is it just Motorola name price inflation?

Does anyone know of any reviews of the XG-100P portables? Is the programming software something that can be purchased by a mere mortal? Thanks for any insight.

 

[IFRIED91]

I currently own a Motorola APX 6000 VHF that I use daily and I am very happy with. However, in my quest for an all band portable I cannot even approach the price of an APX 8000 ($4,200+). The Harrison XG-100P can be found for around $1,000 and covers the same bands as the APX 8000 and supports P25 and analog. I see State Police using Harris portables so I am thinking they can't be junk. Am I wrong? Why are they priced so much cheaper than Motorola APX 8000 portables? Is it just Motorola name price inflation?

Does anyone know of any reviews of the XG-100P portables? Is the programming software something that can be purchased by a mere mortal? Thanks for any insight.

XG100P is awesome if all you want is a glorified scanner with a nice looking GPS… other then that; it’s a bulky, discontinued, non end user serviceable gigantic monstrosity which had a plethora of issues, do realize once harris discontinued them, they chucked all the test stands and service monitors.

 

[thedanderzone]

The Harris XG-100P can be good if you find one in good condition. Almost every one that I’ve seen so far has had a keypad that can be pretty non-responsive at times (mine has issues with the down and center buttons.) There are some really nice features about them, one being the ability to load multiple mission plans. The programming software, from what I hear, can be hard to get your hands on unless you know someone or whoever you buy from has a copy they’re willing to share. When I bought mine, the seller provided a copy to me, so I didn’t have that issue.

I’ve seen the new XL-200P all band radios for quite a bit less, used, than an APX8000 too. Another great radio but also seems to have some of the clunky issues that the XG-100P had.

I’d recommend picking one up if you really have a need for all bands, want to scan a trunked system without affiliating (a safe way, not with the Motorola NAS method,) or are an amateur looking for dual band. I use mine for ham stuff a little bit, mostly for scanning various local trunking systems, and a very small amount for interop freqs.

The nice thing about picking one of these Used ones up is that most of them are coming with a new or “like new” speaker mic, battery, charger, antenna, and belt clip. And maybe software if you’re lucky. Mine came with all brand new accessories and a pretty good condition radio.

Feel free to PM me if you have further questions about specifics. I use an APX6000 for work so I can be a comparable for you.

 

[Forts]

Remember to check which features are enabled in the radio though. Things like Wideband Disabled can be difficult to have removed if you need it.

I've had a few 100P's over the years and have never had an issue. They work great for trunked monitoring as mentioned and having all bands is very handy. Some cons... it is a bulky radio and they are getting old (they have been out for ~15 years now), won't do ADP encryption, custom zone programming is a pain in the ass (mixing conventional and trunked in the same zone)...oh, and did I mention it's big? But compared to an APX8000 the price is night and day.

 

[nikronzo]

The money you'll spend on an APX8k is just not even worth it, based on your use case. The XG-100p is honestly the perfect after-market radio if you can get over the nitpicky issues like the sticky buttons and buggy firmware. Yes, the biggest thing is the feature string, its always good to look out for the radio having:

• VHF
• UHF
• 700/800
• Trunking
• Phase II

Anything else in the feature string is a bonus but you won't use at all really. Also, the internal speakers seem to be prone to breaking so having an RSM is always good. XG100p makes a great radio for a radio enthusiast/scanner and the price for what it can do is unbeatable.

 

[PACNWDude]

I bought a very early model XG-100P as a demo unit, as I was working with a corporation that needed an intrinsically safe VHF/UHF radio, but also sometimes worked with 800 MHz trunked systems at oil refineries and the US Coast Guard. This company had been using Vertex Duo/Yaesu FT-2070's for years, and the other option was to buy single band Motorola gear, having some people carry a VHF radio and another in UHF. The Multiband Harris Unity radio looked like a great deal.

However, there was the Radio Programming Manager (RPM) software, which required a dedicated computer for each software license.....very different than Motorola where the CPS (Customer Programming software) could be put on many computers. Many options are software dependent, and my old radio does not have all the features that a software updated version would have.

As others have noted, it is a big radio, but did take a few hits on cement with only slight scratches. The displays, especially the big one on the site is easy to read and shows a lot of detail. The Mission Plans are usable and would have been great for my employer at the time, as we could have a Mission Plan for "Marine VHF", "Coast Guard", "Refinery" or UHF and VHF in the same radio and Zone.

But, the biggest problem was the price.....they were expensive at the time. $6k for one radio was a bit much when they came ou, at least for corporations that did not get grant money. I paid the IWCE demo price of $1200, with a copy of RPM, cable and accessories. Then realized the limitations, having to provide a dedicated computer, authenticating with Harris corporation servers, much like registering a Motorola Entitlement ID. But, for amateur use now, and some monitoring of local systems, it works well, if you have the RPM software and programming cable, and a dedicated computer. Multiband a few years a head of Motorola, but only good as the price is now around that $1k with some wear and tear. I luckily do not have issues with my keypad or displays, but did have to replace a single pocket charger about 8 years ago....which was luckily cheap.

For the "cool" factor, they are great as in my part of the country, only federal entities could afford them. so, in many circles they earn "bragging rights" with amateur users, as being a high end radio. Or, someone may think you are a fed (good/bad?), and only those with military radios (AN/PRC-148 Thales or AN/PRC-152 Harris) will have something better to brag about, if that matters. With the APX8000 being available for a while now, and the APX7000's before that, you may get laughed at for spending the money on a Harris radio, if that matters. I'm keeping mine until it breaks and can't be fixed (probably can't if/when it breaks) as it works for my needs and still looks good and is serviceable.

 

[wa8pyr]

However, there was the Radio Programming Manager (RPM) software, which required a dedicated computer for each software license.....very different than Motorola where the CPS (Customer Programming software) could be put on many computers. Many options are software dependent, and my old radio does not have all the features that a software updated version would have.

In addition to the "licensed to a computer" model, Harris has since switched to a key dongle model as well. This was the result of many customers (including me) expressing concerns about a computer crash in an emergency situation; with the "licensed to a computer" model you've got no way to get a new license file if you have to install on a new computer in a hurry and don't have Internet access. The USB dongles aren't exactly cheap, but the license file is on that dongle, so you can install your copy of RPM (or RPM2) on any computer and just move the dongle around. Making things more convenient, the license dongle is also the system key dongle.

Our county has a mix of Harris XG and XL portables, and XG mobiles (with a few Moneyrola portables and mobiles thrown in for good measure). I've got the only XG-100P (which I own personally) and I love it. It does everything our XL200Ps do, and while it is larger and heavier, it's mine, all mine!

 

[TDR-94]

In general the XG-100P and the P7200 have been the "black sheep" of the L3HARRIS PSPC line of radios. Those have been the most problematic prone, since their inception.

I had an earlier revision P7200 that had issues, but I have 2 later revision units that have been well behaved. All of the XG-100P's, that I've had, have had "quirks". They are "supposed" to be immersible, but I have one that has been getting dust build up on the main LCD screen and this is one that was repaired with a brand new housing and re-tested by L3HARRIS.

 

[IFRIED91]

One of my pet peeves (may be very subjective) with any Harris radio even the newest XL series is that MDC1200 on any of them does the absolute bare minimum… essentially only identifications (yes u can make an alias list to just look at), emergencies, and preambles… you cannot DOS mute nor do individual unit paging.

 

[nikronzo]

in all fairness, moto never wanted anyone else using MDC so when all the legal crap went away and other manufacturers began implementing it they never really could get it right. TSBK on the XG-100P is also ****ty, to be honest. It works, but the burst is 2x as long as TPS on an XTS or APX and it has a horrible squeal to it.

 

[IFRIED91]

in all fairness, moto never wanted anyone else using MDC so when all the legal crap went away and other manufacturers began implementing it they never really could get it right. TSBK on the XG-100P is also ****ty, to be honest. It works, but the burst is 2x as long as TPS on an XTS or APX and it has a horrible squeal to it.

yeah Motorolas mute TBSK bursts down to a short beep.. harris on the other hand sends the entire audio of data packets

 

[IFRIED91]

In general the XG-100P and the P7200 have been the "black sheep" of the L3HARRIS PSPC line of radios. Those have been the most problematic prone, since their inception.

I had an earlier revision P7200 that had issues, but I have 2 later revision units that have been well behaved. All of the XG-100P's, that I've had, have had "quirks". They are "supposed" to be immersible, but I have one that has been getting dust build up on the main LCD screen and this is one that was repaired with a brand new housing and re-tested by L3HARRIS.

Likewise with the xg100P… the final revision models where tremendously improved in terms of performance I.e little to no freezing and I’m not sure if It’s just me or audio was improved slightly as well

 

[BMDaug]

I love my 100P. I bought it thinking I’d use it just for NAS, but I’ve ended up getting so much more out of it. I use it a ton for ham stuff, business stuff, plus NAS. I carry it with me every day with a Bluetooth RSM and I never have freezing or reset issues. I likewise enjoy using rpm and rpm2… it’s a little expensive if you just have one radio, but once you have a handful of Harris products, it sure is nice to be able to program everything in one place and use global sets that you can apply to all of the different models of Harris radios from a single program. Even if I want/need to use rpm2 for the XG100Ms, the global sets are still accessible. All in all, my little fleet of Harris products are all going strong. No complaints.

I think part of the reason they are a pretty good deal is that the Harris world is a bit less accessible than M and I think the market has been diluted by people who get in over their heads or buy a poorly featured radio and then make a lot of noise about their mistake. These scenarios make the radio seem like more of a gamble and drive the going rate down. It’s also completely unsupported at this point so there’s no chance depot is going to do any physical work. A friendly dealer will still help with programming, features (maybe), and alignments, but that’s about it.

-B

 

[KN4EHX]

There is a few quirks with the 100P but nothing that can’t be lived with. My two biggest gripes about it are the speaker quality and the fact you can’t have trunked channels in with conventional channels. Other than that I like it. Battery life isn’t super great but it isn’t bad either - there is plenty of batteries floating around so you won’t have to worry about that.

I probably have unrealistic expectations of being able to hear the radio if it is sitting in the cup holder and I’m driving with the windows down. I’ve only had one 100P so they might have improved it at some point. I have a need to monitor conventional and trunked systems at the same time so that was a bit of a pain, but again it isn’t really a dealbreaker. Gotta pick and choose your battles. The ability to NAS is where it really shines. The software on the radio isn’t exactly lightning fast and you can outrun it if you flip zones too quickly or turn the channel knob too fast.

If you don’t want to spend $4,000+ on an 8000 I’d recommend the 100P. Overall I actually like the radio and if anyone ever makes something that combines the best features of H and M into one they will probably rule the world.

 

[BMDaug]

There is a few quirks with the 100P but nothing that can’t be lived with. My two biggest gripes about it are the speaker quality and the fact you can’t have trunked channels in with conventional channels. Other than that I like it. Battery life isn’t super great but it isn’t bad either - there is plenty of batteries floating around so you won’t have to worry about that.

I probably have unrealistic expectations of being able to hear the radio if it is sitting in the cup holder and I’m driving with the windows down. I’ve only had one 100P so they might have improved it at some point. I have a need to monitor conventional and trunked systems at the same time so that was a bit of a pain, but again it isn’t really a dealbreaker. Gotta pick and choose your battles. The ability to NAS is where it really shines. The software on the radio isn’t exactly lightning fast and you can outrun it if you flip zones too quickly or turn the channel knob too fast.

If you don’t want to spend $4,000+ on an 8000 I’d recommend the 100P. Overall I actually like the radio and if anyone ever makes something that combines the best features of H and M into one they will probably rule the world.

You should be able to create a custom scan list for a TRUNKED system which can include conventional P25 and analog along with the trunked system channels, but you cannot include trunked channels in a conventional custom scan list. I’m about to reorganize my personality so I’ve been reading up! I have the same issue as you. I need to monitor the CO DTR, but all of the medical helos are spread across analog, P25C, and the DTR.

The RSM really helps given the bulk of the radio, it also lets me get the the speaker up on the visor or on the seatbelt while crusing. There’s a listen only earphone jack too, if I really want to hear what’s going on… IMO, the battery in the radio last longer using Bluetooth. I think Bluetooth takes less power than running the speaker full blast. It’s an OTTO… bought from comm gear supply.

-B

 

[KN4EHX]

You should be able to create a custom scan list for a TRUNKED system which can include conventional P25 and analog along with the trunked system channels, but you cannot include trunked channels in a conventional custom scan list. I’m about to reorganize my personality so I’ve been reading up! I have the same issue as you. I need to monitor the CO DTR, but all of the medical helos are spread across analog, P25C, and the DTR.

The RSM really helps given the bulk of the radio, it also lets me get the the speaker up on the visor or on the seatbelt while crusing. There’s a listen only earphone jack too, if I really want to hear what’s going on… IMO, the battery in the radio last longer using Bluetooth. I think Bluetooth takes less power than running the speaker full blast. It’s an OTTO… bought from comm gear supply.

-B

Good to know, I’ll have to try that out.

 

[OpSec]

I have two XG100Ps that have been acquired over the years. They are bricks with terrible battery life, archaic programming via RPM, buggy firmware and terrible ergonomics. However, they have legit FPP without whoreflashing radios or losing other features. I never moved past 10B so I don't need hardware dongles and didn't lose wideband. It makes a great hobbyist radio for me when compared to locked down APXs. I have one of mine legitimately on some trunked systems and it works okay. It's old and doesn't do well with some versions of simulcast.

It's still a crowd pleaser at events, hamfests, etc.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...

 

[IFRIED91]

Hey seeking some advise from different xg100P portable users.. What are the ideal audio settings everyone uses for the best audio out of the radio’s speaker? You cannot tweak audio settings between digital and analog like Motorola if I’m correct

 

[wa8pyr]

I likewise enjoy using rpm and rpm2… it’s a little expensive if you just have one radio, but once you have a handful of Harris products, it sure is nice to be able to program everything in one place and use global sets that you can apply to all of the different models of Harris radios from a single program. Even if I want/need to use rpm2 for the XG100Ms, the global sets are still accessible. All in all, my little fleet of Harris products are all going strong. No complaints.

Actually, in addition to sharing global sets, you can use a single codeplug for nearly any radio the software supports as long as the frequency bands match (most other manufacturers do this also). In RPM2 I use the same codeplug for XG portables and mobiles as well as XL portables and mobiles, and it works great (ditto XG radios and M/P7100 etc in RPM before that). My XG100P is the only one with a specific codeplug because I own it personally.

Motorola is the outlier. If the radio model and feature set don't match exactly, you have to make a different codeplug; that's not too hard since you can use drag-and-drop, but it still makes file and codeplug management a PITA.

 

[MTS2000des]

The big question is who can tune and align these? L3 Harris allegedly destroyed the factory auto tuning setup at their facility, as support for this relic has ended. If one actually cares about performance or is using one in a public safety environment (and not funeral escorts), this absolutely matters.