Astro Saber Help Needed

[mountedmedic]

Hello,

I have a Saber 3 that I have used for the fire service for years. My department is going to switch to narrow band and p25, so I am looking at buying a Astro Saber 3 (share same batteries and accessories) but have some questions. I located a seller with a Astro Saber 3, he says:
VHF 136-174MHz P25 digital ASTRO Saber III. YES, IT IS P25 Digital! Firmware version: R04.01.02 DSP I06.03.00 Flashcode: 540001-000000-4. It is secure-equipped with DVP and DES-XL encryption. If you chose to upgrade the firmware the DES-XL will start showing as DES-XL, DES-OFB because it adds the 2.5 kHz spacing.

He said it is narrow band capable but need to be sent to someone for $100 to make it work. Is this something that can be done thru CPS with the software? (I have the RSS for the Saber 3 and have done my own programming; I know I will need the CPS to do the Astro Saber). Its not clear to me what I would be paying for and I have access to the CPS to program myself. Can someone help me and explain to me what I would need to do to make this Astro Saber work in narrow band and p25? If this isnt ready to go or easily made ready to go, what should I look for in a Astro Saber?

Thanks in advance!

 

[N4KVE]

Astro saber

You want to find a radio with host 7.xxxxxx & dsp 8.xxxxxx & a 1 meg radio. Flashcode # starting with 1 or 5. The radio you were looking at has a pretty old host/dsp. Check out Batlabs. Radios like you are looking for show up there from time to time. Good luck. GARY N4KVE

 

[C138NC]

Hello,

I have a Saber 3 that I have used for the fire service for years. My department is going to switch to narrow band and p25, so I am looking at buying a Astro Saber 3 (share same batteries and accessories) but have some questions. I located a seller with a Astro Saber 3, he says:
VHF 136-174MHz P25 digital ASTRO Saber III. YES, IT IS P25 Digital! Firmware version: R04.01.02 DSP I06.03.00 Flashcode: 540001-000000-4. It is secure-equipped with DVP and DES-XL encryption. If you chose to upgrade the firmware the DES-XL will start showing as DES-XL, DES-OFB because it adds the 2.5 kHz spacing.

He said it is narrow band capable but need to be sent to someone for $100 to make it work. Is this something that can be done thru CPS with the software? (I have the RSS for the Saber 3 and have done my own programming; I know I will need the CPS to do the Astro Saber). Its not clear to me what I would be paying for and I have access to the CPS to program myself. Can someone help me and explain to me what I would need to do to make this Astro Saber work in narrow band and p25? If this isnt ready to go or easily made ready to go, what should I look for in a Astro Saber?

Thanks in advance!

must be the same one i looked at on ebay.

 

[mountedmedic]

Thank you for the info. Its really helpful.

If I bought this radio, could it be flash upgraded? The seller said it could for $100. Is that rate reasonable? Is this something that has to be done by Motorola and not the CPS? Should I pass on this one and look for one like you described?

Thanks Again!

 

[JnglMassiv]

You do not need any sort of upgrade to program narrowband channels. Whether narrow or not is selectable during programming by, as you said, CPS.

 

[mountedmedic]

Does the Astro Saber support Quick Call 2 Fire Dept Paging? Thanks in advance.

 

[C138NC]

Apparently the astro sabers do NOT support QCII, only Individual paging and calling if you catch my drift.