BKR 9000

[KN4EHX]

I inquired about this radio back in October 2020. A rep from BK stated they planned to release in April or May of 21. I realize we aren’t too far past that date, but it has been delayed several times in the past.

Variety is the spice of life, but I don’t expect this radio to knock Harris and Motorola off the Wheaties box any time soon. With that in mind there does need to be more budget friendly options in the world for small counties and cities. Not everyone will need a radio capable of a midnight jump into hostile territories although I think the radio will be pretty rugged based on BK’s reputation.

Food for thought at least.

 

[mmckenna]

Yeah, I remember looking at it two years ago at IWCE in 2019. BK had one on display and we were talking with them about it. Price was reasonable compared to the APX radios, and a bit less than Harris.
But, as you said, they've pushed it back a few times. Not sure what the story is. We sort of settled on Harris at this point, and I haven't followed up with BK.
With IWCE pushed out to September, we may see more product announcements then, but who knows?

 

[n7maq-1]

The BKR 5000's are shipping. I have not seen any production 9000's yet, but we may not have any orders.

 

[KN4EHX]

Everywhere I’ve looked it says coming soon for the BKR 9000. I’d like for my county / city to take a look at them as a more budget friendly option.

 

[DanRollman]

Everywhere I’ve looked it says coming soon for the BKR 9000. I’d like for my county / city to take a look at them as a more budget friendly option.

I was at the same IWCE Mike McKenna was at in 2019, and they were "coming soon" then.

 

[RodStrong]

The BKR 5000's are shipping. I have not seen any production 9000's yet, but we may not have any orders.

I've had a 5000 demo for several weeks. I was told a guy showed up with one on a fire I was at last month, so they are out there. Still hoping to get a 9000 demo sooner than later.

 

[KN4EHX]

The 5000 looks nice but the specs sheet states they are VHF single band only unless they are making them in other flavors now. We’re in the process of switching over from VHF and UHF analog to 7/800 Phase II trunked on a state system. Tennessee Advanced Communications Network to be specific. At least one department plans to stay on analog, but will eventually switch. A multi bander will probably be necessary for us. The powers that be are under the spell of the Motorola APX NEXT but I think the sticker shock will change their minds. Expecting LTE to cure the signal issues is also a bit of a kicker. I’ve tired to explain if the radio doesn’t work inside of a metal building LTE is also going to be the same. 80% are UHF analog at the moment.

 

[rsmith7799]

The BKR5000 is ONLY VHF, no other bands are available. The BKR 9000 has been pushed out to Spring (BK is now saying entire Seasons). All orders are now EIGHT WEEKS FOR FULLFILLMENT.

 

[KN4EHX]

Spring 22?

 

[ECFD]

What on Earth delays a radio this long???

 

[KN4EHX]

What on Earth delays a radio this long???

They constructed it from pure unobtanium. Stuff is hard to get these days.

Well there is a lot of talk about difficulties in getting electronic components from Asia since last year so maybe that has something to do with it.

But if BK is reading any of this they should throw a radio in the mail to me for testing and evaluation. I’d even make a video to post about it. I’d like to convince my local county and city to reconsider their choices before they make any major purchases.

 

[mmckenna]

Various manufacturers have had problems related to the fire in China that took out a chip manufacturer that produced the analog to digital conversion chips.
Kenwood has had issues with getting parts for some of the NX-5000 line.
It's entirely possible this is a similar situation.

If you are looking for trial radios, you should contact their sales. We're looking at multiband radios and both Motorola and Harris have offered me radios to use. But you'd need to be directly affiliated/employed by the agency.

 

[KN4EHX]

Yep, EMA.

We’re looking at Motorola APX NEXT. I don’t think Harris has even come into the equation although I do like the Harris products. The XL series in my opinion would be a better buy for the LTE capability they seem to be sold on with the NEXT. I don’t think LTE will cure the coverage problems we’re having.

Traditionally we have been solid Kenwood users. I myself use an APX8000 but everyone else is UHF or VHF analog although many of our officers have Kenwood NX series handhelds but on UHF analog. We will be switching to 7/800 on a state trunked network.

 

[KN4EHX]

One of our departments will remain on analog VHF. So the multiband radio will probably be necessary for communications with them.

I’m thinking realistically about equipping however many hundred people with NEXT is going to be incredibly expensive and they might become gun shy whenever the quote comes out.

 

[mmckenna]

I’m thinking realistically about equipping however many hundred people with NEXT is going to be incredibly expensive and they might become gun shy whenever the quote comes out.

They will. We priced out APX-8000's and XL-200P radios side by side and it was a no-brainer. A lot of the cost on the Motorola is for the "Motorola" sticker on the front. If you can get your EMA beyond the brand name, they'll save a ton of -taxpayer- money.

We are going to be using the LTE and the WiFi capability of our radios. Still cheaper than Motorola.

After 15 years of dealing with Motorola, it would take a very large discount for me to entertain going back to them. I got our PD over the brand name thing about 10 years ago. There was about 6 months of griping from a couple of officers, then it settled down. Now they are happy with the Kenwood radios.

Tough luck for BK, the chip shortage came at a bad time, if that is the cost. It -looked- like a decent radio when I was playing with it at IWCE in 2019. But you can't buy vaporware.

 

[lifsvr25]

Just recently ordered a lot of kng 2's. When I inquired about the 9000, this is how it was explained to me........ BK is the only brand manufactured solely in the US. And because of they're limited manufacturing capabilities, if they get a request from an agency for example like CalFire for 25,000 kng's. All other models are put on hold.

 

[mmckenna]

Here ya' go:

3305183R55 - Motorola JEDI Series Label "MOTOROLA" - ShopWiscomm

www.shopwiscomm.com

Buy the Harris or BK, stick this on there. 99% of the end users wouldn't know the difference, they just look at the brand name and make their decision off that.

 

[KN4EHX]

1 Sheriff Department, 1 Police Department, 5 Fire Departments, EMA, and Public Works. Definitely equates to a big chunk of change but not CalFire big. We’re a mini metro.

 

[MTS2000des]

Yep, EMA.

We’re looking at Motorola APX NEXT. I don’t think Harris has even come into the equation although I do like the Harris products. The XL series in my opinion would be a better buy for the LTE capability they seem to be sold on with the NEXT. I don’t think LTE will cure the coverage problems we’re having.

NEXT requires Radio Central cloud based programming software as a service, a yearly per subscriber subscription. And to enjoy the benefits of LTE your core must have a Smart Connect enhancement, and appropriate client licensing. It's not as simple as just buying the radio anymore. NEXT currently offers no standalone CPS programming. I've heard rumors this may change, but as of today, Radio Central with appropriate login and connection to the internet is required to program your NEXTs.

The Harris XL OTOH, does offer standalone programming via RPM2. As an EMA, you should be aware of the subscription based model, L3 Harris at least allows you to buy the XLs and an enterprise RPM2 license and go to town. Being able to NOT rely on a cloud based subscription is also a benefit should something happen and your disconnected from the cloud. With RPM2 running on a service laptop, you can still program as you do today with your APX8000s.

 

[mmckenna]

Being able to NOT rely on a cloud based subscription is also a benefit should something happen and your disconnected from the cloud. With RPM2 running on a service laptop, you can still program as you do today with your APX8000s.

Yep, another thing that turned me off on Motorola.
Overpriced radio and cloud programming. Not going to happen for a small agency.