They are obviously end of life with Harris, so no, they won't fix them and support will be minimal. Firmware updates still occasionally come out, but bug fixes only... no new features.
If you are looking to hack enabled features etc, these radios are nothing like Motorola. There is no Depot tool to fiddle with the feature string.
I value my account here, and that is the thing I wanted to ask, but didn't. Strange that there isn't, though. Those radios have developed somewhat of a cult following.
I think the Thales Liberty is the one to avoid, I had one for about 2 weeks then dumped it. I own a couple of XG-100Ps and a bunch of friends are buying them and everyone is very happy with their purchase. It is an older design than an APX8000, its bigger than an APX8000 and appears to be more fragile than an APX8000. It will do most of what an APX8000 can do, probably 95% and they seem to be very reliable so far, otherwise big agencies would not have been using them over the years. There is probably no factory service for them and some parts are unobtainable but that has been the case since day one, Harris never allowed third party component level repair of these.
The bottom line is you can get an APX8000 for various prices, the cheapest whored out one I have seen was $2.5k and they usually run more like $3.5k to $4.5k. That's a lot of $$ for a used handheld and I think its ludicrous. You can buy really nice tested XG-100Ps with WB and nearly all features for $750 and I bought a perfect one for $400 and another is in the mail that was $355. That means the Harris is about 1/10 the cost of an APX8000.
There are people that know stuff about these radios and are willing to share their knowledge and other things for free. Once you get a radio you will eventually run into them and become part of the group.
I couldn't remember. I've followed these portables at a distance for years; one was supposed to actually be a 152 in a public safety shell. I think I am about to drop the hammer and see what it's all about, but I don't want one if I can't figure out a way to cheaply get it feature configurated how I would want, and then the other things I would like to poke around on.
I think 400 is reasonable for what it is capable of in the footprint it has, but looking at the programming and keyloader cable costs, wow.
Far as the last part, I have been sailing these interconnected tubes since the beginning. I've never found a p25.ca for harris stuff, and they kicked me out years ago lol.
I will probably never have a personal 8k. I have most of a 7k I was building and gave up. I might buy one of the next radiophones soon as people start ****canning them, but I am probably done with moto products. Kenwood and Relm? have some stuff that looks interesting.
Can you get a TAC account if you buy one of these?
