Purchased Brand New Motorola APX 8000HXE

[K6ASF]

On or about 4-June-2020, at 1430 Hours PDT, I took possession and custody of my newly purchased brand new Motorola APX 8000HXE.

I used my APX 8000HXE consistently 24/7 for coming up on two months, and I am so happy with it. Like my other Motorola transceivers, my APX 8000HXE is reliable and durable.

Are there any other APX 8000HXE operators here that would like to share their APX 8000HXE experiences with me?

The noise-cancellation feature is one of my favorite features of the APX 8000HXE.

I also like the submersion feature. I dunked it in the Pacific Ocean on one my SCUBA excursions; and, I was very impressed with its water-tight seal.

I enjoy HAM P25 reflectors. I frequently migrate P25 reflectors 10200 and 858.



I am a Motorola fan, and I use my Motorola transceivers for both social and mission-critical activities.

Check 6!
/s/ Alfonso Faustino (K6ASF

 

[N1GTL]

You got balls. Be glad that water tight seal didn't fail.

 

[K6ASF]

You got balls. Be glad that water tight seal didn't fail.

Well, it is designed to handle submersion for four hours; so, if it failed, I just return it back to Motorola for a new one. It has a five year warranty. Thanks for your comment.

 

[vagrant]

I have a 7000xe and my favorite accessory is the Moto BlueTooth handheld mic. The radio is a bit big, so the BT mic is convenient and offers reasonable range from the radio.

 

[MTS2000des]

We have APX8000XE's as our radio team issued portables since we bought them new in 2017. I've never submerged mine, but it's spent plenty of days at site visits getting drenched during summer downpours, completely unaffected. I watched our division chief's 8000XE fall 12 feet from a ladder onto a solid concrete slab and didn't suffer any damage. Still can't find a scar, chip or ding in it. Keeping your APX firmware up to date is essential especially if you utilize yours on trunking systems.

We also have 52 APX6000XEs in service in one of our fire agencies. I deployed them in early 2016. A few did get depot'ed due to an antenna ferule failure but were covered by a service bulletin aka MTN. The XE RSM's (original) are another story. Around a 40 percent failure rate. Most of them, the front LED gets stuck on, but some of them just plain died, just outside of the 1 year warranty.

 

[mharris]

Looks great, Alfonso! You can see the radio a mile away.

 

[K6ASF]

I have a 7000xe and my favorite accessory is the Moto BlueTooth handheld mic. The radio is a bit big, so the BT mic is convenient and offers reasonable range from the radio.

@vagrant: The 7000XE is my favorite and was my first choice, but Motorola told me they don't make them anymore; so, I tried looking for an authorized distributor to see if they had new-item-old-stock; but, no authorized distributor had them; so, I went ahead and purchased the brand new APX 8000HXE.

Yes, the BT mic is excellent; and, I do want one now; because, several P25 operators use them; and, they sound amazing!

 

[K6ASF]

Looks great, Alfonso! You can see the radio a mile away.

@mharris: thanks for your comment -- yes, I always had black Motorolas, and my sister mentioned, "get the green one -- it looks cool." I really like it very much. Do you use a Motorola? If so, which one? I dig all Motorola gear.

 

[K6ASF]

We have APX8000XE's as our radio team issued portables since we bought them new in 2017. I've never submerged mine, but it's spent plenty of days at site visits getting drenched during summer downpours, completely unaffected. I watched our division chief's 8000XE fall 12 feet from a ladder onto a solid concrete slab and didn't suffer any damage. Still can't find a scar, chip or ding in it. Keeping your APX firmware up to date is essential especially if you utilize yours on trunking systems.

We also have 52 APX6000XEs in service in one of our fire agencies. I deployed them in early 2016. A few did get depot'ed due to an antenna ferule failure but were covered by a service bulletin aka MTN. The XE RSM's (original) are another story. Around a 40 percent failure rate. Most of them, the front LED gets stuck on, but some of them just plain died, just outside of the 1 year warranty.

@MTS2000des:
Wow! This is great information; and, stuff I like to read about -- real-life experiences with Motorolas. The section you wrote about the drop really impresses me; according to Motorola Solutions, the APX XEs can sustain severe drops landing at any angle and still work without a problem.
Thanks for all the advice; I will do as you instructed. The police I know use APX 6000s, and they are really great transceivers, too -- I heard about the 6000's LED issue.

Any more advice you can give me is greatly appreciated, as well as stories and pictures. Thanks!

 

[K9RPL]

*Very* nice radio Alfonso!

 

[Ant9270]

I have an APX8000H, but I see/hear no difference in sensitivity versus the regular APX or XE series, despite what the specifications say. Audio is definitely louder, though. A big loss is the ability to use the vehicle adapter and regular 8000/XE leather carrying cases.

 

[mharris]

@mharris: thanks for your comment -- yes, I always had black Motorolas, and my sister mentioned, "get the green one -- it looks cool." I really like it very much. Do you use a Motorola? If so, which one? I dig all Motorola gear.

Haha! It’s Matt in Columbus. Sorry I should have know there was no way for you to know that.

 

[prcguy]

I know this is an APX thread, and I would like to have one some day, but I find a much cheaper alternative is the Harris Unity XG-100P. These are tri-band with FPP, trunking, P25 Phase I and II, Bluetooth and friendly programming software and you can get them with some reasonable features for around $1,200. Harris also has a really nice and loud Bluetooth speaker mic that has about 50ft range. The radio is a really good performer and based partially on the Harris military PRC-152 series.

I have a 7000xe and my favorite accessory is the Moto BlueTooth handheld mic. The radio is a bit big, so the BT mic is convenient and offers reasonable range from the radio.

 

[K6ASF]

I know this is an APX thread, and I would like to have one some day, but I find a much cheaper alternative is the Harris Unity XG-100P. These are tri-band with FPP, trunking, P25 Phase I and II, Bluetooth and friendly programming software and you can get them with some reasonable features for around $1,200. Harris also has a really nice and loud Bluetooth speaker mic that has about 50ft range. The radio is a really good performer and based partially on the Harris military PRC-152 series.

View attachment 89168

@prcguy Your Harris is stunning...I'm glad you posted it -- I dig Harris and EF Johnson; and, I am very familiar with your Harris -- amazing transceiver; and, many of my P25 acquaintances use Harris for mission-critical and social activities. You have excellent taste in transceivers. I'm glad you posted here; and, I hope you will provide more pics of your Harris.

 

[K6ASF]

Haha! It’s Matt in Columbus. Sorry I should have know there was no way for you to know that.

Hey! Got it -- yes...so glad to see you here; and, I enjoyed our conversations on P25, Matt. Did you sell your mint APX 7000?

 

[K6ASF]

I have an APX8000H, but I see/hear no difference in sensitivity versus the regular APX or XE series, despite what the specifications say. Audio is definitely louder, though. A big loss is the ability to use the vehicle adapter and regular 8000/XE leather carrying cases.

@Ant9270 conur. I think the only difference is just durability; because, all my buddies that have APX, APX H, and APX XE all sound the same -- excellent TX and RX qualities.

 

[K6ASF]

*Very* nice radio Alfonso!

Thanks, so much, K9RPL. Do you have any stories or thoughts you'd like to share about your transceiver? It doesn't have to be Motorola.

 

[DanRollman]

I know this is an APX thread, and I would like to have one some day, but I find a much cheaper alternative is the Harris Unity XG-100P.

Based on the combination of the radio and the watch in the original photo, Alfonso doesn't strike me as a 'value shopper'.

 

[prcguy]

You can be frugal and still have nice things.

Based on the combination of the radio and the watch in the original photo, Alfonso doesn't strike me as a 'value shopper'.

 

[vagrant]

Yeah, that is quite a bit less for that Harris making it very attractive as a purchase over the 7000. What is the software cost, $300 - $400? I wonder if a buddy has one. He probably does, I should try it out. Having VHF and UHF capability in one radio take care of my needs as the 7000 does now. I have Moto handhelds and mobiles that are UHF only, but they handle quite a bit of the local P25 repeaters around here and we only have a few VHF P25 repeaters. If a VHF Quantar falls into my lap I'll use my cans for that and look at getting it into a low level 120' tower site we're in now, or up on a 3500' hill or higher.

Anyways, I am considering the blue housing for the 7000 to look less official looking. Also, I would not consider the Harris frugal, but rather a Motorola AstroSaber for $100 would definitely be frugal. Still, plenty of P25 fun for $100.

I know this is an APX thread, and I would like to have one some day, but I find a much cheaper alternative is the Harris Unity XG-100P. These are tri-band with FPP, trunking, P25 Phase I and II, Bluetooth and friendly programming software and you can get them with some reasonable features for around $1,200. Harris also has a really nice and loud Bluetooth speaker mic that has about 50ft range. The radio is a really good performer and based partially on the Harris military PRC-152 series.