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XTS2500 No Astro 25 (9500 Baud) Trunking?

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SCPD

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I'm a little confused over a radio I just bought. It is a Motorola XTS2500 7/800Mhz Model 3, Model number H46UCH9PW2BN and Flashcode 589498-A0148C-3. The firmware is R19.60.05 and DSP R19.50.00. I cannot get "Astro 25" programmed in as a trunking system for receive only trunking. The radio only allows me to input a type II. I thought (based off of the flashcode) that 9600 Baud Trunking meant that it would allow Astro 25 (P25) as a type. What did I miss? I compared the code plug to other XTS2500 I have and this has more than they have so it should work.
 

n2hbx

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Check your feature set listing. If it doesn't show Astro 25 9600 Baud Trunking, there is no Astro P25 option. If it just says 9600 Baud Trunking, that means the radio will support Astro digital operation on Type II systems.

Larry
 

SCPD

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It doesn't say Astro in CPS but it does show it using the online decoder. I also looked at a code plug of a different radio and it doesn't show ASTRO but Astro works on it as well. See my screen shots for the online decoder and CPS.
 

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gatekeep

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It doesn't say Astro in CPS but it does show it using the online decoder. I also looked at a code plug of a different radio and it doesn't show ASTRO but Astro works on it as well. See my screen shots for the online decoder and CPS.

CPS will show P25 Radio Authentication for H345 and 9600 Baud Trunking for Q574, as shown in your screenshot.

As to why you can't program it in the proper mode I'm not sure.
 

SCPD

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Thanks. Hopefully someone knows as I hate wasting money and I need to find out if it was my fault or if the radio is somehow faulty. The radio was bought on eBay.
 

XTS3000

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That radio model number is a 2BN, which means its 800mhz only and analog regardless of the flashcode. It was "whored" out improperly with unauthorized depot. For it to work per existing flashcode, the model number must end with a "7BN"

7BN is a normal xts2500
2BN is the Nextel sponsored swap, which is limited in bands and features and analog only.
 

pepsima1

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Thanks. Hopefully someone knows as I hate wasting money and I need to find out if it was my fault or if the radio is somehow faulty. The radio was bought on eBay.

Well Sir dont feel like you are the only one that has had to learn valuable lesson when buying radio's on EBAY. When I first got involved about a year ago when I wanted to buy a commerical grade radio on EBAY I was slapped in the face a few times until I read forums and blogs about radios on different sites and started to do my homework.

There are some very reputable dealers and sellers on EBAY that will sell you good equipment. Its going to cost a little bit of money because these radios are not cheap by no mean but they work 10 times better than a regular scanner radio.

My advice is to see if you can return it which probably not but put it back up and sell it and take a small hit and spend the money and buy a solid XTS5000 which a nice flashcode.

Remember when buying on EBAY. Buyer the seller not the item for sell. Ask a lot of questions. Most of these radios are really good. The guts are still in tac and the units have been rebuilt with a new case. Mostly likely you are going to spend 700 bucks Northbound which is going to include a nice radio and charger and a great flashcode.

Good Luck. Lessons are hard to learn sometimes but it will make you a better buyer and more knowledgeable.
 

SCPD

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Thanks everyone for your help. I just opened a case and requested a return. It says no refunds but with this information and the fact the auction was sold with CPS which makes the whole transaction void (or so I should hope) I can get rid of this radio.

With that said, this was my second bad eBay transaction. I did, however, have 3 good transactions before this which built up my confidence in eBay. With this being a hobby, there is no way I can afford a new radio so I am stuck with ebay with the low prices. The last auction produced a radio that wouldn't accept the SAME codeplug that I read from the radio unchanged. What I am hoping to learn from this is how to spot bad radio deals before going through all of this. What should I be looking for to get a quality radio (at least for what I'm paying for) that works on a 9600 Baud system (I'm not familiar with all of the flashcodes) and one that isn't a 'fake' or been flashed/modified to where I have this problem again?

I know that I need to have a somewhat current firmware/dsp. From above, it looks like I need to review the 2500 models to understand it more (anybody have a link?). Pepsima1 stated to buy a seller. What else do I need to look at for a seller? Right now I am only looking at 800 mHz radios and either XTS2500 or 5000. I have a nice 5000 and only need extra radios for private feeds where I am recording audio to a computer (mostly) and hosting a private feed for a few friends and myself. I have found that 2500 are cheaper and work for this purpose but if I find 5000 for a good price I will still buy that too. What are some sellers that I should be adding to my watch list? It seems that panter88 has been talked about and while their radios aren't good for mission critical situations, I don't have that restriction being a hobbyist. The one radio I got from them works just fine. Anyone else?
 

KM4WLV

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I'm pretty sure I've read a time or two that if the trunked system you are trying to monitor is a 9600 system then you can not passively monitor the system. The radio has to actually affiliate to said system otherwise it won't unmute. Even if you have the correct options in the radio it still would not work.

A good place to get help with these types of situations is over at www.P25.ca

There is a multitude of threads over there covering these same types of subjects. That's one of the main focus points of that forum.
 

SCPD

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I'm pretty sure I've read a time or two that if the trunked system you are trying to monitor is a 9600 system then you can not passively monitor the system. The radio has to actually affiliate to said system otherwise it won't unmute. Even if you have the correct options in the radio it still would not work.

A good place to get help with these types of situations is over at www.P25.ca

There is a multitude of threads over there covering these same types of subjects. That's one of the main focus points of that forum.
I already have a few radios that work without affiliating. The said radio in this thread didn't even have the option to program it. I was told by the seller that I can send it back for a refund. Hopefully it won't be relisted but who knows.
 

KM4WLV

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I already have a few radios that work without affiliating. The said radio in this thread didn't even have the option to program it. I was told by the seller that I can send it back for a refund. Hopefully it won't be relisted but who knows.

Hopefully you can get your money back or get another radio that works. It seems like an epidemic lately with used radios not having options that are said to be in the radio, mismatched or no tags, etc.
 

kayfox

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The problem I have seen with a few of these radios that end up with crazy flashcodes is that the people who are changing the flashcodes don't understand what features to enable and end up enabling features that don't work with that model or conflict.

Another thing to remember is that even if the flashcode is changed, you might not be able to do things because the HOST/DSP software does not support it, like if you have an XTS3000 with Axx.xx.xx DSP code, its not going to do P25 until you reflash the software.
 

n3obl

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Actually, If he listed the full model number and flashcode then you weren't deceived. Its buyer beware on ebay. You can get good deals if you know what to look for. If you can find some unmentionable software its real easy to change that model number to make it work for both trunking systems.
 

esfd283

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I'm pretty sure I've read a time or two that if the trunked system you are trying to monitor is a 9600 system then you can not passively monitor the system. The radio has to actually affiliate to said system otherwise it won't unmute. Even if you have the correct options in the radio it still would not work.

A good place to get help with these types of situations is over at www.P25.ca

There is a multitude of threads over there covering these same types of subjects. That's one of the main focus points of that forum.

It is my understand that you can not RX only a TRS. You would need to affiliate with the TRS and have a Radio ID that is active in the radio and the system.
 

mikewazowski

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It is my understand that you can not RX only a TRS. You would need to affiliate with the TRS and have a Radio ID that is active in the radio and the system.

Not true. The no-affiliate method works fine on 9k6 bps and 3k6 baud systems.
 

mikewazowski

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If you visit p25.ca, you'll see a method for passively monitoring trunked systems.
 

pepsima1

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If you visit p25.ca, you'll see a method for passively monitoring trunked systems.

Follow these instructions to a "T" and don't do anything else to compromise the TRS you are trying to listen to and you will be good. Don't listen to anybody that says anything different. They will lie and lie to you and say you can't do it and scare you away from it.

It has been done over and over again with no issues. This is the only method that works correctly and won't land you in the po po. If you goto P25.ca and ask questions tread lightly there. This site is a non-hand holding site. User beware.

https://www.p25.ca/threads/2885-No-Affiliate-Trunked-Scan-Instructions
 

reformedMhacker

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That radio model number is a 2BN, which means its 800mhz only and analog regardless of the flashcode. It was "whored" out improperly with unauthorized depot. For it to work per existing flashcode, the model number must end with a "7BN"

7BN is a normal xts2500
2BN is the Nextel sponsored swap, which is limited in bands and features and analog only.

Mine is a 2BN flashed by Motorola, does 700 / 800 and digital. Never been programmed or flashed by
anything other than an authorized Motorola shop.
 
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