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APX Apx 3600 baud question

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BlueMoon2

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My area is in the process of upgrading to a p25 phase 1 system with 9600 baud. With all the xts and xtl radios reaching each of warranty life, obviously agencies have to either upgrade their radio or make do with what they have until the new system comes online.

My question is this, do apx portable and mobile radios come enabled for 9600 baud systems by default? Do you have to force them backwards to 3600 baud with a flashcode to get them to work on 3600 baud systems? Just curious how that works.
 

GTR8000

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It's all determined by the options that were ordered with the radios. There is no such thing as "by default", they are highly customizable radios.
 

GTR8000

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A quick followup for clarification.

An APX radio that is configured for a P25 (9600) system will also work on a Type II (3600) system, provided the APX 3600/9600 Single System option is not ordered. If that option is ordered, then the radio can be programmed with only systems of one type. That is to say, you pick either 3600 or 9600, but you cannot have both types in the radio at the same time. It's kind of unusual to see that option being ordered, so it's not usually an issue (especially if you're actively migrating from 3600 to 9600).

Note that a few of the lower end APX models are not capable of 3600 trunking at all, regardless of the flash options.

These are the minimum options that must be ordered for P25 trunking operation, which would also allow 3600 operation:

Q806/G806 - ASTRO Digital Operation
H38/G51 - SMARTZONE Systems Operation
Q173/G173 - SMARTZONE OMNILINK Multizone Operation
Q361/G361 - ASTRO 25 9600 Baud Trunking Systems Operation
 

BlueMoon2

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A quick followup for clarification.

An APX radio that is configured for a P25 (9600) system will also work on a Type II (3600) system, provided the APX 3600/9600 Single System option is not ordered. If that option is ordered, then the radio can be programmed with only systems of one type. That is to say, you pick either 3600 or 9600, but you cannot have both types in the radio at the same time. It's kind of unusual to see that option being ordered, so it's not usually an issue (especially if you're actively migrating from 3600 to 9600).

Note that a few of the lower end APX models are not capable of 3600 trunking at all, regardless of the flash options.

These are the minimum options that must be ordered for P25 trunking operation, which would also allow 3600 operation:

Q806/G806 - ASTRO Digital Operation
H38/G51 - SMARTZONE Systems Operation
Q173/G173 - SMARTZONE OMNILINK Multizone Operation
Q361/G361 - ASTRO 25 9600 Baud Trunking Systems Operation
Ok. So for a Motorola smartnet system that you currently have, it would make sense to order the q806 feature with an apx radio. Then later, to have it work on a 9600 baud system, order the q361 feature to make it work? Just flash the radio when ready to have it affiliate with the new p25 9600 baud system? Do I have that right?
 

MTS2000des

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What APX? IIRC the APX900/1000/4000 and some Li versions of the 6000 "required" APX3600/9600 single system. We ran into that issue a few years ago with our animal services unit that bought 1-knob APX4000s back in 2013/2014 for use on our now decommissioned Smartnet system. We had to order reflashes to "swap" them over to P25 TDMA trunking prior to going live on our Astro 25 system. No option for both on the lower tier radios by design.
 

GTR8000

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Yeah, as @MTS2000des indicates, we need to know what exact model APX you are talking about before any specific answers can be given. You should also be advised that it's almost always cheaper to order the radios with the options you'll need both now and in the near future, rather than adding them at a later date. It's also easier, obviously, since you won't have to flash all of the radios. In some cases the markup to add a feature after the fact is not insignificant, so keep that in mind. You may pay more in the short term, but you'll benefit in the long term.
 

BlueMoon2

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Thank you all for your responses. I talked to a friend in a local radio shop and got the answers I was looking for.
 
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