• To anyone looking to acquire commercial radio programming software:

    Please do not make requests for copies of radio programming software which is sold (or was sold) by the manufacturer for any monetary value. All requests will be deleted and a forum infraction issued. Making a request such as this is attempting to engage in software piracy and this forum cannot be involved or associated with this activity. The same goes for any private transaction via Private Message. Even if you attempt to engage in this activity in PM's we will still enforce the forum rules. Your PM's are not private and the administration has the right to read them if there's a hint to criminal activity.

    If you are having trouble legally obtaining software please state so. We do not want any hurt feelings when your vague post is mistaken for a free request. It is YOUR responsibility to properly word your request.

    To obtain Motorola software see the Sticky in the Motorola forum.

    The various other vendors often permit their dealers to sell the software online (i.e., Kenwood). Please use Google or some other search engine to find a dealer that sells the software. Typically each series or individual radio requires its own software package. Often the Kenwood software is less than $100 so don't be a cheapskate; just purchase it.

    For M/A Com/Harris/GE, etc: there are two software packages that program all current and past radios. One package is for conventional programming and the other for trunked programming. The trunked package is in upwards of $2,500. The conventional package is more reasonable though is still several hundred dollars. The benefit is you do not need multiple versions for each radio (unlike Motorola).

    This is a large and very visible forum. We cannot jeopardize the ability to provide the RadioReference services by allowing this activity to occur. Please respect this.

APX 6000 Antenna question?

Status
Not open for further replies.

ezap

Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2016
Messages
23
I have an APX 6000 VHF single band. It came with the standard 136-174 high gain whip. My question is.. what if I use an 8000 or dual band antenna on it? Will I see a decrease in performance or a degradation in hardware at all? I also don’t want to cause harm to any of the components because of this. Any and all help is appreciated. Thanks.

Heres an example:
 

GTR8000

NY/NJ Database Guy
Database Admin
Joined
Oct 4, 2007
Messages
15,412
Location
BEE00
As long as the antenna covers the VHF band, you won't harm the radio. You could theoretically use the APX 8000 all-band antenna, or one of the APX 7000 dual-band VHF/xxxx antennas, but why would you? Yes, you'd sacrifice some performance over an optimized single-band antenna.

PS - The antenna you linked to is single-band 700/800 MHz, so hopefully you're not intending on buying that specific one.
 

ezap

Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2016
Messages
23
Yeah I caught that after posting, but you get the point. I was thinking about using the 8k all band one on my single band. Question is, will it decrease performance over the stock one. Just a thought I had.
 

GTR8000

NY/NJ Database Guy
Database Admin
Joined
Oct 4, 2007
Messages
15,412
Location
BEE00
Yeah I caught that after posting, but you get the point. I was thinking about using the 8k all band one on my single band. Question is, will it decrease performance over the stock one. Just a thought I had.
Yes, to some degree. Any multi-band antenna is going to come with some sort of compromise. Would it be noticeable to the average person? Probably not, but again...what is the point of putting a multi-band antenna on a single-band radio? There is no viable reason for doing so. Also, the APX 8000 all-band antenna is not cheap, so it's a waste of money in addition to being pointless.

If it ain't broke...
 

ezap

Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2016
Messages
23
Right, reason being purely cosmetic. Thats what the forums are for.

Anyone know why some 6k / 8k housings you see are in one piece and others in 3?
Was considering replacing a housing. One side of the assembly (ptt, side button side) seems to”wiggle” around.
 

N1XDS

ÆS Ø
Joined
Nov 3, 2004
Messages
1,932
If you don't mind me asking what is the black piece going around the knob on both radios? I never seen that before.
 

GTR8000

NY/NJ Database Guy
Database Admin
Joined
Oct 4, 2007
Messages
15,412
Location
BEE00
Anyone know why some 6k / 8k housings you see are in one piece and others in 3?
Original design was 1 piece, updated design is 3 piece. Fully interchangeable, so a 3 piece housing will fit on an older AN version 6000, for example. Also, the newer style speaker grille that is standard on the 6000BN and 8000 will fit on an older AN version 6000.

PS - I don't need a reminder on "what the forums are for" from someone who just made his very first posts. :rolleyes:
 

ezap

Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2016
Messages
23
Interesting, so that explains why the three piece currently on my rig is so oddly prone to move around. just feels flimsy when one side just moves around like that. might go with a one piece if I can hunt one down. CHEERS GTR, and thanks.

Its a GALLAD2000 eBay model. latest firmware. seems legit.
 

GTR8000

NY/NJ Database Guy
Database Admin
Joined
Oct 4, 2007
Messages
15,412
Location
BEE00
I replaced the original one-piece with a three-piece on my M3, and it doesn't feel any less sturdy. The sides don't move around at all when the battery is attached. There's a very minor amount of flex on the lower edge of the PTT side when the battery is detached, but I consider that irrelevant due to the fact that I'm not operating the radio without a battery. The GCAI side is solid due to the dust cover helping to hold it tight against the chassis.

If you're experiencing any "flimsy" feel or excessive flex, you might want to make sure that the housing is attached and secured correctly.
 

ezap

Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2016
Messages
23
Gotcha, the screws are all tight on the chassis, ptt buttons and side buttons are all good to go. Just that whole section of plastic flexes a bit more than on other models I’ve handled. Guess it wouldn’t hurt to slap a new housing on it and see. Whats the installation process for the 3 piece? Ive only seen a vid on the 1 pc, were you have to unscrew everything and snap it over. Any less invasive with the 3 pc?
 

GTR8000

NY/NJ Database Guy
Database Admin
Joined
Oct 4, 2007
Messages
15,412
Location
BEE00
The 3 piece is very easy to get on/off, as you don't have to stretch the sides out to get it over the chassis like you do with the 1 piece.

83289
 

ezap

Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2016
Messages
23
Ah thats golden, been looking for something like that for a while. Sweet, scratch that stuff about a 1 piece, I’m gettin that. Now is it necessary after doing that to purge the chassis with a vacuum pump? Ive heard any disassembly ruins the water ip rating. Not sure if thats entirely true.
 

GTR8000

NY/NJ Database Guy
Database Admin
Joined
Oct 4, 2007
Messages
15,412
Location
BEE00
Here's an actual photo of the radio with the face plate removed, showing just the sides sitting against the chassis. The face plate drops into the notches while you hold the side pieces in place (put the GCAI dust cover on to keep that side firm), then flip the radio over and replace the screws. Once everything is buttoned up it's pretty solid. Maybe not quite as stiff as the 1 piece would be, understandably so, but with the battery in place there are no issues.

The vacuum purge procedure is not used to make the radio watertight, it's used to test the seals, notably on the R models. As long as the seals are all intact and you're careful with the disassembly/reassembly, there shouldn't be any issues. Note that only the R models are rated for submergiblity.

83291
 

GTR8000

NY/NJ Database Guy
Database Admin
Joined
Oct 4, 2007
Messages
15,412
Location
BEE00
And by the way, getting back to the original question regarding antennas. If you really want something different than the stock APX VHF antenna, you might consider the PMAT4005A which is a short VHF/UHF antenna. Note that the specs only cover 156-174 and 440-470 MHz, so it's definitely a compromise on VHF, but it's noticeably shorter than the stock antenna.
 

ezap

Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2016
Messages
23
I’ll give it a look. The armpit tickler on it will do for now. I plan on getting an 8k in the near future anyway. Going to start clearing out my 3ks and 5k and transitioning to the apx line (ham use). The way I see it, they’ll be around for a while so I’m trying to become a pseudo expert on em for basic servicing.

The photo above was very helpful though.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top