APX7000 Remove ASK

[70cutlass442]

We have 8 APX7000s that our county radio admin. told us will be junk in 2028 when they change from P1 to P2. I asked if they would be able to remove the ASK so we can liquidate these units (we own them). The answer I got was no, because flash support has ended, we cannot install a legacy key or whatever to take the place of the ASK. The only option they offered was if we sold to another system, they would help put the new system ASK in it before we ship it.

Is this accurate? I thought the ASK has different levels of security which included turning that feature off....

 

[KevinC]

Maybe they don’t have legacy SW key in the flash and are ASK only.

 

[70cutlass442]

Maybe they don’t have legacy SW key in the flash and are ASK only.

That appears to be the case. So the ASK can't be turned off and the radio blanked to send down the road?

 

[KevinC]

That appears to be the case. So the ASK can't be turned off and the radio blanked to send down the road?

It can, but someone would need an ASK to program it in the future. And if it has a system owner ID the ASK would have to match that.

 

[70cutlass442]

It can, but someone would need an ASK to program it in the future. And if it has a system owner ID the ASK would have to match that.

All right. Well that's a bummer. I assume this will just have to go to somebody that has Depot software and they can do what they want with it then

 

[KevinC]

Decode the flashcode and see if they have legacy SW key enabled or not.

 

[70cutlass442]

Decode the flashcode and see if they have legacy SW key enabled or not.

 

[70cutlass442]

Does not look like it

 

[KevinC]

Does not look like it

Yep. ASK required then.

 

[70cutlass442]

Yep. ASK required then.

Well thanks for taking a look. Leave it to mother M to fk. the end users out of recouping a few grand.

 

[KevinC]

Well thanks for taking a look. Leave it to mother M to fk. the end users out of recouping a few grand.

Of course, but if Kenwood or Harris does this it’s a great security feature…MSI does it and they are screwing people. 😁

I’d blame the people that didn’t order them with SW key enabled. 😉

 

[70cutlass442]

Of course, but if Kenwood or Harris does this it’s a great security feature…MSI does it and they are screwing people. 😁

I’d blame the people that didn’t order them with SW key enabled.

True!

 

[GTR8000]

C'mon man, it's always MSI's fault. Think about all of the 20 year old scanners that would work just fine if MSI hadn't come up with LSM. Pure evil. 😈

 

[nikronzo]

Of course, but if Kenwood or Harris does this it’s a great security feature…MSI does it and they are screwing people. 😁

You know better than most that you can take trunking out of a l3 or kw radio and make sure its properly deprogrammed without needing a 10 billion dollar USB shtick that hoops of fire must be jumped through to obtain.

C'mon man, it's always MSI's fault.

Let's just drill holes in all subscribers! Damn the taxpayers!

 

[70cutlass442]

You know better than most that you can take trunking out of a l3 or kw radio and make sure its properly deprogrammed without needing a 10 billion dollar USB shtick that hoops of fire must be jumped through to obtain.

Let's just drill holes in all subscribers! Damn the taxpayers!

That's funny you mention that. I just had a half dozen xg75s that I had the trunking system removed from. The radio is ready to go for whatever programming we wanted to add next. A Harris dealer charged us an hour of Labor for all six radios. You're absolutely correct about the taxpayer, eight radios here that we could sell on eBay would allow us to buy three phase two replacements. But we don't even have that option now

 

[KevinC]

You know better than most that you can take trunking out of a l3 or kw radio and make sure its properly deprogrammed without needing a 10 billion dollar USB shtick that hoops of fire must be jumped through to obtain.

And they can "take trunking" out of these radios as well.

 

[KevinC]

That's funny you mention that. I just had a half dozen xg75s that I had the trunking system removed from. The radio is ready to go for whatever programming we wanted to add next. A Harris dealer charged us an hour of Labor for all six radios. You're absolutely correct about the taxpayer, eight radios here that we could sell on eBay would allow us to buy three phase two replacements. But we don't even have that option now

And the next owner won't need a system key to program them on a trunked system? Or whatever Harris calls them?

 

[nikronzo]

AAC "Advanced Access Control" and yes they would need the system key to program their respective system, however Harris and Kenwood both allow you to generate a new codeplug with just say Conventional analog and blow that in over whatever trunking may be in the radio.
Same cannot be said of APX with their serial/feature set locked codeplugs, if the aforementioned 7000s owners dont have the ASK then yea they are up the creek.

 

[ElroyJetson]

I worked for a contractor to a .gov agency where the means of decommissioning every radio, TONS of XTS, XTL, and, yes, APX product, was via drill press and a 5/8" bit. Even though they had the release documents that ALLOWED them to sell them. But that'd require someone to actually process some more paperwork.

Yes, YOUR tax dollars under the drill bit.

 

[KevinC]

AAC "Advanced Access Control" and yes they would need the system key to program their respective system, however Harris and Kenwood both allow you to generate a new codeplug with just say Conventional analog and blow that in over whatever trunking may be in the radio.
Same cannot be said of APX with their serial/feature set locked codeplugs, if the aforementioned 7000s owners dont have the ASK then yea they are up the creek.

So your saying the agency shouldn't delete their own programming before selling? I could be wrong, but as long as the new owner has an ASK for their system they can program it, unless the original owner ordered them with a "System Owner ID".

Maybe we're talking about two completely different things???