APX7000xe and Bluetooth

[Cardiac69]

What is involved in installing Bluetooth (Moto # QA00583) in an APX7000xe? My former FD (I'm retired) has new airpacks that require Bluetooth to use all the features and the local shops want around $7,000 to do 34 radios. With the covid-19 PPE and overtime, etc., they just don't have the money. The airpacks were purchased with a grant. I still program their radios (I have attended the Moto workshops on programming), and was wondering what was involved.

Thanks a bunch!

Bob

 

[Mr_Boh]

Traditionally it involves touching each radio with CPS and appropriate Flashkey (USB Dongle). Good opportunity to touch radios and update firmware as well, or even set up Radio Management if you already haven't done so.

If you have Radio Management setup and already in use, you can use that wether it's over USB, OTAP, or WiFi.

Was the $7,000 quote for upgrade + actually flashing the subscribers or just the labor for flashing the radios?

 

[Cardiac69]

I have the April 2020 firmware already installed. The quote was for Moto part # QA00583 (Is this an Option board or just software???) and to flash. The Flashkey you refer to, is this the system key used for security purposes by the county? If so, I have access to that. Thank you!

 

[GTR8000]

QA00583 is the flash option to enable BT in the radio. The 7000 series does use a separate BT option board, however by the time the XE models were released, the BT board came standard in all 7000 models (early models of the 7000 shipped before 2012ish did not come standard with the board).

ADD: MISSION CRITICAL WIRELESS BLUETOOTH - QA00583 $173.00

No, the flashkey is not the same as the system key. It's a USB dongle that authorizes the radios to be upgraded with the new flash feature.

 

[Cardiac69]

QA00583 is the flash option to enable BT in the radio. The 7000 series does use a separate BT option board, however by the time the XE models were released, the BT board came standard in all 7000 models (early models of the 7000 shipped before 2012ish did not come standard with the board).

ADD: MISSION CRITICAL WIRELESS BLUETOOTH - QA00583 $173.00

No, the flashkey is not the same as the system key. It's a USB dongle that authorizes the radios to be upgraded with the new flash feature.

Can I purchase the flashkey from Motorola? Or do I have to TRY and get it from my local radio shop. These radios were all purchased in 2015 directly from Motorola during a countywide consolidation of 18 departments.

Thanks!

 

[GTR8000]

Motorola does not sell flash upgrades directly to customers. You will have to go through a dealer to obtain the flash upgrades for the radios. Note that you purchase the QA00583 option, and the flashkey comes as part of the upgrade package along with a CD containing the latest APX firmware, which must be applied during the upgrade process.

The $7000 quote you received for 34 radios seems reasonable if the shop is going to do the upgrades for you. $173 is the cost of adding the flash feature per-radio, which means that they're also factoring in a labor charge of $32 per radio to perform the actual upgrade. If that also includes the programming change to enable the BT feature in the codeplug, then that's reasonable.

You can also perform the upgrade yourself if you have a subscription to the CPS. In that case, it should cost around $5882 for the flash upgrades alone, unless the dealer is marking that up.

*Note that the $173 cost for the feature was 2019 prices, it may've gone up slightly in the past year.

 

[Cardiac69]

Motorola does not sell flash upgrades directly to customers. You will have to go through a dealer to obtain the flash upgrades for the radios. Note that you purchase the QA00583 option, and the flashkey comes as part of the upgrade package along with a CD containing the latest APX firmware, which must be applied during the upgrade process.

The $7000 quote you received for 34 radios seems reasonable if the shop is going to do the upgrades for you. $173 is the cost of adding the flash feature per-radio, which means that they're also factoring in a labor charge of $32 per radio to perform the actual upgrade. If that also includes the programming change to enable the BT feature in the codeplug, then that's reasonable.

You can also perform the upgrade yourself if you have a subscription to the CPS. In that case, it should cost around $5882 for the flash upgrades alone, unless the dealer is marking that up.

*Note that the $173 cost for the feature was 2019 prices, it may've gone up slightly in the past year.

Thank you for all of the info. That's not going to work too well for the FD. They can't afford that right now. The pandemic killed them in PPE and overtime. And yes, that price quoted was for performing the upgrades also. The city does have a subscription to CPS and all the firwea upgrades, but they can't afford this.

Thanks to everyone for their time.

Bob