APX8000, Who Has One?

[ccsochp11]

More pics

 

[Anderegg]

I see that ALL the Motorola spec pages and sheets show the 8000XE (and 6000XE BN) as having 3 watt speaker audio output. The 8000/6000BN show as 1 watt speaker audio. I talked to one of the parts radio builder guys on the seller sites, and he said that the speaker model for all these radios are the same part. Does the XE contain some special XE specific audio driver that just overdrives the signal into the speaker to a higher degree? I know the 6000 UHF R1 spec sheet got out with a typo back in the day showing 1 watt audio, but this 3 watt spec is on everything for the 6000/8000XE.

Paul

Well, no and yes. In order to make an 8000 non-XE look like an XE, at least from the outside, not only does one need to swap out the main "wraparound" plastic shell of the housing, but also the control top and the knobs. The control top bezel/knob assy is an integrated unit that includes the top display and channel/volume knob electrical components (switcher/pots) with an outer plastic overlay.

If one is keen to try this, one can examine the BSM for the exploded views and parts lists, and try and aquire all the necessary bits.

Of course, adding the XE flashcode option to a non-XE radio is a whole 'nother task...

 

[4-crime]

I believe the audio is 1W on all 8000’s and 6000 BN’s however, on the 6000 BN’s if the radio doesn’t have the adaptive audio suppression option in the flashcode, the audio sounds a lot lower. That option is standard in all 8000’s though.

Now if you want really loud audio with an APX, get an XE500 speaker mic. They are ridiculously loud and clear.

 

[kjl13]

I believe the audio is 1W on all 8000’s and 6000 BN’s however, on the 6000 BN’s if the radio doesn’t have the adaptive audio suppression option in the flashcode, the audio sounds a lot lower. That option is standard in all 8000’s though.

Now if you want really loud audio with an APX, get an XE500 speaker mic. They are ridiculously loud and clear.

Can you turn the mics up all the way with no audio problems?


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[4-crime]

Can you turn the mics up all the way with no audio problems?


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Yes, even on high volume the audio is still crystal clear on the XE500’s.

 

[K2NEC]

With the XE500 will an XPR7550e be confused by the 16 channel knob on the mic since the 7550 can unlimited channels on a zone. Anyone tried this? I like the XE500 but I fear they won't work with the 7550e

 

[kjl13]

They have a different prong layout, so I don’t think they would work.


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[joerobb23]

i live in rockland county i would like a apx 8000 or equivalent radio especially for fdny & fdny dars reception. Do i have to have a license for radio. Will the reception be better & clearer than a scanner. Where can i purchase this radio,how much is approximate cost & Can i program it myself? Thank you inadvance.

 

[Thunderknight]

i live in rockland county i would like a apx 8000 or equivalent radio especially for fdny & fdny dars reception. Do i have to have a license for radio. Will the reception be better & clearer than a scanner. Where can i purchase this radio,how much is approximate cost & Can i program it myself? Thank you inadvance.

You don't have to have a license to receive only.
Reception will be better than a scanner in most cases.
Approx cost - many thousands of $$$. New, about $8-10k, used/questionable sources, maybe $5-8k.
Where - new from a Motorola dealer, used from eBay, classifieds, etc.
You can program it yourself for conventional channels (FDNY UHF), if you buy the software (legal way) from Motorola.
There is no way to program trunked systems (FDNY DARS) without committing at least one illegal act, and if you do it wrong, you can kill someone.

So...I'd say you'd be better off with a scanner or a Unication G5. Nothing tricky, a lot cheaper, no transmit dangers or illegal acts required.

Edit: I forgot, the DARS is on the SmartNet system, not the P25 system, so a G5 wouldn't do you much good. Stick with a scanner.

 

[kjl13]

You don't have to have a license to receive only.
Reception will be better than a scanner in most cases.
Approx cost - many thousands of $$$. New, about $8-10k, used/questionable sources, maybe $5-8k.
Where - new from a Motorola dealer, used from eBay, classifieds, etc.
You can program it yourself for conventional channels, if you buy the software (legal way) from Motorola.
There is no way to program trunked systems without committing at least one illegal act, and if you do it wrong, you can kill someone.

So...I'd say you'd be better off with a scanner or a Unication G5. Nothing tricky, a lot cheaper, no transmit dangers or illegal acts required.

Well, you can program a non-affiliate trunked system legally. You just need to obtain the system key.

And used ones start at around $3500 on eBay, you just want to make sure it has tags.


@joerobb23:
What systems do you want to scan exactly, we may be able to help you find a radio that works with them if this one is not in your budget.


Edit: Harris has some all band radios like the APX 8000.

 

[Thunderknight]

Well, you can program a non affiliate trunked system legally. You just need to obtain the system key.

It's highly unlikely he'd get the system key from NYC DoITT for the FDNY DARS system legally. Hence my comment.

 

[kjl13]

It's highly unlikely he'd get the system key from NYC DoITT for the FDNY DARS system legally. Hence my comment.

Yep. It is possible though, would it necessarily be illegal for him to make it himself?

 

[KE4ZNR]

It's highly unlikely he'd get the system key from NYC DoITT for the FDNY DARS system legally. Hence my comment.

The above plus the fact that it is obvious that the poster is a novice who should not be messing around with an actual subscriber radio and CPS. This is like giving an 8 year old kid keys to a Pagani Huayra and telling him "it is easy to drive...just Google driving and follow the online directions!"
Stick with a scanner or Unication pager and leave the programming of subscriber radios to those of us who have extensive training and many years experience.
Marshall KE4ZNR

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[kjl13]

The above plus the fact that it is obvious that the poster is a novice who should not be messing around with an actual subscriber radio and CPS. This is like giving an 8 year old kid keys to a Pagani Huayra and telling him "it is easy to drive...just Google driving and follow the online directions!"
Stick with a scanner or Unication pager and leave the programming of subscriber radios to those of us who have extensive training and many years experience.
Marshall KE4ZNR

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Well said.

 

[KE4ZNR]

Yep. It is possible though, would it necessarily be illegal for him to make it himself?

Considering the only way to make system keys is to use an unauthorized, pirated copy of internal Motorola software I would say it is, at the very least, unethical.
Marshall KE4ZNR


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[kjl13]

Considering the only way to make system keys is to use an unauthorized, pirated copy of internal Motorola software I would say it is, at the very least, unethical.
Marshall KE4ZNR


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Yea. Wouldn't it also be illegal to use the pirated software?

 

[KE4ZNR]

Yea. Wouldn't it also be illegal to use the pirated software?

I am no lawyer....just a lowly paid radio system engineer whose main responsibility is to make sure "n00bs" don't screw up programming bootlegged radios on the municipal system I help maintain.
I still recommend scanners or Unication pagers and the poster can begin the long, long process of learning how radio systems and radios work.
Marshall KE4ZNR

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[kjl13]

I am no lawyer....just a lowly paid radio system engineer whose main responsibility is to make sure "n00bs" don't screw up programming bootlegged radios on the municipal system I help maintain.
I still recommend scanners or Unication pagers and the poster can begin the long, long process of learning how radio systems and radios work.
Marshall KE4ZNR

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Haha, yep; a scanner would be the way to go.

 

[Danny37]

i live in rockland county i would like a apx 8000 or equivalent radio especially for fdny & fdny dars reception. Do i have to have a license for radio. Will the reception be better & clearer than a scanner. Where can i purchase this radio,how much is approximate cost & Can i program it myself? Thank you inadvance.

An apx8000 is overkill for what you need. Get a nice Motorola 450-520 split radio and program the frequencies for recieve only on the conventional channels. As far as the trunk Dars system, download broadcastify and listen to the scanner feed via your phone or computer. That's what I do. Ultimately you can get any 450-520 radio, I recommend Motorola, vertex and kenwood from personal experience. If you want wideband coverage HT, you can get a amateur radio like a yaesu or a icom and program multiple Freqs from different bands.

 

[Wackodrumr]

Getting one soon... radio techs have a few more tweaking on the codeplug to do before I can officially have mine.

Question though... what’s the pixel size of the LCD display. Pretty sure we can change the startup image with an agency logo as long as it’s the right pixel size.