Ive still got one last full keypad VHF Astro Saber kicking around for analog and a conventional P25 channel here or there, very nice early dsp motorola receiver cleans up nice, nice specimen of the day. I even had the 2 inch lithium ion battery a decade ago with an old astro saber, nice and slim. Ive had a few of them and everytime I sell it I found myself looking for another so Ive agreed to keep this one here on out
The beater XTS5000's on 800 are dime a dozen now. The XTS3000s are close enough you couldnt go much lower for a working unit unless your going to give it away like an HT000 or 800 MTS.
Ive got to pickup another XTS2500. You can make it a very nice size, I like to use the slimmest li-ion battery thats pretty much flat against the radio. I use the 9862 thinest battery on my XTSs, turns it from a fat toad and modernizes it with half the thickness. Reminded me of HT1250 knobs and antenna which are on the board itself. I admit I sometimes pickup XTS5000s by the antenna, these 5000s I have the confidence of the chassis holding it up, Ive never broke one that way but its not like Im daily beating them. I can't have that same confidence in the XTS2500 although Im sure the mount is good it isnt as good as the 5000. Snarlingrabiddog radio guy on ebay said it well the 2500s can have "fatman" issue where the radio is on the belt and the knobs and antenna somewhat easily overcome and damaged and bent from "excess mass".
All the 2500's components are the board itself, so you cannot jump for a $45 ebay housing w/knobs/speaker installed when 5000's breaks or wears out bad, you could shear them off and smash in the speaker and for $45 bucks fixes you radio this week. If you go Ape and somehow break off the 5000's antenna socket, a quick ebay 800 beater will you have a new chassis and its a simple as clipping on the wire from the board. I was never a fan of waris battery points, they get bent or breakoff, no problem an a 5000, the power plate is a simple swap. You can get displays, keypad, and aftermarket housing w/knobs/speaker from china now. There really isnt anything you CANT do unless its completely crapped out. One tough radio. Take it a part and its a solid hunk of metal your working you'll see that inspires confidence in durability
Good stuff comes around every often if your there to catch it. Recently jumped on a stupid good deal for two super mint condition XTS5000R's M2 in Yellow FM so its got all them "cool green FM stickers", I always buy like new radios and these were too good condition and price had to buy both. not even a scratch on the screens. Always wanted a Yellow Ruggedized FM XTS5000R. These were apparantly FD bought in 2010, Im guessing cache radios by the condition and tucked away then liquidated when fd upgraded to phase 2 in 2018, these 5000s were nothin but analog smart and channel announcement
