EDACS v. Motorola

[SCPD]

I don't want to get into a huge debate over this.

What are the major differences between Motorola and MA/COM (EDACS)? For example are the radios cheaper? I have used Motorola ever since I can remember and love their radios, they usually last a very long time. I am unfamiliar with EDACS and this new thing called OpenSky which we'll save for another day.


Thanks,
res148cue

 

[N4DES]

Can't really compare the pricing on the radios as it differs from location to location. I know that Motorola has different discount percentages down here from County to County.

 

[sjcscanner]

from a scanning perspective, i'd have to say motorola. it's always been easier to scan for me.

 

[kd5dga]

For me I can scan a Moto system from further distances than a EDACS.
I know that location,frequency and equiptment makes the big difference.

 

[sjcscanner]

its not really that for me.. just that i only have to enter the cc on my scanner. with edacs, the whole system freqs. that gets hard when you travel to the metro areas with like 30 systems freqs.

 

[MMIC]

EDACS used to be the inexpensive system in years past, but after merging with a large corporation - Tyco Electronics - this is no longer the case. An EDACS P7100 with ProVoice runs about the same as a Motorola XTS-2500 with P25 9600 digital trunking operation. Add P25 trunking to the P7100 and you're talking about the price of an XTS-5000 with P25 digital trunking. Motorola has ceased selling analog public safety systems and now only sells their ASTRO-25 digital trunking systems. Excellent technology, but if an agency does not want to go fully digital, EDACS will win the bid every time. By using ESK, EDACS can be secured from people on the outside programming radios onto the system - Motorola does not have a competing product or innovation.

Depending on what you want will dictate which system is actually better - as far as the products go in terms of overall quality....they're about the same.

 

[sjcscanner]

how much is a normal edacs system? lets say an agency with 30 apparatus?

 

[morganAL]

how much is a normal edacs system? lets say an agency with 30 apparatus?

If you are simply buy subscriber radios:

30 apparatus x ~$3000 = $90,000 for mobiles.
60 hand held radios x ~$2500 = $150,000

If you are buying infrastructure:

3 Channel basic site:

~$100,000
Add enhanced features = ~$40,000

If you add more than one site then you have to add the IMC (Multi Site Switch);
< $500,000 but gives you the ability to add consoles at about $10,000 each.

And the list goes on. It really depends on what you want to do. As you can see it doesn't take long to spend a TON of money.

 

[ElroyJetson]

By using ESK, EDACS can be secured from people on the outside programming radios onto the system - Motorola does not have a competing product or innovation.

That statement is not true.

Modern Motorola trunking systems support both the Advanced System Key which adds many security features to the subscriber radios, and an option to shuffle the control channels,
known as "shuffled bandplan", for use with compatible radios, which essentially will misdirect any "legacy" scanner to go to the wrong channel. A "shuffled bandplan" enabled radio will know where it's REALLY supposed to go, however.


Motorola's radios are physically superior and I've had my hands on many of the latest
and greatest from both companies, recently. Motorola will have custom parts made to
optimize performance, while M/A-Com is less willing to do that and will settle for parts
such as speakers and mic elements which are only fair, but they're off-the-shelf and
readily available.

Both companies have come up with some great ideas, but they've both pulled some real
boners, too.

From a programming perspective, M/A-Com wins. The codeplug for any given type of
radio is portable to any other kind of radio. (Some options will become inaccessible or
accessible depending on what changes.) Most of Moto's radios still take a quasi-unique
software package. There's only one software package for virtually all M/A-Com radios.

M/A-Com radios allow scanning of up to 50 talkgroups in a single scan list. Motorola
limits scanning of trunked talkgroups to just TEN.

The "tx inhibit" feature in the M/A-Com software actually WORKS, NO EXCEPTIONS.

"Tx inhibit" on Motorola means "Sometimes, or most of the time, if you're lucky. You
need extra skills to make your radio invisible to the system."


Elroy