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Got these personalities and sets? NIFOG, VHF Marine, etc?
- Thread starter ElroyJetson
- Start date
I agree they are solid people
mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
The ones I have (one for 700/800, the other VHF/UHF) are from RPM. Can’t seem to locate the RPM2 versions I had archived.
I’m that way all the time since I retired. Really need to exercise more….
Everyone make sure your GROL is up to date before entering those marine channels. 
mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
Everyone make sure your GROL is up to date before entering those marine channels.
I've pointed this out a few times. As usual, the rules only apply to others, and -never- ham operators.
ElroyJetson
Getting tired of all the stupidity.
This is as good a place as any for my XL radio mini rant.
I like the radio. But compared side by side with an APX8000, the APX just beats it hollow. I've never had any channel or zone change take longer than a second, but on the XL, the delay between turning the channel knob or selecting a different zone or system and actually completing the change can take as long as six seconds. Clearly Harris went for fancy appearing displays and multicolored LEDs to appeal to the buyers, rather than remain focused on user centric performance.
Ergonomically, the APX fits better in the hand and feels like there's less to break off it or get damaged.
They're both pretty physically tough. However the internal all-metal castings of the APX line seems to make for a stronger radio,
but I've seen some horrible corrosion cases come in from a dive in the salt water, which was made WORSE by Motorola's choice of using
a nickel plated aluminum/zinc alloy which corrodes horribly if a single scratch thru the nickel plating allows salt water to get to the underlying material.
I've seen APX radios that got run over by fire trucks and there's no physical damage to the internal circuit boards, though the display will usually be crushed.
I've seen XL radios that got run over and the main board is damaged despite being down in the bottom of the metal frame.
The APX takes wear and tear better. An XL that's been in the field for just a little while looks ROUGH.
The battery latch system for BOTH radios is a weak point. They're similar, and similarly mediocre with breakage of the battery tabs being
a definite issue.
Audio performance of both radios is similar. RF performance, same.
Autotune/autotest functionality with any service monitor I have experience with (up to the Aeroflex/Viavi 8800) is much more complete for the APX family than for the XL family. XL adjustments beyond a few basics are depot level service, not even possible with RPM2/radio maintenance utilty and the service monitor.
The APX is a very functional tool. The XL has more of a fancy gadget feel to it. But it works well.
I like the radio. But compared side by side with an APX8000, the APX just beats it hollow. I've never had any channel or zone change take longer than a second, but on the XL, the delay between turning the channel knob or selecting a different zone or system and actually completing the change can take as long as six seconds. Clearly Harris went for fancy appearing displays and multicolored LEDs to appeal to the buyers, rather than remain focused on user centric performance.
Ergonomically, the APX fits better in the hand and feels like there's less to break off it or get damaged.
They're both pretty physically tough. However the internal all-metal castings of the APX line seems to make for a stronger radio,
but I've seen some horrible corrosion cases come in from a dive in the salt water, which was made WORSE by Motorola's choice of using
a nickel plated aluminum/zinc alloy which corrodes horribly if a single scratch thru the nickel plating allows salt water to get to the underlying material.
I've seen APX radios that got run over by fire trucks and there's no physical damage to the internal circuit boards, though the display will usually be crushed.
I've seen XL radios that got run over and the main board is damaged despite being down in the bottom of the metal frame.
The APX takes wear and tear better. An XL that's been in the field for just a little while looks ROUGH.
The battery latch system for BOTH radios is a weak point. They're similar, and similarly mediocre with breakage of the battery tabs being
a definite issue.
Audio performance of both radios is similar. RF performance, same.
Autotune/autotest functionality with any service monitor I have experience with (up to the Aeroflex/Viavi 8800) is much more complete for the APX family than for the XL family. XL adjustments beyond a few basics are depot level service, not even possible with RPM2/radio maintenance utilty and the service monitor.
The APX is a very functional tool. The XL has more of a fancy gadget feel to it. But it works well.
Clearly you haven't run an alignment of an XL200P on an Astronics, because the autotune parameters are just as thorough as an APX for TXCO, TX Power, P1 and P2 BER, and RSSI levels. They don't want you touching a "tuner" application like APX tuner and dragging bars for adjustments. If your radio needs alignment, it should done properly on a service monitor that supports XL radios autotune.
ElroyJetson
Getting tired of all the stupidity.
No, I've never worked with an Astronics service monitor with that feature. Those things aren't cheap and where I work, it's Aeroflex/Viavi 3920s and 8800s.
brndnstffrd
Member
As an FYI here is the most current version of the NIFOG https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/2024-12/NIFOG 2.02_508 FINAL VERSION 12 03 2024.pdf
It's not the preloaded version but it is the official full printed copy of the NIFOG
It's not the preloaded version but it is the official full printed copy of the NIFOG
