IWCE 2019

[speedway_navigator]

Yes, we need to make a plan before hand. I looked at the BK radio, stopped in to get a central Indiana contact.

Our county has a Motorola only policy which I'm in the process of getting changed. We use the state's P25 system, they allow M, K, BK and H now. Our FD was offered 12 Kenwoods for free from a local business but had to turn them down and spend $52k for batwings on the belt.

The 11' tall BK tech chief was rolling his eyes when another dealer was describing the county next to him using UHF DMR.
The nerve! He'd crap his drawers if he knew public safety agencies in Texas are using DMR.

 

[Onelick]

See above. Nice radio, feels good in the hand. I think waiting a few months would be a good idea, I think there's some better firmware coming...

Thanks for the review, any idea on price?
It'll be a few months until I can buy one anyway.

 

[mmckenna]

Thanks for the review, any idea on price?
It'll be a few months until I can buy one anyway.

I don't recall, so much info over the last few days it all sort of gets lost. I think you'd be looking at something in the $3,500 and up range, but don't hold me to that. Maybe Speedway remembers.

 

[DanRollman]

I'm mainly wondering if it's backwards compatible with the DPH, KNG, and KNG2, how easy is it to clone both to and from, and of course, price. I've been holding out for this radio and wondering how much my bank account is going to hurt.

I confirmed with the BK engineer that the 9000 will use RES for programming and is compatible with KNG and KNG2 files (just as compatible as KNG-P and KNG-M - switch radio model, set the different button/switch selections, and write).

Not surprising, but he also confirmed the 9000 retains the RX Only feature that is one of the things the KNG and KNG2 offer that APX doesn't, for easy 'true trunking' monitoring (not 'no affiliate scan') of neighboring systems by select radios without needing a key. That, obviously, was how that demo 9000 was scanning SNACC P25 to demonstrate audio quality.

 

[Onelick]

I don't recall, so much info over the last few days it all sort of gets lost. I think you'd be looking at something in the $3,500 and up range, but don't hold me to that. Maybe Speedway remembers.

I confirmed with the BK engineer that the 9000 will use RES for programming and is compatible with KNG and KNG2 files (just as compatible as KNG-P and KNG-M - switch radio model, set the different button/switch selections, and write).

Not surprising, but he also confirmed the 9000 retains the RX Only feature that is one of the things the KNG and KNG2 offer that APX doesn't, for easy 'true trunking' monitoring (not 'no affiliate scan') of neighboring systems by select radios without needing a key. That, obviously, was how that demo 9000 was scanning SNACC P25 to demonstrate audio quality.

Thanks for the info. Ballpark $3500 is still a whole lot cheaper than $6000 for an apx.
But, now that I think about it, I'll still have to carry two radios to test the NIFC repeaters when I set them up on an incident.

Thanks,
Onelick

 

[mancow]

I confirmed with the BK engineer that the 9000 will use RES for programming and is compatible with KNG and KNG2 files (just as compatible as KNG-P and KNG-M - switch radio model, set the different button/switch selections, and write).

Not surprising, but he also confirmed the 9000 retains the RX Only feature that is one of the things the KNG and KNG2 offer that APX doesn't, for easy 'true trunking' monitoring (not 'no affiliate scan') of neighboring systems by select radios without needing a key. That, obviously, was how that demo 9000 was scanning SNACC P25 to demonstrate audio quality.

I want one!

 

[prcguy]

Its not a Discone but a Bicone and it would be way too small to be effective on VHF or UHF air. An actual Bicone for those bands starts at about 5ft tall.

That discone might be popular with the mil air crowd.

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[Project25_MASTR]

Yes, we need to make a plan before hand. I looked at the BK radio, stopped in to get a central Indiana contact.

Our county has a Motorola only policy which I'm in the process of getting changed. We use the state's P25 system, they allow M, K, BK and H now. Our FD was offered 12 Kenwoods for free from a local business but had to turn them down and spend $52k for batwings on the belt.

The 11' tall BK tech chief was rolling his eyes when another dealer was describing the county next to him using UHF DMR.
The nerve! He'd crap his drawers if he knew public safety agencies in Texas are using DMR.

Dallas fire training ground comes to mind.

I’m not against public safety using DMR but they have to have competent operating procedures in place for interoperability with neighboring agencies (dispatchers have to know how to create patches, incident command declares a tactical channel accessible to everyone on scene, etc). Of course, a lot of that is the job of the emergency management coordinator and the ball gets dropped often in many areas.

That being said, P25 is getting cheaper and more affordable if you are willing to venture out of the traditional Motorola/JKUSA/Harris-Tait vendor list. Example, I can now build a Phase 2 ready multi-site system using RF Technology Eclipse 3 and their trunking controller (which is a true DVSI base) for the same price as what my Connect Plus system cost to build. GME ROM’d me $1200 (at cost) for trunking mobiles with AES256 (Phase 1 only) and Icom’s new line was in a similar price range (and can be upgraded to Phase 2). There are options out there, you just need to price shop and look (hire a vender neutral consultant).


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[speedway_navigator]

I did not ask about prices since the state has a QPA (IPSC: Approved Vendor/Equipment List).
I'm the small town rep on the county communications advisory board, I want to make sure the chiefs have all the info they need to make the best purchase decision for their department.

I missed the RF Technology booth. 2 years ago I talked to them about voice paging xmtrs, they were 'coming out soon' with one but the project fell through so I didn't follow up. If their definition of 'coming soon' is like Hytera's it might still be on the drawing board.

 

[RadioVoice]

I was told that the MSRP would be in the $7,000.00 range with all options, but I got the impression he was guessing.