Motorola noob seeks direction.

[HandiScratchy]

Taking all warnings, cautions, and caveats into consideration, I will simply state that my personal choice for radios for use in the amateur radio service is Motorola. The XTS5000 is a superb radio, and honestly not that hard to program if you have the software and cables. You can obtain aftermarket USB cables for programming cheaply enough. Motorola no longer cares about the XTS software, and won't go after anybody who's giving away a copy. But actually I get more use out of my trusty old Astro Saber than I do my XTS5000, simply because I like the ergonomics of it better and to me it is the most iconic of all two way portable radios.

As for adding features like FPP, there are people selling radios and upgrades on ebay that will do it for you, and I make no comment as to whether or not it's legal. They can do it. Deal with them if you wish.

I recommend setting up at least two zones of 16 channels each for FPP usage. 32 FPP channels in addition to whatever number of fixed channels should be sufficient for most purposes. Or maybe you want more FPP channels. Just ask the guy who programs it to set it up that way.

Now about the feature known as voice announcement on the XTS and newer radios. It's cool once, Interesting for the next few times you use it, and annoying after you've heard the radio announcing channel names a dozen times. I say to just not bother with it. It's useful if you have to change channels while being unable to see the radio, but for everybody else, don't bother.

Looking at the various units available the past week or so I've seen several with fireground accountability and voice announcement in their flash codes. My thought was I don't want to hear that every time I change channels but it could be useful occasionally.

I must not understand FPP Fully. I assumed that if the radio was FPP I could add a channel on the fly and configure it from the front panel. Your comment makes me think that is not correct. Is it rather that you can edit an existing channel as long as FPP is enabled on that specific channel?

I'm kind of minimalist when it comes to code plugs/memories I'm sure 32 would be plenty. I know some guys like to load every possible frequency/tone/TG combo on earth, I struggle to remember what the local repeaters are on radios with 6 character Alpha tags.

According to Repeaterbook there are only 12 P25 repeaters in NC and 5 in SC, of those 4 are reasonably near to me. I was happy all 4 are 440 so one radio will cover.

As for the ebay programmers I really want to learn to do this myself rather than being dependent on others and appreciate the help you guys have provided here as well as what I've gleaned from other threads.

I think HAM radio hardware is going to be a challenge soon but that's a topic for another thread.

 

[mancow]

Is it rather that you can edit an existing channel as long as FPP is enabled on that specific channel?

Yes. Basically

 

[ElroyJetson]

You have to allocate channels to FPP. Once they are allocated, you can edit them via FPP. The allocations are configured with the Astro 25 CPS.
I can, for example, allocate six zones of 16 channels to pre-programmed frequency information and six more zones of 16 channels to FPP operation. FPP will only work in those six zones.

 

[kayn1n32008]

Looking at the various units available the past week or so I've seen several with fireground accountability and voice announcement in their flash codes. My thought was I don't want to hear that every time I change channels but it could be useful occasionally.

I must not understand FPP Fully. I assumed that if the radio was FPP I could add a channel on the fly and configure it from the front panel. Your comment makes me think that is not correct. Is it rather that you can edit an existing channel as long as FPP is enabled on that specific channel?

I'm kind of minimalist when it comes to code plugs/memories I'm sure 32 would be plenty. I know some guys like to load every possible frequency/tone/TG combo on earth, I struggle to remember what the local repeaters are on radios with 6 character Alpha tags.

According to Repeaterbook there are only 12 P25 repeaters in NC and 5 in SC, of those 4 are reasonably near to me. I was happy all 4 are 440 so one radio will cover.

As for the ebay programmers I really want to learn to do this myself rather than being dependent on others and appreciate the help you guys have provided here as well as what I've gleaned from other threads.

I think HAM radio hardware is going to be a challenge soon but that's a topic for another thread.

FPP on the ASTRO25 gear isn't anything like hammy programming.

I have an XTS2500 in VHF and UHF R-1. Neither have FPP active, and honestly, the quirks of FPP in ASTRO25 portables makes it way more of a hassle than it is worth. with 870 channels, I have no issue with running out of channels programming what I need, even having all the places that I travel loaded. Unless you are doing wildland firefighting, its likely a feature you don't truly need.

I've never used voice announcements. no interest in it, and the PITA it is to properly set up. You have ZERO need for fireground accountability software, unless you work for a department that uses this specific feature.

the minimum you need in a XTS 1500/2500/5000 to do ham and P25 on ham are:

H35 Conventional Systems Operation
Q806 ASTRO IMBE Digital Operation

All other features are more geared for commercial use.

also you can not have trunking and FPP at the same time. they are not compatible features in ASTRO25 gear

 

[ElroyJetson]

I offer a divergent opinion. FPP on an XTS5000 (which, incidentally, can actually handle as many as 2000 channels) is extremely simple and straightforward. It's certainly much easier than direct frequency entry on many radios built for the amateur radio market specifically.

The learning curve for FPP programming is short and shallow. By the time you've created 3 channels you can do it in your sleep. And they can be analog, digital, or mixed mode.

 

[wa8pyr]

Me neither.
Supporting customers is one thing. Supporting those that are not customers becomes something else. Buying used radios off e-Bay comes with risks, and not getting support from a dealer is one of them.

To be fair, many dealers will support a radio as long as they can support it; the dealers in my area have even helped out where they could on radios that were out of support. After all, a paying customer is a paying customer.

With most dealers though, if a radio is no longer supported by the manufacturer, it's a roll of the dice.

I must not understand FPP Fully. I assumed that if the radio was FPP I could add a channel on the fly and configure it from the front panel. Your comment makes me think that is not correct. Is it rather that you can edit an existing channel as long as FPP is enabled on that specific channel?

As noted by others, the channel has to be set up specifically as an FPP channel. With Motorola radios, for example, you have to create as many channels as you want to be FPP-capable, up to the limit. Each has it's own personality (where the channel parameters are stored), and are located in the first zones (for example, if you create 16 FPP channels, they will be in Zone 1).

The FPP capability is also limited; generally, you can enter the TX and RX frequencies as well as PL or DPL tones. Some radios allow you to edit the channel name. That's about it. As @ElroyJetson noted, after you've programmed two or three FPP channels, you can do it in your sleep.

I keep one zone set up as FPP in my XTS5000, so I can add ham repeaters on the fly when traveling, and change them at will. Apart from that it's utility is limited; I find it much more useful to have a bunch of (non-FPP) zones pre-programmed with the stuff I use all the time, and that one zone for tinkering on the fly.

 

[HandiScratchy]

To be fair, many dealers will support a radio as long as they can support it; the dealers in my area have even helped out where they could on radios that were out of support. After all, a paying customer is a paying customer.

With most dealers though, if a radio is no longer supported by the manufacturer, it's a roll of the dice.



As noted by others, the channel has to be set up specifically as an FPP channel. With Motorola radios, for example, you have to create as many channels as you want to be FPP-capable, up to the limit. Each has it's own personality (where the channel parameters are stored), and are located in the first zones (for example, if you create 16 FPP channels, they will be in Zone 1).

The FPP capability is also limited; generally, you can enter the TX and RX frequencies as well as PL or DPL tones. Some radios allow you to edit the channel name. That's about it. As @ElroyJetson noted, after you've programmed two or three FPP channels, you can do it in your sleep.

I keep one zone set up as FPP in my XTS5000, so I can add ham repeaters on the fly when traveling, and change them at will. Apart from that it's utility is limited; I find it much more useful to have a bunch of (non-FPP) zones pre-programmed with the stuff I use all the time, and that one zone for tinkering on the fly.

@wa8pyr Thanks. On the FPP I get it, glad to have you say repeaters can be added through this method. My two FPP use scenarios would be at an event buddy says hey lets move over to some weird simplex frequency that wasn't already programmed or be traveling and find a repeater that I hadn't programmed in advance. Pretty uncommon but a nice to have feature.

I thought I had a local deal lined up on a radio but the guy has ghosted me so the hunt continues.