New to Harris and need some information.

[surfacemount]

It won't do ADP? That's a deal breaker

 

[Forts]

Correct, it doesn't (the 100M does however). I'm in the same boat too.... No ADP was a deal breaker.

 

[surfacemount]

I am sure the 200 will. Are there any other sleeper harris multibands that will?

 

[Forts]

All the XL series radios do Enc Lite/ADP as well as the 100M. However the 200P and 400P are the only multiband XL portables.

 

[mmckenna]

I am sure the 200 will. Are there any other sleeper harris multibands that will?

The XL-200 will. I ordered it with ours. 1¢ option. They refer to it as "Encryption Lite". It's ARC4….

 

[surfacemount]

The XL-200 will. I ordered it with ours. 1¢ option. They refer to it as "Encryption Lite". It's ARC4….

Any pitfalls or reasons (besides cost) not to get an XL-200? I am trying to figure out all the model numbers now.

 

[Forts]

Depends on your usage. In a legit public safety/work environment with a licensed copy of RPM2 they are a great radio at a cheaper cost of an APX.

For a hobbyist, not so practical. You won't find hacked versions of RPM2 floating around like you see with RPM14. So if you're wanting to use it for trunked systems etc it's going to be tough going.

 

[prcguy]

You won't find hacked versions of RPM2 floating around like you see with RPM14. So if you're wanting to use it for trunked systems etc it's going to be tough going.

That just means you haven't looked hard enough. There is probably a copy waiting for you right under the snow. Or you could wait till spring.

 

[Forts]

I'm not getting into that discussion here.

 

[surfacemount]

Depends on your usage. In a legit public safety/work environment with a licensed copy of RPM2 they are a great radio at a cheaper cost of an APX.

For a hobbyist, not so practical. You won't find hacked versions of RPM2 floating around like you see with RPM14. So if you're wanting to use it for trunked systems etc it's going to be tough going.

I still haven't found 14c05 yet, so you may be right about RPM2

 

[mmckenna]

Any pitfalls or reasons (besides cost) not to get an XL-200? I am trying to figure out all the model numbers now.

I've been using them for about a year now.

The mobiles/portables are capable of VHF Hi, UHF, 700, 800, 900MHz, but you need to order each band.
The mobile will support VHF Low band (portable will NOT)

Not a hobby oriented radio, as I'm sure you can guess. They do come locked to narrow band on VHF/UHF so you'll need the wide band option if you plan on running ham bands. Does not have Part 95 type acceptance, so legally not GMRS. The vendor will require proof of a suitable license to give you the wide band capability. I had to send in copies of my work licenses that still allowed wide band on VHF and UHF.

The RPM2 software is licensed to the installation, so I'm not aware of any way to bootleg it. It's not cheap, either. $895 list price.
The mobiles use a USB-C programming cable, so only programming cable required is for the portable.

You'll need to find a "ham friendly" dealer. Many are not and are not interested in one off sales and lots of hand holding. Don't expect lots of support from the dealer, so make sure you know what you are buying into.

Radios work great, I'm happy with them, and so are our officers. Looks like a radio, works like a radio.
The performance has been top notch. I've been using them on our VHF, UHF and 800 conventional systems. Have not put mine on trunking yet.

 

[mmckenna]

The RPM2 software is licensed to the installation, so I'm not aware of any way to bootleg it. It's not cheap, either. $895 list price.

I've been told that bootleg versions of RPM2 exist, as well as ways to update the radio feature strings.
I can't help you there. I do this stuff professionally and I have no need/desire to go looking for it. There's much more value for me to have legit copies that I can get updated easily and not worry about where its coming from. Hobby use? Maybe they're OK with that.

 

[surfacemount]

I've been told that bootleg versions of RPM2 exist, as well as ways to update the radio feature strings.
I can't help you there. I do this stuff professionally and I have no need/desire to go looking for it. There's much more value for me to have legit copies that I can get updated easily and not worry about where its coming from. Hobby use? Maybe they're OK with that.

I understand. I worked briefly in a place where everything that touched a radio needed to be traceable. There was absolutely no 'get er done', we literally had to call engineers to approve minor deviations and rework. Not so much as a fabbed cable connection.

But I grew up in the era of the pirate bay and radios with replaceable components, so

 

[mmckenna]

I understand. I worked briefly in a place where everything that touched a radio needed to be traceable. There was absolutely no 'get er done', we literally had to call engineers to approve minor deviations and rework. Not so much as a fabbed cable connection.

But I grew up in the era of the pirate bay and radios with replaceable components, so

Yeah, work is one thing, play time is another.

Nice thing about the XL-200 mobile, programming cable is USB-C. Connection between the RF deck (L3Harris term "VCH", Vehicle Communications Hub) is plain old Ethernet. Still need to provide 12vdc to the control head, but a simple ethernet cord is all you need between the head/deck. You can even run control heads through a network switch if you want to put your radio close to the antenna.

 

[surfacemount]

LTE is apparently an add on option for the 200. Is that field installable? I am guessing you're really at the mercy of finding a citizen/ham friendly service shop, no way they give someone a TAC account just for buying one subscriber unit?

 

[mmckenna]

LTE is apparently an add on option for the 200. Is that field installable? I am guessing you're really at the mercy of finding a citizen/ham friendly service shop, no way they give someone a TAC account just for buying one subscriber unit?

I ordered ours with the LTE option, came from the factory that way. It may be something a shop can add, but I've never seen it available separately. It would require updating the feature set of the radio to support it. The physical LTE module is a bulge on the top back of the radio above the battery. It adds some size to the radio, but isn't any thicker than the larger battery pack. LTE/WiFi antennas are internal. Mobile, its all internal with two LTE and two WiFi antenna ports on the VCH. I've got mine connected to a blade WiFi/LTE/GPS antenna on the roof of the truck.

There's only two uses for it:
1. BeON, which is the L3Harris LTE/WiFi product that connects voice over LTE or WiFi to the P25 Core. Unless you have the P25 Core and the BeON servers, it won't do anything with voice. It will not work as a cell phone. Not something that is useful to a hobbyist.
2. As someone here once said "Worlds most expensive WiFi hot spot". It'll allow the LTE data to pass to the WiFi and can create a local WiFi hotspot.

BeON, if you have the whole setup, is a pretty sweet solution. If you get out of range of the system, it'll fall back on LTE or WiFi to connect back into the P25 core. I know one agency that is using BeON as their primary communications, fall back to UHF conventional, fall back from that to their County P25 system. LTE has better building penetration than the other systems, so it works well in urban/suburban areas.
I ordered it for our officers as the long term plan is to put them on a P25 system, and allow them to fall back on WiFi or LTE if they get out of coverage.

 

[mmckenna]

no way they give someone a TAC account just for buying one subscriber unit?

TAC account won't do much for you. It's mainly documentation and opening support tickets.

 

[surfacemount]

I ordered ours with the LTE option, came from the factory that way. It may be something a shop can add, but I've never seen it available separately. It would require updating the feature set of the radio to support it. The physical LTE module is a bulge on the top back of the radio above the battery. It adds some size to the radio, but isn't any thicker than the larger battery pack. LTE/WiFi antennas are internal. Mobile, its all internal with two LTE and two WiFi antenna ports on the VCH. I've got mine connected to a blade WiFi/LTE/GPS antenna on the roof of the truck.

There's only two uses for it:
1. BeON, which is the L3Harris LTE/WiFi product that connects voice over LTE or WiFi to the P25 Core. Unless you have the P25 Core and the BeON servers, it won't do anything with voice. It will not work as a cell phone. Not something that is useful to a hobbyist.
2. As someone here once said "Worlds most expensive WiFi hot spot". It'll allow the LTE data to pass to the WiFi and can create a local WiFi hotspot.

BeON, if you have the whole setup, is a pretty sweet solution. If you get out of range of the system, it'll fall back on LTE or WiFi to connect back into the P25 core. I know one agency that is using BeON as their primary communications, fall back to UHF conventional, fall back from that to their County P25 system. LTE has better building penetration than the other systems, so it works well in urban/suburban areas.
I ordered it for our officers as the long term plan is to put them on a P25 system, and allow them to fall back on WiFi or LTE if they get out of coverage.

Oh.
I was thinking it was for competing with APX Next in using firstnet for backbone. Didn't even think about it being a cell phone, but I can see how that might be inferred.

TAC account won't do much for you. It's mainly documentation and opening support tickets.

I like documentation lol. And training. I've had a MOL account for years, but even with a .gov email and harris products had issues getting a harris account. (long story)

 

[surfacemount]

 

[mmckenna]

Oh.
I was thinking it was for competing with APX Next in using firstnet for backbone. Didn't even think about it being a cell phone, but I can see how that might be inferred.

BeOn and Smart Connect are essentially the same thing.

It doesn't have the Android/Apps stuff like APX Next does. Idea is you use the phone the officer is already carrying, or the terminal in the car for that stuff. We looked at both, and ultimately ended up with the Harris.

I like documentation lol. And training. I've had a MOL account for years, but even with a .gov email and harris products had issues getting a harris account. (long story)

Yeah, I think the level of access I have is pretty low. There's probably tiers.