Quantar Life Span

[Jl942264]

I was wondering what the life span of a Motorola Quantar Base Station is, I've been reading up on these radios and where they're used and what they've been replaced by. Just trying to gain some more information on them. If anyone has some general information on them as well!

Thanks all!

 

[a417]

Lifespan? Yes. They are workhorses.

Have you been here?

 

[mmckenna]

I have some that have been running for 10+ years without a problem. I know of others that have gone 15+.

It can depend on how well they are looked after and what sort of environment they are in.

 

[prcguy]

Except for a certain power supply used in some high power versions the Quantar is extremely reliable and was the top of the line Motorola repeater you could buy for quite awhile. I believe its been replaced by the GTR8000 for those that need analog and P25.

 

[Jl942264]

I have some that have been running for 10+ years without a problem. I know of others that have gone 15+.

It can depend on how well they are looked after and what sort of environment they are in.

Are there a good amount of them still in service or have a lot of them been replaced? I appreciate the response..

 

[Jl942264]

Except for a certain power supply used in some high power versions the Quantar is extremely reliable and was the top of the line Motorola repeater you could buy for quite awhile. I believe its been replaced by the GTR8000 for those that need analog and P25.

I do know the GTR8000 replaced them! I don't know much, but I do know that's Mother M says is the replacement. I've heard good things about the QUANTARs! Just looking for more information on them!

 

[GTR8000]

Impossible to say for sure how many are still in service. There were thousands and thousands of Quantars in service over the past few decades, so it stands to reason that there are still plenty on the air. Agencies that have the budget to do so may've replaced them with GTR's, especially if they migrated to systems that require linear amplifiers (i.e. P25 Phase II), otherwise...if it ain't broke...

It's a safe bet that SmartZone systems that are still on the air are probably still using Quantars, although some have replaced them with GTR's (New Jersey State Police, for example).

 

[MTS2000des]

Had 11 sites on my old Smartnet II system, mostly MSF5000s but some Quantar's. Ended up keeping 4 of them for standalone conventional repeaters. These machines dated to the late 1990s, in use 24/7/365 and still work. I have a VHF ham repeater in a non-climate controlled site, that has endured countless hours of service, still going strong.

 

[Jl942264]

Impossible to say for sure how many are still in service. There were thousands and thousands of Quantars in service over the past few decades, so it stands to reason that there are still plenty on the air. Agencies that have the budget to do so may've replaced them with GTR's, especially if they migrated to systems that require linear amplifiers (i.e. P25 Phase II), otherwise...if it ain't broke...

It's a safe bet that SmartZone systems that are still on the air are probably still using Quantars, although some have replaced them with GTR's (New Jersey State Police, for example).

I know my county back home has SmartZone system, I believe they are Quantar, they have been on the air for quite a while without issue. I agree there's probably plenty still humming away, I know a lot of systems that Quantar radios support have been replaced or retrofitted. Appreciate the response!

 

[mmckenna]

Are there a good amount of them still in service or have a lot of them been replaced? I appreciate the response..

I agree with the others, probably tons of them still in service.
EOL'd, but lots of parts still out there.

I accidentally left one keyed up for two days straight, no issues. But in trunked service, they'd do that anyway as a control channel.

MSF5000's were maintenance intensive. Joke was MSF stood for Might Stay on Frequency. We had to have our SmartNet system retuned every 6 months or so.

 

[KevinC]

I know where 24 sites worth of 9600 trunked VHF Quantars are still kicking.

 

[Jl942264]

I agree with the others, probably tons of them still in service.
EOL'd, but lots of parts still out there.

I accidentally left one keyed up for two days straight, no issues. But in trunked service, they'd do that anyway as a control channel.

MSF5000's were maintenance intensive. Joke was MSF stood for Might Stay on Frequency. We had to have our SmartNet system retuned every 6 months or so.

HA! That reminds me of KME the fire truck manufacturer Keeping Mechanics Employed, that's an interesting use of the model name! Are these radios technically End Of Life, or does it depend on how long they've been in service?

 

[mmckenna]

HA! That reminds me of KME the fire truck manufacturer Keeping Mechanics Employed, that's an interesting use of the model name! Are these radios technically End Of Life, or does it depend on how long they've been in service?

EOL, as in no longer supported by Motorola.

 

[GTR8000]

EOL, as in no longer supported by Motorola.

The Quantar is supported until Dec 31st, 2020.

https://proditc.motorolasolutions.com/

 

[mmckenna]

The Quantar is supported until Dec 31st, 2020.

https://proditc.motorolasolutions.com/

Dang, really? Thought they'd dumped them already?

Maybe I was thinking of the MTR-2000's. I've got a few of those still chugging away, too.

 

[GTR8000]

Dang, really? Thought they'd dumped them already?

Maybe I was thinking of the MTR-2000's. I've got a few of those still chugging away, too.

I was as surprised as you. I went to the ITC site trying to find exactly when they were EOL'd and saw that they extended support from 2018 to 2020, never realized that. Still, they haven't been sold new in what, 7 years at this point? There will be a ton of them on the air for many years to come, no doubt.

 

[talviar]

I have 4 quantars that were purchased in 1994.... still running strong. had a few PA's go bad in 26 years. a couple of power supplys and a station control module. These buggers are damn near bullet proof except they don't always survive lightening!

 

[PACNWDude]

Currently work for a large corporation that uses GTR8000 repeaters, but kept their Quantars as a backup system when needed. They are extremely reliable, and can often be neglected a bit and still function. These may be the radio repeater version of the cockroach, they will survive after everything else has failed, except for the power supply issue mentioned earlier. One site I am responsible for caught on fire, and had to be relocated on short notice, and even with being foamed by the local fire department, cleaned up and continues to function several years after the incident.

 

[davidgcet]

installed properly and more importantly grounded properly and they will last longer than any other part of the radio system. 2 of my local counties had them on their smartnet systems, we had issues with one of losing a repeater or two during storms, but went back and redid some of the grounding and have not had a damage inducing hit in 20+ years...…. failures are rare, most these units were put in service in 1996 and still going strong. out of a total of 24 I maintained only 3 or 4 had any real issues in the last 10 years. my advice is anyone that buys one buy 2 so you have spares though, moto ending support will be a hard stop from them and board repair/replacement is not cheap even with support.

 

[R8000]

They are good base stations indeed, but in ham service I'd run them between 50-75 watts power output max. I had a handful (DBS versions) that were used in VRM data service on UHF.

About once a year the PA's would pop (all fans were good, no antenna issues). Backed them all down to 75 watts and no more PA failures until the system was replaced by cellular data. When the parts are funded by your wallet, 50-75 watts output makes sense Granted, in ham service the PA's usually stayed keyed for long periods of time. My failure with data service was due to the constant keyup-unkey service they were subjected to cranking out 9600 baud of blazing data !!1!!