The MTS2000 along with the Astro Saber were the first line of radios with upgradeable ROS via Flashport. Motorola knew this was the future and while it seems so mundane in 2020, in 1992 when Flashport was born, it was way ahead of it's time. I have a multipage brochure on Flashport where they compare it to upgrading software packages on a PC to add applications.
Consider too, that the closed architecture (as referenced in the Jedi Service manual "Theory of Operation") controllers of the "lesser" radios such as the MT2000 and HT1000/Visar were fixed ROM firmware that could never be upgraded. They were designed to be conventional only radios out the gate, so the ASFIC that does all the signaling was enabled in the firmware before it was burned into ROM. This also means the firmware you got it what you're stuck with. For example, early (pre DN) HT1000s can't do narrowband "splinter" channels, nor can early MT2000s. It's not an RF board limitation, as the synthesizer is perfectly capable of supporting it, as is the IF filtering (and these series could always do 12.5KHz IF since inception).
Ironically, if one tries to program and MT2000 built before 1997 with splinter channels on VHF say, (IIRC, the "magic" firmware is R2.09 or greater), they'll get an error message during codeplug write validation stating "upgrade radio firmware" to support splinter channels as if it's possible. Sure once could have ordered a new controller, but the cost would be excessive.
The Flashport platform was designed to sell high level features like trunking, more channel/zone capacity, and later on, encryption, enable hardware like Bluetooth, WiFi, LTE, or my favorite "future expansion bits". Not enough you bough an APX, you actually want to use it with your LEX-11? You have to buy the "collaboration package" per subscriber.
