XTS3000 What is needed to program a Motorola XTS 3K?

[Cashanova48]

Is there anyway to see what the firmware is on the radio via the screen?

 

[Asunakiyori]

IIRC.....upon power up, rapidly press i believe its the top soft key 7 or 8 times and it will go into service mode. don't quote me on if you can see the FW there

 

[K2NEC]

5 times, and yes you can, should be the one of the first things that comes up

 

[Asunakiyori]

5 times, and yes you can, should be the one of the first things that comes up

thanks! I havent put my XTS in service mode in a while its sitting on a shelf

 

[Cashanova48]

IIRC.....upon power up, rapidly press i believe its the top soft key 7 or 8 times and it will go into service mode. don't quote me on if you can see the FW there

Thanks. I was also wondering if an aftermarket battery would work with an Impress charger. The battery that came with my 3K was engraved with "Expires 5/14", and the radio keeps dying on the charger.

 

[Cashanova48]

I am wondering as far as cables and rib boxes goes, what is required to program a XTS 3K.

 

[clbsquared]

Serial cable, programming cable, RIB, and Astro Saber / XTS 3000 CPS

 

[Cashanova48]

Serial cable, RIB, and Astro Saber / XTS 3000 CPS

What is a serial cable? Is that what goes from the RIB to the radio?

 

[SetTheTone]

Serial cable which goes from the radio into your DB-9 port on your computer. 3000 CPS is notorious for giving issues on newer computers, and it is fully suggested to run it on a 32bit OS. Usually, cheap tough books do the trick for this.

 

[MTS2000des]

You also need a 32 bit Windows XP /Vista/7/10 PC to properly run XTS3K/Astro Saber CPS. It won't run on 64 bit Windows anything.
The serial cable connects to your RIB, then you need the appropriate RIB to radio cable. Some people buy the rib-less cables and have varying luck with them.

Remember these are 25 year old radios. Nothing about them were plug and play and intended for end users to manage.

 

[MTS2000des]

A 10 year old battery...at least. Yeah, time to fork out for a new battery for your relic radio.

 

[Cashanova48]

You also need a 32 bit Windows XP /Vista/7/10 PC to properly run XTS3K/Astro Saber CPS. It won't run on 64 bit Windows anything.
The serial cable connects to your RIB, then you need the appropriate RIB to radio cable. Some people buy the rib-less cables and have varying luck with them.

Remember these are 25 year old radios. Nothing about them were plug and play and intended for end users to manage.

Thanks. Do you know if that Radio to RIB cable has a specific name that I should search for?

 

[KevinC]

Between a new battery, RIB/cables and an old computer you'll be spending way more than what it's worth for this thing in my opinion.

 

[Cashanova48]

Thanks for the help. I have an old computer running Windows Seven I'll be able to repurpose for this. I was wondering what brand has generally good Impress replacement batteries before buying one.

 

[MTS2000des]

PowerProducts makes a good aftermarket XTS battery.

 

[Cashanova48]

PowerProducts makes a good aftermarket XTS battery.

Thanks

 

[mmckenna]

Thanks for the help. I have an old computer running Windows Seven I'll be able to repurpose for this. I was wondering what brand has generally good Impress replacement batteries before buying one.

Power Products.

But, seriously, listen to these guys. Before you blow money on a new battery for a radio that old, look closely at your other options. Sinking all this (new battery, old computer, cables, RIB, etc) into a radio that old might seem cool, but at the end of the day you've blown a lot of money on a radio that's 25 years old and probably in desperate need of a trip to the service monitor. Unless you have to have the "Motorola" nametag on the radio, or really need to have "CopSounds®", there are newer, better, more reliable radios out there that may do what you want.

 

[Cashanova48]

Power Products.

But, seriously, listen to these guys. Before you blow money on a new battery for a radio that old, look closely at your other options. Sinking all this (new battery, old computer, cables, RIB, etc) into a radio that old might seem cool, but at the end of the day you've blown a lot of money on a radio that's 25 years old. Unless you have to have the "Motorola" nametag on the radio, or really need to have "CopSounds®", there are newer, better, more reliable radios out there that may do what you want.

Thanks, I'll look into some other options. Do you have any recommendations for reliable and rugged radios for GMRS?

 

[mmckenna]

Thanks, I'll look into some other options. Do you have any recommendations for reliable and rugged radios for GMRS?

Yes. Kenwood TK-3180 in the 450-520MHz model. That model (and that specific model TK-3180 only) has the Part 95 certification that the radio needs to be legal on GMRS.

The radio has a nice LCD display and a lot of channel memory (512 I think).
The Kenwood KPG-89 is one of the easier programming softwares to learn, much, much, much, much, WAY more intuitive than Motorola. I really mean that. If it's your first time programming a commercial radio, you don't want to start with Motorola.

Lots of accessories out there for these radios.

The TK-x180 line of radios was "end-of-lifed" only a few years ago, so chances of getting a much newer radio is higher.

I used one as my shop radio for the few UHF systems I maintain for many years. A solid radio that's still going strong.

 

[Cashanova48]

Yes. Kenwood TK-3180 in the 450-520MHz model. That model (and that specific model TK-3180 only) has the Part 95 certification that the radio needs to be legal on GMRS.

The radio has a nice LCD display and a lot of channel memory (512 I think).
The Kenwood KPG-89 is one of the easier programming softwares to learn, much, much, much, much, WAY more intuitive than Motorola. I really mean that. If it's your first time programming a commercial radio, you don't want to start with Motorola.

Lots of accessories out there for these radios.

The TK-x180 line of radios was "end-of-lifed" only a few years ago, so chances of getting a much newer radio is higher.

I used one as my shop radio for the few UHF systems I maintain for many years. A solid radio that's still going strong.

Thanks, I'll look around.