Who still uses Jedi radios ?

[mbnv992]

Just started getting into the Jedi’s again after many years with the XTS3000/5000.

Picked up a super mint mts2000 uhf A4. On local GMRS it does really well. Also picks up signals just as good if not better than my xts3000. To my surprise - I ordered the extra long 3” metal belt clip from Escomm. I thought for sure those would’ve been long since discontinued by now but I guess there’s still people out there using Jedi gear.

The APX has been out for a long time too but I really have no need for a multi-band radio as mostly everything is UHF here.

 

[N4KVE]

They are great radios. I still have a few UHF/VHF ones. I still listen to my 800 one when driving to Broward County, but that system is on the way out.

 

[chrismol1]

Ive got 2 Jedis that Ive held onto for a while. The first is a sweet mint condition MT2000 Model III Im holding on to. Mainly for wideband ham. Last firmware r2.13 and late 2004 build which I understand is one of the last produced before being discontinued. It has excellent analog audio, and excellent sensitivity, better than other jedi ever owned. I'd even say it sounds a touch better/richer than the dsp analog audio from a 5000. The second is a JT1000 with FPP but mainly use the XTS5000 FPP these days

 

[mbnv992]

Never played with the JT1000 much. Back in the day those were big $$$$. Deal breaker for me is the lack of an alpha display.

Nowadays it seems that UHF MT’s and especially MTS radios are getting harder to find. The market is FLOODED with 800mhz MTS radios though ( as well as 3000/5000’s ).

Gear that just 10 years ago cost many hundereds if not thousands of dollars are now practically given away on eBay. Maybe 10 years from now when the APX8000 comes down to what the 5000’s were back in the mid 2000’s I’ll pick one up. For now - perfectly happy with not owning an APX.

 

[IAmSixNine]

One of the best radios i had was the MTS2000 800mhz model 3. Loved that radio and had a Model 1 top display as well.
The design / look, audio quality and overall just being a great radio i loved the MTS2000 series.

 

[mmckenna]

Never played with the JT1000 much. Back in the day those were big $$$$. Deal breaker for me is the lack of an alpha display.

I have two JT1000 VHF. They are the only two hand held radios I actually own.
Solid radios, easy to program and in all honesty, I don't need all 16 channels.

I've been using Jedi's since the mid 1990's in one form or another, ham, GMRS, work, etc.

Our PD still has about 20 HT-1000's as cache/backup radios. Still work just fine.

I scored a handful of VHF HT1000's a few years ago, I programmed them up with ham frequencies and distributed them to family members that had their ham tickets.

Nowadays it seems that UHF MT’s and especially MTS radios are getting harder to find. The market is FLOODED with 800mhz MTS radios though ( as well as 3000/5000’s ).

I e-wasted about 300 or so 800MHz MTS-2000's (mostly type 1's) back in 2012 when I replaced our old SmartNet system. Looked at surplussing/selling them, but the market was flooded and wasn't worth our time. Recycled the batteries, e-wasted the radios and chargers. I saved a few parts, cases, knobs, belt clips and chargers.

 

[K2NEC]

What's the difference between the ht1000 and jt1000?

 

[mmckenna]

What's the difference between the ht1000 and jt1000?

JT-1000 has an LCD display and is front panel programmable with the key or an appropriate bit bang. They can also be programmed using the HT-1000 software. Some of the features require the software to change. However, programming individual channels, frequencies, PL, signaling, bandwidth, power level, etc. can all be done via the front panel.
These were originally popular with wildland fire fighters. Ham radio operators discovered them and they used to be highly coveted radios.
I use them now since I have a ton of Jedi parts, programming software, and I know they are really durable.

 

[mmckenna]

I use them now since I have a ton of Jedi parts, programming software, and I know they are really durable.

That, and I got them for free. Just needed some cleaning, new batteries, charger and antennas. All stuff I had laying around.

 

[N4KVE]

A buddy of mine, Bob, WE4B who is now a SK used to work at Motorola in Plantation when the JT1000’s first came out. For the first batch, they gave him brand new MT2000’s, plus some components, & a new serial # decal to convert them to JT1000’s. The later ones were built from scratch on the line as JT1000’s.

 

[K2NEC]

Ok so what's the difference between the mt2000 and mts2000?

 

[6079smithw]

I have a couple of Jedis and MT1000s, VHF and UHF for ham and GMRS. Like the HT600s, my kids (and now my grandkids) have been unable
to break any of them which is reason enough for me to hold on to them...

 

[PACNWDude]

Local PD still uses many MTS2000's and MCS2000 model 3 mobiles. More than I would have expected, but some are in very great, like new shape as well. Rural areas even near larger cities in the Pacific Northwest still seem to have a lot of Jedi handhelds in current use in 2020.

 

[mbnv992]

Interesting to hear about PD’s still using Jedi radios. I suppose if they work and don’t need / want the latest and greatest P25 stuff - they are probably one of the better radios to have.

As for the difference in MT vs MTS2000 ? For one the MTS2000 has CPS and can be programmed via a Windows computer ( 32 bit only and nothing newer than I would say Vista ). Also - the MTS has the option of being a secure radio as well ( DES, DES-XL etc ). MT2000’s are programmed with old school DOS based RSS only. BUT - they had MDC, and a bunch of other goodies as standard. With the MTS - it had to be flashed for everything you want. It only comes standard as “conventional only”. No signaling included - they were all added per order via the flashcode. So - MDC, Etc a basic flashed MTS will not do.
One cool thing - if you DO have an MTS with an MDC flashcode ( 000001-000000-9 ) it WILL decode the ID’s on the display - whereas an MT2000 will not.
All in all - I much prefer the MTS over the MT, if properly flashed.
One more thing - the MTS back in the day was considered a “higher tier” radio and was much more difficult to order and was also much more expensive then its MT2000 brothers.

 

[JimD56]

Our Fire Dept still has 100's of HT1250's in use. The FF's carry HT1250's and the Officers APX7700xe's.
I have 2 XTS3000's UHF and love them, will never sell.

 

[mmckenna]

Interesting to hear about PD’s still using Jedi radios. I suppose if they work and don’t need / want the latest and greatest P25 stuff - they are probably one of the better radios to have.

Yeah, we're still analog VHF, so it's not an issue. The radios still work, check out fine on the service monitor, too. We can get batteries for them no problem. They are not used every day, but more as cache and back up radios.
Durable and simple, hard to beat.

That and many departments don't have a budget for much else.

 

[K2NEC]

So an MT2000 is a display HT1000?

 

[mikewazowski]

Ok so what's the difference between the mt2000 and mts2000?

MTS2000s were flashport upgradable.

Encryption capabilities might have also been another difference.

 

[mbnv992]

So an MT2000 is a display HT1000?

Pretty much. With more channels. Having a radio with more than 2-8 channels IMO definitely needs an alpha display.

 

[surfacemount]

Only real problem I ever had with the HT-1000/MTS2000's is the polymers going chalky. White antenna, white knobs lol. Little aerospace 303 and good to go again for a few months...