XTS 3000 Worth it?

[evfd1625]

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With the XTS 3000 being EOL by Motorola, is it worth getting them anymore? You can find them on Ebay fairly inexpensive, with tags and flashed for P25. Some have been re cased, but I wonder if they are worth the money. I know accessory wise they share alot with the 5000, so batteries and such wouldn't be an issue, but can they be repaired if broken? Etc. are some of my concerns.

 

[N4KVE]

They are great radios, & in my case trouble free. I own several, & have never had a problem. While I do own a XTS5000, the only reason I bought it was to have FFP. GARY N4KVE

 

[Skypilot007]

You have to use common sense when buy these on ebay. Buy from someone with lots of positive feedback and with in the US whenever possible. Use paypal or some other payment method that covers you for fraud and that type of thing. Even though they are no longer supported by Motorola there are folks out there that can repair them, upgrade firmware and flashcode options and all that good stuff. For the price the 3000's are selling for they're hard to beat if you need a P25 portable.

 

[62Truck]

The 3000 is a great radio. I've had two I regret getting rid of the first one. Like skypilot said use common sense on eBay. Also check out p25.ca lots of useful info on that page in regards to the Moto stuff.

 

[MOTOROLANUT]

XTS 3000's are a re-cased Astro Saber in many respects. But the XTS 5000's used market price has come down considerably.

 

[evfd1625]

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I've noticed it seems hard to find the XTS series on Ebay with legit factory tags that match the code plug serial number. Other than add in features a 1 Meg 3000 can do most of the same things a later series can do, right?

 

[62Truck]

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I've noticed it seems hard to find the XTS series on Ebay with legit factory tags that match the code plug serial number. Other than add in features a 1 Meg 3000 can do most of the same things a later series can do, right?

Pretty much. There are a few differences though. Were as a xts3k and a Astros saber have to be flashed for P25. The later xts models like the 2500 and 5000 there are more but in using them as examples is they come standard with p25 and the later radios depending on firmware will do quick call were as the xts3k and astro saber won't. All xts3ks have 1meg vocoder

 

[WISCOMM]

Stay away from the Model II or Model III version, the displays will fail and they are no longer available, anywhere.

We see alot of our clients snapping up VHF Model I units for mutual radios, utilizing the same batteries/chargers as the XTS5000 helps keep them viable.

Craig

 

[MTS2000des]

The 3000's are circa 1996 era radios, they are at the end of life for support. Display problems are popping up as WISCOMM said, just as the Jedi series analog radios were plagued with display problems (those made in 2000-2003 or serviced at the depot during that time), and Motorola isn't interested in keeping a 15 year old product on the market when they'd much rather push APX/TRBO radios on customers.

That being said, if you find one in GOOD shape fully WORKING, it's a decent radio but has limitations. The biggest one is the 1MEG HOST, which limits supports for advanced features. They are also battery hogs compared to the XTS5000. The same battery on a 5K will go for two days of 10 hrs a day monitoring, on a 3K of the same band/feature set, it's chirping for charge in about 12-14 hours and completely dead in 15.

I would hold out for a 5000 if you can, they are still (for the moment) being sold and will be supported for at least 5 years once the last one leaves the production line. They have superior DSP, better RF boards, battery life, and support all modern (except phase 2) features you could ever want. The prices are falling, especially since the three letter agencies are dumping them off their 5 year life cycle for APX radios.

Re: eBay, buy the SELLER not the radio. Do your research. I would much rather buy a radio from one of my fellow Batboard members, but there are a few DECENT eBay sellers that KNOW WHAT THEY HAVE, FULLY TEST, and offer a guarantee. Richie Thompson, US Electronics, is one of them. He isn't the cheapest, but you get what you pay for and he doesn't push the "can't test=doesn't work" junk.

 

[evfd1625]

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What about the EFJ 5100 series compared to the XTS 5000? Seems like they are also fairly inexpensive. I've seen several of them being used on the statewide system here, although I'm only interested in VHF conventional versions. I really have no use for the trunking features. My understanding is they are the same radio internally, just in different cases with different programming and interface?

 

[MOTOROLANUT]

EFJ's are fine radios as well and most accessories cross over.

 

[MTS2000des]

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What about the EFJ 5100 series compared to the XTS 5000? Seems like they are also fairly inexpensive. I've seen several of them being used on the statewide system here, although I'm only interested in VHF conventional versions. I really have no use for the trunking features. My understanding is they are the same radio internally, just in different cases with different programming and interface?

The first EFJ5100's did in fact, consist of XTS5000 RF boards with a different microcontroller (WindRiver based software). These are denoted by version numbers 1.xx, etc. By version 2 and later, the radios are entirely EF Johnson RF board and controllers. The only similarity to the XTS series is the compatibility of battery and audio accessories.

This is where the similarity ends. The EF Johnson radios use their own programming software and cables which are NOT interchangeable with Motorola products.

It should also be noted that early version 1 and 2 5100's are no longer supported by EF Johnson. And the version 1 radios had hardware problems causing the radios to lock up and reset from RF getting back into the controller boards, especially when remote audio accessories are used. Watch out for many of these floating around on Ebay. They are problematic, difficult to repair, and EF Johnson won't help you.

 

[evfd1625]

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If the 3000 has been re cased will that affect the display? I can't think if the display is integrated into the front case or not.

 

[evfd1625]

MOTOROLA XTS3000 MODEL II VHF RADIO PACKAGE - HT1000, MTS2000, MTX, HT1250 | eBay This is the unit I was specifically looking at.
Seller reported that it's been recased, aligned, checked for tx/rx specs on a monitor, and has a NOS conditioned battery. The photo's show the display is 100% intact.
Any recommendations?

 

[N4KVE]

While the flashcode seems decent, it's important to know the host/dsp. On the other hand he's including the disc which is a plus if you don't have it. GARY N4KVE

 

[FFPM571]

I have a EFJ 51SL that is FPP and a late firmware version. It is just as good a reciever on P25 and analog as my XTS5000 with a simular feature set. Overall they are a good radio. I prefer Motorola though. As far as that XTS in the Ebay listing. I have bougt from the seller and he does sell good solid radios.