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XTS Options...help

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emsdr

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I am looking for a new portable radio. I work with several VHF public safety depts and one is going digital and the others are not. The one that is has a grant for Motorola XTS/XTL systems to be installed over the next few months. The portables they are getting are the XTS 2500. We are not truncated that I know of. I will have to purchase my own portable or will be unable to hear or transmit on the digital agency frequency. OUr motoroloa rep said I should get the 1500 XTS but "make sure it has the Q811 or I wont be able to talk on both digital and analog frequencies".
I found a used XTS2500 DIGITAL RADIO WITH 870 channels 136Mhz-174Mhz

Flash Options in Radio:

Q806 ASTRO IMBE Digital Operation

Q52 Federal Government FPP

Q498 Hardware Multikey Encryption

H35 Conventional Systems Operation

Q53 FCC FPP And Radio Cloning

Q387 Conventional Voting Scan

Q445 Fireground Accountability Software

Q446 Fireground Voice/Channel Announcement

Q667 ADP Encryption Software DSP

Will this have the features I need to be able to talk and scan on VHF analog and the new digital frequencies? Does this sound like a good radio? I am used to using radios but never had to spec one out before and the the abbreviations are a bit overwhelming. Advice?
 

SD70MAC

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Xts

That radio has a good flash. It will do analog and digital P25 both programmable from the Front Panel Programming(FPP). If it is a Panter88 it may need to be put on a service monitor to be aligned. If its not you would be set as long as its been setup via the CPS to scan and so on. Another thought is if its got a 123abc456789 serial number your Motorola rep may not program it some of them frown on these radios as they did not sell them and that it has FPP. I don't think you could send a no tag radio to be repaired at the Mexarola Dept as you would never get the radio back.Some will turn you away just because of the FPP option.

Just my 2 cents

By the way I love my XTS5000 FPP !!! The 2500 is basically the same radio.
 
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SD70MAC

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Essexscan said:
SD70MAC

i'm curious why are thy worried/scared of FPP?

Some of the dealers are just a pain about fpp,I am not sure why. I guess it's in case you use it on channels that you should not.
 

bezking

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To the OP, that radio will do P25 Conventional just fine, but *not* P25 TRUNKING. You will want to make sure that you will not require trunking before buying it. Chances are that if they are "going digital," they are probably going to a trunking system.
 

KG4INW

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Some of the dealers are just a pain about fpp,I am not sure why. I guess it's in case you use it on channels that you should not.

Well probably because of the Federal FPP option which voids the radio's Part 90 certification.
 

KA4UOA

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That radio has a good flash. It will do analog and digital P25 both programmable from the Front Panel Programming(FPP). If it is a Panter88 it may need to be put on a service monitor to be aligned. If its not you would be set as long as its been setup via the CPS to scan and so on. Another thought is if its got a 123abc456789 serial number your Motorola rep may not program it some of them frown on these radios as they did not sell them and that it has FPP. I don't think you could send a no tag radio to be repaired at the Mexarola Dept as you would never get the radio back.Some will turn you away just because of the FPP option.

Just my 2 cents

By the way I love my XTS5000 FPP !!! The 2500 is basically the same radio.

i totally agree with sd70mac the 2500 is the same radio as the 5k just in a smaller package. I personally am not a fan of the FPP even though it has helped me i the past. I use a 3K and 2500 and in all honesty I tend to use my 3K without the FPP more than anything. If you are only needing conventional analog and P25 that radio will work just fine. Good Luck if you need any assistance with the radio just let me know.
 

MTS2000des

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i totally agree with sd70mac the 2500 is the same radio as the 5k just in a smaller package. I personally am not a fan of the FPP even though it has helped me i the past. I use a 3K and 2500 and in all honesty I tend to use my 3K without the FPP more than anything. If you are only needing conventional analog and P25 that radio will work just fine. Good Luck if you need any assistance with the radio just let me know.

The XTS5000 and 2500 share the same controller architecture and firmware, but this is where the similarity ends inside.

The 2500 is a "medium duty" radio, very difficult to repair, and easier to damage. The flex connectors for the front cover/display board are carry overs from the PRO series, and are easy to damage. There is very little shielding for the RF board and controller boards! compared to the XTS5000. The knobs are soldered directly to the circuit board, drop the radio on the knobs and it's done.

I'd opt for a 5000, while the form factor of a 2500 is nicer, for public safety use, the. 5K is the workhorse radio. Housings have the volume and channel/switch assembly attached, so refurbishment is a snap should the radio take a hard fall. The shielding on the circuitry is superior. Connector arrangement for the front cover, display and keypad are much better.

Two totally different class of radios, IMO. Kissing cousins, but one is much more fit and fiddle for public safety.
 

SCPD

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Agreed on the 2500. I have one with a display that is going crazy, it will blank out or the text will be upside down. Turning it on and off a few times fixes it for a while. Been too lazy to pop it open and check it out. I had a 5000 but got rid of it, big mistake.
 

com501

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Change the PWB in the front cover and the display to the newest version and upgrade your firmware to at least R19 and you should be fine.

As far as dropping the radio and busting the controls, sure, been there, done that. Nothing that can't be fixed in 20 minutes. I repair about 5 a week like that.
 
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