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XTS5000 Antenna

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Dude208

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My agency recently went with the Motorola XTS5000. They come with a straight corded shoulder mike with the antenna on top of the mike. Many of our Officers dont like this as it could poke you in the eye while climbing a fence. We were told do not remove the mike antenna and attach it to the radio itself. What will happen if thats done? an Officer has done it and it apparently works fine?
 

mikegilbert

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It depends on how the radio is set up. Are you leaving the antenna adapter on the radio? It looks like this:

tn_115.jpg


If that adapter is still on the radio and you're using the same speaker mic, the signal is going up the speaker mic and not through the antenna on the radio. It may work okay in areas with great coverage, but you're going to burn up your radio after a while.

Removing the antenna adapter will allow the signal to only go through the antenna mounted on the radio.
 

N4DES

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Utilizing the short antenna on the top of the microphone removes the "body shielding" that occurs when the antenna is at mid-body on the belt. Putting it down at the belt will cause issues, especially if the system is not simulcast and/or a voted system.

Some agencies have had to put in place SOP's so officers do not modify the configurations as it could cause an officer safety issue.
 

FFPM571

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Thousands of police departments use that same setup. There are hardly a rash of eye injuries from the antenna. Your chances of your radio failing to get out outweigh the chance of a poke in the eye.
 

b7spectra

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I'm still trying to figure out HOW they are going to poke themselves in the eye! Your shoulder mic is usually attached to the tabs on your shoulder and away from your face. If the antenna is long enough, you can put donuts on it for later.
 

RodStrong

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I bet he/she is talking about them clipping the mic on the front of their shirts, a button or two below the neckline.
 

Dude208

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The mikes are usually clipped to a leather mike holder hanging from the lapel. Donuts, really? We were told not to reconfigure the radios. It seems like the lone wolfs radio is working fine. Our plain clothes guys got radios with an antenna 8 inches long with no adapter and no shoulder mike.
 

Devilz311

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My agency recently went with the Motorola XTS5000. They come with a straight corded shoulder mike with the antenna on top of the mike. Many of our Officers dont like this as it could poke you in the eye while climbing a fence. We were told do not remove the mike antenna and attach it to the radio itself. What will happen if thats done? an Officer has done it and it apparently works fine?

What kind of system is it, and how big of an area does it cover? On a our SmartNet 500mhz system it makes no difference if the antenna is on the radio or the antenna. You may experience body shielding more with VHF systems, but it shouldn't be too much of an issue with UHF or 800mhz bands.
I personally hate the straight cord PS mics, it always seems to get in the way. I like the regular coiled cord mic.
 

RKG

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Boston, MA
If you want to stop using the "Public Safety Mike" with the antenna on the mike, you have to remove the whole mike setup and replace it with a traditional shoulder mike (such as Commander II), while also reinstalling the radio's original antenna.
 

Dude208

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oak forest, il
We are on the 800 meg system which covers a large urban area. If i were to go to a Commander mike, would i have to use the adapter on the radio or not? Thanks for the replies.
 

krokus

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Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.973 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

Dude208 said:
We are on the 800 meg system which covers a large urban area. If i were to go to a Commander mike, would i have to use the adapter on the radio or not? Thanks for the replies.

If you look at Motorola's brochure for the XTS-5000, you can see multiple antennas available. Most are separated by the frequency range they cover.

There are multiple speaker-mics to choose from, too. Some of the people in my department have removed the speaker-mics, and use the regular antenna, instead of the Public Safety version with the antenna on it.
 

FFPM571

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If your using the Cook County system. They are pretty specific about what you can and cant use on their system. Its designed for using the Speaker mic with the short 800 antenna.
 
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