Best repeater for P25? Have your say

This forum is for discussions regarding System Infrastructure and Related Equipment. This includes but is not limited to repeaters, base stations, consoles, voters, Voice over IP, system design and implementation, and other related topics.

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zulu
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Best repeater for P25? Have your say

Post by zulu »

Just wondering what are people's views on what are the best repeaters to be used with P25, Astro etc.
Looking forward to your repsonses.
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Bruce1807
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Post by Bruce1807 »

Has to be the Quantar for conventional and either the Quantar or the STR3000 for trunking
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Post by n1pfc »

Bruce1807 wrote:Has to be the Quantar for conventional and either the Quantar or the STR3000 for trunking
Ditto

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zulu
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Post by zulu »

I agree whith Bruce1807
Quantar is my preference.
Anyone else got any ideas.
Perhaps something home brewed?
I have always wondered if two xts3000s could be an in vehicle repeater?
What do you think?
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Josh
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Post by Josh »

There really aren't that many astro repeaters to begin with.

My preference is the Quantar as well...

I am sure you can double-vocode a couple of Astro Spectras into a repeater, using a modified ricciticcitembo Spectra repeater interface... idk the mod. I don't know about the XTS portables however.

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Post by mikegilbert »

The Wireless Pacific RDX3588 is just two XTS3000 Model I's, a duplexer (and pelican case)

I'd be interested to see how they've got 'em connected- One can only guess it's through the accy. port. I could always be wrong.

It also has an alarm system that can send voice messages or DTMF for alerting other radios regarding station stauts/tampering.

That'd be a nice find on a Sunday afternoon hike ;-)

They're made in NZ FYI.

http://www.wirelesspac.com/RDXoverview.htm

Image


-Mike
Last edited by mikegilbert on Thu Aug 03, 2006 4:36 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by N4DES »

I can honestly say that I haven't had any experience with anything other than a Quantar and always welcome the opportunity to try out new stuff, but I am very happy with the performance of the ones that are in service.

When I went out for bid on the P25 conventional VHF equipment I reviewed M/A Com, Daniels, Bendix King, etc. and welcomed bids from all of them, but none of the others responded to the advertisement. It was a shame as I kept the specs pretty open.
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Post by mr.syntrx »

Bummer.

I hear Tait have just started pushing their gear rather heavily in the States, and from the specs, their P25 machines look pretty neat.

I don't know much about their bases except for price, but I've had the opportunity to play with their P25 portable and mobile radios, and they're rather impressive. Nicely priced, too, compared to /\/\.

I'm currently debating whether to get a Tait or Icom UHF P25 portable radio for my own use. I looked at the XTS2500, and I'd buy it if it weren't ridiculously priced compared to the competition, by the time FLASHport options, software, cables etc were added up.
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Post by tvsjr »

Go for the Tait, or look into the Kenwood. The Icom stuff doesn't impress me.

As for repeaters, don't forget the Quantro. More watts (watts = good, yes? :twisted:) and the ability to get away from the problematic power supply of the Quantar.
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Post by mr.syntrx »

The power supply that explodes in a rather spectacular fashion? A police radio tech showed me one of those. I thought /\/\ brought in some new ones rather quickly.

I know a Tait dealer pretty well (I was playing with those radios at his shop), so I'll probably go down that route, and get it on the cheap while I'm at it.
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Post by wavetar »

Let's face it, it's hard to go against the Quantar when it's been doing P25 digital for 10 years or more...the competition is only recently developing their P25 infrastructure. I have been reading up on the Tait TB9100 repeater...dual mode capable like the Quantar, with built-in voter & Ethernet. Also, far greater remote network management capabilities. I haven't had opportunity to compare specs & meantime between failures yet, but it looks like a good Quantar competitor.

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Post by N4DES »

tvsjr wrote:Go for the Tait
It's been a while since I looked at the Tait P25 equipment. They have some really nice stuff now. Be interested to know what the pricing is of the subscriber equipment.
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Post by Bruce1807 »

I also use a PDR3500 for rapid deployment.
It's only 25 watts but works great.
Opened it up the other week and what is it?
A quantar in a briefcase.
Shame about the weight though, You get long arms carrying it
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Post by tvsjr »

mr.syntrx wrote:The power supply that explodes in a rather spectacular fashion? A police radio tech showed me one of those. I thought /\/\ brought in some new ones rather quickly.

I know a Tait dealer pretty well (I was playing with those radios at his shop), so I'll probably go down that route, and get it on the cheap while I'm at it.
Even if it's a "good" supply and doesn't explode, the FRU cost is something like $1200. Eek.

If you go down the Tait route, keep us informed. I'm about to get thrown into the buildout of a 4-site, 3-channel VHF voted system (fire/police/public works). While our infrastructure won't be P25 (no requirement), I'm tempted to consider going with P25 subscriber units for future-proofing. I love the XTS5000, but we don't have that kind of cash. Kenwood, Vertex, Icom, Tait, and others may be considered. Maybe a Thales 25 or a P25-capable MBITR for the communications guru? :P
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Post by tvsjr »

KS4VT wrote:
tvsjr wrote:Go for the Tait
It's been a while since I looked at the Tait P25 equipment. They have some really nice stuff now. Be interested to know what the pricing is of the subscriber equipment.
Yup. It would be nice for someone to give Mother a real run for their money in the infrastructure and subscriber sides of things, at the same time. They also have a real price advantage due to the built-in features... the VoIP, linking, and voting stuff built-in would cost another arm and two legs from M as separate boxes.
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Post by mr.syntrx »

What's a 100W UHF Quantar's list price like? A TB9100 goes for about $24,000 with P25 support (VoIP etc are extra cost software options.)

For subscriber gear, I know that a TP9160 (full keypad) UHF low split portable radio goes for $2300 list with battery, belt clip, voting scan, P25 CAI, user's guide. Single key DES-OFB is $400.

The software AND programming cable together are $300.

Interestingly, for $600, you an order Tait subscriber radios with console-style functionality like inhibit, radio check, remote monitor etc, subject to whether they think it's safe to sell it to you. (It wouldn't be good at all for an idiot to buy a portable radio, jump on the local police repeater, and go around inhibiting radios.)
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Post by Bruce1807 »

100 Watt UHF Conventional goes for around $20,000
VHF is a little cheaper and 800 a little more
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Post by apco25 »

No one has mentioned EFJ P25 repeaters? Daniels??
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Post by 515 »

I've had experience with some other P25 conventional repeaters, but the Quantar is the best in my opinion. It works with the P25 digital phone dialing, and passes the Astro page data packets. The Quantar also has the big advantage of having the DIU as a separate optional unit. This way, if you just need a simple standalone P25 repeater, you don't need the expensive DIU. Or if you need an encrypted wireline connected dispatcher, the DIU can be located at the console, so that the traffic over the wireline is encrypted.

The Daniels P25 stuff is almost required for a solar powered installation, as they run off 12 VDC, and standby current consumption is can be as low as around 100 mA, depending on configuration.

The older Daniels P25 repeaters were double vocoded, which sucked. The newer ones are able to transparently pass P25 transmissions (including encrypted ones). Unfortunately, the hang time used on their new P25 repeaters doesn't work very well, as a reply made during the hang time gets the first second or two of audio cut off. You can set the hang time to zero to get around this, but then you don't always know if you hit the repeater. Even with the hang time set to zero, it seems the Daniels still has a bit more key up delay than the Quantar. The Daniels stuff isn't cheap, either, as a basic standalone setup is about the same price as a basic Quantar in my experience.

Also, I'm not aware of any Daniels P25 repeater that passes the P25 phone dialing or page packets properly.


The MA/COM MASTR III and Tait repeaters are fairly similar, in that the vocoding capability is built in, whether you want it or not. From what I've seen, you can get a basic standalone Quantar (no DIU) for less than either of these. Neither support any kind of hang time in the P25 mode. At least they aren't double vocoded, but I'm not sure if they pass the P25 phone dialing or page packets. They may have some other features the Quantar doesn't, though. And it seems like they're well built.

That Wireless Pacific RDX3588 was double vocoded junk last I saw it, unless they made some recent changes...

I don't have all that much experience with the EFJ 2600, but I believe a basic one can be a bit cheaper than the Quantar. I think they were a pain to re-tune, though. It's not double vocoded, but I'm not sure about hang time or phone/page packets.

The BK "V Series" repeater is made by ADI or Westel or whatever they call themselves now. It's huge, but at least isn't double vocoded. The hang time in the P25 mode was a dead carrier if I remember right, which sucks. Not sure how the price compares to a Quantar.
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Post by SZ$DEF »

My vote is the GTR-8000! :)
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Post by zulu »

GT-8000? never heard of it, what are it's specs?
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Post by Bruce1807 »

7.x base station
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Post by kj7xe »

Also, I'm not aware of any Daniels P25 repeater that passes the P25 phone dialing or page packets properly.
The Daniels MT-4D repeaters (TX firmware version 2.3) will pass ASTRO page packets. They previously did not, so this is a big plus.

The bulk of our Daniels problems were fixed (for the most part) by upgrading the firmware in the TX and RX modules, but the issue with audio cutout in the hang-time (only in digital mode) does still exist and they supposedly know about it.

The infrastructure throughout our region is in the proccess of being replaced with new equipment, and in our bureau it's mainly Daniels and Motorola equipment. In our main area we are primarily sticking with Quantars at all AC-powered sites and Daniels equipment at all DC-powered sites.

Based on years of testing various infrastructure equiupment my co-worker and I have found the Quantar to be the most reliable repeater and/or base station out there. Add a DIU to the mix and you have the most expensive base station out there too... :roll:
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zulu
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Post by zulu »

This has ended up being a real eye opener, all the different P25 repeaters thanks guys.
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Re:

Post by ASTROMODAT »

515 wrote:...the Quantar is the best in my opinion. It works with the P25 digital phone dialing...
Hello, 515!

In terms of P25 phone dialing: Are you referring to the use of the DIU interfaced to a MRTI 2000 where P25 Data 12 packets punched in on P25 subscriber gear get converted to analog DTMF tones in the DIU3000, and then are sent to the MRTI (via the special DIU/MRTI Motorola interconnect cable), or some other lash up?

Just curious...and, Thanks for any info!
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Re: Best repeater for P25? Have your say

Post by 515 »

Yeah, the Quantar/DIU has always supported the P25 digital dialing with packet data. I think several other manufacturers have updated their equipment to pass packet data as well, by now. It seems most are designing them for OTAR data pass through transparently, but the DTMF packets are similar, so they'll probably work too.

I can't believe anybody else is really going after the lower-end P25 conventional repeater market. There are plenty of government and public safety radio users that are pretty much required to have P25 capability. It seems most other manufacturers think the repeater always needs the vocoder in it, which often isn't the case for small agencies with a relatively simple radio system (no wireline connected dispatcher). I wish Kenwood, Icom, Vertex, and others would take one of their analog repeaters and just add the capability to decode and regenerate P25 voice and data. No need to put IMBE in the unit...
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Re: Best repeater for P25? Have your say

Post by Astro Spectra »

Best P25 repeater? Horses for courses of course:

Motorola

New Motorola paid for WOPM (with other people’s money) has to be the GTR 8000. You want to upsize that? Just add the GCP 8000 Site Controller and maybe the GCM 8000 Comparator. See it all here:

http://www.motorola.com/Business/US-EN/ ... 8000_US-EN

Pre-owned or on a tight commercial budget? The best deal has to be the Quantar with third place to the ‘Quantar boards in a suitcase’ PDR 3500 (possibly just been discontinued).

Daniels Electronics

Need low power? Right this way to MT-4E with P25 firmware - rack it or buy the orange portable box. More expensive than Tait portable but lower power.

Tait

WOPM you can't beat the TB9100 with easy direct IP connection.

Need portable? They make a really nice (and I mean really nice) Transportable Repeater (black Pelican case or orange as a no charge option), while it is based on back to back mobiles, it properly regenerates the P25 in other words no double vocoding. Needs a big battery! Did I say it was really nice? About $6 to $8k

Options with promise

The Icom IC- FR5000 / FR6000 with the P25 digital option board in place of the NEXDN UCFR5000 Trunking/Network Controller board that fits inside (only problem is that it's been hinted at by Japan many times but not delivered).

There is an outfit in Australia that does something, see: http://www.rftechnology.com.au/rf_fswhats.html understood to be about $8k, YMMV.

Home made

Modesty almost prevents me from mentioning it, but see:

http://batboard.batlabs.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=80768

Still going strong after 2 years, still has IP remote access, still has the below par double vocoding audio mobile to mobile. Well actually the audio isn’t that bad.

You can avoid this downside by slumming it with carefully set up back to back analog radios like the ground breaking TPG concept here:

http://batboard.batlabs.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=45645

Can do the same job with the Tait T800 analog repeater moduels if Tait floats your boat. The ultimate low power version of this concept is to use the long discontinued full duplex version of the T700 mobile.

Miscellaneous

Australia, hmmm that remindes me mr.syntrx if you like Tait and the XTS2500 you'll love the P25 version of the TP8300 which itself is the soon to be released DMR version of the TP8100.
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Re: Best repeater for P25? Have your say

Post by 4n6inv »

The Quantar is an excellent repeater, but the Tait is my hands-down favorite. Easily servicable, feature rich - without having to pay for a ton of add-ons; excellent price, excellent quality. I've never had a problem with any one I've installed and they are a breeze to set up. Helluvalot less expensive than Motorola. Tait Tech support is hands-down, better than Motorola's.
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Re: Best repeater for P25? Have your say

Post by ASTROMODAT »

4n6inv wrote:The Quantar is an excellent repeater, but the Tait is my hands-down favorite. Easily servicable, feature rich - without having to pay for a ton of add-ons; excellent price, excellent quality. I've never had a problem with any one I've installed and they are a breeze to set up. Helluvalot less expensive than Motorola. Tait Tech support is hands-down, better than Motorola's.
515 said (in part): "The MA/COM MASTR III and Tait repeaters are fairly similar... Neither support any kind of hang time in the P25 mode."

What is the current situation with the Tait TB9100 P25 repeater? Is this still correct (with the latest Tait firmware) that it does not support any kind of hang time while in P25 mode? We are seriously considering the Tait and Daniels P25 repeaters versus the GTR8000.Tait is significantly cheaper than the anticipated price of the conventioanal mixed mode GTR, but if it is still saddled with this hang time issue, it would be a concern. BTW, as to the mixed mode GTR, I'm assuming the price will be along the lines of a Quantar, and given the price of the current variety of GTR.

Thanks for any help on this!
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Re: Best repeater for P25? Have your say

Post by 4n6inv »

Not sure exactly what you mean by P-25 "hang time", but every one that I installed was crystal clear and had excellent recieve sensitivity that outperformed the Quantar next to it. The SO has a Quantar that was purchased in 04 with grant money. The commissioners were still using a Micor; I kept it propped up as long as I could, but it was time to go. They replaced it with a Tait, and that was my first experience with that repeater. I was skeptical as hell. But; side by side; I liked the Tait much better. So did the SO. To the point where they're trying to get funding to replace their perfectly good Quantar with a Tait. The only gripe I have is that the Tait has so many damn features, theres a lot of programming to check before you call it a done deal.
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Re: Best repeater for P25? Have your say

Post by 515 »

The Tait TB9100 has made quite a few improvements since then, and I'd agree that it performs well and is well made. It does support hang time in P25 conventional mode now, although it might be an option that costs extra. The hang time (or "drop out delay" as it's called in the Quantar) is nice to provide an indication to the user that they successfully accessed the repeater. The Quantar defaults to a 2 second drop out delay. Without it, the repeater unkeys immediately after the subscriber unkeys, so the user can't look at the radio's receive/busy light to see if they even accessed the repeater. This is really useful for a utility company or small government office that may not always have a dispatcher or someone available to answer a radio call.

I'm not totally sure, but I think the MASTR-III still always unkeys immediately in P25 conventional mode.
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Re: Best repeater for P25? Have your say

Post by ASTROMODAT »

Thanks for the update, 515. The more I look at the Tait TB9100, the better it looks, and it's noticably less expensive than the Quant.
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Re: Best repeater for P25? Have your say

Post by FMROB »

I have been using the Tait 9100 heavily for about the last year. Lets see, why would anyone even mutter the word Motorola anymore is beyond me? The 9100 blows away the quantar. Just the fact of the built in IP voting in analog and p25 is absoutely crazy fun. You can use realtively cheap microwave links to build out crazy voting systems that would have costed millions on the motorola side of the hall. How about the remote monitoring points via factory software, SNMP alerting of user selcted errors and troubles, and the ability to fully monitor, reprogram, and control the enitre system via ethernet. No big brother BS, no software confidentialtiy agreements, no $$$$$$ pricetag, or calling customer service and getting, Sorry we cant help you. Did I mention that the systems sound amazing, and you dont even notice that the system is voting?

Just my two cents.
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Re: Best repeater for P25? Have your say

Post by Astro Spectra »

Well since this thread has been bought back from the dead...

Daniels has a neat new P25 baby the ET-5 here:

http://www.danelec.com/pdfs/TN730.pdf
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Re: Best repeater for P25? Have your say

Post by KB2ZTX »

FMROB wrote:I have been using the Tait 9100 heavily for about the last year. Lets see, why would anyone even mutter the word Motorola anymore is beyond me? The 9100 blows away the quantar. Just the fact of the built in IP voting in analog and p25 is absoutely crazy fun. You can use realtively cheap microwave links to build out crazy voting systems that would have costed millions on the motorola side of the hall. How about the remote monitoring points via factory software, SNMP alerting of user selcted errors and troubles, and the ability to fully monitor, reprogram, and control the enitre system via ethernet. No big brother BS, no software confidentialtiy agreements, no $$$$$$ pricetag, or calling customer service and getting, Sorry we cant help you. Did I mention that the systems sound amazing, and you dont even notice that the system is voting?

Just my two cents.
And all is fine until it breaks....then its on a boat for 6 months.....Just my experience....
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Re: Best repeater for P25? Have your say

Post by ASTROMODAT »

[/quote]...all is fine until it breaks....then its on a boat for 6 months.....Just my experience....[/quote]

I thought Tait had a stateside repair facility. Are you saying that the 9100 has to go all the way back to the Tait factory for repairs?!
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Re: Best repeater for P25? Have your say

Post by FMROB »

Tait North American operations is based in Texas (No Not Texas to Mexico Texas).

Yes, It takes forever to get orders for non stock items from New Zeland. However, as a dealer we always have some critical spares on hand.

Two things that I can say is that if you call Tait support, they help you from start to finish. The probability of getting a true "Retard" on the phone is by far less than calling the Big M. The people actually do care when you call, and will give you the right answers.

Secondly, Tait takes alot of pride in thier equipment and manufacturing processes. The equipment by far is much more superior than the Moto Stuff. It actually is intelligent and rugged all in the same breath. When you look at what they are doing, they are 10 years ahead of other manufacturers, espicially motorola.

Just My 2 Cents.
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Re: Best repeater for P25? Have your say

Post by ASTROMODAT »

FMROB wrote:...Yes, It takes forever to get orders for non stock items from New Zeland. However, as a dealer we always have some critical spares on hand.
1. Are the FRU/module items for the 9100 normally in stock from Tait in New Zealand (e.g., PS, PA, exciter, receiver, etc.)?

2. How long does it typically take to get a module from the Tait factory in New Zealand to a customer in the US?

3. If parts are not in stock at Tait New Zealand, how long do these take?

4. What type of interval is involved if the US customer has to send a 9100 back to New Zealand for repair? Does it have to be routed to the factory via a US Tait dealer, or can the customer ship it directly back to New Zealand?

I agree that the Tait 9100 is a phenomenal P25 repeater, but I'm a bit concerned about parts and repair cycle order intervals, if the original post is correct.
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Re: Best repeater for P25? Have your say

Post by escomm »

FMROB wrote:Yes, It takes forever to get orders for non stock items from New Zeland.
Beyond forever. 10 week lead time on materials and 2 more for shipping (to Texas) then you get to wait some more for them to turn it around for them. Oh, the order's critical for a public safety project? We'll expedite the order and improve delivery by 1 week. :roll:
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Re: Best repeater for P25? Have your say

Post by FMROB »

Truth of the matter is I have a bunch of these things up and running, and haven't had an issue with one yet. The Companies strong point is not thier shipping and lead times, I do agree.

As a dealer, you are left in the breeze on "I need it quickly" orders. As a responsible dealer, I stock three 9100's, which modules are interchangeable with the 8100 series.

Parts can be shipped expedited from NZ, but it takes about a week shipping. Overnight is available from Tait North America

The TB9100 series only has three modules, Power Supply (if so equipped), PA (One for entire UHF Range), and a Reciter (RX'r, Exciter, Controller in 1 unit). It is nice that it has less individual modules than the quantar, less parts to stock.

Repairs go to Tait North America, no need to go to NZ.

Tait carries a two year factory warranty on all thier products

All I can say is don't be afraid to try the equipment (other issues aside). We are a Moto dealer, and It was a hard sell for me at first, until I got elbow deep in it. Never looking back at this point, top notch equipment.

Only my 2 cents -Rob
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Re: Best repeater for P25? Have your say

Post by pforbes »

After seeing that new GTR 8000 systems up real close (blowing up a PSU just by turning it on), I am SOOOOOO disappointed. The atrocious appearance of that plumbing nightmare makes typical IT installations look lab quality pristine. Even 5" rack protrusion is sporadic.

They had an extremely clean, neat and serviceable chassis with your Quantar. Now, this new one is compared to old GE Masters (yes, I've been in Radio for longer than that) and their last Master IV trunked system. What a mess!

What happened to them???
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Re: Best repeater for P25? Have your say

Post by desperado »

It's a loaded question really.
What is it used for?
Who are the users?
What band?
Trunked?

Is it going on a preexisting system, or a new standalone?

Lots of variables.
You can build a P-25 repeater out of a couple MaxTrac's for hammie use and have a fine repeater for a few hundo.
If it's a phase one 6.9 trunked system and you are soon to upgrade it to phase 2 P-25 then it's got to be a GTR8000.

The whole thing is dependent on use,
And budget.
Keith
CET USMSS
Field Tech
What more can I say
pforbes
Posts: 46
Joined: Thu May 18, 2006 7:47 am

Re: Best repeater for P25? Have your say

Post by pforbes »

desperado wrote:It's a loaded question really.
What is it used for?
Who are the users?
What band?
Trunked?

Is it going on a preexisting system, or a new standalone?

Lots of variables.
You can build a P-25 repeater out of a couple MaxTrac's for hammie use and have a fine repeater for a few hundo.
If it's a phase one 6.9 trunked system and you are soon to upgrade it to phase 2 P-25 then it's got to be a GTR8000.

The whole thing is dependent on use,
And budget.
We own it. It's part of our System now and as a former employee of /\/\, I'm embarrassed and ashamed of the appearance and serviceability of that platform. It's really sad.
Patrick
MOEtorola
Posts: 49
Joined: Wed Feb 27, 2002 4:00 pm
What radios do you own?: APX7000, All XTS and XTL

Re: Best repeater for P25? Have your say

Post by MOEtorola »

I am not disappointed at all with the GTR8000's. We are using the Summit six pack configs and they are super nice. Motorola did have some problems with power supplies, cannot remember who made the supplies for them, but those issues have been worked out.
Knock on wood, we have 3 summit Six packs and 4 single setup Gtr8000's. And since it was installed 5 years ago, we have had 2 power supply failure's and 1 transceiver failure. That is pretty dang good if you ask me.

I do miss the old quantar's, more of a sentimental thing. In my experience the GTR is easier to work on and looks nicer.
I can tell you I do not miss the MSF,,,LOL that was a love hate relationship.



pforbes wrote:After seeing that new GTR 8000 systems up real close (blowing up a PSU just by turning it on), I am SOOOOOO disappointed. The atrocious appearance of that plumbing nightmare makes typical IT installations look lab quality pristine. Even 5" rack protrusion is sporadic.

They had an extremely clean, neat and serviceable chassis with your Quantar. Now, this new one is compared to old GE Masters (yes, I've been in Radio for longer than that) and their last Master IV trunked system. What a mess!

What happened to them???
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