MT vs MTS of the same radio (i.e. MTS2000 vs MT2000)

[poser]

Is the MTS the "systems" (trunking) version of the MT?
Thanks!

[KI4RGV]

I've been told that the "S" stands for "Secure". Meaning that the MTS's have secure boards in them. I'm not 100% though.

Hope this somewhat helped you!

[tvsjr]

Whoever told you that, ignore them.

The MTS2000 can support trunking in various flavors (H36/37/38) if appropriately flashed, or they can be flashed H35 conventional only. They can support encryption if the appropriate board is added, but it is in no way guaranteed that any MTS will have a crypto board (most won't). They can support Smartnet/Smartzone functionality on trunking where the MTX8000/9000 were Privacy Plus radios.

They are different animals from the MT2000s... different controllers, Flashport upgradable, etc.

[MTS2000des]

the major difference between the MT and the MTS is all in the controller hardware and software. The RF boards are identical and interchangeable. What TVSJR said is pretty much it.

The MT2000 is and will always be a CONVENTIONAL only radio, and it's firmware CANNOT be upgraded via flash, as it is hard coded into a ROM chip. Securenet is not supported as there is no support in the firmware for it and usually no interface connector on the controller board.

The MTS2000 can be a conventional only or trunking radio, depending on it's flashcode and this can be changed (through a Flashport upgrade) at a later time without changing hardware. The MTS2000 can support encryption with optional modules that plug into the controller board.

[poser]

Cool! Thanks! So the MTS2000 is a more "modern" MT2000 Theres not a MTX2000 is there?

[MTS2000des]

I would not say more modern, the radios came out about the same time (late 1992 early 1993), but they are for different purposes. The MT2000 are for conventional users, whereas the MTS2000 was a replacement for the STX821 for trunked users (but could be ordered as conventional only with the capability to be reflashed to support trunking at a later date.)

For conventional use, the MT2000 is a little more appealing than most MTS2000 radios as it supports MDC, GE-Star and most do Quick-Call as a standard fare whereas the MTS2000 must be flashed to support these features as an option. While all trunking flashed (H37/H38) MTS2000's will support basic conventional operation in conventional mode, only ones flashed for Stat-Alert will do MDC/QCII/GE-Star and those are a little harder to come by. Check the Flashcode before buying if you want one for a particular purpose. Reflashing is just about near impossible to get done as an end user and can be quite expensive depending on what it is you want.

The MTX2000 is a Canadian radio IIRC, I am not sure if it is Flashport, but it can be programmed with MTSX DOS RSS.

FYI the MT2000, MTS2000, MTX2000, MTX8000, MTX9000, MTX838/888, MTX-LS, HT1000, JT1000 and Visar are all the same family of radios collectively known as the Jedi series. There are some European Jedi's I don't know the model numbers of, but they are very similar to the above. Most share the same RF boards and common housing parts, shield assemblies, front covers, etc with different front cover labels but the biggest difference by far is the controller topology (open "Flashport" versus closed masked ROM type) and software options.

[batdude]

the original intent with the MT / MTS series was a way to restrict the sales of the radio.

just like the Saber / Systems Saber -

the Systems Saber and the MTS series were considered High Tier "Private Systems" (Moto's terms) radios.

They were not orderable from the run of the mill Moto shop without some interfacing with sales... and the prices were ungodly. I priced a run of the mill MTS2000 in about 1997, it was $3900.

Secure didn't finally reach production until around 1996 or so -



doug

[nmfire10]

And programming is different too.

The MT2000 can only be programmed with the old DOS RSS. The MTS has a windows CPS available now.