What is TANAPA?

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brickster
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What is TANAPA?

Post by brickster »

I'm here because of a 40-year old curiosity itch. I thought to scratch it with Google, and other than Tanzanian Parks Authority, found lots of Motorola discussion mentioning TANAPA numbers. I'm writing that in all caps, because that is the way it used to be displayed on the sign where I worked my first full time job, in TANAPA TEST at the newly built Schaumburg plant. It seemed to refer to the area where the three individual modules, transmitter, receiver, and power supply got aligned, tested and repaired if necessary before being assembled into a complete Motrac.

But I never knew what the word or acronym meant. Can someone please touch on what it means now? I've been away from 2-way for 25 years.

BTW, I've read some threads and it seems like you have a pretty civilized group here. Thanks!
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Victor Xray
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Re: What is TANAPA?

Post by Victor Xray »

Welcome to our forum!

Your question spurred a long topic several years ago. It was finally answered by one of our late members named Monty; see his reply midway through this thread --
http://batboard.batlabs.com/viewtopic.p ... 804#p96804
brickster
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Re: What is TANAPA?

Post by brickster »

Thank you for the welcome.

Your reply surely brought a big smile to my face, to learn others had been puzzled by this word's origin. I have fond memories of my first job and those I worked with at the big M, so I guess they surface now and then to remind me of questions never answered. Thanks again, all of you, for indulging my nostalgia. Kinda glad I did not find the answer with the search, as it enticed me to register.
Zack08
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Re: What is TANAPA?

Post by Zack08 »

Huh, thats cool! I always wanted to know what it meant, too.
Terry_Glover
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Re: What is TANAPA?

Post by Terry_Glover »

Victor Xray wrote:Welcome to our forum!

Your question spurred a long topic several years ago. It was finally answered by one of our late members named Monty; see his reply midway through this thread --
http://batboard.batlabs.com/viewtopic.p ... 804#p96804
I've always been curious about the meaning of TANAPA too. I've also always been to afraid to ask in public for fear of being labeled a dumbat.....

Thanks for the link to the old thread Victor Xray. 8)
Terry
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wx4cbh
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Re: What is TANAPA?

Post by wx4cbh »

I might be trying to tell Noah about the flood here, but for those interested, here's something that most don't know about this subject of parts and kit numbers, etc. There's a system of planning software marketed in the late 70s/early 80s called Manufacturers' Resource Planning or MRP. It wasn't the first of its type but it's probably one of the more successful, and it has several incarnations and evolutionary steps and competitors nowdays, and is the way a part evolves from a base material part number and quantity to a finished part number. I was working in the two-way radio business long before Motorola and GE adopted this stuff and have learned it along the way.

Don't know how they came up with the name or acronym, whatever it is, but it started with the original resource planning bills that become Bills of Materials. The chain of part numbers required to complete a part in the planning chain is the resource planning number. For instance, if it's a complete circuit board assembly ready to install, the part numbers will include the circuit board part number and the part numbers of all the components mounted on the finished board. This completed assembly is then given its own "complete assembly" part number that represents the parts and materials and manufacturing costs and the pricing structure. That's the number listed in the parts breakdown for the replacement board. The individual components on the board retain their individual part numbers for those parts that are available individually.

To install this completed board in a radio being built on the assembly line will require various and sundry pieces/parts like attaching hardware, wiring harness(es), standoffs, etc. This bunch of stuff plus the board becomes the "kit" number.

If a radio is built of several parts and kits manufactured in different places and by different vendors or company locations and then assembled in another location, the whole radio gets a "kit" number representing all the completed assemblies and parts that are required to complete a radio in the final assembly location.

All these multiple part numbers, assembly numbers, and kit numbers are the way they track how many of each of the individual parts they need, how many of the assemblies and how many of the kits will be required to supply the assembly lines and spare parts orders.

Sometimes the part may only be available as a kit because its easier and cheaper in many cases to stock only one part number, especially if the additional pieces are of minimal cost and they're buying it that way from a vendor or pre-assembling the kits. Sometimes towards the end of product support, you can tell when stock is getting low by the fact that individual completed circuit board is no longer available under its old part number, and now you get to buy the assembly line kits that weren't available under their resource planning part or kit numbers, but now the kit number previously not available is the "new" part number.

That was a simplified version of the real process, but hopefully it will get the idea across.
curmudgeon.....and I like it.
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escomm
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Re: What is TANAPA?

Post by escomm »

somehow i knew the product planner at motorola saying tanapa was a factory in malaysia was BS

to make this even more fun

the pro series mobiles and portables (super tanapa boards that come from penang) can have multiple FCC type ID numbers since each radio has its own ID despite them all having the same guts
RadioSouth
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Re: What is TANAPA?

Post by RadioSouth »

Yup, interesting to see their definition of a 'kit'. I have some secure modules that carry a part #. Then they get put in a bag and come with a small single instruction sheet, becomes a kit with it's own part #.
Ordering parts a few years ago I saw many of the identical parts that came in two different formats (AAA1234C or 12-45678A) and a bunch of surveillance items that came with up to 3 different item #s marked on the same unit.
When it comes to part#s they're the King, must have many millions assigned.
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wx4cbh
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Re: What is TANAPA?

Post by wx4cbh »

Try this one on: Two supposedly identical Centracom consoles in the same production run, shipped together, installed together.

BIM in consoles 1 and 2 carry the same unit and revision numbers, so one could assume they are interchangeable, and apparently they are.

BIM circuit boards in console 1 and console 2 look identical and have the same part number.

BIM in console 1 has a proprietary Motorola IC on the board and carries service part number A.

BIM in console 2 has a proprietary Toshiba IC on the board and carries service part number B.

When checking parts application reference, the application list is the same, so that sorta confirms they are interchangeable.

Gotta be a sourcing thing, otherwise, who knows.
curmudgeon.....and I like it.
RADIOMAN2002
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Re: What is TANAPA?

Post by RADIOMAN2002 »

TANAPA numbers are for the best of my research both RF board and firmware. With the right combination of hardware, the RF board, and firmware (TANAPA), you can make any version of that radio line. For example, you can take a VHF 1250 RF board, you make it conventional 64 channel limited keyboard conventional only, or with a different TANAPA firmware take that same RF board (hardware) and with the correct TANAPA, make it a full key board, LTR, PassPort, and 128 channel conventional radio. There is some differences in the suffixs that effect how far you can take the radio with options. The TANAPA's with a "D" suffix are the best, having a larger flash, giving you more options. BTW the HT and CDM model number decoder list located on this board is not totally correct. Depending on the TANAPA, the same model number can be a 64 chan radio or 128 chan with LTR.
pramod
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Re: What is TANAPA?

Post by pramod »

Totally Assembled, Not Assembled, Partially Assembled
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