Batboard

Here ya go Astro Saber! Want 1 for Christmas?
http://www.motorola.com/cgiss/portables/xts5000.shtml

happy holidays ppl....

I posted a short review of this radio in the ASTRO section (it being an Astro product) - very cool & so is the XTS2500.

hello xmo! Yep saw your post! I have a xts3000r as a county repair tech. (I was on call last nite, fixing a trunk line that was leaking) thats why I was up early! I don't think I would trust my life to these new radios! Of course the sales rep. sure put on a "song & dance" on how great there are! but the overall "talk" about these new radios, (or mot's new line) is only impressive to those who don't have to go out in a patrol car, & try to arrest someone who just picked up an officer & bounced him off his patrol car! Crushed the radio, (about 15%) where we sent it back! And a few who have been issued these xts radios, (law-enforcement) have asked several of us to see if they can find them a more solid radio! I read one article where one (xts3500)? will still work after being under water at 6 feet for four hours! Well if I get my hands on a 3500, I'll test it out! Now anywhere you go & say your two cents...like I just did (speaking for several or more repair techs. I work with) If you line up a dozen people, even here! I'll get a bunch of replies..with different comments! But when theres a violent dispute would the new line hold up in battle? cause the unpredictable applies everywhere..after 34 years in this business, I've seen alot! Don't get me wrong, these radios have there use.. They sure cleaned up on the county at $3400. each when the xts3000 came out! oh well, off to work...

WOW...can you say above the price book.

nothing like a nice saber to crack the back of someone so they settle down.

i remember the old ge's crack crazed looney on the bus , supervisor litterly slammed it on the guys head didnt phase him but sure did demolish the radio

The 'Jedi Master' (XTS series) physical design does NOT give me the impression of great physical robustness, either. I can't put my trust into a radio that's 99 percent clipped and snapped together. That huge seal area between the chassis and the housing
simply HAS to be difficult to maintain for waterproofing (I have two XTS-3000's but I won't put them to that test for obvious resaons!) and I am quite certain that the housings are insufficiently rigid to preserve seal integrity in the long term.

Sabers (and even Astro Sabers) may be the toughest portable radios yet made. GE's cast metal frame radios may deform less, but the boards are hard mounted and shock damages the guts more easily.

The old MT500's and HT220's were legendary in their ability to be used to batter a criminal into submission and still work just fine. The MX series was equally impressive but eventually the frame will break, which is a minor pain in the ass to replace. I know, I've replaced a few dozen. The flex circuits are notoriously finicky after they've been tossed around for a few years of daily service, too.

Motorola is laying off yet MORE people, this time another 9,400, I think. That makes nearly fifty thousand layoffs in the past two years.

They're screwing themselves in the backside, obviously. They need to get their head out and come back to the proven concepts and technologies, and pricing, that sells product and keeps the customer happy with its performance and reliability, coupled with world class customer service. Otherwise they're going to be in even deeper doodoo.
They've screwed up so many times in the past few years that I should offer to take control of certain divisions for minimum wage for a period of two years, on the condition that if I can turn them around they have to give me back pay for the two years to equal a typical division president's salary, plus continue to pay me at that level.

I figure I couldn't POSSIBLY make them do worse than they're already doing.


Elroy

Very good points! Elroy. If I knew what I someone else did years ago..I'd be selling "nuts & bolts" to NASA (3/4") Six for $90.00!
Well it keeps us in business! I'm having nite lunch at work. looking across the room at nine XTS radios, tagged on the work-bench, for repair. General Dynamics bought out "Mot" appx: 4 months ago down here!
Any more thoughts? besides "its a cool" radio?

I wonder how long it's going to take before we see one of these on ebay/hamfests. I doubt they would be popular enough or avalible to make other equipment cheaper, and more avalible at hamfests.

I'm partly thinking about taking most of the analog stuff I have now, and buying some astro stuff at Dayton. Hopefully going a day early, as from what I understand that is when you find the popular things (like good spectra deals, astro stuff dirt cheap...) There was one guy who sold 12 astro portables for $50 each. They were 12 channel radios, but still... Iwould have run to the atm at the chance to buy those... (they all were working too!)

Oh well. I'm curious as to what they are going to come out with for mobile's... Someone mentioned in the Astro forum that they were coming out with some newer mobile stuff. Considering the only way to get mobile digital is using an Astro Spectra, or XTS/Saber in a convert-a-com.

-Alex

i would love to take the reigns at//....it seems that they are pushing a product that they feel they can sell based on looks and gimmicks rather than word of mouth and reliabilty....They have made a good impression on the "public" and feel that they can sell radios based on affilation rather than actual people who rely on it and really know it spreading the word...maybe they feel they have laid the ground work and have nothing to no longer worry about...but one thing is clear.....if it dosent work properly, eventually it will come back to bite you in the ass....Just look at that FDNY story....it seems like the press is having a field day with it even though they really dont even know what they are talking about (fdny wasnt even digital at the time) but what their motto has been is all you need to do is convince the majority, and it seems that their original scheme has done a 180 and taken a chunk out of their hind quarters....if they dont recover, their neck may be next. Sometimes the passing of the torch is a good thing....the only thing is, who does it get passed to?