Batboard

Seems like this radio isn't old enough to be dumped for all Motorola service support as of the end of this year. This was announced a few days ago on MOL.

Larry

Well, I guess some young MBA in Schaumburg Marketing
decided that we out here in the real world should all go digital!

Glad he/she made the decision for me!


keep smiling!, and 73,

Mike in CT
KM1R

ASTROMODAT wrote:Seems like this radio isn't old enough to be dumped for all Motorola service support as of the end of this year. This was announced a few days ago on MOL.

Larry

Actually, I recall that the Spectra was first introduced around 1994. Given Moto's present 10 or so year span for radio lifetime, this doesn't come as any great surprise.

Buy up those spare parts while you can, gang! Command boards and MLMs especially...

Time flies...

Spectra was introduced WAY back. I have price pages and other materials from 1986.

What matters for support life is when was the last one made. Motorola has a stated policy of supporting mobiles & portables for five years following product discontinuation. That would imply that the last analog spectras were made in about 1999. That's a production run of over twelve years.

Are some of the cosmetic parts from the Astro Spectra the same or will work? Say a plastic face from a W9 on an A9? Also the mic cords, speakers, etc? They look like it but looks can be deceiving. Maybe somebody could comment of what will work and what won't. I'm not talking electronic components, just cosmetics and cords. I'll likely cannabilize the boards, etc.

Doug

I saw the spectra cancellation around april/may of last year on the support cancellation page. It was announced at least a few months back.

I guess when the customers who have spectras go to fix an individual unit of an aging fleet that works great they will choose Kenwood. You shouldn't build radios like tanks and then claim you want to have nothing to do with them. I mean you can still get parts for old washing machines that are of premium quality that are 20 years old, why not premium quality radios? To tell a customer that paid $2000 for a radio that they can't get a $100 part for a radio that is 97% perfect, and have to buy a replacement is like a smack in the face. I know they are trying to drive sales, but they are going to wind up pissing off the people who make the informed decisions/reccomendations for the next round of replacements for the entire fleet. Oh well, just another niche market for us batlabbers to fill. Knowledge is power, and we know how to fix em' or where find parts when the dealers won't (or have no idea where to.)

Only bad part of it I can see is they won't all magically disappear when support is discontinued, I'll probably still be seeing those old dinosaurs for years..

You know how much of a pain in the butt it is to program one of those things when it's mounted in an ambulance console?

Not to mention they don't do 12.5kHz and the capacitors leak and replacing the power or antenna connectors is a major pain.

actually I went to the school in FL. In 1996 and they said it had been out for 13 years then.