Batboard

I am sure everyone has seen the vhf xts5000's on ebay for several months now. My question is: will a depot even touch a radio for a flash upgrade? They have no serial tag and who knows what the actually serial number is if you were to actually read the radio.

Finally, any body know a ballpark figure for adding H14 Enhanced digital ID display to an xts5000?

Thanks a lot!

Mike

no, the depot will NOT touch the radio.

well, that's not true. they will touch it to remove it from the box and put it back in the box for shipment back to you.

these radios have a questionable history.

all have 123ABC serial numbers.

some require Alpha CPS to program.

these are what i call "Dead End" astro radios - b/c what you buy is what you get. no flash upgrades possible - nor will the depot service them.



doug

Thats what I figured.

There is a reason they are $600...

Thanks a lot!

Mike

They are good for parts.

SG

On a somewhat related note I am guessing its not possible to "franken-flash" an xts5000 but is it possible to load a codeplug in such a way as to change the band of the radio?

For instance, if you were to buy one of panter's radios and an rf-board from motorola would it be possible to change the band of the radio?

Thanks,
Mike

Fuel4300 wrote:On a somewhat related note I am guessing its not possible to "franken-flash" an xts5000 but is it possible to load a codeplug in such a way as to change the band of the radio?

They are one & the same. The only way to change the bandsplit of the radio would be to 'franken-flash' it. So, no.

Todd

SG observes that these cheap XTS5000's are good for parts.

Not only that but the low price may encourage some of our experimentally inclined adventurers to jump in and try to understand the programming and flash process for these radios.

It isn't as scary risking a $600 investment as a $4-5K investment!

wavetar wrote:

Fuel4300 wrote:On a somewhat related note I am guessing its not possible to "franken-flash" an xts5000 but is it possible to load a codeplug in such a way as to change the band of the radio?

They are one & the same. The only way to change the bandsplit of the radio would be to 'franken-flash' it. So, no.

Todd

Thats what I figured... the only way to change the band of an xts5000 is to replace the rf board and the vocon.

Thanks
Mike

With ANY eBay ASTRO, you run a risk of The Depot not wanting to touch it, except to possibly keep it.

The only way to be sure is to 1) buy it new from Motorola (like an $1,100 XTS/XTL-1500), or 2) buy it from a seller that has proof positive receipts showing him as the only and original purchaser/owner from Motorola. Even in the case of 2), you'll have to hope the guy isn't some obese Ham who has had his ademic grubby hands in there improperly and Hamhogingly cracking open and closing up the radio, and undoubtedly screwing it up worse than his breath stinks.

As my Economics Prof said, "There's no such thing as a free lunch." Why do you suppose you see these late model ASTRO radios for $800 (ancient ASTRO Saber behemoths excluded), while they cost $4,500 to $6,500 new? Because you run a high risk of getting a piece of junk that The Depot will refuse to repair (if not outright confiscate).

larry

$600.00 is not bad for a vhf xts5000 that has 512 channels and Imbe codeplug. I have one and love it even though it is a 123abc radio it works great and I have no need for any upgrades as there are no smartzone vhf systems anywhere within 500 miles.
It programs fine with regular cps also.

While SG's comment is true, I'd be careful here also.

I bought a radio offa eGay (not astro but on topic sorta).
I figured I'll risk $125 on it, Depot it out for $250+ship (they wanted $300)
and have a $800 radio for under $400 out of pocket (800HamSexy price?).

anyway 3 weeks go by and the phone at the shop rings.....I hear this side of the conversation only;"COUNTERFIT BOARDS......Bootleg.....FINE JUST SEND IT BACK"

Long of the short, the radio was sent back, I would have been better off going to Foxwoods with the $300, and I made the owner of the shop get his pee-pee wacked by the Depot.

It'll be all Hamsexy'd up and on the table @ Dayton. NOT

spectragod wrote:They are good for parts.

SG

You're lucky that The Depot returned it. Oftentimes with bootleg radios, you don't get 'em back.

larry