Batboard

I have a astro that has smartnet installed in it. well our agency swiched to smartzone and everything has to get switched. I want to know how much that would cost since this is my own radio. the department will not do it for me.

Model no: T99DX+132W_Astro
Flash : 5000040000005


Any help would be very greatly appreciated.

first of all, before you waste your money....

find out if it's a SIMULCAST smartzone system.

if it is, you don't need to waste ANY $$$ on an upgrade. your radio will work just fine.

if not, the only legitimate way is to go to a M sales (yes, SALES - not service) guy and have a flash kit ordered for your radio.... this is done via a form called a STIC-1, which any knowledgeable salesperson can do.

expect around $400-$600 for the upgrade.

i would also urge you to find out what rebanding area you are in - and whether or not your agency is affected.... you may also need a flash to ensure your radio will function when/if the frequencies of your system are changed.

AFAIK, all astro spectras post 1996 are upgradeable via a flash upgrade in the post-rebanding areas.



good luck


doug

the radio was working fine on the system but the radio shop guys are to lazy to creat another file for the radio. so they are making me get the new flash. I was told it might cost around $500 to get it done. So does the radio go back to Motorola or can the radio shop do it. i have been without the radio for two month trying to get the problem fixed. Sometimes i just think the radio shop just do not want to work.
Thank you for your reply..

ahbood wrote:the radio was working fine on the system but the radio shop guys are to lazy to creat another file for the radio. so they are making me get the new flash. I was told it might cost around $500 to get it done. So does the radio go back to Motorola or can the radio shop do it. i have been without the radio for two month trying to get the problem fixed. Sometimes i just think the radio shop just do not want to work.
Thank you for your reply..

Sounds like your radio shop guys are either very lazy or have no idea how to program the model of radio you have.

you would be better off selling your unit and just buying another with the 'correct' flash if you were forced to go that path.

$500 is CRAZY!

Goodluck with it all

I have thought of selling it also and buying the one with the correct flash.. Problem is the least i have seen the radio is $1500. and as much as $3500. so $500 is almost reasonable..

Happy New Year

Actually, if the radio already has Smartnet, the SmartZone upgrade is usually around the $200 range. Its the Conventional to trunking upgrade that cost the big $$$.

When speaking with the sales guy, tell him you want to go from G50 to G51. If he is halfway intelligent, he should be able to do it with the flashcode of the radio. Just make sure your dealing with a reputable MSS so that you get the decent sales guy.

Just make sure he knows you already have a trunking option in the radio!

Again, as Batdude states, if its a simulcast system, your good to go as is, but if they expanded to a SmartZone system I am sure other things are in the works.

Pj as i stated earlier. the radio works fine with smartnet on the system. its just i do not have all the transmitters in there. so we programmed the eight strongest repeater in the radio and never had a problem. so we unprogrammed it and took it to our department radio shop and they told me it needs to be upgraded to smartzone. I told him that it was working fine before and to program the radio with the eight strongest sites. thats when he told me well that means i have to make a whole new file for it. I told him all i need is the EM inputed into the system and i can programm it. well they did not like that to much. The radio works great on every channel even conventional..

thank you for all your help

That's easy then. Just create the CPG, save it to disk and give it to them. All the hard work will be done for them and all they would need to do is put in the right ID. Just a thought.

I am a little confuzzed.

What exactly are you trying to do? Did you have it programmed as an WAC AMSS system? Smartnet only allows up to 4 control channels. AMSS would allow the 8. EM - Emergency Management? I take it that this is a privately owned radio or a radio owned by an outside agency? Otherwise I would think that they would have paid for a SZ upgrade...?

Changing the information around in an existing radio takes about 5 mins, tops. It could be true that all their codeplugs are for smartzone radios, but any compentant radio shop would be able to get yours going.

Also, they may have a mandate that all radios must have a certain feature set or they just won't to it (which I think may be the case).

Scott on Tuesday i will take them the file and tell them to uploaded to the radio and issue a ID code hope it works..

PJ, it was programmed with EMSS and yes it is a privately owned radio since we are allowed a take home car I have my own crown vic. I have bought everything in it. When i explained to them that the radio works fine on the system they do not believe me. I told them it was cloned to my handheld but we did not have it affailating on the system they said it was not possible because the flash code was wrong. 1, I think they do not know what they are talking about. 2, they are lazy and do not want to write a new code plug for it.
I would hate to spend the $500 on something that was working fine with smartnet and not smartzone. Honestly i do not know that much about the radio thats why i am asking the intelligent people here. Everyone has been so helpfull thank you all for your help..

i bet a 6pack (with 3 beers missing 'cause i drank them)


THAT YOU LIVE IN MARICOPA COUNTY (or work there)

Not only that, but I will bet they called M with the serial # to see who originally owned the radio, before you purchased it. No six pack involved, 'cause I've been drinking with Doug.

SG

The SMARTNET to SMARTZONE firmware that will uplift an H1620/1621 to an H1622/1623 SMARTZONE requires G347, which costs $400. It is not discountable. The $400 is for the firmware kit only, and does not include any labor.

batdude drink the six pack and i will send you one because you are so right.. I went through hell with this radio. after everything they are telling me that they cant programm it because it has smartnet not smartzone. even though it was working fine on the system..

After reading all the number from it i had someone tell me that it will me less expensive then $400 to upgrade it.

ahbood wrote:
After reading all the number from it i had someone tell me that it will me less expensive then $400 to upgrade it.

ahbood, unless the "someone" is referring to hacking firmware, or the like, the Motorola price to uplift your ASTRO radio from Smartnet to Smartzone is $400. Motorola firmware is normally not discountable. I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but $400 is the price (not including tax or shipping) for the G347 kit.

Seeing that it looks like its a full blown SZ system, you may want to eat the cost of the upgrade so that the radio will work correctly depending on where you are traveling.

ASTROMODAT wrote:The SMARTNET to SMARTZONE firmware that will uplift an H1620/1621 to an H1622/1623 SMARTZONE requires G347, which costs $400. It is not discountable. The $400 is for the firmware kit only, and does not include any labor.

Um, last time I checked, SMARTNET and SMARTZONE were not a "firmware" feature. Somebody that claims to know everything (such as Larry) should know the correct terminology.

ahbood: r0f says scam a codeplug from another radio on the system, change it to match your serial number, slam it in, retune, and reprogram the radio with yoru assigned radio ID. upgrade completed. No difference, except you now have $400 more in your pocket.

Looking at my price list here...

Smartnet to SmartZone:

Astro Spectra Plus - $280
Astro Spectra - $280
XTS3000 - $255
XTL5000 - $255
XTS5000 - $240

A damn sight less than $400...

well it might be in a box on its way to motorola.. I will take it to a local radio shop and see how much they will try to rape me for. If they use a little lube they might get the radio. If not the radio will wait until i make some extra money. Or someone here can do it for less expensive.
thank you everyone for all your help you guys a re great. I bought something off the board last year and got SCREWED and promised i would never come back but guess what. You guys have changed my mind with all your help. Thank you again..

Pj, would you please list the involved Motorola FLASHport price book numbers for your prices (with price book page number, etc). As you know, you need to be in the FLASHport uplift section of the price book, as the upgrades are NOT the same as the price for the options when ordering the radios new. The FLASHport kits have Motorola designation numbers, both for the radio uplift version of the existing target radio and the end result (e.g., HXXXX to HXXXX, etc.). This number is used in the FLASHport kit to take into account the radio configuration of the target radio, and the endpoint result desired. Next, these numbers lead you to be able to look up the price for that kit. I am positive that the uplift WILL cost $400. I've checked it twice. I think you may be looking at an uplift from a different starting point, and/or to an incorrect end point. I've ordered too many FLASHport uplifts to remember, and I'm pretty sure I'm right, but I stand corrected if I've made a mistake.

Even for the extra price of Smartzone over Smartnet for a brand new factory ordered radio, your prices are way low. For instance, an ASTRO Spectra new (now discontinued, of course) required $330 more for Smartzone, as opposed to Smartnet. The FLASHport uplift firmware is generally quite a bit more than the differential in option price on a new radio (e.g., $400 for the FLASHport uplift for Smartnet to Smartzone, as opposed to an extra $330 for the Smartzone option over Smartnet on a radio ordered and configured NEW from the factory).

Pj, you mentioned that for an ASTRO Spectra radio (now discontinued) the firmware uplift is $280 for Smartzone capability for an ASTRO Spectra radio currently equipped with Smartnet. I don't believe this can be correct, as the option price for Smartzone even on a NEW ASTRO Spectra radio is $330 MORE over Smartnet. The firmware uplift kit is more than this (e.g., $400 versus $330), as they want to give the buyer an incentive to equip the radio at the time of order, as opposed to later.

I have no idea what you are quoting, unless it is discounted prices for the initial differential in cost for Smartzone over Smartnet for a NEW radio ordered from the factory, which does NOT apply to uplift firmware. Uplift firmware is NOT discountable, in addition to the fact that the FLAASHport kits are MORE than the original option differential prices for radios when ordered new from the factory. That's how it works.

Hope this helps clear this up!

Happy New Year!

It has nothing to do with the firmware... only flashcode.

tpg

The Pager Geek wrote:It has nothing to do with the firmware... only flashcode.

tpg

Thank you!

K8TEK wrote:ahbood: r0f says scam a codeplug from another radio on the system, change it to match your serial number, slam it in, retune, and reprogram the radio with yoru assigned radio ID. upgrade completed. No difference, except you now have $400 more in your pocket.

And how does one do this on a radio that has been programmed with a late version of CPS that cant be read using RSS? You need an RSS codeplug for this to work, otherwise you're SOL.

Cheers,
Matt

[edited by HumHead to fix quoting]

MattSR wrote:

K8TEK wrote:ahbood: r0f says scam a codeplug from another radio on the system, change it to match your serial number, slam it in, retune, and reprogram the radio with yoru assigned radio ID. upgrade completed. No difference, except you now have $400 more in your pocket.

And how does one do this on a radio that has been programmed with a late version of CPS that cant be read using RSS? You need an RSS codeplug for this to work, otherwise you're SOL.

Cheers,
Matt

You can take any CPS programmed radio, read the codeplug with LAB using the no pack/unpack feature & force the codeplug into another radio. It doesn't matter what version the radio was last written with, you are just reading the raw data from the radio. The only catch is you can't change the serial number like you could with a DOS RSS codeplug...but I believe the s-record layout is on Batlabs & you could hex edit the serial number in it.

As far as the Larry bashing goes, I split the 3 or 4 crap posts out of this thread. This isn't a Lounge, and we won't tolerate member bashing here. Please refrain from it...y'all know who you are.

Todd

So all i need is flashcode upgrade.. atleast what that is i am reading.

The only "official" way to get a flashcode upgrade is to buy an upgrade kit from Motorola as has been previously posted - and - EVERY Motorola Flashport upgrade kit comes with a firmware upgrade - that's just the way they do it - you always get the latest firmware for the feature set your radio will contain at the conclusion of the upgrade.

So even if Larry should be calling the upgrade a "Flashport" kit rather than a "firmware" upgrade - the result is the same - you get the latest firmware when you buy the real deal.

With regard to the advice: "...scam a codeplug from another radio on the system, change it to match your serial number, slam it in, retune, and reprogram the radio with your assigned radio ID. upgrade completed. No difference, except you now have $400 more in your pocket.""

"no difference"??? Beg to differ. BIG difference. You are publicly recommending ripping off Motorola.

I advise being very careful about that sort of recommendation. It is no secret that these techniques exist, and while it is one thing to use these processes to 'fix' a radio with a corrupt codeplug or for personal experimentation - it is quite another thing altogether to recommend this to an end user as a means of circumventing Motorola's legitimate right to sell their I.P.

Thanks for your clarification, xmo, and I agree with you 100%. As I have stated so many times on this board, scamming Motorola is just plain wrong, to say the least. Beyond that, by buying the FLASHport kit legitimatley you get a product that works, as opposed to a scammed/hacked piece of software that will give you a TON of problems anyways. Crime does not pay.

r0f says it's impossible for a radio with a cloned codeplug to malfunction if the radio is RETUNED after the clone, and an appropriate radio ID is assigned. The data from the s-record dump is IDENTICAL to a LEGITMATE WORKING RADIO on the system already in service. How does that data change when you clone it? It does not. You really think Motorola needs your $400 in their pocket to enable a feature that your radio already supports? I think not. Motorola has hacking problems because of their poor business ethics and inflated pricing on radios, parts, and service.

ASTROMODAT you need to stick to that pricing book of yours, and need not speak on technical issues which you have no experience in.

In the techinical sense, yes, r0f is correct...as long as the firmware revision in the radio supports what is going into it.

Obvioulsy if you cram in software that is designed to work on a verison 6 product into a verison 1 product, your not going to have good results.

I am in vegas working at the CES show so i will not be able to send it to motorola until i get back. It looks like $500 down the tubes since the radio is a public safety radio and my life will depend on it. I will spend the money for the flash upgrade. The only time it will not work is the time i need it because i am in a gun fight.
I do want to thank everyone that has helped with this issue you guys are great and thank you for all your knowledge.

K8TEK: "...r0f says it's impossible for a radio with a cloned codeplug to malfunction if the radio is RETUNED after the clone, and an appropriate radio ID is assigned. The data from the s-record dump is IDENTICAL to a LEGITMATE WORKING RADIO on the system already in service. How does that data change when you clone it? It does not...."
______________________________________________________________

First, r0f is no longer here due to lack of good judgement so he is hardly one to trust in these matters.

Second, while the forced codeplug and flashcode may be identical to a working radio, the firmware in the target radio DOES NOT CHANGE when a s-record is forced in. Hence, the only way this statement could be accurate is if the target radio firmware versions were also identical to the codeplug donor.

Last, what you think of Motorola's business practices has nothing to do with the legality of defrauding them.

Since the original question has been answered, I think this thread has lived long enough.