Batboard

What kind of problems are you having with the XTS 5000s. We have over 700 model 2 700/800mhz radios and besides the normal stuff like knobs and LCD displays, I've started seeing dead radios with bad Vocon boards ($600) and several DES encyrption boards with 09/90 failures($940). Most of these radios are only 3 years old. Sure they get dropped and we expect to blow in a fuse every now , but I had 4 bad Vocon boards in the last month. Moto wants $8640 for a test fixture that will allow you access to all the boards but I doubt our City Council will go for it. Besides, I'm not good enough to solder in a zero ohm resistor that's the same size as the period at the end of this sentence. (if it's ZERO ohms how can they call it a resistor? )

I call it fixed price reapair at $350

Jayce wrote:(if it's ZERO ohms how can they call it a resistor? )

False adversising. It's close to zero ohms, but not quite there. Therefore, It's still a resistor, not a superconductor

Bruce1807 wrote:I call it fixed price reapair at $350

Fixed rate repair only applies to normal failures. I have to deal with cops and fireman- dropped in the river or run over by a rescue truck is not normal wear and tear. ( It is normal for my guys but...)

Even if you get 4 vocons a month for the next year, you will be experiencing a failure rate of about 7% after 4 years. Considering the abuse that these radios are put through (no, it's not normal wear and tear!) that is actually not too bad.

I can't imagine that your department bought those expensive radios and did not consider that these radios only come with a standard 1 year warranty and that it would have probably been prudent to explore options for extending that warranty..

I would imagine that now would be a good time for your department to look into a maintenance agreement with /\/\, for about $10 a month per unit you basically get the full warranty back, but of course the units that are already dead would not be covered

Jayce wrote:

Bruce1807 wrote:I call it fixed price reapair at $350

Fixed rate repair only applies to normal failures. I have to deal with cops and fireman- dropped in the river or run over by a rescue truck is not normal wear and tear. ( It is normal for my guys but...)

Do you pay the extra and but the ruggadized?
We have liitle problems with them except when dropped in 100ft of water.

I also write anything of that has water ingression simply from a liability issue.

We've seen a few with no tx audio from internal mic (UHF R2, model 2 ruggedized). That's about it and ours are a couple of years old now.

We have had a very high rate of failure with the RF P.A. in the XTS5000. High enough that Motorola replaced every RF P.A. in the units for a particular customer (250 units). The new P.A.s are now failing, and last I heard, Motorola will be replacing the entire RF board for all units in the next few months. Otherwise, no other trend issues have been noted.

Todd

It's intersting you fiqure about a 7% fail rate. Most larger cities have a threshold for failures. N.Y.C. is about 2 to 5 % depending on the product. When new radios were put in ambulances, and they installed the standard handset and cup, they had a failure rate of about 5-6%, the contract called for replacement of said cups untill the rate dropped below that threshold. We replaced the cups for about 3 years when Motorola, basically told N.Y.C. that it couldn't get that rate down, and replaced all of them wiith standard mics and hangup boxes, including labor at no cost to the city.
You may want to go back to your contact and see if your city was smart enough to put in such a clause. If not it's a lesson well learned, and I would suggest you put it in for any additional radios purchased. If they balk, inform them you will not reup their contact, and go to another vendor. If they want your bussiness bad enough, they'll put it in. Also if it is a new product with no experience in the field, make the fail rate low, about 1-2%.

At present we don't have a maintaince agreement with anyone but I'm pushing for one. Most of our problems have been minor involving the case or display. The boss wants to do component level repair and we can do alot of it now but you just cannot troubleshoot an XTS withOUT Moto's test fixture. Hopefully the city council will allow us to buy one because it looks like we'll be running these radios for the next 10-15 years.

I have had several encryption boards fail. Close to 10%.

Other than that, nothing unusual, just run of the mill display and knob issues. Sure, you get one-time oddball stuff, but nothing else recurring.