Batboard

Hi everyone,

Need some MCS 2000 info. I want to switch over to MCS 2000 from Spectra for Ham use and public saftey also. Does the MCS 2000 rss use windows as the operating system and is it as touchy with the speed of the computer running it as Spectra rss was? What speed of machines are you using to program with?

Those of you that are running MCS 2000 for ham use what is your opinion of the MCS vs. Spectra for ease of programming and general use? Better? Worse? Same?

Thanks, Cory

i use a brand new dell laptop for programing mcs2ooo and i dont have a problem as long as your programing cable is wired the correct way.

MCS CPS current version is 5.02.01, designed to run on Windows 2000/XP NOT Vista. Min requirement is a P2/400/128. I use a Dell Inspiron 2500 (Celeron 1GHz, 512M of RAM, XP Pro SP2) and only time it lags is doing drag and drop with large codeplugs.

MCS2000 is a much more modern, advanced radio. Full featured model can support a two line display, 256 modes, MDC encode/decode (all of this depends on the flashcode), etc. I prefer the MCS as it is CPS programmable and CPS is well, like dating some types of women- once you go CPS there is no going back. Being able to drag and drop from MTS2000's of the same band makes life so much easier, and the MCS is much more ergonomic.

don't get me wrong, only a fool would argue that an MCS has better RF performance than a properly tuned Spectra, but let's face it, the analog Spectra is close to 20 years old, and it's days are numbered. The RSS is now NLA, and while my old IBM ThinkPad 360 is still working, how many years are left in it? Aside, Spectra RSS is a PITA and time consuming compared to CPS.

Did I mention how cool CPS is? I just got one of those famous LA co FD Astro Sabers, in 10 minutes I had a 160 personality codeplug complete with scan lists and all, thanks to drag and drop (courtesy of an XTS3000 VHF C/P I already had). The MCS takes the cake, and it looks a hell of alot cooler. Spectras look so 1980's...

MTS2000des wrote:don't get me wrong, only a fool would argue that an MCS has better RF performance than a properly tuned Spectra..

Okay then, call me a fool. I had a model 2 UHF Range 2 MCS on the service monitor the other day, and it broke squelch with PL at .21 microvolts. Most Spectras I've seen are in the .25-.32 range. And in the 440-450 range, it was just as good.

If I didn't need P25 RX, I'd be MCS all the way. I do use 'em for 900 MHz, and they're great performers in the 902-928 band with no hardware modifications whatsoever; just bandsplit-hack the RSS/CPS and away you go. A5 and A7 Spectras do have the advantage of taking up less faceplate room in a console, though.