Brand new, NTC-approved, inexpensive handheld radios!

[Spaceman3750]

XTS3000 is a good one, and dirt cheap. I just typed it in on ebay and see a bunch for under $300, even some under $100. Look for the VHF 136-174 MHz one and make sure it says it can do P25. If you're not sure, ask the seller for the flash code and I'll decode it for you. I got a XTS3000 from my Wing Comms Engineer the other day and it's as solid as a rock. The Jedi series Motos are almost indestructible.

Wow those have come way down. I paid $500 for mine 4 years ago or so.

[Brad]

Well this one was free, so even better, haha! Just waiting on a programming cable to arrive so I can tweak some settings and add some stuff in for my fire department. But yea, the XTS3000 has come way down since the 5000 has become mainstream. That's what I'd really like to have.

[Slim]

+1 on the XTS3000, I bought a model 2 (partial keypad) right after the holidays.  255 channels, flashed for P25 and XL encryption.  $220 for the radio and antenna, picked up two used batteries (after a couple of charge/discharge cycles, I haven't had to charge either in over a month with limited use) for $20 each, and $8 for a couple of belt clips.  Acquired the CPS, and it uses the same programming cable, chargers and lapel mic as my Jedi series radios.

The other benefit is that this radio is that-on the inside- it's a virtual twin to the EFJ 5100; essentially the same electronics, just in a different case.

Once the APX line really takes off, look for the 5000 to start coming way down too.

[a2capt]

Except $220 is still a long way from what was once approved, but bumped off the list.

[arajca]

Yes, but $220 gives him P25 which Wouxon did not.

Additionally, the speaker/mike, charger, antenna, and batteries are the same as the EFJ 51xx series.

[Slim]

Yes, but $220 gives him P25 which Wouxon did not.

Additionally, the speaker/mike, charger, antenna, and batteries are the same as the EFJ 51xx series.

^This.

All told, I've still got less than $300 into a radio that will do P25, encryption, and has enough channels available that I can use it for CAP, work, HAM, marine and fed monitoring, and still have room to do something else if I choose.  It's also a radio that I know will stand up to some (accidental) abuse and not shatter into a million pieces.  If it gets a little wet, so what?  My Moto MT2000 once took a brief swim in a portable water tank, and is still trucking 15 years later.

I considered buying a Wouxon or Baofeng; for what they are, you can't beat the price.  I didn't NEED to buy the XTS300 either, I already own two MT2000s (48 and 160 channel) and an HT1000, all VHF, and they work just fine for my CAP needs (activities and encampments), I didn't particularly need P25.  I'd been looking for the right XTS to show up on eBay, for the right price.  That just happened at a time I had a little extra cash to spare, so I jumped at it and haven't regretted it since.  Besides, I bought my 160 channel MT when they first came out in 1994; while most Motorola gear will last a long time, they will wear out eventually.

[LTC Don]

+1 on the XTS3000, I bought a model 2 (partial keypad) right after the holidays.  255 channels, flashed for P25 and XL encryption.  $220 for the radio and antenna, picked up two used batteries (after a couple of charge/discharge cycles, I haven't had to charge either in over a month with limited use) for $20 each, and $8 for a couple of belt clips.  Acquired the CPS, and it uses the same programming cable, chargers and lapel mic as my Jedi series radios.

The other benefit is that this radio is that-on the inside- it's a virtual twin to the EFJ 5100; essentially the same electronics, just in a different case.

Once the APX line really takes off, look for the 5000 to start coming way down too.

I'm very intrigued by this XTS3000, where does one acquire said CPS?

[Private Investigator]

Want a brand-new and inexpensive CAP compliant radio? Our prayers have finally been answered, and NO, this is NOT an April Fool's Day gag; this is the real deal!...

April Fool's Day again? This thread beats all uniform threads for longivity   

[Brad]

+1 on the XTS3000, I bought a model 2 (partial keypad) right after the holidays.  255 channels, flashed for P25 and XL encryption.  $220 for the radio and antenna, picked up two used batteries (after a couple of charge/discharge cycles, I haven't had to charge either in over a month with limited use) for $20 each, and $8 for a couple of belt clips.  Acquired the CPS, and it uses the same programming cable, chargers and lapel mic as my Jedi series radios.

The other benefit is that this radio is that-on the inside- it's a virtual twin to the EFJ 5100; essentially the same electronics, just in a different case.

Once the APX line really takes off, look for the 5000 to start coming way down too.

I'm very intrigued by this XTS3000, where does one acquire said CPS?

The CPS version 5.03 is years past End Of Life with Motorola, as is the XTS3000, so they don't really care one way or another who has that software as they don't stand to make any active profit from it. TECHNICALLY you're supposed to go through Motorola and apply for their licensing program which costs $200-something for either 3 or 6 months, can't remember which. That said, check around www.p25.ca for a copy of the 5.03 software which is the version needed to program an XTS3000 radio. If you give up, message me and I'll send you the link. Also make sure you have the regular programming cable and a RIB box, a ribless cable will not work on the XTS3000 unless you're lucky, and even then you stand a chance of bricking the radio when you start the write process. I found out that my ribless cable was a waste of money yesterday...fortunately I didn't break my radio because it didn't get that far. Just waiting on the mailman to deliver my RIB box and the standard programming cable now.

[Panache]

Brad... where did you buy the RIB box and cable?  If you could PM me the information, I would appreciate it.

[Brad]

Make sure you're using 32-bit XP, the CPS software doesn't like Windows 7 it seems, and even moreso does not like 64-bit Windows 7. Some users have reported success with compatibility mode, but I haven't. I simply repartitioned my hard-drive with 5GB set aside for dual-boot into Windows XP 32-bit, will use that for programming and any other things I may run into in the future.

[Panache]

Oh, bummer.  None of my machines at home use XP anymore, and I'm pretty sure I "burned" all of my XP licenses to upgrade to Win7.

[Eclipse]

How is this still a "thing"?  And why does it continue to be accepted by the comm community?

I've seen commm guys hoarding junk machine just for a specific serial chipset, etc.

Why is this not a standard USB thing?

[Brad]

How is this still a "thing"?  And why does it continue to be accepted by the comm community?

I've seen commm guys hoarding junk machine just for a specific serial chipset, etc.

Why is this not a standard USB thing?

Serial to USB works, just not the RIB-less programming cable. Think of it as people hoarding their old game systems to play them later. Just because new technology comes out doesn't make it feasible to upgrade everything, especially if it's no longer being actively produced nor demanded.

[Slim]

I'll try to catch all of the questions and concerns brought up.

1.  As mentioned, I was able to download the CPS on www.p25.ca .  This radio and software are no longer supported by Motorola, which is why it's significantly easier to find online.  In fact, in my research on that site, many people there mentioned that they were directed to that site, by name, from the folks at Motorola.

2.  CPS version 5.03 is the most current version for the XTS3000, and also for the Astro Saber.

3.  I use a RIBless programming cable purchased through Kawamall on eBay.  RIBless is somewhat of a misnomer, as the electronic components of the RIB box are contained within the DB9 connector on the cable.

4.  CPS will absolutely not run on any version of Windows 7.  I've heard that it will work on a Vista machine, but everyone recommends XP for best results.  I run a Windows virtual PC install of Windows XP within Windows 7.  The steps to set everything up are rather extensive, but it is doable.  For this, I will say that Google is your friend.  If you're using anything but Win7 basic or home editions, it's significantly easier to set up a Windows XP virtual machine.  There are workarounds for the basic and home editions; it's doable, but a few extra steps are required.

5.  On my Win7/XP machine, I use a USB to serial converter, and have had absolutely no problems reading/writing to the radio yet.

FWIW, I do have older, legacy systems that I use for programming older stuff.  But, I'm still using older radios, and have to maintain a means of programming them.  Particularly, the Jedi series radios (JT/HT1000, MT2000 and Visar) all used dos based programming software.  By that I mean, true dos; a dos prompt will not work at all.  The software may run, but will not read or write to the radio at all.  So, that old Toughbook running Win95 isn't a completely worthless boat anchor after all.

[Brad]

3.  I use a RIBless programming cable purchased through Kawamall on eBay.  RIBless is somewhat of a misnomer, as the electronic components of the RIB box are contained within the DB9 connector on the cable.

You got lucky then, I read a bunch of stuff on batlabs and p25.ca that said the RIBless cables are hit or miss. Mine didn't work, even with booting into XP directly. Same kind you have, from kawamall. Didn't want to read the radio. Here's hoping the RIB works when it gets here. Unless you have a trick for getting the RIBless to work?

[Slim]

3.  I use a RIBless programming cable purchased through Kawamall on eBay.  RIBless is somewhat of a misnomer, as the electronic components of the RIB box are contained within the DB9 connector on the cable.

You got lucky then, I read a bunch of stuff on batlabs and p25.ca that said the RIBless cables are hit or miss. Mine didn't work, even with booting into XP directly. Same kind you have, from kawamall. Didn't want to read the radio. Here's hoping the RIB works when it gets here. Unless you have a trick for getting the RIBless to work?

No tricks, voodoo or black magic.  I've had it probably 6-7 years now, and never had a problem doing what I needed with it.  The only time it ever let me down was trying to read a couple of DN series HT1000s, and I'm not 100% sure that was a cable issue.  I tried two known working RIBless cables, and an aftermarket rib/homebuilt cable (that I knew worked), and none of them would read either radio.

[ReCAP]

I wonder if the CHIRP folks would be interested in taking a stab at these older radios.  Someone has to have reverse engineered the protocol by now...

As for the RIB - what a kludge! 

I wonder if someone makes a headless tranciever module that I could build my own UI for - I'd make a mint! 

[Panache]

Oooookay.

Now, forgive my ignorance, but I'm fairly new to the CAP commo scene. 

I'm in the process of acquiring a Motorola XTS-3000 unit, and associated hardware.  I've got Windows XP running in a virtual machine for the programming software. 

Where would I find the actual programming data for the radio?  Does Wing/National have a "programming template" that you pre-load into the radios?  Do you have to plug in the numbers yourself?  Where would I find this information?  Looking on the CAP Communication site doesn't seem to have it anywhere.

[Eclipse]

Your unit or wing DC.