Radios

[CAP.is.1337]

Okay so they don't have to have a specific code to be used with CAP thoug right?

Only if you want to use P25. If so, the first digit in the flashcode needs to  to be either a 1 or 5. All other stuff is ancillary with Astro radios. We don't use trunking or StatAlert, as far as I know. Now, the XTS-5000 and XTS-2500 can have options that will allow the to be programmed without /\/\'s expensive software. While that doesn't matter much for CAP, if you decide to get into ham radio, then you'll really appreciate being able to change your programming on the fly.

[maverik]

hah yeah I'll actually have technician rating by the end of the summer. BTW is this a code that means I can use P-25? 010001-000000-8

[CAP.is.1337]

hah yeah I'll actually have technician rating by the end of the summer. BTW is this a code that means I can use P-25? 010001-000000-8

No. When you run that code through a decoder it comes out to only:
* H101,G101,H169 Conventional Repeater Access (Analog Operation Only)(MDC1200 or Singletone)
* H35/G48 Conventional Operation
http://www.radioreference.com/apps/flash/
It should work fine for our analog feqs, though. A little cheat you can use to recognize P25 capability is that if it is, the flashcode will begin with a 1 or 5.

ETA: Oh, I see you're talking about the one listed on ebay. Even though the listed bandwith is 146-178 MHz, you should be able to program in our lower freqs without issue. The real problem with those radios is that they have a 512k Vocon and its VSLEP rather than IMBE. Basically what that means is that its a very old Astro Saber, the audio quality is much worse than a newer radio, and it will never work with P25.

Would it be ok to use as a conventional radio only? Probably. Would I save my money until I found a nicer radio that has P25. Yes.

I highly recommend you read the Guide to ASTRO Digital Radios if you're thinking about getting seriously into Motorola ASTRO portables.
http://www.akardam.net/moto/docs/mirrored/Guide_to_ASTRO_Digital_Radios_R03.00.01.pdf

And congrats on getting into Ham radio!