Batboard

I was wondering what the major differences are between these radios are (mainly the model III's), as well as the pros and cons/recomendations, beside the 5000 looking fancier. It would be for both UHF and 800MhZ Astro trunking systems/conventional, and also VHF Analog. Thanks.

-Luie-

Personal opinion, your milage may vary:

i like the XTS5k MUCH better for conventional only use, and for trunking IF you are a legit authorized user.

if you plan on using the 5k in trunking to just scan the system, get a 3k, as a 5k is FORCED to affiliate with the system, where as the 3k (and saber for that matter) can be set to not affiliate automatically.


the other issue with a 5k is the outrageous price for the programming cable. (and of course you will need CPS for both radios). BUT a 5k is what it is, no franken flashing of new features... if you have a 5k with the imfamous 123ABC1234 S/N then odds are you wont be able to get support (ie host/dsp or flashcode upgrades) from moto...

hope that helps.

as far as differences, i like the display better on the 5k and it holds 512 modes as opposed to 255.. some other differences, but those are the main ones most people are concerned about.

I have the CPS for the 3K, am I safe in assuming it'll work with the 5K too?

No, the CPS for the 3k will NOT work with the 5k. You also need a new programming cable as the 5k uses a ribless cable.

Also the 5k has better receive and transmit specs than the 3k (better im rejection, rx sensity, etc).

You get what you pay for!

George

That's good to know, and I was wondering why there was a huge difference in prices for the cables.

XTS5000 cable doesn't use the RIB and the XTS3000 does...

Is there a reason the 3K needs a rib? Could you buy the ribless and have it work?

There are different pin-outs for the XTS5000 cable. The XTS3000 uses the same cable as the Jedi series radios (MTS2000, HT1000, MT2000, etc...) I could be wrong, but I don't think there is a ribless cable for those radios.

There are some aftermarket ribless cables for the Jedi series that work quite well, but Motorola never sold one that was OEM.

-M

Thanks for the help

What version of software for the 3k forces affilitation

SJGLOCK wrote:What version of software for the 3k forces affilitation

It's the 5k that forces affiliation. Not the 3k. As of the current CPS for the XTS3k/Astro Saber you can set it to not automatically affiliate.

Okay I was told that the 3k when programed with a newer version of software, the 3k will force affiliation? Is this completly not true? Will 5k software program a 3k? If not what software will I need?

Yes and no.

A typical XTS3000 with trunking can be user selectable to affiate/not affiate for Smartnet systems. SmartZone and SmartZone Omnilink WILL auto affiate. You cannot adjust this option.

If you have a XTS3000 (or Astro Saber) with the ASTRO25 option, you lose the abilty to affiate/not affiate with ALL forms of trunking (including Smartnet).

Either way, using a two-way radio to monitor a trunked system (which is sounds like you are looking to do) is not a recommended practice anymore.

In addtion, if you do not know how to program a trunked system to begin with, you could create all sorts of havoc on that system unintenionally. Buy a scanner.

Astro Saber/XTS3000 using the Astro Saber/XTS3000 CPS and the XTS5000 uses the ASTRO 25 portable CPS. They are not interchagable.