I used an XTS2500 for years while while working on the ambulance to monitor radio traffic in LA County. I was able to listen to Verdugo (Digital/Trunked) and LACoFD (Analog) all on one. Hasnt failed me since.
As always, thoroughly enjoy your content!! Keep up the excellent work! As other people have stated, it would be awesome to see an update of all your radios! Cheers my friend!
@@AdventureCruiserI felt the wife thing hardcore! I would be on my way to meet the good lord if she knew how much money has been spent on my collection of radio equipment, specifically Motorola radios! Dont be embarrassed though, you have several radios that some of us dream of owning one day!
I just got my xts5000 today. Said used… but honestly the more I continue to search this thing, I can’t see any signs of use. Impres battery came. The cable and charger get here on my bday Monday so I have to sit here and itch all day tomorrow and the rest of tonight until I get to play. But she powers up nicely. Service mode was successful everything is as it t should be. Unprogrammed though. But god damn I must say Iam taken by the overall presence of this thing. Iam really happy with so much that I think I’ll order a belt clip because it didn’t come with one. Oh okay I see there is engraving on the side but it’s done well and the letters are dark blue so it’s hard to see it unless you are holding it So happy. Sorry just thought I’d share this. I subscribed to your channel because of how positive you spoke about it just as got it unwrapped it and turned it on for the first time. And this is the first video I’ve seen of yours. I just randomly UA-cam searched the xts and happened on your channel here. Anyways. I’ll be watching lolz
My department uses APX8000 and I carry an XTS5000 until I go in a structure fire. As long as I'm not dealing with trunked or 7/800, I prefer my xts for my shift. Had a number of issues with apx radios, especially the rsm's. They and the cables fail at an unprecedented rate compared to every other moto system I've used over the years.
Great video presentation on actual use of all these radios! As a hobbiest, I can't really justify the cost of radios above the XTS level considering here in SoCal, there are dozens of repeaters that have nothing but dead air and the handful of active repeaters have the same folks on it so it gets old after a month!
Thank you. Yeah, I hear the same thing on the same repeaters which is why I got interested in public safety and marine radios. I do sometimes laugh though, every time I figure out how to listen to an organization or agency they go encrypted. Coast Guard, Sheriff, local PD, and I’m afraid to think which ones will go next. I swear it’s not my fault!
In my experience, in the fields and in the city, it’s cool to have something like apx 2000. It’s smaller than xts2500/3000/5000, but at the same time, it’s really possible to get it new or almost new. Yes, xts are very cool, they are no match for regular stations, but if you like to explore, if you like to understand software, if you want a brand new station, then apx is the place for you. If you don’t want to worry about setting it up once and forgetting it, then the xts series is made for you. By the way, now you can buy quite good batteries for xts from the Chinese, they are lithium and that’s cool. for dp4000 which xpr7000 also have batteries that can be charged via type c, and since this is the same platform as apx 900/1000/2000/4000, this is a very cool deal (especially if you need it for the city, for wildlife it is better to have several original batteries)
Also, the XTS3000 can do 9600 baud trunking, and 99% can do conventional P25 and are all over the internet often for under $100. My favorite is the Astro Saber because even though it’s basically an XTS3000 it looks cooler and seems to perform better. It is awkwardly tall though.
If you actually have to communicate with P25 (vs having a fancy radio and talk on analog once in a while) the codec quality is noticeably better in the APX than the XTS. I can easily tell the difference on our local repeaters. The early XTS (3000) are bad and even the XTS 2500/5000 is noticeably worse if you are running earlier firmware. These were the radios blamed for at least one firefighter death triggering a government investigation due to poor background noise handling. The APX screen is not an issue, again, if you're using the radio to talk, there's generally no reason to look at the screen. Set up channel voice announcements, that eliminates 95% of screen use. I rather have a big direct speaker and short height than a gimmicky screen with difficult to read fonts and unnecessary wallpaper (looking at you, Harris).
Really great insight, thank you. I have very limited experience with these in anything other than an amateur capacity so it’s great to get real-world feedback.
The codec would be exactly the same unless you are using P25 phase II which only the APX can do, or a very early XTS3000 that only had VSELP and not normal IMBE. Most XTS3000s, 2500s, 5000s, APX series will all sound the exact same on conventional P25 or phase I trunked.
@@charlie_nolan Not true. There have been multiple IMBE/AMBE full-rate codec versions, in response to the noise difficulties leading up to the firefighter fatalities. This includes AMBE+2 1.4 in 2005 for tone response and AMBE+2 1.6 in 2009 for PASS alarm rejection. These are all encode-side changes, basically removing difficult noise before it attempts to compress. Further, the APX has far improved outside noise cancellation, this works on FM as well.
@@charlie_nolan Again incorrect. The modern codec used in P25 Phase I is referred to as AMBE+2 Full Rate. As I said, encoder-side changes were made as a response to poor audio quality, including a well-publicized firefighter fatality. Look up "The AMBE+2TM version 1.6 Vocoder" by EF Johnson.
I live in SE Louisiana and unfortunately every agency is on the 700-800 mhz LWIN system and all of the PD's and Sheriffs are pretty much encrypted except for state police and I believe my local FD and EMS. However, if I had the money for an APX 8000 I'd buy one in a minute being able to have VHF/UHF/700-800 bands all in one radio, as a HAM operator that would be my ultimate portable rig!!!!!!! 73 from KJ5GUY!
I want to buy an apx 8000xe with an ex500 rsm and compliment it with the lexl11 so I can use it on the wave ptx app. So the people that I want to talk to can use their cellphones. I have yet to find a motorola dealer that will sell me one.
I think now you need to do the same A/B for Peets v. Starbucks... In the amateur internet _linked_ P25 world, APXs have better audio; that said, when I'm doing virtually anything else, I'm using an XTS. (It also helps that I can piece one together out of scavenged parts for pennies by comparison, too...)
I bought this XTS 5000 model 3 off of eBay.I wish it was white clean.Where I only could listen to my local sheriff in the weather band other than that, I don't want this radio for What could I do anything.What could I do
You have over 10 thousand in radios there can I seriously get one donated to me ? I live in my van and can't afford much and really want one to listen to what's going on here in Montgomery county MD
I see where you're coming from. We've got some surplus VP600s purchased for $200-300 each that are our typical handout and rough-duty radios. No sense in handing someone a $3000 radio when it's going to get sprayed with drill mud and dropped off a piece of equipment.
Hey, KQ4LNZ here my name is Landen i am 14 and I live in south central kentucky, I have been watching you videos for a while and I see you like the Motorola APX series radios and ive been looking for a one for a while now. I want one that will cover both UHF and VHF I don't care much about the 700/800MHz side of things, do you have one you are not using currently that you would like to sell? Let me know please. Thanks -Laden KQ4LNZ.
I’m get some hate on this but a UV5R with extended battery unlocked for marine vhs , ham , gmrs is a lot you need. I also have yeasu ft-5dr for APRS and am, fm , short wave radio
Oh we both know you just wanted to stir the pot with that statement! Ha ha seriously though, as far as needs go, you’re right. But not everybody wants to drive a VW Bug, and that’s totally okay.
However, you lose a lot of features and the main thing is receiver performance is way better on even a cheap Yaesu, unbelievably better on anything commercial/public safety. I used to have just cheap Chinese radios then I eventually got into commercial stuff, now have a small radio business and it’s just a night and day difference performance and user experience wise.
Hello I'm new using radios I just want to know If I need license to use the APX and the motorolas that have the red buttom or not because I want to buy one but I don't have a license or something like that.
Hi there. Yes, for 99.9% of all radio transmissions you need a license. I love it when curious people enter the hobby, but I must explore you to use caution when working with radios that aren’t pre-programmed such as FRS, GMRS, MURS, and CB. If you’re genuinely interested in learning, I encourage you to study for your HAM license. It’s a great way to get a solid understanding of how radios work, when and on what frequencies you can talk, and radio theory. Please join the hobby, but be aware that there is the potential for you to get into a lot of trouble if you transmit in the wrong frequencies. Easy enough to do this right once you now the basics though. Good luck!
@@user-cx5ue4wf3c there are a lot of posts I see on eBay offering to program radios. I have not personally used any of them, but without knowing where you are, it’s hard to recommend anybody to you. In the past, I have called the local distributor for whatever brand I’m trying to program, and maybe after two or three calls to different shops ones willing to do the programming for me. That is probably the most legitimate way to get a radio programmed. They’ll probably charge you $45-$65, but it’s well worth it to have it done right
I wish I would’ve seen this video before I brought to XPR 7550e I would probably learn how to speak Mandarin before I figure out how to program these radios.
I’m glad you agree with me. I’ve tried to convince myself that this not the case, but time and time again my experience says that the XTS audio is better. However, the APX does still have better noise cancelling than the CTS when transmitting. I guess I can’t have it all after all.
That’s entirely dependent on your environment and terrain. In instances where I’m speaking with a paraglider it can be 20-30 miles, but if I’m in an urban setting sometimes less than a mile. Sorry I’m not more help here.
@@sancheztony5484 there are two types of radio that will to that, 1) short-wave and 2)IP or internet based radios. They’re not really radios, more like a push-to-talk app on your phone that uses LTE
![[How To] Programming a Motorola APX Radio!](/img/n.gif)
I used an XTS2500 for years while while working on the ambulance to monitor radio traffic in LA County. I was able to listen to Verdugo (Digital/Trunked) and LACoFD (Analog) all on one. Hasnt failed me since.
I'm in the XPR Mototrbo system in our network using both Analog and DMR.
I love it.
As always, thoroughly enjoy your content!! Keep up the excellent work! As other people have stated, it would be awesome to see an update of all your radios!
Cheers my friend!
Thank you. I’m frankly embarrassed to show all of my radios… or maybe I’m just scared to let my wife see how far out of hand this hobby has gotten.
@@AdventureCruiserI felt the wife thing hardcore! I would be on my way to meet the good lord if she knew how much money has been spent on my collection of radio equipment, specifically Motorola radios! Dont be embarrassed though, you have several radios that some of us dream of owning one day!
I just got my xts5000 today. Said used… but honestly the more I continue to search this thing, I can’t see any signs of use. Impres battery came. The cable and charger get here on my bday Monday so I have to sit here and itch all day tomorrow and the rest of tonight until I get to play. But she powers up nicely. Service mode was successful everything is as it t should be. Unprogrammed though. But god damn I must say Iam taken by the overall presence of this thing. Iam really happy with so much that I think I’ll order a belt clip because it didn’t come with one. Oh okay I see there is engraving on the side but it’s done well and the letters are dark blue so it’s hard to see it unless you are holding it So happy. Sorry just thought I’d share this. I subscribed to your channel because of how positive you spoke about it just as got it unwrapped it and turned it on for the first time. And this is the first video I’ve seen of yours. I just randomly UA-cam searched the xts and happened on your channel here. Anyways. I’ll be watching lolz
Where did you buy it
My department uses APX8000 and I carry an XTS5000 until I go in a structure fire. As long as I'm not dealing with trunked or 7/800, I prefer my xts for my shift. Had a number of issues with apx radios, especially the rsm's. They and the cables fail at an unprecedented rate compared to every other moto system I've used over the years.
Tends to happen when you buy eBay junk
Great video presentation on actual use of all these radios! As a hobbiest, I can't really justify the cost of radios above the XTS level considering here in SoCal, there are dozens of repeaters that have nothing but dead air and the handful of active repeaters have the same folks on it so it gets old after a month!
Thank you. Yeah, I hear the same thing on the same repeaters which is why I got interested in public safety and marine radios. I do sometimes laugh though, every time I figure out how to listen to an organization or agency they go encrypted. Coast Guard, Sheriff, local PD, and I’m afraid to think which ones will go next. I swear it’s not my fault!
In my experience, in the fields and in the city, it’s cool to have something like apx 2000. It’s smaller than xts2500/3000/5000, but at the same time, it’s really possible to get it new or almost new. Yes, xts are very cool, they are no match for regular stations, but if you like to explore, if you like to understand software, if you want a brand new station, then apx is the place for you. If you don’t want to worry about setting it up once and forgetting it, then the xts series is made for you. By the way, now you can buy quite good batteries for xts from the Chinese, they are lithium and that’s cool. for dp4000 which xpr7000 also have batteries that can be charged via type c, and since this is the same platform as apx 900/1000/2000/4000, this is a very cool deal (especially if you need it for the city, for wildlife it is better to have several original batteries)
Also, the XTS3000 can do 9600 baud trunking, and 99% can do conventional P25 and are all over the internet often for under $100. My favorite is the Astro Saber because even though it’s basically an XTS3000 it looks cooler and seems to perform better. It is awkwardly tall though.
I love my XTS and Sabers series tbh
If you actually have to communicate with P25 (vs having a fancy radio and talk on analog once in a while) the codec quality is noticeably better in the APX than the XTS. I can easily tell the difference on our local repeaters. The early XTS (3000) are bad and even the XTS 2500/5000 is noticeably worse if you are running earlier firmware. These were the radios blamed for at least one firefighter death triggering a government investigation due to poor background noise handling.
The APX screen is not an issue, again, if you're using the radio to talk, there's generally no reason to look at the screen. Set up channel voice announcements, that eliminates 95% of screen use. I rather have a big direct speaker and short height than a gimmicky screen with difficult to read fonts and unnecessary wallpaper (looking at you, Harris).
Really great insight, thank you. I have very limited experience with these in anything other than an amateur capacity so it’s great to get real-world feedback.
The codec would be exactly the same unless you are using P25 phase II which only the APX can do, or a very early XTS3000 that only had VSELP and not normal IMBE. Most XTS3000s, 2500s, 5000s, APX series will all sound the exact same on conventional P25 or phase I trunked.
@@charlie_nolan Not true. There have been multiple IMBE/AMBE full-rate codec versions, in response to the noise difficulties leading up to the firefighter fatalities. This includes AMBE+2 1.4 in 2005 for tone response and AMBE+2 1.6 in 2009 for PASS alarm rejection. These are all encode-side changes, basically removing difficult noise before it attempts to compress. Further, the APX has far improved outside noise cancellation, this works on FM as well.
@@straightpipediesel Isn't AMBE+2 only used on P25 phase II and proprietary modes though? I thought P25 conventional and trunked phase I is all IMBE?
@@charlie_nolan Again incorrect. The modern codec used in P25 Phase I is referred to as AMBE+2 Full Rate. As I said, encoder-side changes were made as a response to poor audio quality, including a well-publicized firefighter fatality. Look up "The AMBE+2TM version 1.6 Vocoder" by EF Johnson.
Love the video.
I live in SE Louisiana and unfortunately every agency is on the 700-800 mhz LWIN system and all of the PD's and Sheriffs are pretty much encrypted except for state police and I believe my local FD and EMS. However, if I had the money for an APX 8000 I'd buy one in a minute being able to have VHF/UHF/700-800 bands all in one radio, as a HAM operator that would be my ultimate portable rig!!!!!!! 73 from KJ5GUY!
In my experience, APX , but the XTS not have new radios in years.
I agree!
I want to buy an apx 8000xe with an ex500 rsm and compliment it with the lexl11 so I can use it on the wave ptx app. So the people that I want to talk to can use their cellphones. I have yet to find a motorola dealer that will sell me one.
Thank you
You are very welcome!
I think now you need to do the same A/B for Peets v. Starbucks...
In the amateur internet _linked_ P25 world, APXs have better audio; that said, when I'm doing virtually anything else, I'm using an XTS. (It also helps that I can piece one together out of scavenged parts for pennies by comparison, too...)
Which of these can be used to send information with ATAKC
I bought this XTS 5000 model 3 off of eBay.I wish it was white clean.Where I only could listen to my local sheriff in the weather band other than that, I don't want this radio for What could I do anything.What could I do
You have over 10 thousand in radios there can I seriously get one donated to me ? I live in my van and can't afford much and really want one to listen to what's going on here in Montgomery county MD
I see where you're coming from. We've got some surplus VP600s purchased for $200-300 each that are our typical handout and rough-duty radios. No sense in handing someone a $3000 radio when it's going to get sprayed with drill mud and dropped off a piece of equipment.
All you need is a fully whored-out APX8000XE with NAS
Sure do 😇
Can we have an update of all of your radios?
Unlikely, I’m guessing UA-cam has time limits for video uploads. Ha ha. Seriously though, once I hit 1,000 subscribers I’ll do that if you want me to.
youtube has a time limit of 24hr per video@@AdventureCruiser
I’ll take the APX as the XTS is no longer support just me
I was thinking about buying a APX8000 But after watching this video I'm not! My XTS3000's and XTS5000's Work great and cost A LOT LESS !
Hey, KQ4LNZ here my name is Landen i am 14 and I live in south central kentucky, I have been watching you videos for a while and I see you like the Motorola APX series radios and ive been looking for a one for a while now. I want one that will cover both UHF and VHF I don't care much about the 700/800MHz side of things, do you have one you are not using currently that you would like to sell? Let me know please. Thanks -Laden KQ4LNZ.
I’m get some hate on this but a UV5R with extended battery unlocked for marine vhs , ham , gmrs is a lot you need. I also have yeasu ft-5dr for APRS and am, fm , short wave radio
Oh we both know you just wanted to stir the pot with that statement! Ha ha seriously though, as far as needs go, you’re right. But not everybody wants to drive a VW Bug, and that’s totally okay.
However, you lose a lot of features and the main thing is receiver performance is way better on even a cheap Yaesu, unbelievably better on anything commercial/public safety. I used to have just cheap Chinese radios then I eventually got into commercial stuff, now have a small radio business and it’s just a night and day difference performance and user experience wise.
Hello I'm new using radios I just want to know If I need license to use the APX and the motorolas that have the red buttom or not because I want to buy one but I don't have a license or something like that.
Hi there. Yes, for 99.9% of all radio transmissions you need a license. I love it when curious people enter the hobby, but I must explore you to use caution when working with radios that aren’t pre-programmed such as FRS, GMRS, MURS, and CB. If you’re genuinely interested in learning, I encourage you to study for your HAM license. It’s a great way to get a solid understanding of how radios work, when and on what frequencies you can talk, and radio theory. Please join the hobby, but be aware that there is the potential for you to get into a lot of trouble if you transmit in the wrong frequencies. Easy enough to do this right once you now the basics though. Good luck!
@@AdventureCruiser Thanks there I will look at it.
I need help programming anyone have any advice on that
What type of help do you need? Somebody to actually program it or questions about programming?
Probably be best to have someone do the tech work for me
I’m about to apply for a fCC license and looking into getting 2 radios up and working
@@user-cx5ue4wf3c there are a lot of posts I see on eBay offering to program radios. I have not personally used any of them, but without knowing where you are, it’s hard to recommend anybody to you.
In the past, I have called the local distributor for whatever brand I’m trying to program, and maybe after two or three calls to different shops ones willing to do the programming for me. That is probably the most legitimate way to get a radio programmed. They’ll probably charge you $45-$65, but it’s well worth it to have it done right
@@user-cx5ue4wf3c do you know what brand and model radio you’re using?
I wish I would’ve seen this video before I brought to XPR 7550e I would probably learn how to speak Mandarin before I figure out how to program these radios.
Are you trying to program a DMR code plug or conventional analog?
XTS3000 plus an old windows xp laptop to program them is still waaaaay cheaper than the new APX's
Xts has better audio than the apx imho
I’m glad you agree with me. I’ve tried to convince myself that this not the case, but time and time again my experience says that the XTS audio is better. However, the APX does still have better noise cancelling than the CTS when transmitting. I guess I can’t have it all after all.
Bro called me broke in 100 different ways 😆
My bad!
Nice 7550e in the corner
Thanks!
What is the long range distance?????
That’s entirely dependent on your environment and terrain. In instances where I’m speaking with a paraglider it can be 20-30 miles, but if I’m in an urban setting sometimes less than a mile. Sorry I’m not more help here.
@@AdventureCruiser ok so 1 more questions what radios get 5,000 miles range? Do you know?
@@sancheztony5484 there are two types of radio that will to that, 1) short-wave and 2)IP or internet based radios. They’re not really radios, more like a push-to-talk app on your phone that uses LTE
@@AdventureCruiser thank u 🙏