Many upgrades are software based and you could do them yourself IF you get your hands on that software (different from the programming software) otherwise you might have to pay someone to do them. but it doesn't hurt to have both options enabled. ADP encryption is probably enough for 99.999% of people, and AES requires an expensive "keyloader" before you can use it. IMHO, I would be sure to get a Model III which has the screen and all the buttons - the only other options that comes to mind is ADP and AES encryption.
The biggest downside is probably getting your hands on the Motorola programming software and then learning how to use it. and the size, it is, without a doubt, the best radio you can use as far as performance, durability and quality. Ports above 20 appear to cause issues and give errors such as "Read Radio Failed." If you encounter issues, try lowering the com port number of your virtual com port.Me, and most of the guys in my local GMRS-Dork group all use XTS5000s. Make these changes to the PatMob or PatPort executable files using your favorite hex editor.Īstro25 Tuner is known to have issues with reading & writing with higher COM port numbers. Configure these however you like per your FPP preference.
I don't know why Motorola decided to do it this way, but you can't just take any zone in the middle of the codeplug and make it FPP or non-FPP. The "gotcha" here is that any FPP zone must be preceded by only other FPP zones. The way to do this is not immediately obvious however, as it may seem like all zones are locked as FPP only.
The Astro Spectra Plus VCO will not lock on some frequencies far from its rated band and requires a hardware mod to allow it to lock properly at these frequencies.Ĭontrary to other reports, it is possible to set up a radio running BN firmware (R10+) for only a single zone of FPP channels, as opposed to 16 zones with 16 channels each. This is done using the Hex-edit Method which works for many CPS distributions, and detailed information can be found on the information page.Īll Astro25 radios excluding the Astro Spectra Plus will tune to all frequencies in the amateur bands without issues. If you have a radio whose bandsplit is outside the amateur bands (a UHF-R2 "S"-split radio for the 450-520 MHz band would be an example) you must modify the CPS executable to allow the software to accept frequencies which are out of band for the model. Astro25 Mobile CPS supports the Astro Spectra Plus, XTL1500, XTL2500, and XTL5000.
The portable version of CPS supports the XTS2500, XTS4000, and XTS5000. The latest firmware (as of ) is R20.50.08 for 8-meg BN radios and R09.00.41 for 4-meg AN radios.Īstro25 radios program using the Astro25 Portable and Mobile CPS Packages. Earlier models of the XTS2500 and the Astro Spectra Plus are considered AN radios and are limited to the firmware version specified below. Several radios in the Astro25 line are considered "AN" or "4-meg" radios and contain a smaller flash rom chip (4 megabyte vs 8 megabyte) and are more limited in firmware and feature support.