[TrunkCom] does anyone know how the new scanners will handle both data and voice from the same channel?

Fri, 07 Jun 2002 06:52:00 -0700

You must be missing something somewhere (such as my second sentence in
my earlier). There is no *hardware* that is upgraded. These radios are
SOFTWARE driven. If someone has a conventional radio and they want to
upgrade it to do trunking, the flashing updates the software. The code
that is added, is code that was NOT there before. This code is what
controls how the radio operates outside of how a normal radio operates
(receiving, transmitting, mixing, filtering, etc).

Wayne

On Fri, 7 Jun 2002 00:07:34 -0400, "Trunktracker"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>So you mean Motorola puts the hardware in every in EVERY radio, even =
though
>some agencies won't ever use it?  That sounds like a waste of money to =
me.
>
>[email protected]
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Wayne M H" <[email protected]>
>To: "Trunktracker" <[email protected]>
>Cc: <[email protected]>
>Sent: Thursday, June 06, 2002 11:54 PM
>Subject: Re: [TrunkCom] does anyone know how the new scanners will =
handle
>both data and voice from the same channel?
>
>
>The hardware is there but you have to understand the radio is mostly
>software driven. Hardware is not part of the picture when it comes to
>adding features, unless it's adding encryption which requires the
>addition of an encryption module. A lot of radios are encryption
>ready, you simply plug the module in, tell it the module is there,
>then upload the key into the radio. There are other encryption
>features, which are upgrades, such as Multikey (Store multiple
>encryption keys) and OTAR (Over The Air Rekeying).
>
>It may seem like a rip-off but that's how business economics works for
>this Motorola division. These aren't amateur radios or scanners which
>come, out of the box, doing everything they can. Certain agencies or
>organizations need certain features. These features cost a lot to
>incorporate into a system, plus the R&D aspect. You have to make money
>somehow.
>
>Wayne
>
>
>On Thu, 6 Jun 2002 23:43:10 -0400, "Trunktracker"
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>So you mean the hardware inside the radio is already there ?  The radio
>>already HAS the ability to do digital or encrypted right out of the box=
 ?
>>Why should you have to purchase additional flash software just to use a
>>feature that the radio is already physically capable of ?
>>
>>To me, it would seem that to add additional talkgroup memory, you would
>have
>>to open the radio and add a chip or something.  But you don't ?  That
>memory
>>capability is already there ?
>>
>>I think that's rediculous !  Could you imagine having to purchase extra
>>software just to program an EDACS system into a trunktracker ?  Or =
having
>to
>>buy another radio programming application to just use the digital =
feature
>on
>>the upcoming digital scanners ?  What a rip off.
>>
>>[email protected]
>>
>>> The radio is connected to the computer and the desired features are
>>> added to (or "flashed into") the radio.
>>>
>>> Features that can be flashed into a radio include encryption =
capability
>>> and additional channel capacity. As an example, the base model =
MTS-2000
>>> Flashport portable radio is capable of 160 talkgroups/channels. For a
>>> fee (if I recall correctly from when we ordered ours it's around $150
>>> per radio if you order it at the same time as the radio), you can =
have
>>> it flashed up to 255 talkgroup/channel capacity.
>>>
>>> It's really just a firmware upgrade or addition.
>>>
>>> Tom WA8PYR