XTL2500 CONTROL HEAD

[havmedic26]

Hi all....

I have been a ham for 30 years, a firefighter / medic for 16 years, and a spec ops K9 unit for the state police for 3 years.

I have been programing and playing with Motorola radios for almost 20 years.

I have been programing and playing with the XTS series for about 8 years.

I have been waiting for the price to be right to jump into the XTL series radios. As it turns out, I came across a good price on a VHF XTL2500 Model M21KSM9PW1AN
Flashport 1000010000007. Thats all I have for the moment (i.e.: no hat, dsp, firmware, etc). Since I am brand new to XTL, I found myself confused about a couple issues. Here goes:

1: I need a control head, as the radio did not come with one. I wish to remote mount the head. Can I use an 05 control head? That appearance is my preference. Most used 05 heads that I have seen say xtl500, but I have seen at least 1 that says xtl5000 or xtl2500.

2: Am I correct that I just need that "programing cable" to connect the head to the radio? I would also need a separate speaker and power connecter.

3: The control head I need is the one with the back on it, not the open back with the flex cable?

4: I may want to go dual radio with a single control head when I find the right price on a UHF model. Can I do that with the xtl2500? I assume that I can not mix a 2500 with 5000 right? How hard is it to connect that up, and is it worth waiting on the right UHF model and setting it up that way.

5: I have to program the radio and control head separately? Is the control head programming software included with the astro25 portable / mobile package?

6: And finally, if the control heads on the used market come with the "latest firmware" and the radios do not, I just have to upgrade the firmware on the radio to match the code plug and I am good to go right?


Thank you all, I realize that I need a lot of help here,

JT

[Batwings21]

1: I need a control head, as the radio did not come with one. I wish to remote mount the head. Can I use an 05 control head? That appearance is my preference. Most used 05 heads that I have seen say xtl500, but I have seen at least 1 that says xtl5000 or xtl2500.

The m5 is the correct head for the 2500, almost identical (basically programmed differently from the factory)

2: Am I correct that I just need that "programing cable" to connect the head to the radio? I would also need a separate speaker and power connecter.

No you need a control head cable

3: The control head I need is the one with the back on it, not the open back with the flex cable?

If you get one without the back you will also need the back and the cable and possibly the CHIB for the brick depending on what style it has now

4: I may want to go dual radio with a single control head when I find the right price on a UHF model. Can I do that with the xtl2500? I assume that I can not mix a 2500 with 5000 right? How hard is it to connect that up, and is it worth waiting on the right UHF model and setting it up that way.

I don't believe the 2500 will do that and if it does it would need to be flashed for that option and not sure which head would be supported

5: I have to program the radio and control head separately? Is the control head programming software included with the astro25 portable / mobile package?

No they program together, with astro25 mobile cps sometimes there are issues with mismatched firmware versions

6: And finally, if the control heads on the used market come with the "latest firmware" and the radios do not, I just have to upgrade the firmware on the radio to match the code plug and I am good to go right?

Yeah, but you will need the CVN files and a Ibutton to do the upgrade


Thank you all, I realize that I need a lot of help here,

Hope some of that helps

JT[/quote]

[Code3]

4: I may want to go dual radio with a single control head when I find the right price on a UHF model. Can I do that with the xtl2500? I assume that I can not mix a 2500 with 5000 right? How hard is it to connect that up, and is it worth waiting on the right UHF model and setting it up that way.

The Dual radio is only possible with the XTL5000, and it is only compatible with the W3 control head. In addition to that the literature states that it needs to be ordered with the dual radio option from the factory, and it is not available as a field upgrade.

[havmedic26]

Ok, So what I have gotten down to so far is that I need to get an M5 control head and cable. The Problem is that I don't see any M5 control heads for sale on the used market

super bummer. A radio with no way to play with it

The M5 control head is the all black one, right? I ordered the wrong radio I was told the only difference between the 2500 and 5000 was something trivial. I specifically wanted that 05 control head to match the radios at work. Oh well. I will keep looking for the control head and then go from there.

Thanks all

[jmr061]

So you got one of the 5 off ebay or did you get them all?


Jason

Hi all....

I have been a ham for 30 years, a firefighter / medic for 16 years, and a spec ops K9 unit for the state police for 3 years.

I have been programing and playing with Motorola radios for almost 20 years.

I have been programing and playing with the XTS series for about 8 years.

I have been waiting for the price to be right to jump into the XTL series radios. As it turns out, I came across a good price on a VHF XTL2500 Model M21KSM9PW1AN
Flashport 1000010000007. Thats all I have for the moment (i.e.: no hat, dsp, firmware, etc). Since I am brand new to XTL, I found myself confused about a couple issues. Here goes:

1: I need a control head, as the radio did not come with one. I wish to remote mount the head. Can I use an 05 control head? That appearance is my preference. Most used 05 heads that I have seen say xtl500, but I have seen at least 1 that says xtl5000 or xtl2500.

2: Am I correct that I just need that "programing cable" to connect the head to the radio? I would also need a separate speaker and power connecter.

3: The control head I need is the one with the back on it, not the open back with the flex cable?

4: I may want to go dual radio with a single control head when I find the right price on a UHF model. Can I do that with the xtl2500? I assume that I can not mix a 2500 with 5000 right? How hard is it to connect that up, and is it worth waiting on the right UHF model and setting it up that way.

5: I have to program the radio and control head separately? Is the control head programming software included with the astro25 portable / mobile package?

6: And finally, if the control heads on the used market come with the "latest firmware" and the radios do not, I just have to upgrade the firmware on the radio to match the code plug and I am good to go right?


Thank you all, I realize that I need a lot of help here,

JT

[spectragod]

I have the parts you need to make your radio work, PM me.

[havmedic26]

I accidentally got 2, but I only wanted 1. I only bid on one. I must have gotten confused due to the close time for each sale. But you are correct, i got it off of ebay.

[havmedic26]

So I connected an m5 control head to the radio, and I got this:


FL 01-90

s/w mismatch error

then every other time I turn it on it goes through those two screens and the into maintanance mode.


Is this a firmware mismatch problem? Is there any easy way to get them both to the same firmware? I dont know what firmware is in eaither one.

thanks
JT

[d119]

The control head and RF unit firmware versions are mismatched.

You need the control head synchronization file off of Motorola Online. Once you have that, you then put it in the appropriate folder on your computer and perform a control head synchronization in CPS. This matches the control head to the RF unit firmware version, and viola - your radio works.

[Thomas]

Does one need an active account with Motorola to get the head synchronization file? I'm in need of that now. Same situation.

[n7maq]

Does one need an active account with Motorola to get the head synchronization file? I'm in need of that now. Same situation.

The Control Head CVN (firmware file) should have come with CPS. Just do a search in the help index for "Control Head (Synchronize)" that will guide you thru the upgrade. The file should be in the upgrade folder.

Jim