Motorola APX Series Bluetooth Option Board

[motorolanovice]

Ok time for the stupid question of the day.

What does it let you connect to?

Only a special motorola ear piece?

can it connect to any bluetooth device?

Thanks Fellas

[Bigfella237]

I have been meaning to ask a few questions about this option also, can anyone put together a list of what's needed to upgrade a standard APX7000 (module part #s, flash options, prices etc.)? I've seen a "kit" advertised but it also mentioned the speaker module may need to be replaced, the flashcode upgraded and the nameplate on the case changed?

[motorolanovice]

Pretty much you need
1)bluetooth module
2)new bluetooth speaker that has the antenna in it for the radio
3)replacement sticker with bluedot

4) the important bit option QA00583 flashed into the radio

My radio flash is 9A4278-011692-7 which equals

D12 B1	Q806				Q806 ASTRO IMBE Digital Operation
D12 B4	G996				G996 Over the Air Provisioning
D11 B2	Q52				Q52 Federal Government FPP
D11 B4	Q498				Q498 Hardware Multikey Encryption w/ OTAR
D10 B3	QA00571				QA00571 Primary Band: UHF Range 1
D9 B2	QA00574				QA00574 Secondary Band: VHF
D8 B1	QA00579				QA00579 Enable Dual Band Operation
D8 B2	QA00583				QA00583 Enable Bluetooth Operation
D8 B3	QA01749				QA01749 Legacy SW System Key Enable
D7 B4	H38				H38 SmartZone Systems Operation
D5 B1	QA00782				QA00782 Enable GPS Operation
D4 B1	Q947				Q947 APCO Packet Data Interface
D3 B2	Q387				Q387 Conventional Voting Scan
D3 B3	Q173				Q173 SmartZone Omnilink MultiZone Operation
D2 B1	QA00580				QA00580 Enable TDMA Operation
D2 B4	Q361				Q361 ASTRO 25 9600 Baud Trunking
D1 B2	QA00577				QA00577 Front Display and Full Keypad (M3)

[motorolanovice]

forgot to add all you need for you apx7000 you can get here

http://www.2wayradioparts.com/apx7000.html

I buy stuff from here all the time never had a problem

[cyrus]

Ok time for the stupid question of the day.

What does it let you connect to?

Only a special motorola ear piece?

can it connect to any bluetooth device?

Thanks Fellas

At this point I believe you're limited to the Mission Critical Wireless earpiece.

I've heard rumours of a headset being released at some point.

Since the Bluetooth link uses a Motorola proprietary secure algorithm, you can only use a compatible Motorola product.

Anything else won't work.

[Mars]

Check out this TRBO bluetooth adapter:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BLU-COMM-BLU...item1e6bf24393

I bought one last year. It works with the APX too. It sounds fine.

The only problem is there's no toggle switch to revert to the built-in APX speaker. The only way to re-enable the APX speaker is by disconnecting the adapter from the accessory connector. Otherwise, it's great.

I'm going to level with you guys: This adapter, and the Motorola Jedi (XTS3K, 5K, MTS2000) Bluetooth adapter SUCK BIG TIME for TX audio, outdoors, due to wind-noise picked up by 99.9999999% of cheap Bluetooth earpieces. That's not Moto's fault; it's just the design of nearly ALL Bluetooth accessories. The Moto Mission Critical one is built much differently, and does not have the wind-noise issues.

That said, if all you care about is DISCRETE RX ONLY, then yes -- purchase the eBay adapter. It won't let you down for RX applications. You can listen to your APX in a public place and not look like a whacker.

[Bigfella237]

When I first heard about the Dynamic Zone Programming feature in CPS R08 I actually had high hopes that it would allow the sharing of entire zones between radios via Bluetooth, this could be a very handy feature, much akin to sharing files between PDAs and smart phones.

I could imagine a pre-incident briefing at a multi-agency action where the controller says "Now everybody get out your APXs, I'm sending you all the working zone for this incident".

[Bigfella237]

Not to mention cable-less programming via Bluetooth to the PC!

[motorolanovice]

thanks for the information guys.

Andrew I wish I could program via bluetooth but If the signal drops out it could brick your baby. Not that moto would ever make that a reality.

[Bigfella237]

Pretty much you need
1)bluetooth module
2)new bluetooth speaker that has the antenna in it for the radio
3)replacement sticker with bluedot
4) the important bit option QA00583 flashed into the radio

Just to expand on the above (from the website mentioned), everything you should need is:

NNTN8160AS Bluetooth Option Board $180.00
NNTN8160AS.jpg

NHN7002C Speaker module w/bluetooth $52.00
NHN7002C_small.jpg

3371896H03 Bluetooth Name plate $8.95
3371896H03_small.jpg

QA00583 Enable Bluetooth Software (Flash Upgrade) $150.00

*Prices as at May 2012

[cyrus]

Not to mention cable-less programming via Bluetooth to the PC!

Apparently the new TRBO SL7550 is programmable via Bluetooth.

[Bigfella237]

Andrew I wish I could program via bluetooth but If the signal drops out it could brick your baby. Not that moto would ever make that a reality.

They will happily OTAP with POP25 without bricking so I can't see any problem with a secure Bluetooth connection, with all the memory in radios these days there's no reason it couldn't receive & CRC the plug before applying it?

BTW, is there a Bluetooth option for the APX7500 mobile radios? Hands free use while driving (or even when on foot within the general vicinity of the truck) would be a nice feature too.

[Alpha]

I think a bigger problem would be lack of standardization for bluetooth hardware on PC's. They would have to supply an "approved" BT USB dongle or something... And you KNOW they would insist that it's encrypted with some proprietary algorithm so no off-the-shelf BT device would work...

[Mars]

If only an aftermarket vendor would come out with a full-featured external bluetooth adapter...

[Magnus]

The APX does validate the codeplug before it applies it. Older <6 firmware had dual codeplug partitions and newer >6 firmware receives the codeplug from cps, unpacks and validates it before applying it. So bluetooth would be no problem.

[W2WTF]

Check out this TRBO bluetooth adapter:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BLU-COMM-BLU...item1e6bf24393

I bought one last year. It works with the APX too. It sounds fine.

The only problem is there's no toggle switch to revert to the built-in APX speaker. The only way to re-enable the APX speaker is by disconnecting the adapter from the accessory connector. Otherwise, it's great.

I'm going to level with you guys: This adapter, and the Motorola Jedi (XTS3K, 5K, MTS2000) Bluetooth adapter SUCK BIG TIME for TX audio, outdoors, due to wind-noise picked up by 99.9999999% of cheap Bluetooth earpieces. That's not Moto's fault; it's just the design of nearly ALL Bluetooth accessories. The Moto Mission Critical one is built much differently, and does not have the wind-noise issues.

That said, if all you care about is DISCRETE RX ONLY, then yes -- purchase the eBay adapter. It won't let you down for RX applications. You can listen to your APX in a public place and not look like a whacker.

I've used a higher end Plantronics bluetooth headset and never had a problem with Tx or Rx, it doesn't pick up wind noise either..

[Mars]

How bad is your wind? Where I live, the wind is always anywhere from 5-40mph. The average is about 20mph. Even at 5mph wind, I can't really use a Bluetooth. I've tried everything.

Platronics Voyageur Pro, the 510, 520, and the M1100. Also tried the Jawbone Era, and it's still too windy here!!

The only thing that really works WELL is the Motorola Windport speakermics. No problem and A+.

[CQDX]

What about a Bluetooth earpiece that has a mute function? That would disable wind noise. Or, what I did. I had an old piece of crap Plantronics that I got for free. Since I don't use Bluetooth much (and I also have a good headset), I just stabbed at the mic through the small mic port with a paperclip edge until the mic was DOA. No more wind noise. Of course, this is only good for RX only.

[Mars]

I don't use the BT adapter for TX. Only RX. So no problems there.

I worked three years, full-time, as a professional news videographer and covered the overnight "police beat" for 3 Canadian networks. The Moto BT adapter for the 3000/5000/MTS2000 was my best friend. I used it for THOUSANDS of hours. Very reliable for RX-only applications, and it was quite discrete at scenes. No one gives you a second look when they spot a BT in your ear. It was a safety thing for me too: Keeping my ears on the PD radio alerted me to any changes in scene-safety or suspect descriptions. It also clued me into where/when to set up for a good body shot, if a scene was indoors. (You have about 10-15 seconds to get a good shot, once they come outside.)

About two years back, I was at a triple-homicide where a guy on a bicycle was riding around the rough part of town, randomly shooting people. While I was shooting an active scene (outdoor body shot) some goof matching the suspect description rode by me on a bike, and was circling me and acting suspicious. Because I had heard the suspect description, I gave the eyeball to a cop about 40-feet away, who immediately clued-in on this guy and detained him. Turns out he wasn't the dude, but I thank the BT adapter for keeping me in the loop and not drawing attention to myself. Bad guys hear radios, and they assume you're a cop. Not the image you want to create for yourself if that means you're a target.

The downside to Moto's XTS3000/5000/MTS2000 BT adapter, is battery life of the BT headsets. They DO NOT last an entire shift (5-6 hours is max BT RX life before a recharge) and BTs easily fall out/off of your ear if you're wrestling with a bad guy. Moto's Mission Critical BT is much different, and falls into a completely different category.

Sorry for off-topic rant. That Moto BT adapter (and other vendors') is really quite useful for low-profile listening. It's worth every penny if you ask me. Just don't use the 3K/5K/2K one for mission critical stuff.