Motorola XTS 2500 Portable Radio

I frequently read various forum posts about programming a Motorola Astro-25 capable radio for scanning a trunking system. While these posts are usually wildly speculative and take the side of caution, after doing some research I found that it is actually quite easy to scan a system with a professional radio. I’ve compiled the ups, downs, and everything in between.

The Good

• Unbelievable quality. You will be blown away by how much traffic you miss with a traditional scanner. There is a reason Motorola radios are trusted in the field. You will find your radio going “digital” far, far less. Like 98% less.
• Very loud audio. If you sometimes have trouble hearing your scanner, or if your scanner gets distorted at louder volumes, getting a Moto is a good idea.
• Very rugged design. I suppose I could go into all of the radio’s features, but this is truly one of the best benefits. These things can get slammed around pretty well without issue.
• The battery life is great. You will get a couple days straight of scanning with an XTS. This is likely because transmitting is the biggest battery hog, which you won’t be doing.
• It Roams. One of the great things is that these radios are built to roam. Program in a few control channels (as many as you like) and the radio will pseudo-affiliate with the best available site. And Motorola radios are capable of scanning the entire 800mhz band to find a good Control Channel on the correct system.

The Bad

• You are limited in what you can scan. It looks like 16 scan lists is the limit. These scan lists can have multiple talkgroups in each. Scanners, on the other hand, can hold entire systems with multiple sites without issue.
• The best method for scanning involves hacking making a system key with a program called skeygen.exe. There are other ways to get a system key for the system you are trying to scan, but they aren’t good for people who aren’t savvy with hex editors.
• It’s not discrete. The XTS series radios are still pretty big and heavy. This is mainly due to the battery, but the tradeoff is great battery life.
• Expensive. More on this later.

The Process – How To

It is important to understand how Scan lists, Trunking Systems, and Conventional Personalities work. If you’ve never used CPS before, this might be a difficult (and expensive!) venture for you. CPS alone costs hundreds of dollars while the XTS2500 costs around $1200 used (unless you buy a frankenflashed radio from China on eBay). But it’s not my job to judge your abilities, and what follows is a fairly concisely-explained method for scanning your desired Astro Trunking system. Best of luck to you, and if you need help please contact me. The YouTube video is embedded below.

Note: I am currently in the process of re-doing this video. If you need help, please contact me on G+ or Facebook.

Well there you have it. I am always willing to help out, so if you need assistance please do not hesitate to contact me via Twitter or Facebook. Remember, System Keys are not supposed to be handed out like candy. You should have a legitimate reason to have one. That being said, what you do with your computer is up to you.