On Thu, 1 Jul 2010, La Rue Communications wrote: > Thanks Jeff! I am curious though - if the RSS is similar to Computer > applications (I know the RSS *IS* software) but if its obsolete, a lot > of software vendors don't mind if the obsolete software goes public / > freeware. Even if it was made Open Source and people could configure > it to work with any similar Motorola radio (If possible), would > Motorola get upset about stuff like that happening with their licensed > software?
Motorola will sue you into bankruptcy if you cross them. However, they have larger problems. Remember that they are selling radios that cost $1500+ to every agency under the sun because of the narrow-banding that is coming up in a few years. The secondary markets of the existing "wideband" radios will be legal Part 90 users who do not want to pay for the new radios, and can afford the filter and frequency standard replacement as well as the tech's time on the bench to make sure the radio is within spec. On top of those factors, many of the radios weren't made to deal with the splinter frequencies which will be used in increasing numbers in the future. I suppose if one was bright and wanted to hedge a few bets, one could buy up a large number of Maxtracs, have them sent to China, install new timebases and filters, check them there cheaply, then send them back to the US and have them checked again, programmed, and sold to the other Part 90 users. Or one could have 900MHz Maxtracs turned into 450MHz Maxtracs, keep the 2.5KHz deviation, and use HearClear. That would be fundamentally changing the operation of the radio and might involve learning 68HC11 microprocessors and reverse engineering the radio. But those costs are cheaper in China, where the choice is "do I want to eat today?" versus "Do I want to eat next week?" or "I still have four months before they foreclose." Of course, the growing dependence on CODECs to achieve bandwidth savings in digital radio sets an artificial obsolescence point in the lifetime of the radio. As long as the FCC and industry keeps thinking they can squeeze blood from a turnip, two-way radio will see smaller allocations and the Big Five telecom players will enjoy allocations in the multi-megahertz. But Motorola plays in that market too. -- Kris Kirby, KE4AHR Disinformation Analyst
