The Radio Information Board

I recently tried to purchase MDC-1200 for one of my 5100 radios.

Apparently EF Johnson tracks every single radio. Or at least they try to. they refused to sell me the upgrade because my radio was not in their system.

So my particular radio was either stolen or chipped out of EF Johnson's inventory and probably sold a few times before it reached me. Now apparently there is no way for me to purchase software options or upgrades. I do not know if this will affect any other aspect of support, like the service depot.

So buyer beware, when you purchase these on the used market. Make sure it has all the options you will ever require. Other than this hiccup the company has been very pleasant to deal with.

That's interesting Tony. I know they keep track of SN as it pertains to the original purchaser. This way they can track things better for warranty and other things (which only makes sense). But quite often things are re-sold. Especially in the case of dealers who buy radios then resell them to local agencies. And again gov't purchases.
Was the radio you requested MDC for an 023 model or a true 242?

I.S.

How much would it cost to add mdc-1200 to an older 5100?

List price is $50 when ordering it with purchase of radio for the ES. It might be a few bucks extra to add it on after the fact, maybe 60-70 total.

I.S.

hm


do they mean, there is a s/n registry from the birth of the radio, or are they meaning they can't tell where that radio got sold? A certain other manufacturer of raydeeoos had a similar issue, and they just threw pounds of what they felt were 'junk' radios into a garbage can, or sold for scrap.

That is, until a couple of enterprising individuals got hold of several hundred of them, fixed them, and sold them on the internet. You may have heard of the legendary ABC123 radios, that comes from the internal 'placekeeper' serial number the radios had until final codeplug programming.

So, if EFJ has an ABC123 radio problem, OR, it plain can't find where that radio was ever birthed, I can understand their reticence to want to help.


Or, if, lets say, you got hold of a radio that was sold under a giant contract, and one of the stipulations was that the unit was to be demilled before release by being run over by a vehicle, and somehow, you got one in working conditions, I can understand that, too.


ON the other hand,

If they just don't have tracking of where it was sold, then shame on them.


Insteada going the 800 route, have you considered going and talking to your local EF Johhny dealer?

Shawn