The Radio Information Board

I have a "legacy" 5100 and have some questions about possibly adding encryption. My radio has no encryption now and I would like to have DES-XL/OFB and possibly AES. Does it require hardware or is it a software option update (OPT file)? There are no EFJ dealers nearby so can anyone give me an idea what this upgrade would cost if it is still available? Is the OPT update file serial number specific?

Thanks in advance,

John

The only way to get DES XL would be to have a series 3 radio. Then you would need to purchase the DES XL (and AES/OFB) options.
None of the other radios can legally support DES-XL

Mine is a version 1 radio so I may be out of luck. It is strange though. When I connect a Motorola KVL and load a DES key is says "PASSED" but the radio won't go into secure mode. I would expect it to FAIL on key load if it didn't support DES. I says in PCC that there is no encryption. I just wanted to have the capability to match my Motorola XTS and XTL radios...

John

It will support DES. Just not DES-XL.
The radio will still load keys even if not optioned for it. But when attempting to use an encrypted channel, the radio will check against loaded options to make sure it is valid.