Disadvantages
NX-5000 radios are pretty solid overall, but they do come with a bunch of downsides — including bugs, quirks, unfinished features, and other annoyances. For whatever reason, JVCKENWOOD doesn’t really talk to end users, doesn’t collect bug reports, and acts like they’re the only ones in the game. Because of this, most known and confirmed issues have been left unresolved for years (!). And honestly, it looks like most of them probably never will be :(
If you're thinking about buying an NX-5000, keep this in mind. Make sure you understand the risks and read through everything below before you decide.
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Issue
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Importance
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Status
|
Note
|
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Weak and poor modulation in analog mode (poor frequency response)
|
Middle
|
Not resolved
|
|
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Missing pre- and de-emphasis control
|
High
|
Not resolved
|
|
|
Non-working Equalizer in Analog mode
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Middle
|
Not resolved
|
|
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Strange scan behavior in DMR - lands on any CAI activity (GID, CC, etc. are ignored)
|
High
|
Not resolved
|
Not yet fixed even in 2.50 firmware
|
|
Missing Zone sort/arrangement
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High
|
Not resolved
|
|
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Missing Channel sort/arrangement
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High
|
Not resolved
|
|
|
Incompatibility with Quantar in P25 mode
|
-
|
Not confirmed
|
|
|
Missing ADP/RC4 Encryption for APCO25. Actually it means no ability to talk with Motorola radios when ADP is used!
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High
|
Not resolved.
|
|
|
6-digit password limit for Bluetooth
|
Middle
|
Not tested until 1.xx
|
|
|
Missing data export in FPU. You cannot export your data for usage outside of FPU.
|
Middle
|
Not resolved
|
|
|
Lockups in DMR and P25
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High
|
Probably fixed
|
|
|
Strange scan behavior in P25 - lands on any CAI activity (GID, NAC, etc. are ignored)
|
High
|
Resolved
|
Fixed in FW 2.40/2.50 or something
|
|
Not human-friendly recording file names (no tags, etc.)
|
Middle
|
Not resolved
|
|
|
Broken RX AGC. It clips (distorts) signal when turned on. Absolutely unusable feature for now.
|
High
|
Not resolved
|
|
|
Identical radio tuning from factory - all radios are the same, but not unique
|
Middle
|
Not resolved
|
Very strange thing that never seen before
|
|
Lack of support for end users (only via slow and worse educated dealers)
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High
|
Not resolved
|
|
|
Missing online support resource (like MOL) with files and documents for end users
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High
|
Not resolved
|
|
|
Soft plastic used for case and glass (very easy to scratch)
|
Middle
|
Not resolved
|
|
|
Spontaneous radio reboots
|
High
|
Probably fixed?
|
Not confirmed yet - need more reports
|
|
Missing descriptions / detailed release notes files
|
Middle
|
Not resolved
|
Typical Kenwood style — very little documentation.
|
|
DMR RC4 / Enhanced Privacy
|
Middle
|
Implemented
|
This is a newly implemented feature, not a bug.
|
|
DMR Auto Slot Select (the same thing as Hytera pseudo-trunking)
|
Middle
|
Implemented
|
This is a newly implemented feature, not a bug.
|
|
Missing Low Band mobile radios
|
Middle
|
Not resolved
|
May be announced later in '18
|
|
Missing 100/110W VHF/UHF mobile radios
|
Low
|
Not resolved
|
May be announced later in '18
|
|
Most of radios and accessories are out of stock and available only on 2 mo. BO
|
High
|
Not resolved
|
Kenwood says that they have many orders
|
|
Missing Status/Group Status/Individual Status features in P25 Conventional
|
Middle
|
Not resolved
|
Promised in UM, but not implemented
|
|
Missing Short Message service in P25 Conventional for both Group and Individual
|
Middle
|
Not resolved
|
By design
|
|
Missing Page (Paging) feature for P25 Conventional
|
Middle
|
Not resolved
|
Standard Motorola feature, but missed here
|
|
Inconsistent menu UI for DMR/P25 - the same features accessed by different ways
|
Middle
|
Not resolved
|
By design
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All of the above information is valid for NX-5000 "K" market radios running firmware version 5.23 and programmed with KPG-D1N version 5.20.
This is not a comprehensive list — it includes only the issues currently known to our team and community. The list is "live" and is updated as new information becomes available. Feel free to report any new issues or suggest updates to existing entries. Just drop us a few lines via the Feedback form.
And one more thing — while this isn’t exactly a flaw or disadvantage, it’s something to keep in mind: birdies. They’re common in all modern radios and can make certain frequencies unusable. Be sure your working frequencies are not among them:
- 144.0000
- 147.4560
- 153.6000
- 172.0325
- 172.8000
- 384.0000
- 403.2000
- 422.4000
- 432.0000
- 441.6000
- 460.8000
- 480.0000
- 499.2000
- 518.4000
- 864.0000