Ok @anon89030143, this has gone on for way too long!
I am in need of parts for the force300 and epmp3000L but they are not available. These are not internal parts like the SMA connector, but simply the exterior parts like the mounting plate for the epmp3000L/Force300CSM or cable glands (yes it is a M25x1.5 cable gland and can be sourced from a variety of suppliers) or even the mount for the force300-19.
I reached out to my favorite dealer who reached out to their Cambium rep and the short of it is there are no parts for sale. I need to purchase an entire radio to get the replacement parts needed to repair a radio that has nothing wrong with it other than missing parts. There are a variety of reasons that parts are needed, ours is mostly due to high winds, very cold (-40 doesn’t matter the scale at that point), direct impact from debris or a combination that cause mounts to fail and I do not know if you have had to replace a cable gland in the cold but they can easily shatter regardless of their thermal rating!
So why are these parts not available?
What would it take to get these parts available?
How can we encourage getting these parts available?
Good point Doug. Similar situation, we had 2 brand new 450b mid-gain SMs (similar case to Force 300-16) that came with broken covers, the tab was broken off, no way to repair.
I don’t know what happened because the cardboard box wasn’t damaged. These were part of a shipment from our distributor and we didn’t find out until we opened the box to deploy. Since these are not tethered to the SM, I imagine they could also fall off during installation and get lost. Same result, you have a brand new perfectly good radio with no cover. I tried to scavenge a cover off a used SM we had retrieved from a customer who cancelled, and it wouldn’t fit, at some point Cambium changed the cover mechanical design. Drat!
Yes, we might be able to RMA it, but if we could just buy a bag of 5 or 10 spares I’d just spend the money.
My main problem is not covers directly but I do understand your plight.
The 450b radio and the f300-25 covers are similar but not the same.
For the f300-16/16r/19/19r/csm and e3kL the cable gland is the same if only a different color. The mounting plate for the force300csm is identical to the e3kL.
We need parts but I will have to wait until I have a radio that needs RMA to get them.
All epmp parts that are removable from the case that get lost or broken easily.
F300-16 through 19 use a cable gland that does not like the extreme cold of canada/midwest USA. Made by OSD m25x1.5 but no one carries the correct part number.
F300csm/epmp3000L mounting bracket/plate
F300-25 cable covers can come off in extreme cold with high winds and are just gone.
F300-16 through 19 mounting bracket.
I would add f180 bracket too but those are being phased out.
Every part that can be broken or can be lost and render the radio useless without them.
And they need to be orderable directly from Cambium, not a distributor. A single ePMP 1000 cover is going to cost $50 and take 3 months if it has to come all the way through the distribution chain.
I realize the cost involved with some of these parts being sold separately but when you think that we are refusing to buy another radio just for these parts means placing the old radio in the spares bin waiting for a chance to be used instead of generating the revenue to justify its replacement. This slows down our willingness to upgrade the network to the next generation and forces slower sales for Cambium too.
If I need to buy 10 cable glands in a bag for $25 then I will if it means keeping that radio in the field generating revenue and aging on the books towards replacement. mounting brackets are not as easily broken but it doesnt seem to be the radio side that breaks especially for the Force300CSM and e3KL.
For connector covers, we have radios that are unusable because the cover is broken or gone. Duct-Seal works in a pinch, but this is not professional and looks bad plus is definitely a warranty viloation.
James_Mifsud
(James Mifsud (Certified Instructor))
8
I can see both sides,
But it would be super nice to be able to purchase PMP 450b covers as an example; maybe to save costs for Cambium and or Users is to sell them in 5 or 10pks
