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Motorola
- Thread starter NorthStar
- Start date
Currently, I run a pair of /\/\ GM300 Radius radios for a crossband link. A 45 watt VHF radio programmed with 2 meter simplex and (not so) local repeaters, and a low power UHF radio
(turned down to 500 mw) programmed on a 70cm link frequency.
These radios are coupled with a /\/\ Rick unit, to allow a bi-directional crossband link that lets me work the 2m freqs from a low power UHF HT.
My version of the home wireless network 8)
(turned down to 500 mw) programmed on a 70cm link frequency.
These radios are coupled with a /\/\ Rick unit, to allow a bi-directional crossband link that lets me work the 2m freqs from a low power UHF HT.
My version of the home wireless network 8)
You got the hookup? we are friends with a local dealer but its still a pain to have to run there anytime I need something changed. Been dealing with some other radios recently and still would take a Motorola over the rest with the problems we have had. Also nice sounding setup you got there 8412!KingCobra_CDX882 said:
NOT me.NorthStar said:
I don't deal with companies like them.
Icom, Kenwood, Yaesu and others are better for ham use and just as good for MURS/GMRS. Plus they don't have the totalitarian mentality that moto does.
You got that right! Lost my interest in moto after learning how they like to do business. I still like some of their older radios though but have no interest in the new stuff or buying anything from them. The new radios they make are junk anyways or so I have been told.petey_racer said:
Cheech said:
Don't believe everything you hear,especially when it comes to radios.What's wrong with Motorola besides the fact they have pretty well safeguarded their product against freq hacking unless you have the proper authority (software) to do it? Their commercial products simply follow FCC guidelines.
Not as good of quality as they once were. The older radios were built like bricks and had big heat sinks and quality construction. Its like just about everything else made these days they just are not built like they used to be. I think this is one of the other reason they lost some business in the past few years. There is alot of good info on batwing labs about this subject. They had a thread not to long ago on motorola buying vertex standard.NorthStar said:
batboard.batlabs.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=73600
Maybe they have changed in the last ten years, I don't know.
I do know that I used Moto HTs and mobile units in severe conditions for years and they just kept on ticking. Rain, snow, severe dirt and dust conditions...they just kept working.
We had a fleet of Radius mobiles, their cheap stuff, that had mud built up in all the panels from dust accumulation and morning and evening dew wetting it. Never had a problem with them. They were run offroad 24/7 being pounded by vibration the whole time.
Nothing I've had of any current ham equipment is even close to that build level. There are some decent radios, but truly, there is a reason an HT1500 is about a grand. Just a matter of whether the end user really needs that build level.
Yeah, it's annoying that programming them without paying one of their shops feels like escaping East Berlin, but then again, they have a serious market they serve and need to maintain the integrity and reputation of the product.
Plus, put yourself in the shoes of a land-mobile dealer now....it's a very narrow market with disposable radios. They need some sort of service revenue or Moto would have to foot the bill for the whole pie.
There's a spot for them all, the low end Vertex/Maxxon/Kenwood/Icom and the gold standard, which IMO is still Motorola. I worked with GE radios back when and they were a horror show, even though they were supposed to be direct Moto competitors at the time.
I do know that I used Moto HTs and mobile units in severe conditions for years and they just kept on ticking. Rain, snow, severe dirt and dust conditions...they just kept working.
We had a fleet of Radius mobiles, their cheap stuff, that had mud built up in all the panels from dust accumulation and morning and evening dew wetting it. Never had a problem with them. They were run offroad 24/7 being pounded by vibration the whole time.
Nothing I've had of any current ham equipment is even close to that build level. There are some decent radios, but truly, there is a reason an HT1500 is about a grand. Just a matter of whether the end user really needs that build level.
Yeah, it's annoying that programming them without paying one of their shops feels like escaping East Berlin, but then again, they have a serious market they serve and need to maintain the integrity and reputation of the product.
Plus, put yourself in the shoes of a land-mobile dealer now....it's a very narrow market with disposable radios. They need some sort of service revenue or Moto would have to foot the bill for the whole pie.
There's a spot for them all, the low end Vertex/Maxxon/Kenwood/Icom and the gold standard, which IMO is still Motorola. I worked with GE radios back when and they were a horror show, even though they were supposed to be direct Moto competitors at the time.
...runna pile-up on 6m SSB