So a lot of people ask about using Moto radios to duplex on amateur radio. There is a lot of misconceptions and misinformation out there. I regularly use about a dozen Moto radios of various makes for various tasks, I program them all myself and they all work really well. As technology changes more and more old portables that were hundreds or thousands of dollars a few years ago are flooding ebay for a fraction of their cost. Some as low as $20-$30, but there are a lot of snags that make them not so cheap, but still worth the money.
First off why use a Motorola radio? The radios I'm referring to are the professional series designed for public safety use. Electronically these are far superior to any ham radio, from any manufacturer. Their "front end" selectivity simply filters out neighboring frequencies better. On 440 I can transmit to a repeater using a Yaesu mobile radio at 20 or 40 watts and monitor the output of the repeater with my MTS2000 a few feet from the antenna and have no issues, try that with a Baofeng and you will completely take out the radio's receive on any frequency. Also, the Motorola portables have a clearer receiver and better audio. If you are in an area where a ham portable is a little scratchy a Moto will usually be crystal clear. Finally the Moto radios are ubiquitous, new accessories are still available, and the radios are cheap and easy to require.
Radios: There are two series radios I recommend Genesis and Jedi.
Genesis http://www.repeater-builder.com/motorola/genesis/genesis-overview.html
Jedi http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Motorola_Jedi_Series
I will quickly comment on the Genesis radio, specifically the HT600. These radios sound amazing! they are 6 channel, wide band only, no scanning, no display. They have the absolute best portable receiver I have ever heard, however they are really old and almost impossible to find OEM parts for, though aftermarket Chinese batteries are still available. They also come in four UHF splits 403-438, 438-470, 470-500, 488-520 so you need to be careful what you buy. I think I have a couple 440 split HT600's I might be willing to let go of.
The Jedi series is more ubiquitous and a more modern radio than the Genesis series. I think they were all EOL'd about a decade ago though many agencies still use them (yes they are narrowband compliant) as back up and non critical radios (volunteers, parking enforcement) The great thing with the Jedi series is they have a lot of parts that are compatible with their more modern XTS/Astro25 series of radios, the speaker mics and drop chargers are backwards compatible. So if you are someone like me who owns various Jedi, Astro and Astro25 radios, it's nice to be able to charge them all on one charger. The antennas are reverse SMA so you can use pretty much any compatible antenna. I know many people that use the new APX antennas on Jedi radios.
The three main Jedi radios I will discuss are the HT1000, the MT2000 and the MTS2000
The HT1000 is a simple 16 channel radio with no display, and no keypad. You can find them for about $20-$40 depending on their condition. If you just want a duplex radio for monitoring 449.5 I would suggest these.
The MT2000 is a 48 or 160 channel radio (3 or 10 bank) radio with a full or partial keypad. They keypad is critical if you need to do DTMF, but keep in mind none of them have a ABCD set of keys so if your controller need them it won't work. They fetch about $50.
The MTS2000 is the most current version of the Jedi radio it comes in various configurations, 48 or 160 channel, some with a top display and a partial keypad some with a front display and a full keypad. If you want a good general use 440 monoband radio I'd recommend spending the extra coin on an MTS2000 they grab around $100. Also the Jedi radios come in two UHF splits 408-470 and 450-508 It is possible to band crash these radios to bring 450 down but doing this is a real pain in the ass and doesn't always work so just get the right split.
Programming: Moto software comes in two flavors RSS and CPS. RSS is a DOS based software that requires a slow 50-100MHz processor computer running DOS6.22 with a serial port. CPS is a Windows based software that will run on XP, and also requires a serial port or a specific Triplite/Keyspan USB to serial adapter. http://www.walmart.com/ip/5934005? Also each radio requires a specific program HT600, HT100, MT2000 all use their own version of RSS, where (most) MTS2000's use CPS. Also for all these radios you will need a Motorola RIB, and a the proper connector. If you want to get into programming your own radio(s) I'll find point you in the right direction, otherwise just find someone who will program it in exchange for beer...
A note on the MTS2000 and FlashCodes, not all MTS2000's are alike some old models have a firmware that requires them to be programmed with RSS, but all the later ones with the "Flashport" logo can be used with CPS. Flashport radios were the first radios that could be "flashed" with a code that unlocks newer features. Before buying a Flashport radio make sure to ask the seller what the "flashcode" is. There are various sites that can decode and tell you what features the radio has. Some flashable features can be Type II trunking, MDC1200, DTMF. The idea was that Moto would make a radio and only flash it with the features an agency needs. So an agency that simply needs conventional channels with MDC1200 would pay for radios for that feature, if they need to be on a trunked system they could pay more for that. So be aware that you don't pay for a MTS2000 that only has the features of an HT1000. Radios can be flashed with new features, but I do not have that capability, and they are not a part of the standard programming software. This is factory software that was $$$.
Batteries / chargers: This is where it gets stupid. Motorola is still making new Jedi batteries, If you want to use this for more then a sit on the shelf and duplex then spend the $50-$70 for real Motorola batteries, most of the $25 Chinese radios die after a year and wont hold a charge, no matter how much I neglect my Motorola batteries they still work well. Also buy a real Motorola charger you can get them for under $25. If you want to go the "Im just using this as a duplex radio" route you can also get a battery eliminator for $12-$25 that just plug into a CLA socket. I have HT1000 and a HT600 wired up with those that are permanently mounted in my shack.
Antennas: Don't buy $6 antennas from China that say Motorola on them, they are counterfeit and suck. Real Motorola antennas are usually $18 - $25 Wiscomm is a good source for replacement Moto parts. http://shopwiscomm.com/ If you find an antenna on eBay that is half of what Wiscomm is charging, there's a good chance it's fake.
Anyways more to come, let me know if you have more questions...
First off why use a Motorola radio? The radios I'm referring to are the professional series designed for public safety use. Electronically these are far superior to any ham radio, from any manufacturer. Their "front end" selectivity simply filters out neighboring frequencies better. On 440 I can transmit to a repeater using a Yaesu mobile radio at 20 or 40 watts and monitor the output of the repeater with my MTS2000 a few feet from the antenna and have no issues, try that with a Baofeng and you will completely take out the radio's receive on any frequency. Also, the Motorola portables have a clearer receiver and better audio. If you are in an area where a ham portable is a little scratchy a Moto will usually be crystal clear. Finally the Moto radios are ubiquitous, new accessories are still available, and the radios are cheap and easy to require.
Radios: There are two series radios I recommend Genesis and Jedi.
Genesis http://www.repeater-builder.com/motorola/genesis/genesis-overview.html
Jedi http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Motorola_Jedi_Series
I will quickly comment on the Genesis radio, specifically the HT600. These radios sound amazing! they are 6 channel, wide band only, no scanning, no display. They have the absolute best portable receiver I have ever heard, however they are really old and almost impossible to find OEM parts for, though aftermarket Chinese batteries are still available. They also come in four UHF splits 403-438, 438-470, 470-500, 488-520 so you need to be careful what you buy. I think I have a couple 440 split HT600's I might be willing to let go of.
The Jedi series is more ubiquitous and a more modern radio than the Genesis series. I think they were all EOL'd about a decade ago though many agencies still use them (yes they are narrowband compliant) as back up and non critical radios (volunteers, parking enforcement) The great thing with the Jedi series is they have a lot of parts that are compatible with their more modern XTS/Astro25 series of radios, the speaker mics and drop chargers are backwards compatible. So if you are someone like me who owns various Jedi, Astro and Astro25 radios, it's nice to be able to charge them all on one charger. The antennas are reverse SMA so you can use pretty much any compatible antenna. I know many people that use the new APX antennas on Jedi radios.
The three main Jedi radios I will discuss are the HT1000, the MT2000 and the MTS2000
The HT1000 is a simple 16 channel radio with no display, and no keypad. You can find them for about $20-$40 depending on their condition. If you just want a duplex radio for monitoring 449.5 I would suggest these.
The MT2000 is a 48 or 160 channel radio (3 or 10 bank) radio with a full or partial keypad. They keypad is critical if you need to do DTMF, but keep in mind none of them have a ABCD set of keys so if your controller need them it won't work. They fetch about $50.
The MTS2000 is the most current version of the Jedi radio it comes in various configurations, 48 or 160 channel, some with a top display and a partial keypad some with a front display and a full keypad. If you want a good general use 440 monoband radio I'd recommend spending the extra coin on an MTS2000 they grab around $100. Also the Jedi radios come in two UHF splits 408-470 and 450-508 It is possible to band crash these radios to bring 450 down but doing this is a real pain in the ass and doesn't always work so just get the right split.
Programming: Moto software comes in two flavors RSS and CPS. RSS is a DOS based software that requires a slow 50-100MHz processor computer running DOS6.22 with a serial port. CPS is a Windows based software that will run on XP, and also requires a serial port or a specific Triplite/Keyspan USB to serial adapter. http://www.walmart.com/ip/5934005? Also each radio requires a specific program HT600, HT100, MT2000 all use their own version of RSS, where (most) MTS2000's use CPS. Also for all these radios you will need a Motorola RIB, and a the proper connector. If you want to get into programming your own radio(s) I'll find point you in the right direction, otherwise just find someone who will program it in exchange for beer...
A note on the MTS2000 and FlashCodes, not all MTS2000's are alike some old models have a firmware that requires them to be programmed with RSS, but all the later ones with the "Flashport" logo can be used with CPS. Flashport radios were the first radios that could be "flashed" with a code that unlocks newer features. Before buying a Flashport radio make sure to ask the seller what the "flashcode" is. There are various sites that can decode and tell you what features the radio has. Some flashable features can be Type II trunking, MDC1200, DTMF. The idea was that Moto would make a radio and only flash it with the features an agency needs. So an agency that simply needs conventional channels with MDC1200 would pay for radios for that feature, if they need to be on a trunked system they could pay more for that. So be aware that you don't pay for a MTS2000 that only has the features of an HT1000. Radios can be flashed with new features, but I do not have that capability, and they are not a part of the standard programming software. This is factory software that was $$$.
Batteries / chargers: This is where it gets stupid. Motorola is still making new Jedi batteries, If you want to use this for more then a sit on the shelf and duplex then spend the $50-$70 for real Motorola batteries, most of the $25 Chinese radios die after a year and wont hold a charge, no matter how much I neglect my Motorola batteries they still work well. Also buy a real Motorola charger you can get them for under $25. If you want to go the "Im just using this as a duplex radio" route you can also get a battery eliminator for $12-$25 that just plug into a CLA socket. I have HT1000 and a HT600 wired up with those that are permanently mounted in my shack.
Antennas: Don't buy $6 antennas from China that say Motorola on them, they are counterfeit and suck. Real Motorola antennas are usually $18 - $25 Wiscomm is a good source for replacement Moto parts. http://shopwiscomm.com/ If you find an antenna on eBay that is half of what Wiscomm is charging, there's a good chance it's fake.
Anyways more to come, let me know if you have more questions...
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