Motorola Talkabout T800 Walkie-Talkies

[JASII]

I just ran across this tonight. This might be worth a second look. It is a Motorola T800 that will connect to your smartphone with an Android or iOS app. I still have some questions about this. For example, the data range is less than the voice range. My best guess is that voice is 1 watt and texting is at .5 watt. I am somewhat disappointed that it won't also pair with a Bluetooth speaker/microphone.

If this is successful, perhaps the next version will have the above features PLUS add Bluetooth connectivity for Bluetooth remote speaker/microphones. Could a competitor offer the same basic features with a 2 watt voice option? Who is Motorola's closest competitor for FRS/GMRS radios? Could Uniden, Icom America or Yaesu/Vertex/Standard design a better FRS/GMRS radio with Bluetooth connectivity?



https://shop.motorolasolutions.com/t800-two-way-radios-dual-pack/product/B8F22204LBHAAW

https://www.motorolasolutions.com/c...s/consumer/t800/t800-talkabout-data-sheet.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTO_jgYxzQU

https://www.phonescoop.com/articles/article.php?a=21316

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

Great, now there will be more racket on the shared channels. Bad enough the Rodger beeps.

The ficticious data range is less, because typically data gets more easily impaired than voice.


You would be better off using Gotenna Mesh for the data applications and keep FRS or GMRS for voice.


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[n1das]

I just ran across this tonight. This might be worth a second look. It is a Motorola T800 that will connect to your smartphone with an Android or iOS app. I still have some questions about this. For example, the data range is less than the voice range. My best guess is that voice is 1 watt and texting is at .5 watt. I am somewhat disappointed that it won't also pair with a Bluetooth speaker/microphone.

If this is successful, perhaps the next version will have the above features PLUS add Bluetooth connectivity for Bluetooth remote speaker/microphones. Could a competitor offer the same basic features with a 2 watt voice option? Who is Motorola's closest competitor for FRS/GMRS radios? Could Uniden, Icom America or Yaesu/Vertex/Standard design a better FRS/GMRS radio with Bluetooth connectivity?



https://shop.motorolasolutions.com/t800-two-way-radios-dual-pack/product/B8F22204LBHAAW

https://www.motorolasolutions.com/c...s/consumer/t800/t800-talkabout-data-sheet.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTO_jgYxzQU

https://www.phonescoop.com/articles/article.php?a=21316

Interesting product. I think the advertised data range is less than the voice range because data is allowed only on the original 14 FRS channels, IIRC. Power may also be limited to the original FRS power of 0.5W. It appears Motorola added location features that only the Garmin Rinos had for a long time plus added Bluetooth connectivity and a smartphone app.

I hope they don't have Motorola's crappy and much hated X-Pand audio companding system. It ruins the radio from my experience. Either make it selectable per channel to work with other companded TalkAbouts or eliminate it completely (and save some money). The radio would be better off without it.


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[n1das]

Great, now there will be more racket on the shared channels. Bad enough the Rodger beeps.

It's more of an ugly roger BLOIP sound from the TalkAbouts. Yuk! Now there will be data packets on the shared channels.


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[RFI-EMI-GUY]

It's more of an ugly roger BLOIP sound from the TalkAbouts. Yuk! Now there will be data packets on the shared channels.


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During Hurricane Irma I made the mistake of suggesting to my neighbors via NextDoor, that they should dust off their FRS radios and set to channel 1 tone zero so that should the worst happen we can all call for help. I did suggest keeping the kids off that channel. but that was ignored and the bloips took over. There was quite a bit of activity going on post hurricane while power was out.

 

[Hans13]

During Hurricane Irma I made the mistake of suggesting to my neighbors via NextDoor, that they should dust off their FRS radios and set to channel 1 tone zero so that should the worst happen we can all call for help. I did suggest keeping the kids off that channel. but that was ignored and the bloips took over. There was quite a bit of activity going on post hurricane while power was out.

I imagined the situation and it made me belly laugh.

No good deed goes unpunished.

-------------

On topic: If they were repeater capable and at least 2 watts on the appropriate channels, I'd be all over the T800.

 

[JASII]

...On topic: If they were repeater capable and at least 2 watts on the appropriate channels, I'd be all over the T800.

I am looking for something for essentially two things. One, my wife and I go ATVing. There are times when we are operating that it would be nice to talk with one another. When I saw Bluetooth, I hoped that it could be used to connect for Bluetooth remote speaker microphones, bit it looks like it is to connect to the smartphone only.

The other application is when we go on a cruise. I have a pair of DTR550s. They work well for voice. The are also capable of texting, but it won't directly connect to a smartphone for that. Motorola MU350R appears to have been discontinued, but it has Bluetooth for headsets.

I Motorola can make a version two of this, at 2 watts, repeater capable and Bluetooth for headset capabilities, then they will have something.

I haven't actually used a GMRS/FRS radio in years. The last time I tuned there was on a cruise and there were a lot of kids with the annoying beeps. How effective is PL/DPL at muting that?

 

[Hans13]

I haven't actually used a GMRS/FRS radio in years. The last time I tuned there was on a cruise and there were a lot of kids with the annoying beeps. How effective is PL/DPL at muting that?

I use GMRS all day and evening. Tones are effective but I don't use it that way so as to not interfere with other users on frequency. I use tones for the random white noise that tends to scare the bejeezus out of a person when they pass a random RF radiator and for a rising/falling noise floor when driving around. I look at a "busy channel" led or listen to an open squelch before transmitting.

My best suggestion would be to find out what channel 1, tone 1 is on most bubble packs and avoid the combination. The channel and tone are posted by people often. I imagine that on a cruise with many kids it would be difficult to avoid congestion and GMRS/FRS might not be the best choice if one doesn't want to wade through it.

ETA: I would think that on a cruise ship, not every PL/DPL channel combination would likely be in use. If the radio is a decent one, it should filter well enough. I think a good Part 95 commercial radio would give one the best chance in that situation; preferably one that can be programmed on the fly easily enough.

 

[n1das]

LOL, you know me and DTR/DLR radios. I pre-ordered a pair of the new DTR700 and should have them around the end of December. I still have GMRS/FRS as a backup and for interoperability but it is no longer my default go-to mode for local on-site simplex ops with family and friends.

I think the new rules don't allow an FRS radio to have repeater capability and still qualify as FRS. I recall making this point in my filed comments. An FRS radio having repeater capability risks turning a local interference problem into a regional problem. I emphasized that in order for a 22-channel bubble pack to be made license by rule, it must not be repeater capable.

I'm sort of tempted to grab a few T800 TalkAbouts to keep around for when my nephews (ages 4 and 7) come to visit. They are NOT allowed to play my DTR and DLR radios.


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[Hans13]

Yep. I wasn't referring to FRS radios. I use GMRS.

The only question in my mind that I didn't hit the books to find out, was if the allowed data was FRS only or if it was also allowed in GMRS.

 

[n1das]

I use GMRS all day and evening. Tones are effective but I don't use it that way so as to not interfere with other users on frequency. I use tones for the random white noise that tends to scare the bejeezus out of a person when they pass a random RF radiator and for a rising/falling noise floor when driving around. I look at a "busy channel" led or listen to an open squelch before transmitting.

My best suggestion would be to find out what channel 1, tone 1 is on most bubble packs and avoid the combination. The channel and tone are posted by people often. I imagine that on a cruise with many kids it would be difficult to avoid congestion and GMRS/FRS might not be the best choice if one doesn't want to wade through it.

ETA: I would think that on a cruise ship, not every PL/DPL channel combination would likely be in use. If the radio is a decent one, it should filter well enough. I think a good Part 95 commercial radio would give one the best chance in that situation; preferably one that can be programmed on the fly easily enough.

I too have been an all day and evening GMRS user for many years. Given that the majority of my use of GMRS is for local on-site simplex type use with family and friends, I abandoned GMRS/FRS and moved my local simplex ops to 900MHz with DTR and DLR digital radios.

The default PL tone on the Motorola TalkAbouts is 67.0 Hz. This is "Interference Eliminator" aka Interference Ignoring code 1..

Good 4W Part 95 commercial gear is needed to use GMRS on a cruise ship. People have reported having difficulty penetrating more than a couple of decks with 4W UHF commercial handhelds. A pair of FRS bubble packs wont cut it at all. I had the exact same experience with good UHF commercial gear and found I needed to go to the nearest elevator lobby to get better penetration because the elevator lobby is open to all decks. I don't know how familiar you are with the DTR series radios but they are digital radios and operate at 1W on 900MHz and use FHSS. People who have used these on cruise ships report having full ship coverage, unlike GMRS where they found they could only penetrate no more than about 2 decks with a pair of 4W UHF commercial handhelds. The ship is more open at 900MHz than it is a 462MHz. The many reflections inside the ship actually help the DTR radios due to the modes being effectively stirred by the FHSS operation.

I might grab a few T800 TalkAbouts for my nephews to play with.

 

[Hans13]

I've read your many informative posts on DTR/DLR radios. Most of the knowledge about the subject I have comes from your posts and a few other users.

JASII posted about FRS/GMRS and tones; and does own a pair of DTR550 already. As I will never be on a cruise ship, it's not really my question.

Thanks for the information. Undoubtedly, JASII will find it very useful.

 

[n1das]

67.0 Hz (tone 1) has been the default on the TalkAbouts for as long as I can remember. I don't know when Motorola first adopted it as a factory default setting.

 

[alcahuete]

I haven't actually used a GMRS/FRS radio in years. The last time I tuned there was on a cruise and there were a lot of kids with the annoying beeps. How effective is PL/DPL at muting that?

PL/DPL is going to do great at filtering other users, however, all the PLs in the world are not going to filter out interference in a RF dense environment, like on a ship or such. 10 radios on the same frequency are still 10 radios on the same frequency. The PLs are not going to do anything for that interference.

 

[n1das]

PL/DPL is going to do great at filtering other users, however, all the PLs in the world are not going to filter out interference in a RF dense environment, like on a ship or such. 10 radios on the same frequency are still 10 radios on the same frequency. The PLs are not going to do anything for that interference.

Motorola calls the PL/DPL codes "Interference Eliminator" codes in the TalkAbouts. It would be more accurate to call them Interference Ignoring codes.


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[JASII]

I still think that there is room in the marketplace for more legal, license free, or easy to obtain license, devices for people that want simplex communications at an affordable price.

MURS/FRS/GMRS and 900 all have some good choices, but I would love to see more off-the-shelf choices at a reasonable price. If the Sonim works well, that could be a viable choice for me. I really think the concept of Bluetooth connectivity to a smartphone might be good for some things. I also think that simplex texting has a place. I recall that Garmin had to get a special dispensation from the Pope, or was it the FCC, to allow texting on the RINO devices. If RINO could keep their costs down, add Bluetooth connectivity and texting to the RINOs, they will have something. I would love to see the RINOs available in VHF (MURS), UHF (FRS/GMRS) and 900 Mhz.

I would love to see someone do a very comprehensive review of the various choices available these days. Put them all head to head and compare them in the real world. Try various scenarios. For example, I assume that Motorola DTRs will/would perform the best on a cruise ship. I assume that MURS will be king out in the woods. In an urban or suburban setting, GMRS or DTRs? Compare the Beartooth to the Sonnet to the GoTenna devices, too. The more the merrier.

 

[n1das]

I read somewhere a while back that Motorola's PFR (purchase for resale) deal with Giant International in China ended a couple of years ago. Giant made most of the Motorola TalkAbouts for several years. The T-series models are genuine Motorola (and manufactured in Malaysia?).

I notice the overall build quality of the T-series TalkAbout models is better than anything from Giant and has a more rugged feel to it. They seem to be well made for FRS bubble packs. I have owned my share of GMRS/FRS bubble packs over the years and have always had a preference for the Motorola TalkAbouts. But since they are bubble packs and not commercial radio gear, I always end up selling or donating my bubble packs and stick to using good commercial gear on GMRS.

My one major complaint about the T-series is they have Motorola's crappy and much hated X-Pand audio companding system. The compander is always enabled and there's no option to disable it like in the top tier Motorola radios. X-Pand is always enabled like in Motorola's business bubble packs like the CLS series radios. Motorola claims the audio sounds more clear and noise-free, but it actually doesn't from my experience and it creates problems. It does work as advertised but it forces an incompatibility with other radios that don't compand their audio. When receiving transmissions from non-companded radios, the TalkAbout expands audio that wasn't compressed originally and blows it apart and ends up sounding muffled and distorted. Even when two radios talking to each other compand their audio such as a pair of TalkAbouts, the audio still sounds processed. The audio output is also reduced significantly and makes them tough to hear even at max volume. I kind of like properly companded audio but not the problems that go with it. Motorola could greatly improve the TalkAbout audio in the T-series models by reducing the expansion ratio or eliminating the companding feature entirely.

Not all of the Motorola TalkAbout models have X-Pand audio companding. The cheaper TalkAbouts that don't have X-Pand actually sound better and also sound better when hearing non-Motorola radios. I recommend Motorola eliminate X-Pand completely and save some money or make the feature selectable per channel. Motorola has a good thing going for them with the T-series TalkAbouts as far as FRS bubble packs go but the X-Pand audio companding just about destroys them.

 

[Hans13]

The compander is always enabled and there's no option to disable it like in the top tier Motorola radios. X-Pand is always enabled like in Motorola's business bubble packs like the CLS series radios. Motorola claims the audio sounds more clear and noise-free, but it actually doesn't from my experience and it creates problems. It does work as advertised but it forces an incompatibility with other radios that don't compand their audio.

I agree and suspect that is a feature, not a bug.

 

[twowayradiocenter]

Motorola T800 - Super Cool

I've played with the Motorola T800 and find it to be super cool. While it doesn't go 30+ miles in my neighborhood, the talk and data ranges are similar. Looking forward to using it on the ski slopes in the Winter time. For those of you who might want to buy them, twowayradiocenter.com offers a 5% discount code on all products. The code is TW.

 

[jeepsandradios]

Does it support GPRS split for repeaters ?