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Radio Test Equipment Reviews

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aaronvan

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Joined
Nov 3, 2016
Messages
6
I will make a recommendation to my boss on a new service monitor that handles both DMR and P25. Is there a site with reviews of telecommunication test equipment? There are some sites for amateurs but not directed at the industry. Right now the Freedom R8100 is looking good but I'd like some other options.
 

Project25_MASTR

Millennial Graying OBT Guy
Joined
Jun 16, 2013
Messages
4,163
Location
Texas
My issued monitor is a R8000B (likely going to upgrade it to an R8000C). When I was a MR for GD I had an R8000A. Probably on of the easiest monitors to use right now. I haven't been overly impressed with the Aeroflex monitors...espeically their insitance that all of the Demod/Meter/Antenna/RF Gen ports be TNC and not BNC like every service monitor manufactured for the last two decades. Literally some of the most difficult monitors to run.
 

12dbsinad

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Joined
Mar 15, 2010
Messages
1,946
Have always used IFR/Aeroflex. I use a 3920 a lot, it's decent. Unless I need to look at something using analog instrumentation, then I break out the good ol' IFR 1200S.
 
Joined
Apr 30, 2008
Messages
1,270
I had an Aeroflex 8800 for a few months, the boot up time was about 4 minutes, although I think they have
a firmware update that improves that.

I had problems with the touch screen on the 8800 but I have dry fingers, when I got finger printed on the live scan system they had problems getting a good scan, so it might just be me.

I think the power supply for the 8800 was bulkier than the Freedom 8000 but I'm going off memory from the last time I use the 8000, that was at IWCE in 2015. The squelch and vol knobs on the 8000 are too close to the enter button.
 

aaronvan

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Nov 3, 2016
Messages
6
We have an Aeroflex IFR 2975, an Agilent 8920, and an IFR 1200; all fairly old. It's hard to get some of the older service monitors calibrated these days.
 

RFI-EMI-GUY

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Dec 22, 2013
Messages
6,859
We have an Aeroflex IFR 2975, an Agilent 8920, and an IFR 1200; all fairly old. It's hard to get some of the older service monitors calibrated these days.

I have an 8920B and it works just fine. Just got through setting deviation balance on a few CVSD DES radios and it works fine. If you read the manuals for many digital radios, you can still make adjustments using an analog instrument as long as you know what you are doing. If you are doing a huge volume of radios of same type, you may find you need some sophisticated automation.
 
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