Motorola Color Coded Portable Radio Antennas

[Magnetsteve]

I have seen the thread on here before about the small color coded piece on the bottom of the antennas where it tells you what freq split it is... but cant seem to find it. Does anyone have this list?

Thanks-Magnetsteve

[mm]

I have been sorting this out for a few years now from information taken off of several different post on BAT-LABS and this what I have.

Moto antennas
You need both the base color and length to properly identify Motorola antennas.

Astro / XTS / and others using the Jedi SMA type

137-174 MHz wide band 203 mm red
136-151 MHz heliflex 195 mm yellow
151-162 MHz heliflex 183 mm black
162-174 MHz heliflex 172 mm blue
380-435 MHz stubby heliflex 88 mm red (early 86 mm units 403-433 MHz)
435-470 MHz stubby heliflex 81 mm green
470-512 MHz stubby heliflex 79 mm black
403-512 MHz wide band 130 mm light grey

700/800 dual band flexible whip 178 mm green

806-870 MHz stubby 1/4 wave 80 mm white
806-870 MHz flexible whip 175 mm red
806-870 MHz elevated feed dipole 200 mm red

896-941 MHz flexible whip 160 mm blue
896-941 MHz elevated feed dipole 200 mm blue


APX series - not known


XTS 4000

136-151 MHz 48 mm
145-166 MHz 43 mm blue
162-174 MHz 38 mm


SABER / MX (paint on end of thread)

136-151MHz 165 mm yellow
151-162MHz black
162-174MHz 152 mm blue
403-435MHz red
435-470MHz green
470-512MHz black

[b7spectra]

Remember, as mm said, it's for Motorola antennas. I've got some of the Kawa antennas on my equipment and there is no paint code on them.

[chrismol1]

Originally Posted by b7spectra

Remember, as mm said, it's for Motorola antennas. I've got some of the Kawa antennas on my equipment and there is no paint code on them.

yeh, those "Kawa" antennas are generic China made ones. They are sold on certain band splits and many of them are the same antenna, just re-labeled on different bands for more sales and don't come near the performance nor are they made with the good quality of a Motorola antenna made for a specific frequency split

[Magnetsteve]

Thanks for all the replys! This really helps out

[Magnetsteve]

Here is the reason I ask.... I bought one of the "VHF Whip" style antennas off of ebay for an XTS and the bottom piece inside the threads is red, keep in mind this is not an actual /\/\otorola product, but an aftermarket antenna.--- looks identical to my antenna on my work radio which is 800mhz p25. The antenna measures 6 and 3/4 inches long. The 800 is 7in

Thanks

[Magnetsteve]

you guys think this will work for my application? vhf xts 5k?

[FFPM571]

Personally I use only Motorola antenna's the Red on the 800 radio really has no relation to the VHF. The lenght of the antenna is what matters If its VHF around 6.5 in and 7 in you should be OK. Why not spend the extra for and OEM antenna on a $1k or more radio?

[Magnetsteve]

Does moto have a "whip" style antenna? you are right though. I probably wont use it because I dont want to mess anything up.

[FFPM571]

The closest to a VHF whip I have found is a Visar antenna. These are OEM. I use one on my XTS5K It works fine better than some stubby antennas. It is about 4 in tall. Here is a pic of what Im talking about, I have a few extras that I have picked up if your intrested.

[Magnetsteve]

how much?

[b7spectra]

The VHF and 800 antenna may be about the same lenght, but they are on totally different frequencies. The VHF will most likely be a thicker antenna than the 800, so I wouldn't use it to transmit with.

[mancow]

I have swept that mini Vhf antenna that is shown on the Visar and it appears to be centered at 158 Mhz with 2-3 Mhz usable bandwidth either side.

They are great little antennas if you are working in that range.

[fineshot1]

Originally Posted by mm

I have been sorting this out for a few years now from information taken off of several different post on BAT-LABS and this what I have.

Moto antennas
You need both the base color and length to properly identify Motorola antennas.

Astro / XTS / and others using the Jedi SMA type

137-174 MHz wide band 203 mm red
136-151 MHz heliflex 195 mm yellow
151-162 MHz heliflex 183 mm black
162-174 MHz heliflex 172 mm blue
380-435 MHz stubby heliflex 88 mm red (early 86 mm units 403-433 MHz)
435-470 MHz stubby heliflex 81 mm green
470-512 MHz stubby heliflex 79 mm black
403-512 MHz wide band 130 mm light grey

700/800 dual band flexible whip 178 mm green

806-870 MHz stubby 1/4 wave 80 mm white
806-870 MHz flexible whip 175 mm red
806-870 MHz elevated feed dipole 200 mm red

896-941 MHz flexible whip 160 mm blue
896-941 MHz elevated feed dipole 200 mm blue


APX series - not known


XTS 4000

136-151 MHz 48 mm
145-166 MHz 43 mm blue
162-174 MHz 38 mm


SABER / MX (paint on end of thread)

136-151MHz 165 mm yellow
151-162MHz black
162-174MHz 152 mm blue
403-435MHz red
435-470MHz green
470-512MHz black

Do you have this list with the mm converted to inches?

BTW - good job on this list

[FFPM571]

I think I paid like $15 ea... I can cover the shipping.. I usually use the visar antenna when Im carrying the radio when Im not working and just buffing. Its a little less obtrusive. When I am on duty I use a full length VHF..

[MTS2000des]

Originally Posted by chrismol1

yeh, those "Kawa" antennas are generic China made ones. They are sold on certain band splits and many of them are the same antenna, just re-labeled on different bands for more sales and don't come near the performance nor are they made with the good quality of a Motorola antenna made for a specific frequency split

a while back on Batlabs someone posted some pics of those Chinese knockoffs (believe the antenna in question was a UHF Jedi 403-520 wideband) and took one apart and a real Motorola OEM version and put them side by side.

the Chinese copy was poorly constructed, and the radiating element was weakly soldered to the base on only one side, and had a crack, thus causing the radio to perform poorly and eventually (if used to TX alot) would have caused an expensive to repair PA failure.

the real Motorola antennas are the only way to go, or at least a reputable aftermarket supplier such as Radial/Larsen, Centurion, or Maxrad. Cheap crap from China is like going to Wal-Mart for a pair of shoes. You get what you pay for.

[Magnetsteve]

Originally Posted by MTS2000des

a while back on Batlabs someone posted some pics of those Chinese knockoffs (believe the antenna in question was a UHF Jedi 403-520 wideband) and took one apart and a real Motorola OEM version and put them side by side.

the Chinese copy was poorly constructed, and the radiating element was weakly soldered to the base on only one side, and had a crack, thus causing the radio to perform poorly and eventually (if used to TX alot) would have caused an expensive to repair PA failure.

the real Motorola antennas are the only way to go, or at least a reputable aftermarket supplier such as Radial/Larsen, Centurion, or Maxrad. Cheap crap from China is like going to Wal-Mart for a pair of shoes. You get what you pay for.

WOW! haha.... thanks, probably was a waste of my $....

[W2NJS]

Divide the mm by 25.4 because there are 25.4 mm to the inch. That's all there is to it.

Tom, W2NJS

[Magnetsteve]

Well.... Decided to just go ahead and do it... I disected this antenna to find this. What you guys think? The small copper piece is the "guts" taken out of the antenna