motorola portable antennas

[wqzw301]

Hello,

I'm in need of some Motorola expertise....
Reading through some forums, people swear that mx to bnc adapters for Motorola ht's work.
I have a couple of the Waris and Mototrbo lines. Ht750/1250's and xpr 3300/6350.

Looking at the antenna jacks on these radios, I feel that a bnc adapter would be pointless for loaded, ground plane and dipole antennas, unless you opened the radio and somehow connected the antenna to a common ground. Correct?
I would think these adapters are supposed to be for tuning and maintenance purposes only?

I use Motorola Mobile for base and in the car, so this is just a question out of curiosity..... The only time I would consider this, is maybe for an emergency role up slim jim I carry when hiking to a fishing spot....Some fishing line over a branch....just incase...would love to bring my IP67 3300e to the river sometime....but probably not....
Any thoughts?
Thank you for your time,
d

 

[Golay]

I've never used the MX to BNC on a Waris or a XPR radio. You got my curiosity up.
I don't imagine it would work on a XPR radio of course, the connector is SMA, although I've never tried it, I would suppose it's not going to thread in.

But working on a Waris, I'm thinking why not?
I have used them on P200's, HT600's, GP300's and P1225's.

I don't see where a Waris radio would work any different than the GP300 or P1225 radio with a MX to BNC. All three take the phono jack adapter.
(that's what I'm gonna call it, although that's probably not the correct term, anyone who has used one knows what I'm talking about).

 

[N1GTL]

Motorola makes a BNC adapter that would allow you to put an external antenna on an HT750/1250. There are two part numbers depending on the age of the radio.

They make one for the XPR series but they do not go into the antenna jack. There is a hole behind the rear name plate which pops out where you put the adapter in. It is for bench testing and adjusting and way too fragile to use for an external antenna connection.

 

[Golay]

This is true

Motorola makes a BNC adapter that would allow you to put an external antenna on an HT750/1250. There are two part numbers depending on the age of the radio.

They make one for the XPR series but they do not go into the antenna jack. There is a hole behind the rear name plate which pops out where you put the adapter in. It is for bench testing and adjusting and way too fragile to use for an external antenna connection.

Motorola has many adapters for the different radios they make.
I believe the OP's question was "Would the MX to BNC adapter work on a Waris radio?"
What do you think?

 

[Project25_MASTR]

First gen TRBO portables used a SMA connector for the antenna (XPR6000 series). Second gen radios use an antenna nut which isn't a MX (it's the same thread as an SMA male connector) but it appears to be a MX connector to those not familiar with the radios (we are just exempting the SL portables from this statement and the CP200d).

Unfortunately, Motorola manufactured different about 3 different MX adapters for different radios (due to size constraints). The traditional MX adapters used a bolt threaded with the MX connector with finger stock to ground to the outer shelf. Then came the MX adapter which used a 2.5mm phono plug to physically disconnect the antenna nut from the RF output when screwed on (this is what the Waris radios use). Finally there was the design for the Commercial series portables...which used a similar connector to what is currently being used by the second gen TRBO radios but mounts on top of the regular antenna versus the through service port connectors and jigs used with TRBO radios.

 

[N1GTL]

Motorola has many adapters for the different radios they make.
I believe the OP's question was "Would the MX to BNC adapter work on a Waris radio?"
What do you think?

I'm not sure what an "MX" adapter is. I know, and have, two adapters for the HT750/1250 series radios that are rigid enough to allow a BNC connector for an external connector. The adapters have either a black or yellow ring, depending on how old the HT radio is.

Forget an external antenna for an XPR3300 series. They're fragile and meant for bench testing and tuning. I have that as well.

I could be wrong but I think the 6350/6550 XPR series adapter is the same as an HT1000 adapter which allows for a BNC connection. Since it's Saturday and I'm not at the shop, I can't try but every radio the OP mentioned can be connected and used with an external BNC connector with the exception of the 3300/3500 XPR series.

 

[wqzw301]

Thanks for the knowledge guys.
I did get a "mx" to bnc off ebay, from a Motorola repair shop, to experiment with.
It appeared to have the same threading so I gave it a try on a (for parts only) ht750. It fit perfectly ...no cross threading.
I went on to test it one of my ht1250's. Connected a cheap telescoping bnc antenna. I was able to hit more repeaters than rubber duck.
I figured checking swr would be pointless at that time...
I'm making a little 1/4 wave ground plane antenna to connect to the bnc, next time.
I had an idea..... Instead of opening the radio, finding a common ground and running a wire through the chasis...Can I use the negative dc charging contact, on the back of radio, as a common ground??? Piece of wire from negative terminal to the radials.... or at least just as a counterpoise?
Just to experiment......see if I cant get a decent swr and better angle to horizon
thanks
d