Most cheap Chinese brand batteries are defective. It would be best to buy a Motorola battery from a real Motorola Dealer and not from a retail outlet that specializes in cheap junk. You never save any money in the longrun.
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Motorola DTR HTs
- Thread starter ke6ats
- Start date
kd4e
Member
I need 10 of them. I'm donating this wireless PA system to a camp for foster children and other non-profit youth groups. Buying anything directly from a Motorola dealer is insanely expensive - and impossible in this context given a system cost that's already close to $600. In this case they not only don't appear to stock these batteries - they're made in China, anyhow.
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Ok but they're still batteries, they aren't going to last 24 hours straight
kd4e
Member
The ones in my Amateur Radio handheld last for months when the radio is "Off" and for many days when it "On" but only 99% receiving (similar to this 1% transmit time application). Why do these Motorola radios under-perform so badly by comparison?
They're only $35 from Twoway Radio Gear and they are known to provide discounts for purchases of quanities for organizations.
If you want a real battery $35 is pretty cheap and a lot more cost-effective than buying cheap fake batteries that don't work. You should do it right and quit wasting money.
Yes, Twoway Radio Gear is a Motorola DLR/DTR Dealer and I think maybe a Motorola distributor.
kd4e
Member
The one I posted was from Two Way Radio City - which claims to be an Authorized Motorola Dealer.
Two Way Radio Gear doesn't indicate (that I could see) that they're an authorized dealer.
They appear to be offering a Made-in-China battery at 3x the price (of a 10-pack of similar looking batteries). I'll have to check their shipping cost and return policy for a more complete picture. (An ebay seller offers "30 days returns. Buyer pays for return shipping.")
In any case, $350. for the necessary 10 batteries is way too expensive.
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Wicho
Member
I've had good luck with Arromax batteries for DLR radios. $129 for 10 on eBay. They've always been responsive. Longest use for DLR for me is 10 hours, usually 8 hours, with maybe 3-4 total minutes of TX per radio (4-6 radios going at once) during that period. Battery status is low by then, but not critical.
kd4e
Member
I just tried "arromax dlr" on ebay and came up empty. Any chance you have a link, please?
Wicho
Member
Search for ebay item # 155353940018
About my previous comment about the radios that drain the batteries in 24 hours while turned off, the radios are bad/something wrong with them. They work fine when powered on, but drain the batteries when turned off.
kd4e
Member
Thanks! Found and ordered. This way we can quickly swap-in the batteries while the others are removed for charging.
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I know Walmart is using these DLR 1020 radios they're phasing all the MURS ones out all system wide at all Walmarts!!!!!!
Bootyhunter
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Back to the original topic, these radios are AWESOME. They outperform 5 watt uhf and vhf radios regularly in my experience. If you dont want or need a radio that will work on repeaters, look no further than the DTR line. Heres a place I tried them and they were crystal clear, through a thick cedar and hardwood forest, it was only 1747 feet LOS but most of that was obstructed by the trees and no issues at all.
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It would be interesting to see how they performed in the same type of area when the foliage is wet or during a rain/snow weather event.
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