Motorola DTR700 Portable Digital Radio 900Mhz

[n1das]

Where are the best places to list the DTR550s for sale and what is the fair market value of each of them?

I have no idea other than eBay. I may sell my fleet of 6 DTR650 radios and the MUC for them. There's a couple of ham flea markets coming up in my area.

I'm kind of on the fence regarding what to keep and what to sell. My fleet of DTR700 radios definitely are keepers. I will probably keep my fleet of DLRs because they are so damn small and super convenient. My wife likes them too.


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[W5JG]

I was surprised to find that there is someone using DLR/DTR radios near me. Of course, they left the Profile ID at the default of 0000. For the past few days, I have only heard very brief transmissions, that are one sided. The side I can hear sounds like a female, but the audio is distorted and hard to understand. From what I can understand, the transmissions have been just asking for the location of the other person, and asking the other person to meet them somewhere. Very little to go on.

I'm sure that the distorted audio isn't due to my new DTR700's. When I test between my two radios, the audio sounds pretty good.

I wish I knew where the other people were located, but I'm not going to transmit to ask them. They likely wouldn't reply, and it would only freak them out.

I'll keep listening for a while, just to see if I pick up anything interesting Later, I'll put my own Profile ID back into the radio, so no one will be listening in on me.

On a side note, I just got in two Motorola earpiece/mic to go with the new radios. They're the D-shaped earpiece, and seem quite comfortable. Amazon had the best price.

 

[JASII]

I borrowed by DTRs to a co-worker a year or so ago. He was chatting with his wife when someone else came on and told him it was "his channel"!

 

[n1das]

The DLR radios don't have any AGC in the transmit audio. The DLRs will transmit very distorted audio if you climb on the mic too much and/or shout into the radio. And that's with the nic gain at the default (medium) setting. Setting the mic gain to the low setting helps but it makes it so that you can't drive a receiving DLR or DTR radio to full volume. Enabling the TREBLE option in the CPS helps reduce distortion at the default (medium) mic gain setting but makes the transmit audio sound a little tinny. The real problem is the DLRs have no AGC in the transmit audio to help control the level. The DTR 600/700 radios have AGC in the transmit which helps a lot.

From my experience, the best audio goes to the DTR 600/700, worst audio goes to the DLRs, and with the DTR 410/550/650 audio somewhere in between.


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[n1das]

The DLR1060 actually has 10 channel capacity while being advertised as a 6 channel radio. This "upgrade" happened starting with CPS R05.01 and newer. You may have enough room to have your profile ID mode channel and a public group channel programmed so can secure the channel when you want to and can still monitor "in the clear" when you want to.

EDIT: You are listening on a DTR700. My bad. You have plenty of channel capacity to have public group channels programmed in addition to the default profile ID mode channels. I have the default profile ID mode channels programmed and I have a 4 digit Profile programmed. I added public group channels so I can listen to the default public groups like I would if the profile were set to 0000 and to work with the older DTRs. I have a private group programmed which works with the private group in my DTR650 radios and my DLRs.



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[fireemt55]

No, it isn't. I checked the part number and I have an NNTN5970A. That was one that Nextel sent to subscribers to do an A-GPS update.

Sorry, didn't mean to offend you in any way. The cable I referenced is the cable you need. I have over 30 DTR650's in business use, and have programmed them from day one... The cable I linked is the cable you would need. The firmware cable was discontinued long ago and really isn't necessary, you don't really need to do a firmware update...you just need to use the correct cable. But from later posts you've made, it sounds like you're going to get rid of them anyway so this is likely a moot point.

 

[n1das]

The multi-unit charger (MUC) accessory for my fleet of DTR700 radios finally shipped. Motorola originally planned to start shipping them in mid-January but the date was delayed to mid-February. I should get the MUC in about a week. The MUC is designed to charge up to 6 DTR 600/700 radios.



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[K2NEC]

The multi-unit charger (MUC) accessory for my fleet of DTR700 radios finally shipped. Motorola originally planned to start shipping them in mid-January but the date was delayed to mid-February. I should get the MUC in about a week. The MUC is designed to charge up to 6 DTR 600/700 radios.

I guess it's a charger where the units sit in a row and not like the CP200 gang charger where there are 6 chargers in a 2x3 configuration that takes up a lot of space? I would hope that is the case and considering the size of the DTR700 the gang charger should be relatively small.

 

[n1das]

I guess it's a charger where the units sit in a row and not like the CP200 gang charger where there are 6 chargers in a 2x3 configuration that takes up a lot of space? I would hope that is the case and considering the size of the DTR700 the gang charger should be relatively small.

The PMPN4465 MUC for the DTR 600/700 is a 1x6 configuration. The MUC looks like it was designed from a similar MUC for another Motorola model series, maybe SL300?

Motorola PMPN4465 Multi-Charger for DTR600 and DTR700

The price of the MUC is close to the price of a DTR 600/700 radio. I own a fleet of 6 DTR700 radios, enough to make the MUC worthwhile.


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[K2NEC]

The PMPN4465 MUC for the DTR 600/700 is a 1x6 configuration. The MUC looks like it was designed fria similar MUC for other Motorola model series radios, maybe SL300?

Motorola PMPN4465 Multi-Charger for DTR600 and DTR700

Looks similar to a CLS charger.

 

[n1das]

Looks similar to a CLS charger.

The CLS MUC is completely different.

https://www.amazon.com/Motorola-56531-Charger-Cloning-Station/dp/B00028HBCA

The 12 radio DLR MUC will also charge CLS radios. I have a DLR MUC for my fleet of DLRs.
https://www.amazon.com/Motorola-DLR-12-Pocket-Multi-Unit-Charger/dp/B012J1D3UQ

DLR and CLS MUCs are charge compatible but not clone compatible. DLR and CLS radios can be charged in either MUC but must be in the correct MUC for cloning DLR to DLR and CLS to CLS. The DLR radios and the DTRs also have some over the air (OTA) cloning capability.

The PMPN4465 MUC for the DTR 600/700 looks like it was designed from the PMLN7101A MUC for the SL300 and probably other SL series radios.
https://www.amazon.com/PMLN7101A-PMLN7101-Motorola-Six-Pocket-Multi-Unit/dp/B01IU0LULE


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[K2NEC]

The CLS MUC is completely different.

https://www.amazon.com/Motorola-56531-Charger-Cloning-Station/dp/B00028HBCA

The 12 radio DLR MUC will also charge CLS radios. I have a DLR MUC for my fleet of DLRs.
https://www.amazon.com/Motorola-DLR-12-Pocket-Multi-Unit-Charger/dp/B012J1D3UQ

DLR and CLS MUCs are charge compatible but not clone compatible. DLR and CLS radios can be charged in either MUC but must be in the correct MUC for cloning DLR to DLR and CLS to CLS. The DLR radios and the DTRs also have some over the air (OTA) cloning capability.

The PMPN4465 MUC for the DTR 600/700 looks like it was designed from the PMLN7101A MUC for the SL300 and probably other SL series radios.
https://www.amazon.com/PMLN7101A-PMLN7101-Motorola-Six-Pocket-Multi-Unit/dp/B01IU0LULE

Wow I made an oopsie I meant it looks like a DLR charger.

 

[n1das]

I was surprised to find that there is someone using DLR/DTR radios near me. Of course, they left the Profile ID at the default of 0000. For the past few days, I have only heard very brief transmissions, that are one sided. The side I can hear sounds like a female, but the audio is distorted and hard to understand. From what I can understand, the transmissions have been just asking for the location of the other person, and asking the other person to meet them somewhere. Very little to go on.

I'm sure that the distorted audio isn't due to my new DTR700's. When I test between my two radios, the audio sounds pretty good.

I wish I knew where the other people were located, but I'm not going to transmit to ask them. They likely wouldn't reply, and it would only freak them out.

I'll keep listening for a while, just to see if I pick up anything interesting Later, I'll put my own Profile ID back into the radio, so no one will be listening in on me.

On a side note, I just got in two Motorola earpiece/mic to go with the new radios. They're the D-shaped earpiece, and seem quite comfortable. Amazon had the best price.

The older DTR 410/550/650 radios don't have the Profile ID feature. The Profile ID feature is a new feature starting with the DLR series. The DTR 600/700 has the Profile ID. It sort of confirms my theory that Motorola adopted the DLR way of programming going forward. You could also be hearing older DTRs on public groups when you have the Profile ID at the 0000 default.

The Profile ID feature in the DLRs and the DTR 600/700 also includes Page All Available and Call All Available features. I'll explain how these features work in a separate post.

I kept the 18 default channels in my DTR700s and added channels with the CPS to give me more flexibility. I want to use the Profile ID feature to secure my channels but I also want to listen to them equivalent to the Profile ID being at the 0000 default. The channel lineup I developed does this easily without needing to change the Profile ID.

The DLRs and the DTR600/700 have 3 channel modes available: Profile ID, Public Group, and Private Group. Public and Private group modes program and function identical to the older DTRs. The Profile ID added a new twist to things.

Profile ID = 0000 turns the feature OFF and makes Profile ID mode channels identical to public groups in the older DTR 410/550/650 models.

Here's my DTR700 channel lineup:
Default hopset 1 is used for all channels. The Profile ID is set to my favorite 4 digit ID. The last digit of the Profile ID = 1 to set the hopset to 1. I will explain this in a separate post.
1-18 = Profile ID mode channels with IDs 1-18 (default)
19 = Profile ID mode with ID = Page All Available.
20 = Profile ID with ID = Call All Available
21-38 = Public Group mode channels with public group IDs 1-18.
39 = Public Group mode channel with group ID = 19. DLRs and DTR 600/700 radios respond to this ID as Page All Available when their Profile ID = 0000.
40 = Public Group mode channel with group ID = 20. DLRs and DTR 600/700 radios respond to this ID as Call All Available when their Profile ID = 0000.
41 = Private Group mode channel. I have my fleets of DTRs and DLRs all working together on a private group.

Channels 21-40 in my programming are public group mode channels and are identical to public groups in the older DTRs with group IDs 1-20.

With my channel lineup I can use each type of channel and listen to and work with other radios that are still defaulted. I am finding that people seem to be using these radios as they come out of the box at their default programming like FRS.



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[n1das]

The 4 digit Profile ID defines the talkgroup ID and hopset for the first 20 public groups. The older DTR 410/550/650 models don't have the Profile ID feature. The default Profile ID is 0000 (OFF). Profile ID mode channels are compatible with public groups in the older DTR 410/550/650 when the Profile ID = 0000 (OFF).

One gotcha with programming DTRs and DLRs is a group ID can be used only ONCE in the radio. This forces public group mode channels in the DLRs and DTR 600/700 to start at ID = 21 because Profile ID mode takes up the first 20 public group IDs when the Profile ID = 0000 (default). When the Profile ID is set to a non-zero value, the full 1-100 range of public group IDs then become available for programming public groups like in the older DTR 410/550/650 models. If you want to program public group channels 100% identical to public groups in the older DTRs, I recommend setting the Profile ID to a non-zero value, even if you are not going to program any Profile ID mode channels. This will also prevent your radios from responding to Page All Available and Call All Available commands from other radios that aren't part of your fleet.

From experimentation, I discovered the last digit (4th digit) in the Profile ID determines the hopset used by Profile ID mode channels. Last digit = 1 means hopset 1 will be used, 2 = hopset 2 will be used, etc. Hopset 10 is represented by the last digit = 0. I recommend choosing a 4 digit Profile ID carefully so that the last digit (4th digit) represents the hopset you want to use.

With the Profile ID Number Lock = ON (default), the hopset used by Profile ID mode channels applies to the whole radio and is not editable. This includes public and private group mode channels. The Profile ID Number Lock needs to be disabled if you want to use a different hopset on public and private groups if they are different from Profile ID mode channels. This setting is at the top of the ADVANCED page in the CPS.

 

[JASII]

N1DAS,

I am just curious what environment would give you the shortest amount of distance on the DTRs? Would it be a wooded area? I seem to recall reading that a wooded area would attenuate 900 MHz signals quite a bit?

JASII

 

[K2NEC]

N1DAS,

I am just curious what environment would give you the shortest amount of distance on the DTRs? Would it be a wooded area? I seem to recall reading that a wooded area would attenuate 900 MHz signals quite a bit?

JASII

Considering how frequency works and propagation then yes that should the worst for the signal

 

[n1das]

N1DAS,

I am just curious what environment would give you the shortest amount of distance on the DTRs? Would it be a wooded area? I seem to recall reading that a wooded area would attenuate 900 MHz signals quite a bit?

JASII

Never noticed in a wooded area and never had any opportunity to test it.

Shadowing behind hills when outdoors will dominate over any effects from being in a wooded area.

The DTRs work amazingly well and can outperform conventional UHF portables on simplex. Where they blow away conventional VHF and UHF portables on simplex is when operating inside buildings. That's what the DTRs were designed for so they are usable where businesses are located and that's inside buildings. The best of all is on cruise ships. People who have used the DTRs aboard cruise ships report having full ship coverage on all decks whereas a pair of 4W UHF portables on GMRS were unable penetrate more than about 2 decks.

I think they will work fine in wooded areas but I haven't had any opportunity to test there.

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[n1das]

The Profile ID feature in the DLRs and the DTR 600/700 also includes Page All Available and Call All Available features. I'll explain how these features work in a separate post.

I kept the 18 default channels in my DTR700s and added channels with the CPS to give me more flexibility. I want to use the Profile ID feature to secure my channels but I also want to listen to them equivalent to the Profile ID being at the 0000 default. The channel lineup I developed does this easily without needing to change the Profile ID.

The DLRs and the DTR600/700 have 3 channel modes available: Profile ID, Public Group, and Private Group. Public and Private group modes program and function identical to the older DTRs. The Profile ID added a new twist to things.

Profile ID = 0000 turns the feature OFF and makes Profile ID mode channels identical to public groups in the older DTR 410/550/650 models.

The Profile ID feature in the DLRs and the DTR 600/700 includes two new features, Page All Available and Call All Available. These are "all call" features and will call all DLRs and DTR 600/700 radios on the same hopset with matching Profile ID, regardless of the particular group ID they are using. The older DTR 410/550/650 models don't have these features.

Page All Available essentially does a one-way page to all radios on a hopset that are not currently in a Profile ID call, Public Group call, or Private Group call. All responding radios are put into a temporary supergroup with a 4 second hang time. Responding radios can only reply with the 1 to 1 Private Reply feature. Replying with a normal PTT press does not work. After the 4 second group hang time expires, all responding radios revert back to the channel/group they were previously on. The Page All Available feature is useful when someone needs to page another user but groups of users may be on different channels and it's not known which channel they are on. You can page another user without having to try calling them on each individual channel. The user that was paged can respond back privately without bothering any other user.

Call All Available is similar to Page All Available in that all radios on a given hopset that are not currently busy in a call are put into a temporary supergroup with a 4 second hang time. Users can reply back with PTT and chit chat back and forth during the 4 second hang time. After the 4 second hang time expires, all responding radios revert back to the original channel/group they were on. The Call All Available feature is useful when you need to call groups of users and the groups may be using different channels.

The Page All Available feature is a feature of Profile ID mode channels. The Profile ID mode group ID = Page All Available in the CPS. This is equivalent to Public Group ID = 19 in the older DTRs. The older DTR 410/550/650 models can initiate a Page All Available in DLRs and DTR 600/700 radios by using Public Group ID = 19 when the DLR and DTR 600/700 Profile ID is at the 0000 default.

The Call All Available feature is a feature of Profile ID mode channels. The Profile ID mode group ID = Call All Available in the CPS. This is equivalent to Public Group ID = 20 in the older DTRs. The older DTR 410/550/650 models can initiate a Call All Available in DLRs and DTR 600/700 radios by using Public Group ID = 20 when the DLR and DTR 600/700 Profile ID is at the 0000 default.

Given that the Page All Available and Call All Available features are implemented by using two public group IDs (19 and 20), it is possible for your DLRs and DTR 600/700 radios to get trolled by other radios and respond as Page All Available and Call All Available. To prevent this from happening, set the Profile ID to a non-zero value, even if you are not going to use any Profile ID mode channels. DLRs and DTR 600/700 radios that are still defaulted will respond to public group IDs 19 and 20 as Page All Available and Call All Available.

You can easily troll for DLRs and DTR 600/700 radios in the area by using Public Group IDs 19 and 20 in the older DTR 410/550/650 models. These are normal Public Group IDs in the older DTRs. If you get any connect hits, you probably connected to one or more DLRs or DTR 600/700 radios that are in range because their Profile ID is at the 0000 default and they responded as Page All Available or Call All Available. It is possible for someone to mess with groups of DLR and DTR 600/700 users with radios that are still defaulted by using the Page All Available and Call All Available features. This is why I recommend setting the 4 digit Profile ID to a non-zero value even if you are not going to use any Profile ID mode channels. The Profile ID has to match in order for your radios to respond to Page All Available and Call All Available group IDs from other radios.

 

[n1das]

In case anyone is interested, I posted my fleet of DTR650 radios and fleet of DLR1060 radios for sale in the CheckCheckOneTwo forums. Both fleets include the Multi-Unit Charger (MUC) for them. I have accumulated way too many radios and have since moved on to a fleet of DTR700 radios w/MUC. The DTR700s are working out very well. I don't need my fleet of DTR650s and fleet of DLRs anymore.

DTR650 fleet w/MUC:
FS: Fleet of 6 Motorola DTR650 radios with Motorola 53960 MUC

DLR1060 fleet w/MUC:
FS: Fleet of 6 Motorola DLR1060 radios w/PLMN7136 12-pocket MUC

 

[n1das]

UPDATE: The DLR1060 fleet w/MUC has been sold and was sold very fast. I have decided to hold onto the DTR650 fleet for a while instead of selling them. I just can't part with the DTRs! Selling the DLR fleet w/MUC took some of the pressure off to sell some radios.