Motorola M1225 Programming

[caerickson]

I have two Motorola M 1225 UHF mobiles that I would like to use on the amateur band. The radios are 450-470 MHZ. Is there a way to move the radio down to the amateur band? I have the RSS software and the RIB box.

Any information will be appreciated.

Chuck Erickson
K7CAE

 

[SRSP2282]

Take a look at this page. M1225/P1225

When I looked into doing this a while back the google search "Motorola m1225 out of band programming" brought up a good amount of info. Unfortunately I never ended up trying it with my m1225 so that's about as far as my info extends. Good luck.

 

[caerickson]

Using the shift key to enter the frequency information worked like a charm. All of the channels between 440MHZ and 448 MHZ worked fine at close to full power. I read all the information that came with the RSS software and using the Shift Key isn't mentioned.

Thank you for providing this very useful information.

Chuck Erickson
K7CAE

 

[otacon1001]

The shift key is a hack and motorola doesnt support it because it can burn up the rf deck in your radio. That being said I use it myself and have only burned up 2 of the 5 I have.

 

[cmdrwill]

Actually NOT a hack, many of the Radius product's RSS had the 'shift key' already built into it.

 

[cmdrwill]

The shift key is a hack and motorola doesnt support it because it can burn up the rf deck in your radio. That being said I use it myself and have only burned up 2 of the 5 I have.

Actually NOT a hack, many of the Radius product's RSS had the 'shift key' already built into it.

Sorry you burned up your radios, you probably did not align them correctly.

 

[WX9EMS]

Sometimes you need to be cautious when programming a radio outside of its specified band split. Just because it "goes there" does not mean it will operate as designed. VHF 146-174 MHz Maxtracs come to mind, for example, when programmed below 146 MHz (PA goes wild). I had a 45 Watt Maxtrac put out 92 Watts when tested! One should always check the transmit power output at a minimum and also for clean output on a spectrum analyzer, if available.

Sometimes there is more to programming radios than just loading them up with frequencies and picking up the mic and talking on them.

Just my two cents...

 

[SRSP2282]

Sometimes you need to be cautious when programming a radio outside of its specified band split. Just because it "goes there" does not mean it will operate as designed. VHF 146-174 MHz Maxtracs come to mind, for example, when programmed below 146 MHz (PA goes wild). I had a 45 Watt Maxtrac put out 92 Watts when tested! One should always check the transmit power output at a minimum and also for clean output on a spectrum analyzer, if available.

Interesting, Ive seen tons of posts about the "shift key" trick, but this is the first one where someone posted a more detailed rational for not doing it. Thank you.

Sometimes there is more to programming radios than just loading them up with frequencies and picking up the mic and talking on them.

Indeed...

 

[quarterwave]

I would just use the Service screens to check and tune your power settings down a bit, the M1225 has a nice interface for doing that with a something like a graphic equalizer on a stereo.

I have some 440 HAM channels set as RX only in my M1225, works great. I have never set one up to TX, but as others said, and from my experience going back to the first M100's...I would turn the power down and also check stability with a service monitor to be sure.

 

[WX9EMS]

Interesting, Ive seen tons of posts about the "shift key" trick, but this is the first one where someone posted a more detailed rational for not doing it. Thank you.

You're welcome.

Before you dive in and start adjusting things in the service menu, print out the Alignment Summary. If things get screwed up, you will have a reference of where the settings were and make it easier to revert to the original settings. I would suggest Goggling for a R1225 service manual to carry out the tuning if you are going to proceed.

I have a M1225 that I use for a few Ham frequencies and GMRS. It works quite well on the 70 cm Ham band using the shift-key method and is not modified in any way at all and transmits at about 10 Watts. Just remember, these radios do not have a whole lot of heat sink and can overheat easily when keyed for extended periods of time, so keep that in mind when using them.

My two cents...