Maybe they weren't used. And used prices are all over the place, from under $1000 to nearly new price.
Motorola radios?
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Maybe they weren't used. And used prices are all over the place, from under $1000 to nearly new price.
What's to get? This guy wanted them, and they were at a price he was willing to pay. It doesn't have to get deeper or more meaningful than that.
It's a hobby, and one can spend as much, or as little, as they chose to. For some people, apparently, spending $5k for a couple of Motorola HT's is worth it. For me, not so much. I own a ton of Motorola radios, and I like 'em, but I won't spend much money on them. Many, in fact, have come to me close to free. But I won't blink twice at dropping $5000 for a new piece of test equipment, or $1000 over a weekend to participate in a VHF/UHF contest.
I would tend to agree, so far as amateur performance is concerned, the added performance isn't worth the additional cost that some guys pay. But my value system might be different than others.
They fit into amateur radio just fine. They're great radios. What's amusing is the mystique they seem to have with a lot of hobbyist types. Work with Motorola every day, behind the scenes, and after a while the glitter starts to wear thin. In the end, if you're trying to figure out why some people will spend so much for a portable radio, it all boils down to personal taste, nothing more, nothing less.
N1BHH
Member
Heck, for 5 grand you can get a dual band hand held, a dual band mobile, an HF rig for home, an HF rig for mobile use and have enough money to take your wife and girlfriend out for dinner. In this time of financial woes, I tend do go with gear that's within my budget, and I don't have to buy the RSS for that type radio, and the license for it. Yeah it'll come to that if you get it all.
There is far more flexibility in a purpose built amateur radio transceiver. You get to dial the frequency, offset and tone on the fly. You don't have to be tied down to a computer and RIB box in the middle of the woods or 400 miles from home and the repeaters all have different tones.
I have nothing against anything Motorola, look what I use on 900, a Motorola. There aren't many active 900 repeaters outside the area I would be located, but for VHF and UHF I go with ham band gear.
There is far more flexibility in a purpose built amateur radio transceiver. You get to dial the frequency, offset and tone on the fly. You don't have to be tied down to a computer and RIB box in the middle of the woods or 400 miles from home and the repeaters all have different tones.
I have nothing against anything Motorola, look what I use on 900, a Motorola. There aren't many active 900 repeaters outside the area I would be located, but for VHF and UHF I go with ham band gear.
W2NJS
Member
One of the things that makes one a good debater is being fully informed about the topic. On the subject of ease of programming, the fact is that the Motorola high-end (XTS5000) radios sold these days are mostly FPP (Q52 & Q53). There a few, if any, flashcode upgrades performed nowadays that don't include this feature. So whoever says that he's "stuck" with all the reprogramming mess, hardware, and cost is just not working with current information. Sure, the Motorola's are expensive compared to the ham HTs, but it's like anything else in life -- you get what you pay for.
kb2crk
Member
use old moto everyday
i currently run a vhf maratrac on two meters ham and also use the 99 channel radio for the public safety bands. the radios receive is far above and beyond anything else that i have used and with 100 watts out i can hit those far off repeaters. i also run maxtrac 300' s on vhf and uhf that have been upgraded to 32 channels and full scan. again great receivers. i am working on modifying a maratrac for six meters and will have that up and running as soon as i get time for the final alignment. info is plentiful and the gear is outstanding.
ok i needed to add something.
my 2 meter maratrac i bought off ebay for 52 dollars after shipping.
two of the three maxtracs i use were bought with a lot of old radio equiptment of ebay for 10 bucks and 40 bucks shipping. i sold off the handhelds and extra parts on ebay and made money on that deal and still have a couple more to put together.
the third maxtrac i bought of off ebay for 35 shipped and use it everyday in the 440 band.
the 6 meter maratrac project radio was 35 bucks after shipping off of ebay.
the older stuff can be had cheap and the software, although available is a no no to ask for. with enough searching it can be found just dont ask on the moto boards.
i currently run a vhf maratrac on two meters ham and also use the 99 channel radio for the public safety bands. the radios receive is far above and beyond anything else that i have used and with 100 watts out i can hit those far off repeaters. i also run maxtrac 300' s on vhf and uhf that have been upgraded to 32 channels and full scan. again great receivers. i am working on modifying a maratrac for six meters and will have that up and running as soon as i get time for the final alignment. info is plentiful and the gear is outstanding.
ok i needed to add something.
my 2 meter maratrac i bought off ebay for 52 dollars after shipping.
two of the three maxtracs i use were bought with a lot of old radio equiptment of ebay for 10 bucks and 40 bucks shipping. i sold off the handhelds and extra parts on ebay and made money on that deal and still have a couple more to put together.
the third maxtrac i bought of off ebay for 35 shipped and use it everyday in the 440 band.
the 6 meter maratrac project radio was 35 bucks after shipping off of ebay.
the older stuff can be had cheap and the software, although available is a no no to ask for. with enough searching it can be found just dont ask on the moto boards.
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JnglMassiv
Member
Did I chat with you for a while at the WBØW booth? I had an XTS5k. I think we did.
This whole thread leaves out that the XTS5000 is basically the top of the line available Moto portable right now (minus the scarce APX, of course). You can have a great time with almost any of the other excellent lines of radio. Can I recommend the Astro Saber line for starters? Pick a band, find a radio with a 1 meg board & a digital flash and get on the air. You should do fine for a $500 investment which includes batteries, charger, speaker mic, rib and maybe some cables. Software can be purchased or, better, find a new local friend who has it already and use his rig. If the interest sticks, upgrade better educated with your new experience under your belt. If you're not concerned with an Astro radio (IMBE or P25 or 'digital'-mode), consider even the (non-Astro) Saber or a Jedi radio Link.. These were once very high-end radios and very high quality.
990adv
Member
If you were standing by a display for Tarheel Antennas then it was me. If I remember correctly you only had one radio with you but do own both VHF and UHF models.
I would want something with a large display and full keypad. Guess I want all the user friendliness of a ham HT combined with the superior aspects of the Motorola. As awesome a radio that would make, no way am I paying $1500 for it.
I would want something with a large display and full keypad. Guess I want all the user friendliness of a ham HT combined with the superior aspects of the Motorola. As awesome a radio that would make, no way am I paying $1500 for it.
You don't have to. Ebay, panther8888 Motorola XTS2500's with FPP for $430 plus shipping right now. Search around ebay and find an antenna, battery and charger and you can have all the above for less then $700
I am a new tech, lic in june...... i have been with fire ems and 911 for almost 10yrs.... I use a Motorola GM300 for my 2m stuff because.....IT WAS FREE..... I use a Yaesu FT-60r for my HT, and love it..... I am on a budget and that makes alot of the choices about what I use. Would I like to have a 2000 dollar radio, Heck Yeah who wouldnt, will it do better then my free one for the 2m repeater 10 miles away, NO. So why spend the money. It comes down to this, you get what you want.... if it works for you then great if not then change it. I rather have a 50 dollar GP300 set to my local freq and have it outside with me and mess it up ( whats designed to be a public safety radio) then ruin my FT-60r .
TRUNKING!
Ham radios don't do any form of trunking. I have a few UHF radios that I used to monitor a Type II trunking system in my area, because scanners just can't compare. Plus, one of the control channels has a high-pitched whine/squeal that renders scanners and UniTrunker useless when it is in rotation. They just cannot filter out the whine/squeal and will not decode the data, hence, they will not/cannot track the system. The Motorola radios I have programmed for the system are not affected by the whine/squeal.
Also, with the intro of the APX7000, you could monitor 800 trunking and still use the VHF or UHF bands for ham among other things.
Ham radios don't do any form of trunking. I have a few UHF radios that I used to monitor a Type II trunking system in my area, because scanners just can't compare. Plus, one of the control channels has a high-pitched whine/squeal that renders scanners and UniTrunker useless when it is in rotation. They just cannot filter out the whine/squeal and will not decode the data, hence, they will not/cannot track the system. The Motorola radios I have programmed for the system are not affected by the whine/squeal.
Also, with the intro of the APX7000, you could monitor 800 trunking and still use the VHF or UHF bands for ham among other things.
I have never used the Astro Saber line. I do have experience with the XTS3000 and XTS5000. Are Astro Sabers readily available ?
yup. very
There's tons of Sabers out there. I saw a Systems Saber III go for $55 a pop on Batlabs a week or so ago.
True, there are lots of Sabers, Systems Sabers and Astro Sabers. Very different between all three, with Astros being digital and newer.
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