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Need Help ID-ing Tag Sale Find

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Mattkuhar

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hey guys, got this recently from a tag sale for 1 dollar, powers on, has 2 channels programmed (idk what freqs) need some help finding out if its UHF/VHF and the Bandsplit and how many channels its capable of before i decide to use it or ebay it out.
 

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mmckenna

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25 watt UHF, either 403-430 or 449-470MHz.
Maxtrac and Radius Mobiles

Determining if it's the 403-430 or 449-470 requires either reading the radio with RSS or opening it up and looking at one of the PC boards.

Likely it's a 449-470, but not guaranteed. 403-430 was a pretty limited market back then, so they tend to be a bit rarer, but not unheard of.

So, what can you do with it?
70CM amateur. It'll take a bit of work to make it go far enough down into the band to be much good.
GMRS, would make a good mobile, but I can't recall if these have the Part 95 certification that makes it legal to use.
A good receiver for UHF stuff, although…
It's probably a wide band radio, which makes it not suitable for any sort of business or public safety use. It'll work as a receiver, but the audio will be a little low.

Looks like it has the 16 pin connector on the back, which is useful for adding some accessories.

If you were to go looking for one of these to buy, you could easily find one for $10 or $20 bucks, if not someone tossing them out. Since the narrow banding mandate hit back in 2013, most of these wide band radios are pretty useless to everyone but the amateur operators or GMRS.
 

Mattkuhar

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yes it does have the 16 pin header on the back. i sure hope its 449-470 for GMRS use :) ill open it after dinner and snap some pics and post em, so i can find out for sure what split it is. how old is this unit roughly? judging by the shape its in id guess late 90's early 00's. WOW!! 32 Channels? thats nice to hear that, ill be looking for some VHF HT1000's soon in a 16 channel (so far around $75 on ebay)
 

Mattkuhar

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im gonna take a guess and say its the GM300? found some software online for free and its listed as GM300 with a pic of what appears to be the same radio i have here. then i gotta get/make a programming cable
 

SteveC0625

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im gonna take a guess and say its the GM300? found some software online for free and its listed as GM300 with a pic of what appears to be the same radio i have here. then i gotta get/make a programming cable
Nope, not a GM300. The letters would be GMC in the middle if it was a GM300.

You will find model number charts at batlabs.com and repeater-builder.com along with a lot more detailed info that you can figure out from the model number.

FWIW, it is more likely a 8 channel radio and possibly a 16, but unlikely no more.

Study up on all the info on the two sites I gave you. All the answers you seek are already there.

Start here: Motorola MaxTrac / Radius / GM300 Index Page
 

Mattkuhar

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WOW!! thats way older than i was expecting lol. heck if i can figure out for sure which model it is (think im gonna need a way to read it to know for sure) this could be one heck of an excellent buy for a buck
 

SteveC0625

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More guidance:

Here's your model number broken down:

Model Number Series Pwr Freq Range Modes Options
D34LRA77A5AK M206 25 449-470 6 P,D (TPL & DPL)

Yours is a BK which is not in the chart, but is most likely actually an 8 mode radio.

This page can help more: Radius M100/M206/M208/M214/M216 Model Information

Everything you need is there on repeater-builder.com.
 

SteveC0625

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WOW!! thats way older than i was expecting lol. heck if i can figure out for sure which model it is (think im gonna need a way to read it to know for sure) this could be one heck of an excellent buy for a buck
Did you not read post #8? I gave you specific locations for all the details you need to know.
 

Mattkuhar

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steve, the furthest i found was that it was an M208 or M216. i was also eating at the time so was probably distracted. also didnt find the page you just linked to with the chart on it.
 

petnrdx

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Hudson, FL
Since it is supposed to be a Radius, max is 16 channels.
But, since it also has a 16 pin logic board, find someone that has Maxtrac-Lab and blank the radio, then re-initialize it as a Maxtrac-High-Signalling, and you can make it into a 32 channel.
Sometimes you have to change the firmware to Maxtrac ver 5 and higher, but often the Radius firmware above about ver 18 will support the Maxtrac.
Ya' just gotta try it if you want those extra 16 channels.
The Radius line was a "lower tier" radio, so they would not let them have more than 16 channels.
Had to do with the Motorola shops vs. dealers sort of thing.
And most were between 2 and 8 channels.
 

Mattkuhar

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well, i just opened her up, and noticed my RF Board isnt on the list. mine is HLE4425B but the one on the list says HLE4425A. is this something significant? im still new to all this stuff please bear with me
 

Mattkuhar

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ive been looking online all night and everywhere i look says the programming software for this radio is discontinued. that being said, does anybody know where i can locate a copy of it still? i am aware i will also need an old slow computer to run it under DOS.


@petnrdx - i wasnt aware that could be done :) more channels is better in my book.
 

Skooter92

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Well.....

Matt- the marking means that the RF board band split would be 449 to 470 mHz. Just that. Before you rush to get yourself set up to program the radio, have someone make sure it's still any good ($1 specials tend to be "special", especially when sold "as-is"), and ask around to see if someone can program it for you...might be cheaper and easier unless you're planning to do a lot of reprogramming or purchase more units that will require the same setup.
 

N4KVE

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About 15 months ago, when narrow banding became law, you could go to the dumpster behind any 2 way radio shop & find pallet loads of similar radios. Useless for business band, but OK for ham. Years ago I used a similar 450-470 radio, & while it was great in the business band, the rx was weak in the ham band. about .5 microvolts at 442 mhz. Good for local repeaters, but not so great for distant ones. Fun to play with, but I wouldn't invest any money into it.
 

Mattkuhar

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New Haven County, CT
now the question is, is there anybody reading this thats fairly local to me that could program it for me before i try to find the software/cable for it? at some point i very well may have several of these installed into friends vehicles who want them.
 
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