R7 for amateur use

[W2SJW]

Guys,

I've been out of the game with Motorola since very early in 2023 when I sold my complete XPR7550e package to fund the purchase of an IC-7300.

I've just come into possession of a UHF R7 (enabled edition), and I've got a programming cable & accessories coming for it. I was duly impressed on how quickly I got my Motorola Solutions account approved so I could grab the latest CPS & FW.

I've got 2 quick questions:

#1 - Has the AGC technology in these newer units progressed far enough that it's OK to use for amateur operations, or should I stay with a manual mic gain?
#2 - Are there any audio processing features present in this radio that I should absolutely turn-off?

90% of the time this will be used for amateur ops, but my employer does utilize conventional DMR at out distribution & fulfillment centers, so I will be using it there when I'm on-site for service calls.

Thanks in advance, and any other suggestions you wish to pass along would be greatly appreciated!

 

[fontanei]

What have you found out? I’m actually thinking of getting one since I got my moto account as well <—- free for ham radio. 😊

 

[N4KVE]

AGC technology was corrected at the end of Gen 1 CPS, so it’s fine to use now. Also auto leveling on the RX side really works. They’re great radios.

 

[PACNWDude]

Still use a Motorola XPR7550e for amateur use, works great. The R7 is just the logical progression of that line, currently produced and supported. I have a Channel Partner that says tweaking the audio on the R7 was harder than with the XPR7550 and XPR7550e, but I have no direct experience on that part. Default audio and AGC seems to work well for me already.

Have several hundred R7's in use for a business production/manufacturing role, decent radio (as it should be for the price).

 

[cavmedic]

Does the leveling really help tame all the chicom garbage you hear on brandmeister?

 

[N4KVE]

Does the leveling really help tame all the chicom garbage you hear on brandmeister?

It does on the local AC4XQ DMR repeater system [8 linked repeaters throughout Florida] but we’re not on Brandmeister, or any other similar system.

 

[MTS2000des]

Does the leveling really help tame all the chicom garbage you hear on brandmeister?

Yes, immensely. Kenwood's implementation of AVC (automatic volume control) on the Viking radios made listening to ham DMR much more tame. Moto's auto volume leveling isn't as aggressive but effective.

 

[kayn1n32008]

Guys,

I've been out of the game with Motorola since very early in 2023 when I sold my complete XPR7550e package to fund the purchase of an IC-7300.

I've just come into possession of a UHF R7 (enabled edition), and I've got a programming cable & accessories coming for it. I was duly impressed on how quickly I got my Motorola Solutions account approved so I could grab the latest CPS & FW.

I've got 2 quick questions:

#1 - Has the AGC technology in these newer units progressed far enough that it's OK to use for amateur operations, or should I stay with a manual mic gain?

It's been fixed for years. I've been using AGC on both analogue and digital since 2020 at least. I just updated my codeplug in my XPR5550 and my most recent save prior to my new codeplug revision was some time in 2020.

#2 - Are there any audio processing features present in this radio that I should absolutely turn-off?

No

90% of the time this will be used for amateur ops, but my employer does utilize conventional DMR at out distribution & fulfillment centers, so I will be using it there when I'm on-site for service calls.

I get compliments for both my XPR7550e, XPR7550 and XPR5550 in both analogue and digital mode.

Thanks in advance, and any other suggestions you wish to pass along would be greatly appreciated!

Get them to current firmware and enjoy.