Analog Sabers were some of the best portables Motorola turned out in the 1980s. They can also be one of the WORST to diagnose problems with, especially if untrained people use unstable platforms to attempt to program them and start screwing with bandsplits, load the "field programmer" tuner values without the proper RTX box, service monitor/sig gen and service manual handy. :lol: Hint: ALWAYS READ your radio FIRST and save the codeplug before you do ANYTHING. Always use the tuning values stored in the radio when writing to an analog Saber.
Much of the advice given about using an old 386 or 486 computer is absolutley imperative with these radios. Consider that the LAST known version of Saber RSS was written in early 1990s when the fastest CPU's were Pentium 1s at 60MHz. Saber RSS stability is more tied to the UART chips than CPU speed alone.
Trying to read/write these radios on any modern Windows xx PC is playing with fire. Saber RSS (as do many earlier Motorla radios, all the way up to the MTS2000) extract the ENTIRE internal and external codeplug structure into memory. Without going into all the details, this includes the tuning softpots. So, you can see how any disruption in the WRITE process can fatally DISABLE the radio. Getting them going again can be time consuming and near impossible if that happens.
Use the PROPER hardware. This includes a good quality RIB. Ideally, a true RLN4008x is best for these older radios, but some of the clones (like the Sandy Ganz ones) are not bad and much cheaper. Good RIB to radio cables are a must. Check any low cost Chinese ones by opening the radio connector AND the DB-25 head shell. You'd be surprised how many have poor soldering jobs with leads just HANGING by a single strand of wire. All it takes is it coming loose during a write and it's GAME OVER.
Finding an older WORKING DOS PC of this vintage is getting more and more difficult but not impossible, the suggestions about thrift shops are good, but also check with family members or friends who may have an old 486 laying around. Be prepared to getting it restored and running stable BEFORE connecting your RIB/radio. Good thing is DOS is a mature O/S and well documented on the web.
Note that the "youngest" analog Sabers (usually have black product ID tags laser engraved with green text) date to the mid to late 1990s. ASSuming those radios are all original (many people swap modules, housings, parts on these) they should not need much attention. But a Saber made in 1987 when Reagan was still in the White House (usually have the red solder mask on the main board) WILL most likely need tuning and alignment for it to work to factory specs.
