Sonim XP8 XPand Direct Mode

[JASII]

I just saw that someone on eBay has the Channel Select Module for $35.00 for the XP6. I don't think they have one for the XP8, though.


XPand Channel Select Module for XP6 – Sonim Technologies, Inc.

ACR01G Sonim XP Channel Select Module XP CSM BLACK BRAND NEW | eBay

 

[n1das]

No CSM yet for the XP8 that I'm aware of.

I haven't had much chance to play with the 900MHz DM module yet because it involves the wife using her phone in the same mode.

One thing about the module is that unlike the Motorola DTRs and DLRs it doesn't require an acknowledgement from a receiving radio to continue transmitting after pressing PTT. When you press the hardware PTT on the phone, you hear a short single tone followed by a short 2-tone talk permit tone (TPT) about a second later. It's a "Beep...........be-beep" sound. I've confirmed on a spectrum analyzer that you see a brief burst of FHSS transmission upon pressing PTT followed by FHSS transmission continuously after the 2-tone be-beep. It does this whether or not there is another direct mode module in range. The Motorola DTR and DLR radios give an error tone and stop transmitting if they don't receive an acknowledgement from another DTR or DLR radio in range.

Also, as a matter of full disclosure, I own some Sonim Technologies stock following their recent IPO. (NASDAQ: SONM)

Sent from my XP8800 using Tapatalk

 

[JASII]

I am interested in devices like this. I think the UHF would be legal in the United States for licensed amateur radio operators.

Your thoughts, N1DAS .



Ulefone Armor 3T | Specifications - Ulefone

 

[n1das]

I am interested in devices like this. I think the UHF would be legal in the United States for licensed amateur radio operators.

Your thoughts, N1DAS .



Ulefone Armor 3T | Specifications - Ulefone

Interesting. The UHF should be legal in the USA for 70cm ham operation. I don't see any mention of FCC certification so it can be legally imported and offered for sale in the USA.

 

[RRR]

I just wish they didn't jack the price of the (simple) desktop charger so ridiculously high.

Would love to have a couple, but ....wow!

 

[JASII]

My wife and I went on an Alaska cruise recently. I didn't bring any two way radios and I am not sure if my wife would have carried it even if I had. I sold my DTRs this summer, but I am giving some thought again to getting something that will work well on simplex.

Since we are likely to take a cruise again, I am leaning towards something on 902-928 MHz. It looks like some of my choices are as follows:

-Motorola DTR/DLR Series. Most likely a DTR600. (I know the DTR700 has additional features, but I doubt that we would need them.)

-Sonim XP8 with XPand Module. I still think the price at $249.95 is a bit much.

-Used Motorola R765s.

-A Network radio that also has simplex. (Most are UHF 400 that I have seen. A few are VHF. I haven't seen ANY on 902-928 MHz, yet.)

-A genuine Android smartphone, with a PTT button, that has off-network simplex built in. I think it is a short list, but I recall that they do exist.

I know that my wife won't want to carry two separate devices, so having an Android smartphone with built-in off-network simplex would probably be the easiest to convince her to use.

 

[JASII]

Here is one of the Chinese smartphones that has off-network two way radio. It will do various cell phone bands, has Android 8.0 and has a physical PTT button. It is tempting.

Rugged Outdoor Smartphone | Ulefone

Enjoy Ulefone top smartphones including The World's Top Indestructible Rugged Phone Ulefone Armor 7

ulefone.com

 

[n1das]

My wife and I went on an Alaska cruise recently. I didn't bring any two way radios and I am not sure if my wife would have carried it even if I had. I sold my DTRs this summer, but I am giving some thought again to getting something that will work well on simplex.

Since we are likely to take a cruise again, I am leaning towards something on 902-928 MHz. It looks like some of my choices are as follows:

-Motorola DTR/DLR Series. Most likely a DTR600. (I know the DTR700 has additional features, but I doubt that we would need them.)

-Sonim XP8 with XPand Module. I still think the price at $249.95 is a bit much.

-Used Motorola R765s.

-A Network radio that also has simplex. (Most are UHF 400 that I have seen. A few are VHF. I haven't seen ANY on 902-928 MHz, yet.)

-A genuine Android smartphone, with a PTT button, that has off-network simplex built in. I think it is a short list, but I recall that they do exist.

I know that my wife won't want to carry two separate devices, so having an Android smartphone with built-in off-network simplex would probably be the easiest to convince her to use.

I ended up removing the 900MHz DM XPAND module on our phones. I found they actually don't work very well. No issues with range, just very buggy operation. There are lots of audio dropouts and frequently stops working and I have to restart the Sonim DM app to reset the module for it to work again. I never got to fully test range with them. They work as advertised but are kind of kludgey. The case got cracked on one of them around one of the mounting screw holes and now I can't keep the module tightly secured to the phone. The Sonim XP8 Ruggedized Smartphone is built like a brick expletive house smash the heck out of it rugged but I can't say the same about the 900MHz DM module.

My wife and I much prefer to use our DTR700 radios for local simplex mode and our XP8 phones are used for other stuff instead of trying to have one device that does it all. We use PTToC apps on our XP8 phones when out of DTR range. The Motorola DTRs and DLRs overall work far better than the 900MHz XPAND Direct Mode module.

Since you are already familiar with the DTR radios, have you considered the DLRs? My wife loves the DLRs because they are so damn small and so insanely easy to use. She got mad at me for selling my DLR fleet to a friend for his business. I had too many radios (DTR650 fleet + DTR700 fleet + DLR1060 fleet = 18 radios total) and I needed to sell some of them. All is cool now because she loves using the DTR700 radios. My friend at first wasn't sure what he was going to use the DLRs for except maybe as rentals for his customers. Now he uses them all the time in normal day to day activities for work and pleasure and won't part with them. The DLRs might be a good way to go considering the wife factor in the equation.

DLR Digital Radio Series - Motorola Solutions

DLR Series

www.motorolasolutions.com

The DLR's RF performance and range are identical to the DTR 550/650 when using the 3.5" 1/4 wave antenna on the DTRs. The DLRs have loud audio like the DTRs. Battery life is roughly equivalent to the DTR 600/700 battery life. Don't be fooled by the DLR's small size. Some people are put off by the large round PTT button on the front of the radio because they are so accustomed to PTT being on the side of a radio. The large round PTT button on the front makes sense for the radio's small form factor. The radio is comfortable to hold and PTT is easy to operate with a thumb press while holding the radio in either hand. PTT is easy to operate regardless of how the radio is held. The PTT button is in the best spot given the radio's very small form factor.

The DLR1060 is the DLR to get over the DLR1020. The DLR1060 ($219) is advertised as a 6 channel radio but is expandable to 10 channels with the CPS. The 2-channel DLR1020 ($209) is not expandable beyond 2 channels. The older DTR 410/550/650 are packed with features but were too much "radio" for the average business radio user in a retail environment. The DLRs are Motorola's answer to that. DLR = Digital Lightweight Radio, according to Motorola. The DLRs appear to be aimed at users of the popular Motorola CLS series UHF analog portables you see in restaurants and retail stores. The DLRs seem to make sense for the target market. Costco Wholesale near me uses DLR radios and I hear them on the default public channels whenever I'm in range.

DLR1060 - Motorola Solutions

DLR1060

www.motorolasolutions.com

 

[JASII]

N1DAS,

That is an excellent reply. Thank you for posting the additional information.

I had been eyeing up those XPand Modules, but your experience will be enough to dissuade me.

If I do end up going with separate device, it will be DLR1060 or the DTR 600/700. Regarding the DTR600 vs DTR700 choice, is there a compelling reason to go DTR700 vs DTR600 for most people? My gut tells me that the DTR600 would be a good choice for us.

I would still love to see them add Bluetooth to these devices. Finally, it would also be nice to have off-network, simplex text messaging, but I am sure that isn't a concern for many/most end users of these.

I am still looking for more information on the Ulefone Armor 3T. Having a rugged Android smartphone, that will also do off-network simplex, might be the best choice of all for us.

JASII

 

[n1das]

N1DAS,

That is an excellent reply. Thank you for posting the additional information.

I had been eyeing up those XPand Modules, but your experience will be enough to dissuade me.

If I do end up going with separate device, it will be DLR1060 or the DTR 600/700. Regarding the DTR600 vs DTR700 choice, is there a compelling reason to go DTR700 vs DTR600 for most people? My gut tells me that the DTR600 would be a good choice for us.

I would still love to see them add Bluetooth to these devices. Finally, it would also be nice to have off-network, simplex text messaging, but I am sure that isn't a concern for many/most end users of these.

I am still looking for more information on the Ulefone Armor 3T. Having a rugged Android smartphone, that will also do off-network simplex, might be the best choice of all for us.

JASII

DTR700:

• 50 channels.
• A recent FW update added talkgroup (channel) scan capability like the older DTRs.
• Manager mode features like in the DTR650 are expected to be added in a future FW update.

DTR600:

• 30 channels.
• Talkgroup (channel) scan was added in the recent FW update for the DTR 600/700.
• AFAIK, no manager mode features are planned.

The DTR700 appears to be more upgrade capable through future firmware updates. The DTR600 may already be as mature as it is going to get.

The DLR1060 is marketed as a 6 channel radio but is expandable to 10 channels with R05.01 or newer CPS. The DLR1020 is not expandable beyond its original 2 channels.