SP50

[futureemt14]

Hello everyone,

First of all i'd like to thank those who have helped me so much in the past. Today I found a Motorola SP50 for .69 cents. I bought it w/ no info on it. I just used my frequency finder and found that it is programmed on 395.55 and 364.725. I have searched but couldn't find out what these frequencies are. I don't want to transmit on frequencies i'm not permitted to. Any help in identifying these frequencies would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks

 

[RodStrong]

Not so sure they get into that frequency range. I don't think they can legally be used for much anymore, but maybe someone will correct me if I'm wrong. At that price, it would be a cheap addition to your radio museum though.

 

[ramal121]

Those freqs, not likely. Whatever you used to check with probably locked onto an image because you transmitted too close. Take the battery out and look for the model number. Then you can check the model number to the listed chart here:

http://www.repeater-builder.com/motorola/manuals/sp50-svc-man-6880903z24-a.pdf

That will give you the capabilities of your radio. You'll have to find a better way to see what the channels are.

They are programmable if you can find someone with the program base, a RIB, and the DOS RSS.

Won't narrow band, but would be great for GMRS (if UHF).

Pretty much a bullet-proof radio with the exception of the knobs and antenna. These can get whacked and break the components solder off of the circuit board. Easy fix though. And these things have the loudest audio out the speaker bar none.

69 cents? Smoking deal

 

[futureemt14]

Thanks for the help guys. I just don't know how to understand that chart. Sorry for my lack of knowledge. Any other way to know if it is vhf or uhf?

 

[SteveC0625]

Thanks for the help guys. I just don't know how to understand that chart. Sorry for my lack of knowledge. Any other way to know if it is vhf or uhf?

Get the model number off the radio and write it down.

Get the model number chart and then try to decipher your model number.

Then, if you really can't figure it out, post the model number here and we'll help.

(Note that I did not say we'd do it for you. We'll help you, but you need to learn about these things if you're you're going to participate in a hobby radio forum. Give it shot. Most model number charts are easy, especially Motorola.)

 

[futureemt14]

Thanks! It is UHF which is what I was wanting.

Thanks Again

 

[RadioGuy7268]

Just a side note - I believe that just 10 or 15 % of the SP50's that exist were built as 12.5 Kc 'Narrowband' units. They were model specific - like a P94YQT00xxxx instead of a P94YQT20xxxx.

In short, you have to get the right model for narrowband. It's not a programmable feature.

A wideband UHF SP50 might still be somewhat useful for listening or for GMRS. They were decent enough radios back in the day, just not very rugged.

 

[ElroyJetson]

If the number 20 appears in the model number, that SP50 is NOT narrowbandable.

That's the vat majority of them.

The model number begins with P93 for VHF and P94 for UHF. It's the third digit (the 3 or 4) that tells the tale. 3 = VHF, 4 = UHF. This holds true for many models of Motorola radios.

I never cared for the SP50. I consider it to be a very cheap radio. But there sure are a lot of them still
in service that have managed to survive this long. I think they were introduced around 20 years ago.

If it's in good shape and hasn't been beaten to death it'll run as long as you can find batteries for it.

Despite my not caring much for them, the fact is that they're good radios that have lasted a very long time.

 

[MTS2000des]

the shop I worked at in the late 1990s sold (and serviced) a ton of SP50s. They aren't the highest end radio, but surprisingly they are pretty decent for low end radios. They were certainly better by far than the "Tron" garbage they were intended to compete with "Ritron and Maxon" at the time.

They require MS-DOS based RSS to program. Batteries are cheap and widely available as are audio accessories.

I'd certainly pay .69 for one that worked. They can be made to go into the 2m and 440 ham bands by modding the RSS.