Tait or Motorola

[matt131]

Hello Everyone,

I am looking into new radio equipment and I am torn between Tait and Motorola. I am looking for a good P25 portable and Mobile radio. I have been looking at the Tait TP9135 portable and TM9135 mobile. For Motorola I have been looking at the XTS1500 portable and XTL 1500 Mobile.

It appears that price wise Tait is less expensive. In my area Tait has become more and more popular among Public Safety departments. Everyone seems to be selling Motorola

What are peoples thoughts and I thank everyone for their thoughts and comments.

 

[svfd17]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.654 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/389)

I've never used a tait before but I do own quite a few motorolas and I've never been let down by them so by spending a little more go with Motorola.

 

[b7spectra]

Well, the SAPS will be on here shortly, but in order to use a M or Tait on any TRS, you will have to get it programmed by the agency you would like to monitor. Nothing worse than owning a Thousand dollar doorstop when it gets stunned.

 

[kayn1n32008]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (BlackBerry; U; BlackBerry 9780; en-US) AppleWebKit/534.8+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/6.0.0.534 Mobile Safari/534.8+)

Well, the SAPS will be on here shortly, but in order to use a M or Tait on any TRS, you will have to get it programmed by the agency you would like to monitor. Nothing worse than owning a Thousand dollar doorstop when it gets stunned.

He said P25 NOT trunked P25. Nor did he say he wanted it to monitor a TRS.

 

[RodStrong]

Pricewise, Motorola can't compete with Tait, period. Motorola will be the first to tell you that.

Regarding portables, the 9135 has a lot more channel capacity than the 1500 if that's an issue.

From my relatively limited exposure to the Tait's they seem to be decent enough overall technically, ergonomically, and internally. The only unanswered questions on my end are how durable they are, and how strong/efficient is their service network. There are a couple agencies in my area that have recently bought them, but they haven't stood the test of time yet, and we haven't gotten an idea of how well ongoing customer service/repairs are going to be handled. I am looking forward to seeing how these radios work out in the future.

A minor negative (not necessarily a deal killer, just something to think about) is there are not a lot of third party vendors that make Tait compatible products, which means you are largely stuck with OEM accessories (and whatever price they charge for them). For those that are penny pinchers or for whatever reason are not across the board "OEM accessories only" types, your choices are going to be very limited with Tait accessories. Hopefully that will change as Tait grows and gets more exposure in the US.

Good luck.

 

[b7spectra]

I'm sorry, I guess I didn't see ANYWHERE in his original post that it was P25 simplex/repeater only. I just saw P25.

If you are going to use the radio for NON-TRS, P25 is a standard, so I would look at what ever radio you can afford (radio + software + cables).

 

[kayn1n32008]

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I'm sorry, I guess I didn't see ANYWHERE in his original post that it was P25 simplex/repeater only. I just saw P25.

If you are going to use the radio for NON-TRS, P25 is a standard, so I would look at what ever radio you can afford (radio + software + cables).

You are absolutely correct. My point was that he did not ever say that it was to just monitor a TRS he was not a user of. P25 does not automatically mean P25 TRS. So really the SAPS showed up when you made your first post.

To OP, as others have stated, aftermarket accessories are going to be a bit harder to find. If Taits subscriber gear is anywhere near as good as their repeaters then it shoud give the moto stuff a run for its money, at a more economical price. It is nice to see that Tait is making inroads in to the US PS market.

 

[questnz]

Tait have a very good reputation world wide. They still making quality products in NZ and supplying their products to many countries and agencies world wide. Definately worth looking at the quality and value of their stuff.
Home - Tait Radio Communications

 

[Abb0]

I attended a demonstration where the Tait sales staff were quite happy to throw a TP9155 across the room (letting it hit the concrete floor) and dunk it for more than a minute in water and the radio kept going. The Mot people attending declined to do the same with their portable (not sure of product other than it was a P25 portable). They didn't look like happy chappys at all. In the end the customer went with Tait.

From what I have been told the Tait portables, especially, are getting a reputation for being rugged.

 

[b7spectra]

I would have tossed my Motorola HT220 across the floor with no qualms. That was a BRICK!

 

[bldavis]

Hello Everyone,

I am looking into new radio equipment and I am torn between Tait and Motorola. I am looking for a good P25 portable and Mobile radio. I have been looking at the Tait TP9135 portable and TM9135 mobile. For Motorola I have been looking at the XTS1500 portable and XTL 1500 Mobile.

It appears that price wise Tait is less expensive. In my area Tait has become more and more popular among Public Safety departments. Everyone seems to be selling Motorola

What are peoples thoughts and I thank everyone for their thoughts and comments.

Recently tested both radios. The Tait is a significantly superior radio vs. the XTS series in all respects that matter. They are very well designed, easy to operate and program, excellent audio quality and noise resistance, solid P25 compliance, and damn near bombproof. Their mic setup in particular is very well engineered, and their audio quality was second only to the much more expensive Moto APX series. The APX is a better radio, but it was the only better radio that we tested, at any price.

Tait has some very serious engineering talent on their team somewhere. Their repeaters are also excellent.

 

[MTS2000des]

Tait is nothing to laugh at. Their repeaters are a long time favorite of the US Forest Service. Many are installed in remote locations in harsh conditions and perform very well. They are very serviceable units.

 

[kayn1n32008]

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Tait is nothing to laugh at. Their repeaters are a long time favorite of the US Forest Service. Many are installed in remote locations in harsh conditions and perform very well. They are very serviceable units.

IMO Tait repeaters are second only, in quality and durability, to Daniels Electronics repeaters. Daniels is well known for their low power consumption and are engineered for extreme locations. Like in an unheated comshell on a mountain top in Yukon where there could be a temp swing from +25 to -50 degree C from summer to winter. Chances are the repeater will out live the rest of the equipment at the site.

Design wise, Tait and Daniels are similar, they are completly modular repeaters, everything is separate and mounted into a 3U chassis.

Hands down Tait makes one of the best repeaters out there. To have to choose between a Tait repeater and Motorola repeater, I would take Tait 10 times out of 10.

If their subscriber gear is any where near the quality of the repeaters. IMO go with Tait. The only issue is some of the terminology is very different than what we would use in North America.

 

[creeperjeep]

Well, the SAPS will be on here shortly, but in order to use a M or Tait on any TRS, you will have to get it programmed by the agency you would like to monitor. Nothing worse than owning a Thousand dollar doorstop when it gets stunned.

Tait does not support any Motorola type trunking anyhow.
Just MPT,LTR type stuff.

 

[kayn1n32008]

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They do not support Moto typeII, but TAIT does 9600 baud trunking though.

 

[greenthumb]

We're seeing an increasing number of Tait radios being carried by public safety. I would recommend the Tait series over the XTS 1500.