WQYC236
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Posts posted by WQYC236
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The two dual banders that I own are Tera 505's at about $90 and a Baofeng BF-F8HP at around $62. I like both and use them for different purposes. If the quality holds up on the BF, I will probably go that direction with my next purchase due to all the capabilities and features.
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In a perfect world some boy genius would market a repeater package with the bugs already worked out. IMO the "perfect" repeater for many GMRS applications would be a weather resistant package consisting of the repeater and hardware hooked directly to an antenna with a short lead and a water proof AC power cord. It would be designed in such a way that it could easily be hoisted to the top of a 100 ft tree or mounted on a tower with the power cord trailing behind. No line losses to worry about but the equipment would need to be of a rugged design that can thrive in an outdoor shelter with no heat or cooling. The light weight exterior would be water proof but allow air flow for cooling. I've seen transceivers build into water proof packages with additional instrumentation and speakers, why not the whole repeater assembly? I'll bet that if someone builds it, they will come.
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I know that the 1550LS+ CPS will be found there... (*cough*)
Thanks!
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20 Watts is about as low as the programming allows in the 40 watt models. If you needed lower power, the 25 watt models can be pushed way down to 5 watts or so.
Look up a seller on Ebay named mre1032 - he sells a kit for the external speaker and ignition sense accessory connector. It's wired correctly and all you have to do is connect to the speaker and ignition/accessory power. This seller is retired LE and is now a consultant. He's highly respected in the Motorola world. He offers a bunch of other items that you may be interested in so look over all of his stuff for the CDM's.
I keep a small stock of the accessory connectors and pre-terminated wires here so that I can make up pretty much anything needed for a CDM and many of the other Motorola legacy radios that use the 16 or 20 pin accessory connector.
Helpful hint: In regard to what you seem to need right now, the CDM750, 1250, and 1550 radios all use the same accessories. So a mic or remote connector advertised for one would work with any of them.
I went with the tan speakers because they match the interior of my truck. Strictly personal preference in regards to color. I bought 4 more of them because they were dirt cheap with free shipping. I already have uses for two of them but the others are just sitting there. I have one black one left, but that's committed to a near future project.
On the CDM's they can be programmed (and should be) for On/Off and Ignition Sense. The radio comes on or off with the key, plus you can still turn it on manually without the key. Make sure your programmer sets it that way, even if you don't use ignition sense at first.
I just use good quality quarter wave antennas with NMO mounts. I've rarely seen an instance where a gain antenna bought that much over a properly installed quarter wave with a good ground plane. Plus, the approximately 6" quarter wave is darned near invisible, especially if you use the black ones like I do.
Thanks again for all the great information! I really never considered a 6" antenna but it makes sense. I currently have four (4) mag mount mobile antennas, two are VHF/UHF and two are just UHF single band. The shortest is a UHF 19" and has become my favorite due to getting in and out of the garage and it also seems to give me the most power out. I will definitely check out your guy (mre1032) on Ebay and give him some business.
So far I'm really impressed by the build quality of these Motorola Radios. They are just rock solid compared to some of the "ChiComs" that I've owned. One more question regarding antenna systems. When I put a Power/SWR meter inline with the antenna/coax combination I sometimes show considerably different output power. I may get 30 watts out from one antenna and 20 watts out from another antenna with a 40 watt radio. In each case the SWR barely moves and I'm showing no reflected power. I've tried it with different radios and the results are always the same, different antenna system, different power out. I have one 50 watt mobile that can barely manage 22 watts output. Interestingly the same make and model but a different radio was showing 32 watts out on the same mobile antenna. I assume that the load that the antenna and coax represent is not a perfect 50 ohms but shouldn't I see some SWR or Reflected power differences?
DH
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You might check out https://hamfiles.co.uk I have heard they have some Motorola software there, though you probably have to register first.
Thanks!
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Remember the Audio PA is floating so DO NOT ground either of the speaker leads. Doing so will destroy the audio amp. They are made to float with an 8 ohm load.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thanks for the help!
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My model number chart says 9DP6 is a Passport & LTR radio capable of 160 LTR frequencies. Some of the older (pre-2004) were limited to 16 conventional channels. Anything newer than that should be 160 conventional channels. There's a serial number decoder on batlabs.com that will tell you when the radio was made.
Sorry about the type acceptance. As we all know, Part 90 radios meet and exceed the Part 95A specs. My UHF mobile in the truck is a CDM1250, 25 watts, 403-470, and 64 channel capacity. Same radio as the 1550, but no trunking or Passport. The 1250 is actually better for MDC, Quick-Call II, and DTMF. The 1550's are variable on what they support. It's fine for all the UHF services I use.
Also, if you purchase the CPS from Motorola, you will have to also obtain an EID for wide band programming for your GMRS channels. Versions R06.12.07 and older don't require the EID. Motorola locked the software for the narrowband mandate ignoring ham and other bands that use wideband.
HSN4010 for the tan speaker, HSN4018 for black. There are others that will work fine, too. You will need a plug kit to connect the speaker to the accessory connector on the back of the radio. I also recommend using Ignition Sense in the car so the radio comes on and off with the key. If you want, I can give you purchase info on that, or if you want a tan speaker ready to plug into the radio, drop me a PM.
After reviewing all of your suggestions and advice I think the better part of wisdom for me will be to hire out the programming (hopefully local). I really am almost there with the exception of a few of the local fire and rescue and school bus frequencies (which I like to listen to) and about 10 more repeaters that I may encounter in my travels about Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland.
My lack of knowledge of this type of radio may limit me in selecting programming features (options) that may be useful. For instance, I don't know if the low power setting is adjustable or fixed in the programming. Right now it appears to be set to 20/40 watts. It would be useful to be able to drop the power levels to 5 watts or so for short range operations.
The plug kit sounds like what I need for the base station set up as well (are they usually listed with the speakers)? It came with the power supply, desk microphone, and cradle/speaker combination but I could never figure out how to plug in the external speaker. Also, thanks for the offer of the brown external speaker for the car, but I think I'll just go ahead and order a black one to match the radio. As far as the ignition wiring goes I usually wire my radios directly to the battery, reasoning that if I ever get into a bad situation and loose my keys I'll still be able to call for help on the radio. Of course as you suggest the down side is forgetting to turn it off and running down the battery.
Another question for you, have you found a mobile antenna that you prefer for these radios? Thanks again for all the information and recommendations and Merry Christmas to all!
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The only way you can legitimately acquire any Motorola programming software is to purchase it from Motorola. However, this product was End of Life'd last year, but the software is still listed on their website as available. The part number is HVN9025 and the most recent revision is R06.12.09. You must have an established account with them to purchase it. The software is called CPS (Customer Programming Software) and this radio series is known as the Professional Series. It's also known as the Waris series. Current price on the software is $265. That would normally be a 3 year subscription entitling you to free updates as they are released. Since the radios are EOL, there won't be any future updates to the CPS.
There are no alternative programming options. You've got to use the Motorola CPS.
If you are running Win 7 or newer, you should use R06.12..05 or newer. Older versions are not stable on Win 7 64 bit.
It also requires a specific cable for use between the radio and the computer. They can be purchased inexpensively on Ebay and elsewhere in the USB version.
There's a steep learning curve to programming these radios correctly. Since you only have two of them and may only reprogram them a few times, it may be more cost effective to find someone locally who can do them.
Depending on the exact model of CDM1550, you may only have 16 conventional channels available to you. Post the full model number of the radio and I'll look it up for you. (I am responsible for a half dozen of the radios in our ambulance squad plus I also have several of my own, both VHF and UHF. The county where I live is 100% CDM radios for the fire service.)
You may already know this, but the CDM's are not type accepted for GMRS use. That's not a criticism, just tossing out the info.
You have the "S" split radios there (450 to 512). They can be hacked down to the 440 range for ham use, but it's a bit of trick involving some hex editing. The "R" split (403 to 470) models are easily found on the used market. My UHF CDM's are all the "R" split version and can do amateur, GRMS, and much of the Part 90 block.
Especially for the car, get yourself a Motorola external speaker. It will improve the sound quality dramatically. They're on Ebay all the time. Let me know if you need a part number or two. Several different ones will work just fine with the CDM. I have some tan ones here now. If you're interested, drop me a PM.
Thanks for the wealth of information in your post!! Model number is: AAM25RKF9DP6AN.
Not being type accepted is a real bummer for me...I really thought I had finally crossed all the T's and dotted all the I's with these radios.
If you can send me a model number for the external speaker for the car I would appreciate it.
They are advertised as having 160 channels but who knows. Again thanks for all the help...much appreciated.
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I recently purchased two of these radios, one for my base station and one for my Ford Explorer. Can any one point me to some good PC programming software for these?
The company that I got them from programmed the first 16 of the 160 channels (14 GMRS and two repeaters) so I am operational, but I really want to become comfortable with my own programming. Any thoughts or suggestions from you Motorola gurus out there will be appreciated.
Thanks and Merry Christmas!
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I really wish more manufactures would offer a 5/2 watt, GMRS/MURS simple radio at a reasonable price. I'm using my two Tera 505's and they seem to have most of what we are all looking for but could be a little less expensive although the build quality is good.
Maybe there's a business opportunity for someone to buy up a bunch of refurbished Motorola hand held's and set them up with the GMRS frequencies at a reasonable price.
Just a thought.
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I got my base antenna up approximately 40 feet last weekend before all the weather and wind blew through. Strangely, I don't seem to be talking any further than with the mobile on the ground, however I'm talking "better" if that makes any sense. What I mean is within a five mile circle, I've filled in a lot of "dead zones".
These were areas that I barely had a signal or had no signal at all. Some were explainable like low areas crossing a river bridge where you might expect to lose the signal, others were just places you couldn't talk for no apparent reason. Most of those have disappeared so I guess you could call the effort a partial success.
So far I've been able to push the signal out 12-14 miles to a mobile but only in certain places. Line of sight terrain models are usually reasonable predictors but not always. I have a clear line of sight over all terrain features to a small community 13.8 miles away and could not even break the squelch this morning.
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I own four different magnetic mount mobile antennas, three are dual band GMRS/MURS antennas and one is specifically for the GMRS band only, tuned to a mid point between 462-467 MHz. All of the antenna systems give me different results when I put a meter to them. The single band antenna seems to have a slight edge over the others.
If you have a good antenna on your car, over average terrain you should get 10-15 miles. With a five watt hand held with a good antenna about half that range is "normal".
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Thanks to all for all the information and suggestions.
So far I have had two (made in China) 16.6 foot antennas fail me on this project so I switched to a "DPD GMRS Vertical Outdoor Base Antenna". It's pre-assembled, weather sealed, and only 26" long. Right now its just hung on a cord off the porch roof but is performing very well with out a hint of SWR on 462-467 frequencies. Hopefully it will be up about 40 feet by this weekend.
My base station is now a refurbished Motorola CDM 1550 LS+ ,with power supply, cradle/speaker, and desk mike all from Motorola. This radio really seems to be solid and I'm loving it already.
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Thanks to all who replied to my questions! Always an education on here.
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Authentic Genuine Nagoya UT-72 Super Loading Coil 19-Inch Magnetic Mount VHF/UHF (144/430Mhz) Antenna PL-259 from amazon is what I use on top of my Suburban. Nice Increase in performance compared to the factory setup. At home I use Dual Band Portable roll up VHF UHF Antenna (MURS, HAM, GMRS, commercial) DBJ-2 from ED Fong off eBay, its not fancy but no complaints from me. Still testing to see if i get better range with it then the Nagoya. Semper Fi and Happy birthday.
I also use the 19" Nagoya UT-72 on my vehicle and it works great! It actually gives me more power out than my other three mobile antennas.
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For the most part, those would be all Part 90 licensed frequencies. Mostly business and public safety. PS is drifting away from low band at this point.
Thanks! So some where on the FCC web page a private individual could get a Part 90 licence for the 29-36 MHz band...or do you have to be a business?
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I ran across this refurbished (CDM750 Lowband 29-36 60W 4Ch) radio that operates on the 29-36 MHz band. I have searched the internet but still can't get a clear understanding on who uses these frequencies or how one might get a licence to leagally operate this type of low band radio. Does anyone have any information?
Thanks!
https://www.used-radios.com/p-109-cdm750-lowband-29-36-60w-4ch.aspx
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Thanks for the information on hard wire...sounds workable.
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Good to hear from you! Hows the radio clutter in NYC?
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I was impressed that they seem to be listening to what people want and I agree that the emphasis on getting a licence is great.
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Idk about y'all but I have my XTS3000 set on some local ham repeaters as well as the calling frequency set for transmit and I'm curious how many others have this set as well. Because in the event of an emergency I'm not going to sit on my computer and uncheck receive only and then plug in the input freq and tone However whenever I do monitor the ham band I turn on the Transmit Inhibit feature from the concentric switch just as a safe guard.
I have 128 of the 200 channels programmed into my radio: HAM, GMRS, MURS, FRS, Fire & Rescue, Police, School Systems, Hospitals, EMT's, Business bands, Marine Band, and anything else I can think of or learn about. I want to be able to have the best possible chance for communication with someone during an emergency. I also plot the location, height, frequency, and power of every transmission that I listen to on a daily basis (except the pirate radios). What use are empty channels in a radio?
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height is you friend.
that being said I would look into a better cable for the 90 footer. 3.3dB loss to me not acceptable. I would at least entertain the idea of LMR400 at a minimum cable w/2.5 dB loss/100'.
as to the above post on the antenna propagation site it's close enough if you have the right numbers to plug in.
just my thoughts, JE
Here's a couple of comparisons using LMR-400 & LMR-600. Larger, surplus cable is another thought (anybody know a good source)?. Also, an all weather repeater on a platform up near the antenna with only a short coax lead needed. Now the shortest I can get away with is 128 feet to the house.
(LMR-400) Cable Loss per 100 ft at Operating Frequency = 2.725 dB
Cable Length = 128 Ft.
Calculated Loss = 3.5 dB
Power into Cable = 50 Watts
Power out of Cable = 22.4 Watts
Gain of Antenna = 11.9 dBd
ERP of Antenna System = 346.9 Watts
(LMR-600) Cable Loss per 100 ft at Operating Frequency = 1.746 dB
Cable Length = 128 Ft.
Calculated Loss = 2.2 dB
Power into Cable = 50 Watts
Power out of Cable = 29.9 Watts
Gain of Antenna = 11.9 dBd
ERP of Antenna System = 462.9 Watts
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I just discovered a repeater located near the intersection of Hwy's 50 & 7 near DC. It's not listed anywhere (that I can find) and is on the same frequency and codes as "675Baltimore" (462.675, 467.675 and 141.3, 141.3). I recently had a nice conversation with a seasoned HAM and GMRS operator on that system. I was mobile in Warrenton,VA at the time which is about 31 air miles SW of the location. I was in between two buildings and hitting the repeater off the side of the car and still a good signal. He said it was a REACT repeater but I was perfectly welcome to use it as long as I had a licence.
I have been monitoring that frequency since last Saturday and haven't heard a soul. Unfortunately I didn't ask a lot of details like how high and power out, etc. I will next time I talk to some one on it. My personal range testing by listening for the carrier tone, has been out to 56 miles so far with out any problems. I even went out side last night about 1:30 AM and hit it with my Tera TR-505 hand held using the 15" antenna (5 watts). My house is about 51 miles SW from the repeater.
I'm hoping I'll be able to connect with people in the area through this system and I also am hopeful that I will be able to talk to my wife and son who both work within a few miles of the tower. The are doing the 60 plus mile commute thing and it would be especially useful in bad weather.
For about two weeks I haven't been able to hit .675 near DC or the repeater near Charlottesville, VA. I'm wondering if both are down or it's just conditions. Anybody else use these?
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Love all your data!! In one of the Slim Jim pictures you show a pretty substantial coil of coax secured to the mount. Have you ever tested that antenna without the coax loops? Just a thought
Business Band
in General Discussion
Posted
I frequently scan through the VHF/UHF business band frequencies in my area and I have yet to hear any station or any individual use call signs or identify themselves. Does the FCC exempt them from using call signs or is that world a complete free for all like CB?