RCM

Got the M1225 programmed and working. I can see why they're popular! It is programmed with 19 channels and talkaround.

Thanks. To clarify, I was referring to Version 1 vs. Version 2; not Types 1-3. Thanks for verifying that your V2 does program into the ham band. How well does it perform there? Did you have to realign it?

Thanks! Most of the world only uses 430-440 for ham radio, and business/industrial starts 10 MHz below the US. Kenwood makes radios for those markets, too. So they actually are designed to work there. What I read somewhere is that the firmware in V2 880s makes it more difficult, but that V1 880s program down to 440 without issue. My TK-805Ds program there. I'll try it with this 880 and see how it goes.

Thanks, Gary. Sounds like you know the ins and outs of 880s. I think I read somewhere that these early ones work better on the ham band than Version 2 radios. Do you know anything about that? It would be great if it would perform well on GMRS and 70 cm.

I had been looking at various Kenwood TK-880s and also a TK-863G, when the Motorola M1225s popped up for a good deal and I bought one of those. Then 2-3 days later one of the TK-880s (this one a high power version) had its price reduced and I jumped on it. It arrived today. The M1225 still hasn't arrived, but hopefully it will be here tomorrow. The TK-880H powers up, shows Version 1.50 and then "unprogram." I was hoping it would still have some frequencies in it so I could test it into a dummy load. I was also hoping (but not expecting) that it would have FPP enabled. No dice in either case. Oh well. So I ordered a usb programming cable from Bluemax49ers. When it gets here I'll see about programming it, and also enable it for FPP. Although with 62,500 possible channels (250 banks of 250 channels) it's doubtful I will need FPP very much.

Aaaaand, it lives! Right now the receive antenna is a homebrew 1/4 wave ground plane above my house and the transmit "antenna" is a dummy load in the house, but it functions and I can hear it in my HTs. Sometime in the next few days both tx and rx will get better antennas. I could actually still hear it on my HT a couple hundred yards down the road, with about 12 watts into a dummy load near floor level in a back room of my house.

I received this Phoenix back from the programmer today, and it works great! Does 40 watts out on tx, too. Although the plan is to use it on the receive side, I figured I might as well get it programmed to transmit on 462.675 too (rx is 467.675) so I could swap it into the transmit side should that ever become necessary. Also, since it is a 2 channel radio and I don't need TA on it, I had it programmed for an alternate pair as well.

Oh, I didn't notice that part. Oh well.

That is indeed, a very neat looking little radio! It's rated as being waterproof too, and the advertising specifically mentions using it on motorcycles and ATVs. I wonder if the low power setting can be adjusted to 2 watts for MURS? Btw, the manual specifically states that it does offset for repeater operation.

You do realize this is the busiest week of the year for USPS, right? I wouldn't assume the problem is with Hamgadget just because USPS can't provide tracking info yet.

I agree. I think the point of that rule is to prohibit phone patches, not limit the coverage area of a repeater system.

http://www.k9rod.net/Commercial.html

Yes, I think so.

Email would be great, thanks!

Hans, once I have the cable where do I find the software? It's beginning to look like getting set up to program this radio will cost more than the radio itself. Unlike Kenwood, where the cable is cheap and the software is free.

Thanks, Hans!

All the love here for the M1225 has convinced me. So I made an offer on one. This morning, my offer was accepted. What's the easiest and cheapest way to program this puppy?

I like the ID-O-Matic IV. I bought the kit and put it together myself, but they're available wired and tested too.

Of those three, one is $75 starting bid. I doubt it will get any bids. The other two are "buy it now" at $75, with multiple units available. If you buy from the one in Colorado, they will program it for you before shipping. Great people to deal with. If you buy from the seller in Indiana (the one with a white mic), they are not in as nice condition as the one from Colorado, nor do they offer programming. But, they are in good usable condition and they have a "make offer" button on the listing. Insider tip: offer $40. They might offer to sell you their remaining stock of 7 for $40 each. If you don't want all 7, they will probably sell you one or two for $45 each. Don't tell them I tipped you off.

You're gonna make a good ham!

Definitely try to be ready to take the General in your first test session. If you don't pass it, no biggie. There will always be next time. You're in for a whole world of fun with your ham license, even if it's just Tech to start with.

Just to state the same thing a slightly different way, in case it helps your understanding: Tone squelch is a filter that is applied to the receive side of a radio or repeater. If it's turned on (as it is with most repeaters), the receiver or repeater will ignore anything that doesn't transmit the proper tone. So you have to program the proper tone in your transmitter, or you won't be able to get into the repeater. Likewise if you are trying to call another station that has a tone squelch programmed. To recap: to transmit to any station or repeater that has a tone squelch programmed, you must have the same tone programmed into your transmitter. Tone squelch is optional. Even if you have to have a tone programmed to talk to a station or repeater, you don't have to program a tone squelch at all. You will just hear any and all signals on the frequency, whether they are transmitting a tone or not. If you do decide to program a tone squelch, it must be the same one the repeater or other station is transmitting. Otherwise you won't hear them. Personally I leave the tone squelch off most of the time, so I can hear any activity on the channel regardless of tone.

Part of the fun of radio!

I recommend the Kenwood UHF commercial radios. There are lots of them out there used for less than $100, and most if not all of them are legal for GMRS.

I think MURS is 2 watts max. ETA: It is 2 watts. §95.2767 MURS transmitting power limit.Each MURS transmitter type must be designed such that the transmitter power output does not exceed 2 Watts under normal operating conditions. Source: FCC