gman1971

This is the XPR7550e successor. Its not the ION. Codename is Rajang, but who knows what the final production name will be. It looks like it uses the same bolt antenna, so that is out of the question. The two remaining questions are the battery compatibility, and the side connector, which sort of looks like it will be compatible, but who knows. They've been using the same microphone connector for APX/XPR radios for the past decade and change, I think replacing it would be a mistake, but that is just me, a nobody. As for XPR7550e being dumped, I am not so sure. It all depends on how Motorola plays the CPS card. If the radio is like the ION that you require a MOL account along with a network connection to program it from the 'cough' 'cough' "the cloud"... I think it will put off a lot of people. As far as I know there are no plans to discontinue the XPR7550e that I am aware off. I honestly think the XPR7550e is arguable the best blend of usability and performance. The ION is a gimmick IMO, its a huge radio, useless with gloves, and the screen can, and will shatter when you might need it the most. Don't get me wrong, its a badass idea, I love the dang thing and I considered getting my hands on mine and ditch the phone... but I just can't get past the fact it can't be programmed from CPS and that it won't take the good old fw2.09 that all my other radios run on. That is not taking into account the cost... of course. G. G.

Hats off, impressive analyzer... maybe some day I'll be able to afford one. Yeah, as for the Microsoft... I know exactly the feeling, that is why I am staying on Windows 7. I have a machine that should last me no problem to the end of the decade, if not more, for what I need to do with it; and then, I'll see if M$$ has gotten their heads out of their rear ends with Windows 12 or 13, or whatever, or even if its even still in business... LOL Yep, XPR7550e is where its at IMO. I am running 2.09 on the entire fleet, no plans to upgrade to anything beyond that. I plan on keeping this radios until there are no parts available for them. With that said, the inevitable replacement for the XPR7550e is coming out in 2 weeks . I'll reserve judgement on the new radio until there are multiple reviews on it, but the fact that it won't run the trusty 2.09 fw is already a con, as it will make me, for the first time in 2 years, have to use 2 CPS programs. The most important part, IMO, the receiver, I don't expect it to improve drastically, if at all; not given the fact that the new MotoTRBO XPR ION uses the same exact receiver as the XPR7550e, and then there is the whole chip shortage... so who knows. Currently, the XPR7550e already has the best portable digital receiver on any radio for <1k, and then some more. I've also found that my problematic areas are not due to lack of reach, is due to abnormally high noise floors, it is hard to do anything when the noise floor at an intersection is -85 dBm... I love the idea of a larger screen, but then again, since I EDC my radio on my belt, having a giant screen is not a prime need. Now, don't get me wrong, would love to have it, and even more so if you handheld it, but for belt duty with a remote microphone there is no justification to get one just for the larger screen. Also there is the whole battery type and accessory connector port, will it be the same as the current XPR 7550e radios? or will it use a different battery type? What about a different accessory port? Same as the current line? Last but not least, the cost. I don't expect to find the new radio for <350 bucks on eBay any time soon... so that will put the radio out of my reach for a while. G.

I wish Motorola would do the same, P25/DMR, the APX900 and the XPR7550e SMA are basically the same radio... with different firmware... I am sure someone in a decade, when these XPR7550e ares all EOL someone will come up with a way to enable P25 on them... The reason why I like XPR over the NX is because the RX audio leveling and the noise suppressor. I like to hear the voice only, not some random stuff behind, etc. You really get spoiled quick to those features..., and you once you go in, you can never come out... TETRA being 25kHz makes it problematic to use in the US except for amateur bands. G.

I think we are a long way from 6.25kHz. The next XPR7550e replacement is upon us and it is likely to be MotoTRBO DMR 12.5kHz... so if Motorola is sticking to 12.5kHz on their DMR flagship radios, it is highly unlikely that they'll mandate 6.25kHz any time soon. In 10 years? Maybe, but not now. As for the 6.25 spacing 4 pathways claim, well, please forgive if I am very skeptical, as I have serious doubts you can run 4 concurrent 6.25kHz channels on any substantial amount of power without either blowing the other radios front ends or desensing them so bad they can't hear a thing. TDMA can be implemented over any bandwidth, 25khz, 12.5kHz, 6.25kHz, and while it has other set of problems, doing DCDM Simplex, running two concurrent voice channels on the same freq doesn't require special hardware, or TETRA, running 4 concurrent conversations... G.

To @Mtkester first off, sorry to hear, here are some thoughts: There are a lot of affordable LMR mobile radios on the used market that will work very well for your GMRS application. If you don't want to venture into the latest Motorola XPR radios, I would look into a used Motorola CDM1250 UHF. Those radios will cost a whole lot less than $400, have receives that will blow your mind how good they are along with top notch transmitter stability; those are used in light repeater duties, so that speaks volumes for those radios: they are indestructible. The CPS programming software can be found online at no cost. The cable can be had from eBay for next to nothing too. I have limited experience with these CDM radios, but I could help you get started if you chose to go with one of those. I know other members here have ample experience with the CDM radios, I am sure they would be willing to help too Another affordable radio to look into is the Vertex Standard EVX-5400 mobile (LCD display), there are two variants with two power levels each variant: 5400-D6-25, 5400-D6-50, 5400-D7-25, 5400-D7-50. D6 = means 400 to 470mhz coverage, and you guessed right, D7 = 450 to 512 mhz coverage, and the number as you guessed is 25watts, or 50watts. I would go for a 5400-50(or 45)-D6 The CPS can also be found for free online. Those radios are nice because they are FM/DMR capable if you ever chose to get your amateur license to operate on DMR. However, after using XPR5550e radios for a while I can say the EVX-5400 receivers seem to be one notch below the XPR radios. With that said, I still use an EVX-5300 (NO display) as my primary business site radio, and with a preamp and some filters it is as good as the XPR5550e. This radio has been running in non-stop "light repeater duty" 24/7 for 2 1/2 years now; no issues. Several other members here besides me also own Vertex Standard EVX radios too, and they seem to like them a lot. The programming cable can be tricky, since most of the knockoff cables will not work (as tested)... not sure if the BlueMaxers cables will work.... but If you decide to go with an EVX-5400 and need help getting started, let me know. Personally, and given the fact you've paid $400 for the Midland radio, I would be looking at nothing else but an XPR5550e, either one of those two models will work for you: AAM28QPN9WA1AN or AAM28QPN9RA1AN (both models are the 400-470Mhz bandsplit and 25-50W range, again if you get the ticket you can use it for ham too) The CPS 16.0 can be found for dirt cheap on eBay, and the programming cable is pretty cheap too, or you can make your own for <5 bucks if you feel courageous. The XPR5550e is, IMO, the best mobile radio you can buy in the <400 dollar price range today. If you ever decide to go with a 5550e, drop me a line, I'll help you get started with it. And an honorable mention goes to the Motorola APX radios, which are usually well above the >400 bucks mark, and a word of caution is that if you find something too good to be true in APX radios, suspect it might be stolen. That is another reason why I never took a plunge in the used APX radio market... Cheers, and again, I am sorry to hear what happened. G.

Yeah, agreed. XPR4550 are quite affordable too...

Nice. I really liked the CDM750s when I was testing them, I even used the Tuner program to make the SQL open at pretty much noise floor level. The Professional series radios (CDM, HT1250, etc) are, IMO, probably the greatest FM VHF/UHF radios you can buy for the price. They will outperform anything CCR made... and you can repair them too, rather than throw them in the trash... The selectivity on the 5550e is quite impressive. I can key a 5W XPR7550e portable on an adjacent channel, ~25khz apart, from just few feet away and the RX light won't even blink on the 5550e. Not the case on any other radio I own, including the EVX radios... where the RX LED will blink when you try that... meaning is desensing and thus RX range will be crap. G.

Absolutely, a TYT to XPR5550e swap yields a range from <2 miles to 18 miles, simplex... on a two bay dipole. Also, no filtering in the front end means TX IMD, which will further trash the range of the radio. Again, those things are that, garbage.

Uuuh... getting snarky now... let me repeat this for you: You REALLY are a legend on your own mind if you think that you can tell me what I need. After the last several post of yours I wouldn't touch anything coming from you with a ten foot pole... and I am sorry to disappoint you, but I don't need any sleep ATM, I can do this all night long. Lets go, lets see if we can get the thread locked... by posting more of that nonsense of yours; hmm, lets see if you can find someone's quote and twist it real good, lets see if that much twisting is enough to prove that the USA never landed on the Moon, or better yet... the Earth is flat!! yeah, did you know the Earth could actually be flat? Because I've read in a bunch of articles, all written by very reputable sources, you know, experts in the matter, they claim the Earth could indeed be flat. G.

Dude, you really are a legend on your own mind... When people hint you to stop posting politically related pictures or posts, you get in their faces and just double down on it... what are you trying to prove? G.

@Lscott This is kind of strategy this individual uses, baits people into agreeing, and then he uses it against you when its convenient.

I am curious, what makes you believe you hurt my feelings?

Who cares how I feel, Michael.

My opinion about radios is pretty crystal clear, is it not? and which happens to be exactly what this forum is all about, radios and GMRS. Now, your style of discourse seems (to me) like you just like throwing some "hints" that appear (to me) to be either really bad jokes, or bait, perhaps hoping that someone like me bites so you can then twist their argument(s) against them, something you seem quite good at that... To me, there was no reason to state that my CCR collection picture was related to the spread of anything, even if it is a joke, its a pretty poor joke, let me tell you. Otherwise its just bait, and choosing a political subject that I know its a very polarizing subject because of what I see at dealing with personnel at work in the real world; also happens to be unrelated to the thread as well. Then posted an unrelated J6 picture on a Baofeng thread, that casually shows a Baofeng... Again, either your taste for jokes is pretty poor, or you are just trying to bait, because just like the spread matter, the J6 subject is also a very polarizing issue as well, and totally uncalled for on a "reduced spurious emissions Baofeng thread". Then, on the Paypal thread that I started just to state a fact, you came and started posting things like "one side jacking up taxes..." again its your opinion on another polarizing subject, which again, for the purpose of the thread, who cares... well I guess you do, but I don't care, and I am sure as heck that a lot of people in the forum don't care either. You see, that seems to be the problem. I am not looking for your approval, nor your agreement in here, Michael, what you and I believe is not something that your rebuttal, or perhaps your agreement is going to change our opinions on the subject. Proof of what I speak is that even me showing the data that proves CCRs are trash, yet you still buy them... there is nothing I can do, except keep repeating that they are trash. The subject of CCRs, on the other hand, first off, its related to the forum: its a radio subject, and then, its pretty easy to prove they are junk, and that is my position on the matter. We can discuss radios all day long, but in the end I have 2+ years worth of collected data around multiple sites, using RF RSSI meter, spectrum analyzers and ISOTee test that allows me to be combative and blunt as a brick to call random "opinions, feelings or voodoo magic" total and utter BS. I am sorry if I don't share your warm and fuzzy feelings when holding a GD77 in my hands, but I can't interpret the data in any other way. I also stand behind what I am so vehement about, as I've helped several members in this forum board get started on their Motorola journey, much the same way that some kind souls at Communication Support helped me get started on Motorola equipment when I was a total noob lost in the CCR junk field. The hope is that if I can convince just one more person to steer clear of the CCR junk field... then mission accomplished. G.

Yes, absolutely. That is a similar experience to what I went through with my 2nd Alinco MD5. It didn't survive very long as an EDC radio on my belt. G.

Well, again, I respect your opinion about what you believe "breaking and entering", etc, but just like I said on my previous post: "for every person who thinks something happened one way, two other people think it happened a different way, or that it didn't happen at all" Now, what I can state beyond any shadow of doubt is that legislation to send 1099s to the IRS after the ceiling was lowered from 20k to 600 dollars was passed last year. That is the point of this thread. G.

The Original Post on the thread was meant to be a reminder as to what was passed last year, regardless of who and why it was passed, it passed, and the fact that it passed might potentially affect some people, and that was the extent of the OP. Michael, I respect your opinion in the tax matter, and all I can tell you is that please be aware that "for every person who thinks that one side is guilty of doing something, there are always two who believe the contrary is true." G.

Again, putting words in my mouth. So "Whole" now means "One side"? Interesting... I still fail to see how is that by agreeing with "Whole political class" it means that I am "agreeing with just one political class only" care to explain that? G.

@Lscott And you are right, I certainly don't know how informed or uninformed those people are/were, but do you? The fact is that some people make fun of people using CCRs (regardless of where, and how they are/were used) but they are using CCRs themselves too... that is the hilarious part. @MichaelLAX And how do you know those facts? I support that CCRs are garbage with data from ISO-tee tests I've performed, and that is where it ends. You were the first person to post J6 pictures on this thread, did you not? And now you are claiming that those people knew well what they were doing, election?, virus?, an eye patch? what are you talking about. Once again: don't put words in my mouth, because you seem to do that quite often... Tragic is the fact that this being a radio forum and here we are talking about matters that are not related to radios pretending to use radios as an excuse. So, if you want to be cheap and use garbage radios, then go for it. Then lets leave politics to politicians... and I am NOT a politician. Now, if you don't like what you see in politics, then its very simple: you vote for what you'd like to see then; then after the results are in, accept that if you lose, it is the way it has to be, and that if you win, be mindful that others might not be as happy as you are. That's it!! Now, If just voting alone is not enough for you, then get involved in politics, start your own political career, etc. Otherwise, conspiracy theories, whining, moaning and whatever other nonsense you spew in a radio forum are not going to help solve anything. G.

Its easy to make fun of uninformed people for purchasing CCR garbage radios... except those same "informed radio people" making fun are also purchasing those pieces of crap themselves like they are something special... G.

@MichaelLAX, are you doing it on purpose?

I don't know if its just a matter of being cheap anymore, ... b/c a lot of the used LMR quality gear can be found for less money online than new CCR garbage... Back when I started on Motorola radios you could find used XPR6550 in great condition for <60 bucks... so... G.

@MichaelLAX Thanks, it wasn't meant to make you admit you were wrong at any point, so please take that into account. In the end, both are cheap radios, and that's it. I see the lure, trust me, I own a crap ton of them, ... one of them still has OpenGD77 on it. In fact, I posted several times in the GD77 github forum as well, I known about OpenGD77 for a long time... but I found that OpenGD77 just didn't work from an LMR application perspective, and then the range on the radio just wasn't there either... so, useless. If you are using the hotspot feature that is great, I just prefer to use LMR grade equipment for IP interconnect stuff because, again, it just works and I don't have the time to tinker with a fleet of radios... Again, I don't hate CCRs, I am simply stating the fact that they are useless if you expect to get any decent range out of them under most conditions. Text sucks b/c it comes across as being a total jerk... in the end, like I stated in my earlier post, you don't care/mind, I don't care/mind... its all good. Here is a pic of some of my CCR collection, the ones that weren't in the box at the time... Would love to share with you the seller in eBay where I got my BF-1801 collection from, but those were purchased a few years back, when they were still relatively unknown. I used to scour eBay for CCRs like a hawk, remember?... This particular seller had a "Buy it Now" with a "Make offer" button, so I offered 39.95 for a bunch of radios and they took it. For tinkering around I can understand why nobody would shell the cost for a single band XPR radio, I was on that boat, and the XPR is not a radio made for tinkering around. And as such, I am not tinkering around, so I needed radios that actually worked in the real world under real world conditions, with zero tinkering involved... and happens that the XPR radios also work great for GMRS, among other things... so. G.

Uuuuhh... a race to the bottom of the barrel, you are hilarious, Mike... enjoy your GD77... its a piece of trash, both are (the BF-1801 too... I own a couple of GD77 as well, so I guess I got scammed too... all trash... but you don't care, I don't care... so it doesn't matter. Cheers from the Motorolian snob. G.

69? you paid 30 too much... I paid 39.95 for each BF-1801, the same piece of crap garbage CCR as the GD77... G.