gman1971

Lscott seems like he is joining the Motorolian fleet... welcome aboard ! You can always ask around, if tutorials, etc, don't cut it. G.

I ended up buying a scanner to scan... who knew it worked so well... G.

I've owned, for a limited time, the AT-778, which is what this radio seems to be based on: and it wasn't very good, ISO-tee tests were poor. The AT-578 (which I still own) has a better receiver. G.

Forgot to add to that AT-779UV -Piss poor receiver.

The VXD-720 from Vertex Standard (The same radio as the XPR6550) doesn't have the scan list limited to 16 channels. Worth looking into it. The XPR 7550e can only have 16 channel scan lists as well. At leas on CPS 16. G.

Ah, that makes sense, the center portion is not touching the outer like most of those adapters I've seen. Thanks! G.

The stud itself is hot, the equivalent to the coax center conductor, so running that to the chassis is not a sound idea, I don't know. G.

Problem is that the stud in the XPR gen2.5 radios is part of the antenna itself, so it will always have leakage and the antenna you use will not perform as designed as if it were connected to a real SMA connector. G.

For emergency AND long range, I would go for anything all band all mode capable, backpack mounted: like an FT817, FT818, FT857D, etc... Icom 706, or something along these lines. Why? Because VHF/UHF without the right infrastructure, or being atop a high mount, etc, its limited to mostly short range comms, or no comms at all. G.

It is indeed a different board, Mars at Comm Support did a mod to get a female SMA on it, but is not an easy mod, certainly not for the faint of heart, involves de-soldering and resoldering SMD connectors and other small stuff. Plus there are some parts (a flange nut) that are not readily available anywhere. As for the stud, well, I've personally had pretty good results with it. But then I also purchased the right frequency range antenna for my application, so I am pretty happy. It handily beats the SMA 6550 with any antenna I've put in there. And for when the 7550e can't reach, that is why I have the 5550e with an HHCH, 50w and a 5/8 wave flexible whip... fits on a backpack and reaches 20+ miles. Again, I use the walkie for what is good for: being carried around. Carrying around a handheld with a 5/8 whip, especially in VHF, IMO defeats the whole purpose of being hand held... but again, that is just me, and my opinion. G.

Yep, upper management and marketing have to have their say, always, and there really isn't much you can do about that. With that said, I am pretty certain the engineers who designed the 7550e weren't thrilled with the stud on their masterpiece, but hey, people have bills to pay, and they wanted to keep their job, so you do what you have to do. G.

Lscott, there is no adapter AFAIK. There is a callbox option that is basically a 7550e with an SMA connector. Get that if you really want SMA on your 7550e. Personally, the stud antenna has worked well enough for me; and sure, it would've been nice to have had an SMA, but the radio is solid and it works very well as is. Given the amount of POS antennas sold today, I am somewhat glad that those antennas are <10 bucks from Motorola Solutions directly, so I know my antennas are not some knock-off crap. And I used to use my 6550s (and other radios before that) as low power portables... but after trying a 5550e with a sweet HHCH, with 20+ miles simplex, I am never going back to these days. Then, if you really needed longer range than that, for a SHTF situation, you should probably invest on a Yaesu Vertex FD-817 for long range comms, and not use GMRS, or VHF, including any digital modulation for that matter. A good 817 atop a high hill, or a tall mount, will probably open the entire world for comms, certainly reaching further than a 6550, 7550e, 5550e, or even the "luxury transceiver" APXs would ever dream of reaching with or without an SMA port. G.

Most of those Smart radios are pieces of crap, buggy as heck and with piss poor receivers. That is without even mention what kind of backdoors those "smart" radios have... so... thanks, but no thanks. G.

WRNA236, Respectfully, none of those points put the XPR as bad as you want them to be. The XPR7550e has the best digital receiver I've tested in a radio, and analog performance is about as good as the best APXs radios as well. Oh, and lets not forget the APX900 is basically a rebadged XPR7550e, so your statement is completely unfounded and thus, purely your own opinion, and we all have an opinion. The enhanced noise suppressor option on these XPR gen2 radios is pretty darn good. In the end, what mattered to me was the receiver performance, which is pretty darn good on those XPR gen2.5 radios. The only feature that only two APX radios have (7k 8k, aside from the useless-to-me body ratings, IP ratings, UL, etc) was having multiband capability, but at 10x cost price hike, I made the decision to stay with XPR radios, b/c the receiver fits the bill to what I need. So, we are now comparing body ratings too? Lets see..., ah yes, why do I care? I really don't. These XPR radios have survived everything we've thrown at them in day to day operations, and then nature during hikes, water, snow, dirt. Sure, you can argue the screen is cheap plastic, etc, and not gorilla glass... etc... but let me reiterate this again: the only two APX radios I would even consider as an upgrade to my XPR7550e are the APX 7000 and/or 8000, which are 10x the price of a used XPR radio and I am not willing to pay that. Certainly not for a feature that I've proved (to me) that I didn't really need as everyone tried to mislead me that I needed, (now, that is not the same as I wouldn't mind having it, should it be available) And back on topic, this is a digital modulation preference thread, not an APX vs XPR bash. G.

Yes, that is the downside of textual form of communication... G.

Respectfully, it doesn't come across as sarcasm.

And, tell me, do you have data to prove it?

I considered P25, but I stuck with DMR b/c XPR radios are just as good as most of the APX radio models at a much smaller pricetag. G.

The Alan Multi is a 27mhz radio FM/AM capable, which is basically a Midland 75-820/822 walkie that has the FM hardware enabled on it. Its a really nice radio... And FM in 27mhz for one on one comms is certainly better than AM, but has no tone squelch, which is a major letdown, IMO, and then, considering that CB is utterly crowded, especially if you walk up any decent size hill, and then, even FM doesn't really help you much there either. Heck, I can hear skip on my 75-820 from all over the country, including Mexico... G.

I think the Motorola DTR radios are a far better option than that overpriced CCR POS... You can buy two used DTR700 for that if you look around in eBay. DTR radios: License free, full digital, secure FHSS transmissions, with real privacy keys, and range to boot, certainly more than that turd. G.

Phew... no more Baofeng assassins... lol

Good to see other Vertex users. BTW, the CPS CE151 is only for the enhanced display EVX-534/539, all other EVX radios, including the segment LCD EVX-534/539 use CE142. G.

Awesome, and you are welcome. G.

Sounds like another CCR, dubious if they are even legal to operate, or even if they are true FHSS... If anything, I can already tell you range will be really crappy compared to the real DTR700 radios. Most people who I've spoken to in regards to these Motorola DTR, they claim to be the best H/Ts they own... for a bit more get a Motorola and pass on the CCR garbage. G.

How are you liking those so far? G.