new to /\/\ and site Spectra help

[kj4dhf]

Looking for a model number breakdown and information on Spectra.

I am new to M radios and programing and would like to find a Spectra that I can play with to learn a few things on programming ,etc before I move on to newer radio.

I would like to put a uhf spectra on: 437.550 and 437.80 what specific Spectra will work in this band splits ?
Will this uhf work there ?:T04QLH9PW3AN-UCM

and a vhf Spectra on 144.549 ,145.20,145.825 what specific VHF spectra will work in this band splits ?


Thanks for any and all help

Tim

[MTS2000des]

You should start with the repeater builder pages on the Spectra, they have just about all the answers to these questions and more, including what is needed for programming hardware and software wise. Do lots of reading!
http://www.repeater-builder.com/motorol ... stuff.html

[Jim202]

There is another site that many call the Mike B site that has a wealth of information on the Spectra, Syntor and the Syntor X9000 radios and the control heads that go with them.

http://www.onfreq.com/syntorx/

Take a look at both the repeater builders site and mike's site. There is another site that everyone calls batlab.com and has a good source of information on the Spectra as well as other Motorola radios.

You will need the Spectra software to program the radios as well as some sort of RIB (radio interface box) that changes the serial computer output levels to the voltage levels that the radios are looking for. You can build your own programming cables with the info on the batlabs site. Depending on if you have a medium power radio or a high power radio will determine which programming cable you will need.

There are some good documents available that will show you what needs to be changed in the radio software for the different functions the radio is capable of doing. Like you can use zones in the radio to group the frequencies you want to use. I travel around a good deal and have my Spectra radios set up for zone operation. This enables me to program the channels (modes) to the area I am traveling in. Most of the radios have the ability to have up to 128 channels. You can get up to 16 channels in a scan list. You can program a feature to use one of the control head buttons to allow multiple PL selection up to 16 PL tones. I program my radio to have the multi Pl tone selection on TX only and leave the RX on carrier squelch.

Go do your homework and come back here with questions as you run into them. There are a number of people on here that can help you with the Spectra radios. They are a workhorse that seems to keep going forever. The only issue with old age in these radios is a problem that is caused by leaky capacitors. Seems Motorola had an issue with the electrolytic capacitors they used in these radios. They eventually start to leak and the goo that comes out will eat away the circuit board etches if allowed to continue for any time. The radios will start to show strange problems when the caps do leak. The first thing that generally shows up is the RX audio starts to have a pop when the squelch opens and closes. You might even notice that you have to turn the volume up more to hear a conversation. Maybe the VCO starts acting up. These are all signs that the caps need to be replaced.

There are a number of threads on here that go over the leaky cap issue. You might also want to take some time and do a search and read them.

Welcome to the board and don't feel like a stranger to ask questions.

Jim

[kj4dhf]

Thanks Jim,MTS2000,

Jim,

Yes I am aware of the leaky cap issue in the Spectra and they seem to be a workhorse for sure. It seems they are fairly cheap now so that is why I am
looking at playing with them as not a lot of money wasted on paper weight (lol). I have the rib, cables hi/lo power,and software I wanted to set 1 up to do a certain task for me here so I need to keep searching for a range 2 UHF.

Thanks
Tim

[jackhackett]

Make sure you have the correct software for the model you get, everyone is saying "Spectra", but the model number you mentioned is an "Astro Spectra" which uses different software.

[kj4dhf]

Jack,

Yes I have both Astro Spectra and Spectra RSS ( along with a antique laptop ) to run it on.

Tim