900 mhz for beginners...

This forum is for the discussions targeted at converting various models of Motorola equipment to operate in the 900MHz Amateur Band.

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W4WTF
was KF4PEP
Posts: 314
Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2002 12:36 pm

900 mhz for beginners...

Post by W4WTF »

A group of local hams and myself are interested in getting into 900mhz for local simplex use... and we know nothing of moto gear.

For newbies, what is the easiest gear to get and modify, and how much investement in software are we looking at? We would like to have HT's and mobile units.

33cm is not used at all here, and we want to get some activity going!
mts2000des2
No Longer Registered
Posts: 194
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2002 4:00 pm

Re: 900 mhz for beginners...

Post by mts2000des2 »

KF4PEP wrote:A group of local hams and myself are interested in getting into 900mhz for local simplex use... and we know nothing of moto gear.

For newbies, what is the easiest gear to get and modify, and how much investement in software are we looking at? We would like to have HT's and mobile units.

33cm is not used at all here, and we want to get some activity going!
For portables, the MTX9000 is the best route. No hardware modification is required, just a little bit banging of RSS and it will program and operate quite nicely in the 900 ham band. Same is true for the GTX portables and the GTX mobiles, no hardware mods, just changing the RSS to accept out of band freqs. On the more expensive side, the MTS2000 (same family as MTX9000) works well too, as does the MCS2000 mobile (the mobile cousin of the MTS2000) works just by modifying software.

Older radios such as MaxTracs, Spectras, and MTX900 portables require hardware modifications, some can be extensive, such as that for the MTX900, but that is what makes ham radio fun.

FYI: I use an MTS2000 portable for both 927MHz repeater and 925MHz simplex as well as commercial stuff and it works like a charm. Looking to pick up a 900MHz MCS2000 mobile for mobile operation soon.

As far as software for programming, that all comes from Motorola, and thus requires a licensing agreement and purchase of the RSS package for the radios you wish to program. Price is from 250 to 500 dollars.
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Hartley
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Posts: 338
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2001 4:00 pm

MTX9000 on ham band

Post by Hartley »

Hi Y'all,

Good advice - with one caveat - MTX9000s (and their brother the MTS2000) may or may not maintain VCO lock in the ham band. In checking many dozens of them, we've found about a 70% yield - and we really haven't found any clue that allows us to figure out whether one lot or date is good or bad - even radios in the same serial number sequence will be different. I can only surmise that the VCO modules themselves might have been made at different times or on different machines.. And unless you are trained & equipped for micro-surgery on surface-mount components, there isn't an easy "tweak" to make them lock up.

The mildest form of failure is to work OK on 927 receive, 902 transmit (that always works!) and fail 927 transmit - some won't receive on 927.. At any rate, none of them will receive well below 926 (even if they still lock) because of the front-end filters.

That said, if you get one that locks, they are a great radio (I use one myself) for 900 ham!

73 DE Hartley
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