HT1000 or HT750 - critical situations

jmr061 · Post by **jmr061** » Sun Nov 30, 2003 9:21 am

RadioSouth wrote:Is any public safety agency even using the HT750 ?
(Use mine for a paper weight).

Yes my police department uses them for all patrol officers. No further comment other than I use my own astro saber III. The HT750 collects dust on my shelf.

Jason

007 · Post by **007** » Sun Nov 30, 2003 1:26 pm

I'll second Jason's remarks...I'd rather use my HT1000 (soon to be an ASIII) than even look at a Waris for work.

I'm sure it works just fine, but I'm not gonna leave home with less than a Jedi.

elkbow · Post by **elkbow** » Sun Nov 30, 2003 8:34 pm

This is a good discussion, I like it when people tell their experiences.....but just one comment, most of the people in favor of the 1000, haven't owned or used a 750. Again, my personal preference is the Waris Series, although I do own 3 MTS2000's, just picked up another one for a good price. But my personal favorite radio is my HT1550, field programmable and loaded with features...next on the agenda....an XTS.....digital.

007 · Post by **007** » Sun Nov 30, 2003 11:20 pm

I may not own one, but I have used the HT750/1550 and I was not impressed by it. It looks silly and I thought the audio was even more compressed/tinny than my HT1000 (baseline here is an MT1000).

I went to my favorite MRSS to get a couple wideband VHF Jedi dipoles a while back, and I had an HT750 shoved in my face with the line "Here, try this it's better than the HT1000 you have"

I know the owner, and I told him to put their money where his mouth was, program a few freqs in it and let me try it for 48 hours...

He did, and I hated it. I did all sorts of side by side tests with the MT- and HT-1000...Genesis and Jedi blew it away. The audio was worse, the RX was worse, the TX sucks with the horrible antenna (not the radio's fault per se)...I just didn't like it.

I like my "clunky" portables...feels more like a "real" radio too.

elkbow · Post by **elkbow** » Mon Dec 01, 2003 5:18 am

sure ya did....

were you using a model A or B HT1000, ever get any comments on the other radio's about static from your radio, notice static from other 1000's, thats because of a poor design in part of the radio, poor grounding/noise problem.....notice you have to put your mouth right on the Mic in order for someone else to hear you? Lets see you go in and change your mic gain? anyways, your opinion, you can stick with your brick and i'll use my little radio....after all, its like a pistol, the one that is best for you is the one that fits you best and you are most comfortable with.....

Sundown · Post by **Sundown** » Mon Dec 01, 2003 5:31 am

elkbow wrote:after all, its like a pistol, the one that is best for you is the one that fits you best and you are most comfortable with.....

Agreed... on both counts

Radio_Cowboy · Post by **Radio_Cowboy** » Mon Dec 01, 2003 8:07 am

OK, guess I'll chime in here.

I have never used a HT750. Haven't had a need to. I am not in Public Safety, unless you count search and rescue. For that, I carry my Saber III, MT1000, or HT1000 (which ever is easiest to grab). I'm sold on their solid performance, and haven't seen the need to upgrade to anything newer. Also happy running my "old" maxtrac's/maratrac's and Spectra's. Granted, that may/will have to change in the future when narrowband comes down the line, but for now, I'm happy.

At work, I have to carry a Standard HX-581 for our onsite 800 LTR system, and what a freggin POS that thing is. The display is long gone....it don't like to connect into the system..... the volume sucks, even with a speakermic... volume and channel knobs always falling off...glad these things are discontinued and on their way out. They are (slowly) replaceing them with Kenwood's.

-RC-

nmfire10 · Post by **nmfire10** » Mon Dec 01, 2003 8:55 am

Radio_Cowboy wrote:I'm sold on their solid performance, and haven't seen the need to upgrade to anything newer.

I think "downgrade", "cutback", or "screw-over" would be a more appropriate word.

EKLB · Post by **EKLB** » Mon Dec 01, 2003 12:07 pm

Radio_cowboy above said he may have to discontinue use of his Maxtracs when narrow band ruling goes into efect=MAYBE NOT.

Maxtrac 25 khz to 12.5 khz conversion kits are available from motorola for converting the Maxtrac to 12.5 khz operation.

A VHF Maxtrac 12.5 conversion kit from motorola is part # HLN9575A

A UHF Maxtrac 12.5 conversion kit from motorola is part # HLN9576A

Outright cost to a non dealer is 74.20 for the Maxtrac VHF/UHF kits.

Also available for conversion kit is the GP300 and the VHF and UHF use the exact same 12.5 conversion kit.

A GP300 25 to 12.5 khz conversion kit is part # HLN9578 and non dealers cost is 53.75 each.

EKLB

elkbow · Post by **elkbow** » Mon Dec 01, 2003 6:36 pm

RC, I like your response, I know you're a brick guy, I actually like them, otherwise I wouldn't own one, just I have preferences for certain applications. All-around I go with Waris line, but then again, I'm not a fireman, cop or other public safety person, is I was I would probably have an XTS......

I carry a Glock, why?....It fits my hand, I can do splits in competition of less than .20 seconds and I hit my mark, I'm comfortable with it, it may not be for everyone, but I trust it.....

So.....go with what you trust, feel comfortable with, what works best for you....

PriorityOne · Post by **PriorityOne** » Mon Dec 01, 2003 7:03 pm

I own both, and when comparing TX it's gotta be the HT1000. But I too have had an amazing experience with an HT750, last winter I was on scene for a MVA and using my radio... after clearing up I was heading home and rounded a nearby corner and the radio flew off the roof into a huge snowpile... I got out looked around and saw nothing, until 2 weeks later when the snow melted me and a freind found it all scraped up and soaked. 2 weeks of drying out and it works like a charm to this day. Amazing but true

007 · Post by **007** » Mon Dec 01, 2003 7:46 pm

elkbow wrote:were you using a model A or B HT1000

Neither...D revision

ever get any comments on the other radio's about static from your radio, notice static from other 1000's, thats because of a poor design in part of the radio, poor grounding/noise problem...

Nope...never an issue with mine, or the others I've heard (unkn rev.)

notice you have to put your mouth right on the Mic in order for someone else to hear you? Lets see you go in and change your mic gain?

I've never been told to speak up...

anyways, your opinion, you can stick with your brick and i'll use my little radio....after all, its like a pistol, the one that is best for you is the one that fits you best and you are most comfortable with.....

exactly. I like it. I'm gonna keep it.

elkbow · Post by **elkbow** » Mon Dec 01, 2003 10:15 pm

If you have a D version, you don't have the problem with static, only on A's and B's...

If you're talking only between HT1000's or MTS2000's, you won't notice the volume level because they're all cranked up and I have to admit that the 1000's and 2000's have over louder volume, not speaking from each other, but from other radio's....

good radio's, but with all the radio's out there, its just not the best, but it is the best of whoever has it in their hands when thats what they choose....I'll still take the Ford and the Glock, because I've owned Chevy's and S&W/HK/Taurus/Beretta/Springfield/Colt.....

If anyone wants, I'll trade a fully loaded MTS2000, 255 modes, latest and greatest....for their HT1550...

Cam · Post by **Cam** » Mon Dec 01, 2003 10:20 pm

I see Sig Sauer is missing from the list. Your missing out.

Cam

elkbow · Post by **elkbow** » Tue Dec 02, 2003 6:42 am

Cam....I've owned a P220, P226, P228 and P229, still like the Glock better for defensive and pistol competition. The P226 I had was one of the most accurate 9mm's I've owned. Poor finish on the guns, overall nice guns, but still prefer the Glock.
dave

troymelina · Post by **troymelina** » Thu Dec 04, 2003 5:58 pm

I have two motorola VHF HT1000 radio's with 2 channels and they work great.They have 5 watts of power!!!I do have 1 question though,Is there a way to tell if the radio is putting out 5 watts of power?If they were set at the factory for someone with only 2.5 watts on those two channels because they didn't have a licence for 5 watts of power.how can I determine what they are putting out for power?I get around 4 miles in distance between the two,if anyone has any info could you email me,thanks

Troy

elkbow · Post by **elkbow** » Thu Dec 04, 2003 8:21 pm

Troy,
You can take them to your local shop and they can connect them up to a wattmeter and tell you exactly how much power they are putting out....

Generally they don't get tuned down in power, just tuned. When you say '4 miles' are you talking LOS (line of sight). Truthfully that isn't very far unless you are saying there are obstructions in the way....trees, buildings, etc.....then that is about right, if you are talking about simplex operation...

dave

troymelina · Post by **troymelina** » Fri Dec 05, 2003 4:43 pm

elkbow wrote:Troy,
You can take them to your local shop and they can connect them up to a wattmeter and tell you exactly how much power they are putting out....

Generally they don't get tuned down in power, just tuned. When you say '4 miles' are you talking LOS (line of sight). Truthfully that isn't very far unless you are saying there are obstructions in the way....trees, buildings, etc.....then that is about right, if you are talking about simplex operation...

dave

Dave thanks for the info with the watts of power,and there is obstructions like houses trees house wires ect.....thanks

Jay911 · Post by **Jay911** » Fri Dec 05, 2003 6:12 pm

My department has 10 or 12 HT600 and MT1000s, 8 HT1000s, and 6 HT750s. All the officers have the HT750s and can't wait for the "new" radios to come in (which will be either MT2000s or MTS2000s) so they can get rid of the 750s.

--j.

KD5NBU · Post by **KD5NBU** » Sun Dec 14, 2003 9:45 pm

Ive got 3 HT1000's, 2 JT1000's and 3 MTX9000's and i also have 2 HT1250s and one HT750, and i'd take the Jedi's over the Waris radios anyday. Just my thoughts.

wazzzzzzzzup · Post by **wazzzzzzzzup** » Mon Dec 15, 2003 4:25 pm

HT750 HT1000?

had a ht1250 for several years, it took a beating, but would flake out sometimes, display issues usually. sometimes it would lock up and i would have to take the batt off to reset it. sent it in numerous times for "firmware fixes" finally the battery gave out after 1.5 yrs (mot did replace it free) finally said no more, after the final send in, they replaced the 1250. i said im done and bought HT600/MX360/P110/P100/astro saber.

favorite is astro saber. i do baby it.....
my ht600 and MX360 have had the same type of abuse that the 1250 had.
take a year of use abuse with the HT1250 it locked up numerous times with several sendins for firmware issues. the MX360 (20 year old radio) and HT600 (10 year old radio)have not had one problem in more than 1 year of utility use abuse.

thinking about getting a mt2000 VHF....nice.

EddieC · Post by **EddieC** » Wed Dec 17, 2003 7:54 am

I hate bumping an old thread, but being that I'm a newbie here it seems a newbie thing to do.

I maintain the radio system for a large manufacturing plant. I have well over 100 HT1000's (SDC and RDC, from Rev. A to D), dozens of HT750's, HT1250's (conventional and trunking, DTMF pads and not) and about a dozen MT2000's. I still have a few HT600's in service, too.

The gorilla's here can test the metal of any radio, guarenteed! HT600's take the most abuse (other than antenna port solder connections), but the discussion dosen't include these radios.

I didn't vote in the poll because, from what I've seen it's six of one, a half dozen of the other. HT1000's have suffered busted volume pots, cracked solder joints, cracked cases, ruined speakers, and smashed mode switches (HT1000's) just as the HT750's and 1250's. I've had both models come in so beat up I was shocked that they worked at all. I've had one HT1250 dead right out of the box! I never had that with an HT1000 because I've never had a new one... the Company is replacing them with the newer model as the old ones die.

I will say this, the HT1000's are more "quickly repairable" than the 750/1250 series. But the 750/1250 series are more simply consructed, and sometimes that's a plus. I've had both models die from being left out in the rain, and I've seen both models pass all checks despite being beaten beyond recognition. As long as whip antenna's are used, I've noticed no difference in transmit performance (consider, however, that all are located at one facility).

The 750/1250's have more programming options, and the software isn't particular about the kind of computer it runs on (RSS for older radios hates fast computers!)

I will say this, my personal radio is a slightly modified Yaesu FT50R, but I wouldn't turn that over to the guys at work for love nor money. I have several HT1000's, an MT2000 and an HT1250 setup for personal use at work. I usually pick up the 1250 when I leave the shop, only because it has DTMF and my shop repeater has a reverse phone patch.

Bottom line, if I had to choose between an HT1000 and an HT750, I would be dissatisfied that there wasn't a better choice.

Thanks,
Eddie

cracked · Post by **cracked** » Mon Jun 14, 2004 2:07 pm

nmfire10 wrote:I had a little argument on FH.com with this nitwit that insisted that HT1250 was far superior to any of the Jedi radios. Of course, this same person also tried to convince everyone that all you needed to program it was "a patch cable for the computer".

the RKN4075 "ribless" programming cable could be considered a "patch cable"

kf4sqb · Post by **kf4sqb** » Mon Jun 14, 2004 7:46 pm

Tell ya'll what, everyone with both Waris and Jedi series radios who leave the Jedi's on the shelf collecting dust while you use your crappy little Waris radios, just send me your Jedi equipment. I'll give it a good home and put it to work. I've never personally used a Waris series, but I know several techs who work on both. Strangely, they all pick the Jedi for performance and durability. I also know salesmen who try to talk people out of buying the Waris series in favor of a lower priced radio. Seems strange for a guy who works on commision, doesn't it? Unless he just doesn't believe in selling junk.....

JOHN 1807 · Post by **JOHN 1807** » Tue Jun 15, 2004 4:44 am

Agreed,
I have owned several of both (ht1250,ht1550xls,ht1000,mts2k) in my opinion there is simply no comparison.
I have found two "advantages" in the waris series: slightly smaller, and lots of useless bells and whistles.

My hands down vote (again) is the jedi's, Like I've said I have owned/operated both series so my opinion is not really biased, both series were given an equal chance. I no longer own any waris radios, jedi only---you do the math. -J

nmfire10 · Post by **nmfire10** » Tue Jun 15, 2004 6:05 am

cracked wrote:
nmfire10 wrote:I had a little argument on FH.com with this nitwit that insisted that HT1250 was far superior to any of the Jedi radios. Of course, this same person also tried to convince everyone that all you needed to program it was "a patch cable for the computer".
the RKN4075 "ribless" programming cable could be considered a "patch cable"

I have yet to hear any programming interface called a "patch cable". If you read all his responses and PM's, you'd see this was not the case.

Like I tell anyone who asks me.... I can smash your HT1250 to scrap plastic with my MTS2000

Jay911 · Post by **Jay911** » Tue Jun 15, 2004 9:58 am

As I may have said before..

My department had a handful of HT750s.
Pretzel-shaped antennas, radios that would only do QCII decoding if the moon was in the right phase and the rH was above 60% at an altitude of 4500 ft or higher, etc., all too common.
Audio sounded horrible, loud clicking from the speaker whenever it was opened or closed (and at long range from the site, when dropping and reacquiring PL 5 times a second, the audio was far too poppy and noisy to use).
Many radios needed new batteries or housings due to the battery retaining clips breaking off from a belt-level fall.

We've replaced that batch with HT1000s and other Jedi radios.
Alerting when you ask for it, a sensible scan/program operation, better audio, batteries last longer (physically and charge-wise).

RADIOMAN2002 · Post by **RADIOMAN2002** » Wed Jun 16, 2004 12:31 pm

I personnaly would NEVER use a Waris line radio for mission critical service. I personnaly have a few 1550-LS+, only because I need them for the trunking system our Dept has. My personal radio for interior firefighting is an old Saber 1-E. Our Dept has a mixture of mt-2000 full and partial display models, for the rest of the crews we have switched from Motorla, because of problems with the 1550-LS+ and CDM line of radios to Vertex. Some may say WTF but we have had them in structure fires, dropped them in portable water tanks, and they just keep going. Besides if they do get cooked, you can buy 3 of them for the price of a 1550.

Rayjk110 · Post by **Rayjk110** » Fri Jan 28, 2005 8:40 am

I know our local FD uses HT750's, and I personally own a HT750 and a few HT1000's. I'd choose the HT1000 any day. HT750 has a 'cheap' feel to it.
-Ray

stvnd53 · Post by **stvnd53** » Fri Jan 28, 2005 11:24 am

YO CHUCK,YOU LEFT OUT ALL US EMT'S.HT1000 IS BY FAR MY RADIO OF CHOICE.BATT.LAST LONGER,PASSES THE "STEVE DROP TEST",AND THE HT1000 HAS A GREAT TRADE-IN VALUE,WHEN YOUR COMPANY FOLDS 2 DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS!

HT1000 or HT750 - critical situations

If your life was on the line would you rather use a HT1000 or HT750?

Motorola VHF HT1000 Radio's