This forum is dedicated to discussions pertaining specifically to the Motorola ASTRO line of radios (those that use VSELP/IMBE/AMBE), including using digital modulation, digital programming, FlashPort upgrades, etc. If you have general questions please use the General or Programming forums.
If I am reading this correctly this *bridge* can accomodate two radios...from what I understand it is fully compliant for passing the digital signal...
With the addition of an amplifier and a duplexer you can make a lower cost digital repeater....
questions:
What is the absolute lowest RF drive you can send out of an astro saber..UHF and or VHF? Basically using it as the exciter for an amplifier..
And if all the above being true if the radios were set to mixed mode..could they not handle both analog and digital signals..??
I still wish there was more MAXTRAC data available...as I hear it is floating around..further, if there has been successful implementation of that workaround. Why has there not been more talk about it??
More than likely this unit is not actually handling the digital signal or audio but rather using 2 digital capable radios such as an XTS for example and relying on the speaker-mic UDC for interface. There are several companies that produce similar products in many different price ranges. The only problem with using this in a digital-to-digital patch is the crappy sound of double vocoding. Here is another unit that does the same thing but on a larger scale. http://www.objsw.com/InfiniMUX_Portable_Page_1.htm
actually all the hits i have found are people talking "about" it....or " around" it...but no one has said EXACTLY HOW they did it...
If TPG did it sweet.......kudos...but why not share the exact data....?
If it is here onthe site I have yet to find or see it....
anyone have any ideas as I have two maxtracs and two m100' series radio ready to go.....they are an analog machine now...but to have the p25 would be awesome....
Someone should speak up so this thread doesn't get TOO long.
The domestic MaxTRAC radio family is not capable of P25, not capable of VSELP, not capable of running SecureNet. It's analog ONLY, not capable of any digital modes.
Karl NVW wrote:Someone should speak up so this thread doesn't get TOO long.
The domestic MaxTRAC radio family is not capable of P25, not capable of VSELP, not capable of running SecureNet. It's analog ONLY, not capable of any digital modes.
Really that is your defacto reply???
Yet it has plainly been said that it in fact can work and will work....or is it just smoke and mirrors....?
wavetar wrote:
You'll have to ask him...he's the only one who's done it & had it verified by other people.
Todd
I hope he reads this and chimes in.....have you tried it....?? What were your results if any?
I haven't tried it, I don't know the details on it. Even if I did, I don't have any VHF/UHF Astro gear to test with...it's all 800MHz around here.
He has shown it working to at least a couple of people on the board, Alex (the admin) being one of them, so it's been proven working in that respect. He hasn't released details publicly that I know of, I don't know why. Perhaps he makes money setting them up for people, perhaps he has other reasons.
So, my reply is...it CAN be done, and if one person can do it, so can another. It's just going to take some work. I know it doesn't involve a RICK type set-up, so it's direct-wired from some point in the receiver of one Maxtrac to the transmitter of another, likely with some sort of level control in between.
Same thing goes for the MSF5000...take out a lot of the crap in-between that might possibly filter, limit, or invert the signal & it'll be a start.
Todd
No trees were harmed in the posting of this message...however an extraordinarily large number of electrons were horribly inconvenienced.
I hear ya....gotta look at it.....get some other eyes as well.....
i wonder if it can be doen the msr as well..I think someone said they did....
I do see quantar's avaialble for sale....the persons cannot confirm that they are in fact digital *ready*....are all quantars digital out of the box so to speak????
If you are interested in a true digital voice repeater that is affordable, there are generally two options: 1) buy a used Quantar on eBay, or 2) buy a new ICOM D-STAR repeater.
With the eBay option, you run a high risk of getting a piece of junk, and they are especially notorious for being equipped with analog firmware. And, the IMBE firmware for the Quantar is almost $4,000 now, so it's a big deal. Also, one needs to keep in mind that the only way to know for sure if the eBay Quantar is actually equipped with IMBE firmware is to read its codeplug via the RSS. Obviously, this is not a very realistic scenario until one purchases and actually receives the unit, unless you trust the anonymous eBay seller to read the codeplug and to accurately and honestly report the results (like that's gunna happen!). My experience with eBay sellers is that most of them either blindly assume their Quantar is IMBE equipped, or the rest of the sellers don't even know what you are talking about, let alone have the ability to read the codeplug.
Choice 2 is to buy a new ICOM D-STAR repeater on 1.2 GHz, or wait several months for their rumored UHF D-STAR repeater, with VHF to supposedly follow that. This way, you'll have a guaranteed new digital voice repeater. One D-STAR controller will support up to 4 D-STAR repeaters, and you can optionally add high speed digital data (128 kb/s) at any point in the future.
Don’t forget that ICOM’s D-STAR repeater is the only digital voice repeater in the world that streams AMBE over the Internet, thus supporting true end-to-end, 100% digital connectivity over the Net. Other systems, such as IRLP and the like, rely on intermediate analog techniques, using the traditional VoIP protocol.
Even Motorola’s coveted MOTOBRIDGE involves intermediate analog techniques, resulting in double vocoding, which is not optimal. I understand that the Motorola Product Team is currently considering a potential future uplift to MOTOBRIDGE that would support streaming IMBE with 100% end-to-end digital connectivity over the Net, but there is no firm commitment to this, as of yet.
