Is Astro Spectra Audio Quality INFERIOR to Regular Spectra ?

[Leadenwah]

All things being equal, same quality signal, etc. Does the Astro Spectra suffer from inferior audio quality than that of the regular Spectra series?

I'd seen some postings indicating that the Astro Spectra's audio wasn't very good. Since Motorola no longer supports Spectra and the market for them is dropping, I'm concerned about this issue as far as purchasing one. I've had seveal regular Spectras and found their audio just fine.

The next step up in terms of an equivalent or better mobile is pretty steep.

Any opinions welcomed.

[Hartley]

Hi,

I have a couple Astro Spectras in service that replaced older analog Spectras, and here is what I noticed:

1. The Astros (in both UHF & VHF) are less sensitive than the fairly late-model analog Spectras they replaced. Not a big difference, but noticeable. The late-model analog Spectras were also more sensitive than the early-model analog Spectras I had before.
2. The Astros have a squelch circuit that does not do "threshold" well - it's either wide open or "tight". Annoying only if you do CSQ.
3. Audio quality seems about the same - at least I didn't notice anything when I changed over.
4. The W9 (large control head) is noticeably slow to respond - if you push buttons fast, it will get behind and sometimes miss things. The W4 and W5s don't seem to have this problem, even in remote mount..
5. The lack of MPL in the Astros is VERY annoying if you need that feature.
6. The inability to change head types is annoying for guys like me who are always fooling around with the configuration.. (yes, I know it can be done, but not nearly as easily as it was with the analog radios)

73 DE Hartley

[bellersley]

IMHO, It's easier to change head types on an astro than an analog. As long as you configure the astro properly, you shouldn't notice much, if at all, of a difference.

[Leadenwah]

Thanks for those tips.

By changing heads so you mean that one could take an Astro Saber W4 and make it into a W7 or even a W9 without major surgery? Just using the software ?? I'm probably dreaming on that.

Thanks for the help.

[Josh]

Thanks for those tips.

By changing heads so you mean that one could take an Astro Saber W4 and make it into a W7 or even a W9 without major surgery? Just using the software ?? I'm probably dreaming on that.

Thanks for the help.

It would require S-Record hacking

[bellersley]

No hacking involved.

For example, I have an 800MHz W4 Astro Spectra.

Let's say I want to change the 4 head to say, a 7 head. All you need is a codeplug for your W7 head, use MTSX (or Astro) Lab and dump it in, and you're good to go.

For my radio, I have a W3, W4, W5, W7 and W9 codeplug with all the proper tuning values and Flash Code options. So, if I ever decide to change heads, I simply use Astro Lab (or MTSX Lab), dump in the codeplug and change the head.

The fun part is getting a codeplug with exactly the flash options you have.

Or, you can use Astro Lab 9.05 to change your control head type. But, good luck getting your hands on that.

[Hartley]

Hi Bellerslley,

I'm sorry, but if it requires "unobtanium" software and S-records, it's "hacking" -- no matter how easy it is. Acquiring a proper S-record for a radio with the desired flash and control head isn't exactly a 1-step process either, judging by the number of people I see on Batlabs begging for them..

73 DE Hartley

[bellersley]

Again, S-Record hacking isn't what I'm talking about.

You just need a codeplug.

Infact, if you really wanted to be crafty, you could hex-edit the codeplug to change the Serial Number and use regular RSS to shove the codeplug into the radio.

[Pj]

3. Audio quality seems about the same - at least I didn't notice anything when I changed over.

The X9000's and Spectra's to me sound the same. The ASTRO's appear so be a little more "throaty" to me. A little deeper sound. Not a big deal and you get use to it quick.

4. The W9 (large control head) is noticeably slow to respond - if you push buttons fast, it will get behind and sometimes miss things. The W4 and W5s don't seem to have this problem, even in remote mount..

There is a setting for this. Its under the control menu I think (scroll rate). Short press and long press settings. The menu its under is a little deciving. Esstenially, it the timing control in which to scroll thru channels or a button press. If you change them to 0, its just like any other spectra.

[bellersley]

One other thing I've noticed as well. If you have scan turned on (or if you have a mode set to auto-scan), the Astro Spectra can be a bit laggy when you switch to/from that channel.

Also, if you have the radio programmed for SmartZone (or SmartNet with Auto Affiliate turned on), but have Ignition Sense set to TX Inhibit with no B+ to it, switching to/from a SmartZone (or other Auto Affiliate channel) is pretty slow.

[Hartley]

Hi Pj,

I went thru a couple of my A-Spectras, and I didn't find ANY settings similar to what you describe that could be set to "0" - all of the button-press settings and the like had a minimum, like 250ms.

All ideas welcome!

73 De Hartley

[Leadenwah]

Thanks for these ideas.

Thanks, too, for the suggestion on scroll rate setting. That's an answer to a question I had forgot to ask. I have found some lag in the button response, but more lag in the rotary knob registration.

I will give that a shot.

Thanks again.

[Pj]

Hi Pj,

I went thru a couple of my A-Spectras, and I didn't find ANY settings similar to what you describe that could be set to "0" - all of the button-press settings and the like had a minimum, like 250ms.

All ideas welcome!

73 De Hartley

In CPS (v5 I am looking at right now, same for the saber - all in the same spot). The last option is the one that can go to zero, and thats the best bet. I like the non-delayed action myself, but this is the best we can get.

Radio Config->Display&Menu->Scroll Configuration

Slow Scroll Rate
(Display & Menus, General)

Selects the rate the display Slow Scrolls through a list. The radio first Slow Scrolls, then it Fast Scrolls after the Slow Scroll Count expires.

When the radio is a display model.

Minimum = 250 milliseconds
Maximum = 6250 milliseconds
In Increments = 250 milliseconds
The factory default is 1000 milliseconds.
Note: The Slow Scroll Rate must be greater than or equal to the Fast Scroll Rate, but less than or equal to 6250 milliseconds.

Fast Scroll Rate
(Display & Menus, General)

Selects the rate the display Fast Scrolls through a list. The radio first Slow Scrolls, then it Fast Scrolls after the Slow Scroll Count expires.

When the radio is a display model.

Minimum = 250 milliseconds
Maximum = 6250 milliseconds
In Increments = 250 milliseconds
The factory default is 250 milliseconds.
Note: The Fast Scroll Rate must be greater than or equal to 250 milliseconds, but less than or equal to the Slow Scroll Rate.

Slow Scroll Count
(Display & Menus, General)

Selects the number of menus scrolled through on the display before the radio switches to the Fast Scroll Rate.

When the radio is a display model.

Minimum = 0 menus
Maximum = 255 menus
The factory default is 3 menus.

[Hartley]

Hi Pj,

Well, I looked at the radio in question (admittedly an older unit with, I think 9.x firmware) and both of the scroll delay numbers were minimum already. I tried setting the scroll count to zero, but that didn't seem to make any difference.

Where I notice the problem the most is changing modes - I know, for instance, that I need to go up 10 modes, so I hit the "up" button 10 times - but only 5 or 6 actually "take". If I hit them slowly, the problem goes away. I've never had the problem with anything but a W9 Astro-Spectra.

73 DE Hartley

[Pj]

Could be firmware releated. I have a few W9's and 7's, and after changing them to 250/0, they worked pretty good. I believe if they are in scan as well, it slows it down a tad.

[Leadenwah]

On PJ's last posting, does slowing the scroll rate down to " 0 " cause the SCAN rate to slow as well or have I misintepreted this?

Would SCAN rate not be affected only by adjustment to the "RECEIVE HANG TIME" settings?