Black Face MX series

[WA6OXN]

Hi All,

For whatever reason I collect the old MX series radios, used to work on them at a Motorola MSS and I've always liked them. Over the years I've picked up a few that had the front and back covers factory painted black with the MX360/350 lettering highlighted in white.

Just curious if anyone knew the history or background of these type of MX radios or was it just a blacked out style you could order from M?

Thanks,

-Steve WA6OXN

[N4KVE]

I used to own one of those in the late '80's. 2 stories on them. They were for narc detectives to carry, & the dark fronts didn't reflect light like the normal shiny fronts. They were used for marine use, & the dark cover was less prone to rust. No actual facts proving this, just stories I heard over the years. Those were great radios, built like tanks. I still have a MX 360 prom radio that looks new. GARY N4KVE

[Tom in D.C.]

Steve,

I think there were two series of MX300s that had a very dark front and back. One was more of a bronze and the other was really black which was the government model. I used to see tons of the latter units at hamfests, sometimes sold by the box, but I haven't seen any in the past several years. I have several sets of catalog and spec sheets for the MXs that prove only that the radio was made in a huge variety of sizes and capabilities and maybe had more factory SP variations than anything else Motorola ever made. I have a few parts I'd be glad to send you, including some fronts, if you could use them, as well as some knobs, escutcheons, etc.

Regards,

[resqguy911]

Are you sure you're not thinking of the MX300R? They are ALL rubberized black with white lettering. We used them on the rescue squad for the boats, and I can't imagine a detective wanting to carry such a beast. You'd be better off spray painting a regular MX300.

[WA6OXN]

Nope, not the MX300R, I have a number of those also.

These were actual MX350/360 series that had a flat black/charcoal color. All of the ones I have usually have multi-PL, multi-toneburst, encryption and so on.

So maybe they were for the more advanced multi-system applications back in the day.

I have a number of catalog sheets around and also Moto catalogs from back in the day and just have never seen them in those publications.

-Steve WA6OXN

[Will]

I had a MX360 with the black front when I worked for the BATF. It was some sort of plating, not paint.

[resqguy911]

I would certainly like to see such a "subdued MX360S" in my collection.