Batboard

Ok guys, which do you think would be better to go with, I know most of you are gonna say OEM, but that is way out of my price range, so, let me know what you think.... Aftermarket RIBless or Aftermarket RIB and Cable

I'm gonna say OEM. over 20 yrs. of working under citys,states, (true I didn't pay for it) but its all set & ready to go at work... haven't tried the aftermarket or ribless!
Last RIB I got was from Monty on a swap/deal.. But I know theres people out there that will say the aftermarket works fine for them....I'm sure you will get some comments from them. even I would like to hear them, never know?
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we already saw some posts on the subject...

I am with Jim2121 on this. I had an after market set up befor. I sent my radio to him to program it for me. After talking to him I saw the error in my ways and purchased an OEM and have nerver regretted it. Good luck

Do the RIBless cables actually work in programming the radios fully?

Just my opinion, I have used and will still use some aftermarket cables. I own one ribless aftermarket cable and it serves its purpose well. It is a multiradio cable and its for radios I rarely have to deal with anymore, but need to have just in case anyway.

OEM cables are by far superior unless you get a very high quality aftermarket cable. There are a few people around the board that can build a cable as good as what comes from Motorola.

As far as the RIB is concerned, I have used aftermarket ribs without issue, but have always been concerned about the quality. The Motorola RIBS are expensive, but in my opinion well worth the money spent.

The choice is yours to make, but a little money spent on quality gear will save you many headaches in the long run.

txshooter wrote:As far as the RIB is concerned, I have used aftermarket ribs without issue, but have always been concerned about the quality. The Motorola RIBS are expensive, but in my opinion well worth the money spent.

I'm not sure I agree. Maybe I'd feel differently if I was programming a large fleet of radios for a mission-critical assignment, rather than messing with ham radios as a hobby, but I'm not sure the (significant) extra money buys much more than something that feels a little more solid and carries the Motorola logo.

That said, you can find some posts here from people who've had aftermarket stuff flake out on them. I'm just not one of them. I've got an aftermarket RIB with an aftermarket programming cable. I've never had any problems with it.

To answer the question you actually asked:

Aftermarket RIBless or Aftermarket RIB and Cable

My personal vote is for an aftermarket RIB, as it's more versatile if you're going to program multiple radios. (And, I know it's a really bad idea, but I've literally taped wire between terminals on the RIB and the radio when I needed to work on a radio I didn't have a cable for. You can't really do that with a RIBless cable.)

However, if you've only got one type of radio and don't plan on expanding, the RIBless will probably take up a lot less room for you. (Never actually used one, though.)

I've got a home made, electrically identical copy of the RLN4008E. I've programmed my radios hundreds of times with it, with no trouble at all.

Considering what's inside a RIB (not a hell of a lot), I really couldn't bring myself to spend $250 on one, when I built mine using top quality connectors etc for $30.

We went with the OEM Moto ribless version of the HT1250 cable. It's a heck of a lot cheaper than buying a RIB, cable, and PC cable. Plus, there's so much less to mess with.

As for aftermarket, I got a Jedi / XTS ribless on Ebay not long ago. The thing is great. It's made well and works perfectly.


If you aren't servicing professionally and don't anticipate programming multiple types go with a good aftermarket ribless.

IMHO, what you get with the OEM cables is physical ruggedness and quality - if you're using the cable often, it's worth it, no question about it. But for a hobbyist who understands the need to be careful and who isn't programming very often, you can save a lot of money - particularly if you need several cables.
Ribless is VERY convenient, especially if you take the cable(s) with you "just in case" - but they do cost more if you need several vs one RIB and several passive cables. I also bought a Jedi/XTS3K aftermarket ribless (eBay special) - and it works fine with CPS on my laptop - but my old DOS machine can't handle it trying to program an HT1000..

73 DE Hartley

Im only going to be programming three radios, for personal use, Im going to get one of those universal RIBless cables, and try to find a good jedi ribless, CPS only.

Thanks all!

I've been using Ribless Jedi/XTS and Astro 25 cables for several years now. I haven't had one failure to date.

I have noticed a slight problem with the Jedi/XTS cable though. It fits the 3000, 3500 just fine, but is a bit tight on Jedi radios.

I always read first, then write just to be sure.

No worries. I use them for personal radios.

-Mike

Just bought the RIBless cables from valley enterprises, the universal cable with the RJ45 and the 2.5mm, and the jed, we'll see how they work in 2 to 5 business days.

http://valley-ent.com/catalog/product_i ... ucts_id=49

http://valley-ent.com/catalog/product_i ... cts_id=121

Thanks for all your opinions!

I have to say, there are some really good high quaility stuff on ebay. I can't think of who it was off ebay (lists on there all the time) but the stuff is top notch. HT1250/some combo cable and XTS ribless. Zippo problems.

Then there are the ribs without cases, etc which...well...is pretty straight fowards to avoid.

I love my Sandy Ganz RIB - its top notch

Ive also been using RIBless cables for a while too, Ive been very happy with them.

PJ,
Your probably thinking of wiscomm, I gotten a few things from them.
Doug

Got em today:

The jedi cable works flawlessly.

On the other hand the other cable wont even read the CP125. I brought it down to the shop and they put the OEM cable and rib and it worked perfectly.

So, I guess i'll be returning it.

Thanks for all your input.

Thats kinda the problem with some aftermarket RIBs and some RIBless cables.
I have both the true motorola, and a Polaris.
And I have seen and used several RIBless ones.
If you have to program someone elses radio, I stick with the true Motorola.
If you have just a few of your own radios, several of the aftermarket ribs work just fine.

As an edit:

this diagram from wiscomm figured out my problem:
http://www.wiscomm.com/productimages/shop1cable.jpg

i did not reaize that I needed a battery for that, now that cable works flawlessly as well!!

Thanks again