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Question about mobile units for HAM frequencies???????

Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2005 1:15 pm
by Charlied
What, not too old of a unit, would give me lots of channels and power for the VHF frequencies and possibly a combo unit for VHF and UHF HAM frequencies.

Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2005 1:19 pm
by phrawg
no dual banders but a 99ch 110 watt maratrac is a good choice. Phrawg

Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2005 1:58 pm
by kb0nly
Syntor X9000 if you want an alphanumeric display so you can name each channel/mode.

However, the X9000's need some tuning/alignment to make them sensitive in the ham band.

The Maratrac is a nice radio, i had one on VHF for a while, 99ch's and 110w is nice to have. But, you also have to remember what all the channels are without a alpha readout.

Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2005 2:06 pm
by Charlied
What prices would I be able to pick up the a whole unit x9000 for.
How many channels does it have?
What wattage output?

Spectras

Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2005 12:06 am
by kc7gr
A Spectra would also be a good choice. They also have alphanumeric display, and the A9 models can use a Systems 9000 control head, similar in physical appearance to that of a Syntor X9000.

Perhaps best of all on the Spectra side, no retuning for amateur coverage is required. Both ranges of VHF drawer shouldn't have any problem covering 2 meters.

A decent VHF Spectra, with accessories, will run you anywhere from $300 - $500, depending on condition, features, etc.

Hope that helps.

Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2005 9:15 am
by MTS2000des
I vote for the Specta. Excellent RX front end, built extremely well, and plenty of features available. They can be had for less and less these days. Picked up a VHF A7 Spectra complete with cables, speaker, etc in good shape at hamfest last year (Alford) for 175.00.

If you want a good underdash radio (though not a whole lot of channels) the GM300 is an excellent choice. No retuning needed on VHF or UHF (for the ham band), can usually be had from 100-250 depending on accessories.
It is similar to the Maxtracs, just a little newer. The GM300's do "cop sounds" ala MDC standard where it was an option on the Maxtrac series. They use the same accessories and programming cables.

Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2005 6:31 pm
by SlimBob
The spectra, IIRC, will not scan more than 16 channels per zone. The Syntor X9000, properly fiddled with, can scan 128, hold 255, but only display 210.

Any questions about the Syntor X9000?

Street price can be $500 and under. Radio for about $10-$100 depending on band (lowband are higher -- often in excess of $100 for the radio alone). Accessories run about $20-50 for a head ($30 is typical) and cables are around $30-$50 used with no cuts.

Something to bear in mind -- a clean head/radio may not be a working head! A dusty head will probably be working since it actually got used. I learned this the hard way with Mitreks. Generally speaking the X9000 heads are usually working and only certain issues exist with the firmware and eeprom contents. google "syntor" and look for Mike Blenderman's site. It's the guide.

Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2005 1:36 pm
by Charlied
I've been checking out some of the X9000 and I have one thing to say:

I'M SO CONFUSED!!!!

What head unit works with what radio that can be converted to do what!!!!!

I think I would like a unit that has the small head with alpha tagging and the radio that will hold at least 32 channels (modes?) (prefer 64).

Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2005 4:42 pm
by kf4sqb
Another good feature of the X9000, and the Spectra as well, I think, is the fact thay they can be made to be "dual-band". You can control two different radios with the same head, giving you the ability to install a VHF radio and a UHF radio, but only one head. Check out this site:http://www.open.org/~blenderm/syntorx/ for lots more info on the X9000 and the Spectra both.