Batboard

I came across this RIB on ebay today. It looks to be pretty decent, has anyone had any experience with it?

that looks pretty cool. i've bought ribless cables from rfguys and havent had any problems with them so i'd say go for it, though no RIB is as good as OEM, but if its in your price range then go ahead.

I wonder if it would work with the VRCH?

resqguy911 wrote:I wonder if it would work with the VRCH?

Probably. As long as all the data lines are present to talk to a Spectra radio. If it does... then no worries.

I bought a Kenwood cable from him a while back and it's kinda dodgy, so I'd be leery of putting anything of his on a Motorola radio. It depends on whose schematic he's building them from.

Polaris used to make a mini-RIB like that and they did work, but it doesn't look like they're in production anymore.

I bought a Midland cable from this guy and it works no problem. If you decide to purchase let us know how it works for you.

After losing my trusty "Poket" rib, I bought one of these and it doesn't work. I e mailed them and they suggested the "Poket " rib I borrowed , which does work, might be bad. That makes a lot of sense seeing as how the "Poket" rib works and theirs doesn't. They said to send it back for evaluation so the jury is still out. I'll post the outcome.

John G wrote:After losing my trusty "Poket" rib..

Was that rib the same as there is on Ebay from seller called "Kawamall"?

As you guys know, there's several aftermarket Radio Interface Boxes available, but which one of them should I buy, if I needed one? I know there's also "sandy's" version too, but that's not widely sold in Ebay.. or is it?

I don't know where the "Poket" rib comes from. I bought mine years ago from an acquaintance. If I could find another like the one I lost, I'd buy it. Mine never failed me in all the time I had it. A lot of folks don't like them for various reasons, but mine worked great.

I'd stay away from RF Guys. They're based out of BC Canada and there have been quite a few times that they don't have a clue what they're selling.

I saw a listing on ebay for a Waris series speaker mic and the picture they had was for an HT600 or something older and the part # wasn't even right.

I contacted them TWICE to let them know they had the wrong info for what they were selling and they continued to sell the item with the same info and picture and when the auction ended, they reposted with the exact same info as before.

It seems that they don't care if they have the right info or not, just as long as they can TRY to rip people off.

I have one that I got on Ebay about 6 years ago. It looks similar, but apparently mine's made differently as it works on anything and everything I throw at it.
I changed out the crappy 9 volt connector with a good one (old pic).





Is this the other "Pocket RIB" that you guys are referring to?

I've had one of the Poket RIBS (their spelling, not mine) for about 10 years. They are a solid, well made product, with a couple of caveats:

1) If memory serves, they do not support the Bus- line, which some radios need, only Bus + and Gnd. I seem to recall it having issues with radios where Bus- needed to be carried to the radio, like the X9000 and the Spectra.

2) The 9V connector assembly is the weak link of the design. I long ago unsoldered the coaxial jack from the PC board and simply hardwired in a quality 9V battery snap assembly.

3) When using the RIB, rubber banding the 9V battery to the housing is cheap insurance.

I've heard the problems with the Bus- line, but mine has worked flawlessly with Spectras. Never had the chance to mess with an X9000, but MCX1000s love this little rib. I've thrown a lot of radios at this little rib and it has never failed. I changed out the cheap wired 9 volt connector as well. Something about those cheap chinese vinyl 9 volt tabs.

That is the same "Poket" rib I had. I agree with the above comments except that I never changed out the power connector on mine. I haven't heard back on the rib I sent back. Just e mailed them to see if it arrived yet.

bellersley wrote:I came across this RIB on ebay today. It looks to be pretty decent, has anyone had any experience with it?

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No direct experience. However, speaking from what I've learned over the years about how picky programming hardware can be, I wouldn't trust that thing to program a VCR, let alone a radio, without seeing a full schematic and doing extensive testing on 'junk' radios.

My advice, as always: If you want an aftermarket RIB, stick with the Sandy Ganz design.

http://www.geocities.com/sganz.geo/RibPage.html

Keep the peace(es).

After weeks of not hearing anything, I sent a nasty e mail and was told that the first batch of these had a problem. They said they would replace it with a newer one. That didn't make sense since I had just bought it. Shouldn't it have been a new one? I told them to send a new one if they would guarantee it to work. After getting no reply, I requested my money back, several times. Not getting it, I filed a complaint with Pay Pal and received my refund within hours.
Their RIB might actually work fine but they are such a pain to communicate with, I can't really reccomend them.

nh7cy wrote:that looks pretty cool. i've bought ribless cables from rfguys and havent had any problems with them so i'd say go for it, though no RIB is as good as OEM, but if its in your price range then go ahead.

Moto said I could buy a RIB for $200. I paid $196 for the radio. I think aftermarket RIBs are better on my pocket, but I can't knock Moto, since they make great radios.

I bought mine from Scanman/Riley96. Good guy to deal with, quality cables/RIB's. Thanks Phil.

Always happy to hear people are happier buying American!

Of course! That and your RIB hasn't failed me yet once or at that it's never bricked a radio, even my Astro stuff! I think I've had it for about 2 years or so now.

So, is the rfguys.com rib considered as really working with all models and fully equivalent to original Motorola Rib box?

Rayjk110 wrote:I bought mine from Scanman/Riley96. Good guy to deal with, quality cables/RIB's. Thanks Phil.

That is who I got mine from several years ago. Thank you!