Motorola MOTOTRBO XPR7550 Portable Radio Review

Posted on June 16, 2013 by va3xft

VA3XPR Motorola MOTOTRBO XPR7550 DMR Digital Mobile Radio Portable HT amateur ham Toronto

Motorola MOTOTRBO XPR7550 DMR Portable Radio

REVIEW DATE: June 16, 2013
REVIEWED BY: Don Trynor, VA3XFT

SUMMARY

The XPR7550 is one latest additions to Motorola’s MOTOTRBO line of Digital Mobile Radio (DMR) TDMA radios, featuring best in class audio, integrated GPS, a multicolour LCD display, plus much more. This is a excellent single band radio for amateur radio use on the 2m and 70cm bands, as it is feature rich, durable and likely to more than satisfy even the most demanding user. At the time of this review, the “ham friendly” pricing for a new XPR7550 from a Motorola dealer was $700US.

EDITORS’ RATING
Excellent

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On-Air Hangout

Posted on May 27, 2013 by va3xft

Anyone wanna hang out on the radio for a bit on May 29th @ 8:00pm? We are hams after all and we need reasons to use our beloved equipment!

This will be come as you may, leave when you want, whatever goes event. Got a technical question? Want to meet up with others to chit chat? Need a radio test? This will be the perfect time.

Please note that this is not a net and we will simply pass the conversation around to anyone that joins in.

Cheers!

Don, VA3XFT

VA3XPR Launches Improved Analog FM Repeater

Posted on May 26, 2013 by va3xft

VA3XPR analog FM repeater Toronto Ontario ham amateur radio Motorola MOTOTRBO XPR8400 UHF

The VA3XPR repeater duo, featuring Motorola MOTOTRBO XPR8400 commercial grade hardware. Shown is the analog FM repeater on the top and the digital DMR repeater on the bottom.

Great news, Toronto! The VA3XPR analog FM repeater is back on the air after a hardware failure on April 19, 2013, which rendered it inoperative. The new analog FM repeater, which is a Motorola XPR8400, is a 100% duty cycle commercial grade repeater, that will offer a number of benefits over the previous unit:

Improved receive sensitivity, allowing it to hear weaker signals than before, thereby extending it’s usable range;
Improved audio quality, making for crystal clear conversations.

Since this new repeater uses Motorola’s latest repeater technology, it is capable of being remotely programmed and monitored over the Internet, allowing a great deal of flexibility for on-going maintenance.

“This is a welcomed addition to the St. Jamestown community”, said Don Trynor, VA3XFT, the repeater’s sponsor. “By having a high quality, commercial grade repeater, amateur radio operators in St. Jamestown and adjacent neighbourhoods will have a reliable means to communicate with one another and Toronto will have a reliable means of communication in the downtown area in the event of an emergency or natural disaster” Trynor added.

As always, the VA3XPR repeater is open for all amateur radio operators to use and any activities that help the local community, promote education & learning or the growth of amateur radio are highly encouraged.

To access the VA3XPR analog FM repeater, enter the following details into your FM radio:

Frequency: 441.950 MHz
Offset: +5.0 MHz
PL Tone: 100.0 Hz

For more information about the analog FM repeater, please check out the Analog FM Repeater Page.

DMR Coverage Expands in Toronto

Posted on May 23, 2013 by va3xft

Toronto just got larger folks! As on May 22, 2013, a new Digital Mobile Radio (DMR) repeater came on the air under the call sign VE3URU from the community of Ballantrae, ON, which is about 25 km north of the City of Toronto. This new repeater, which is owned by Chris Gaylor, VE3BNI, will improve DMR coverage in the north end of Toronto and also, extend DMR coverage to areas north of Barrie, ON. In addition the VE3URU DMR repeater will be linked via it’s local talkgroup with VE3BNI in Milton and VA3XPR in Toronto, thereby increasing the local talkgroup coverage area in the greater Toronto area.

To access the VE3URU DMR repeater, enter the following details into your DMR radio:

Frequency: 443.3875 MHz
Offset: +5.0 MHz
Colour Code: 1

For more information about DMR, please check out the VA3XPR Digital DMR Repeater Page.

Windsor Hams Join Canadian DMR Network

Posted on April 26, 2013 by va3xft

Great news for the Canadian ham radio community! On April 25, 2013, the VE3UUU DMR repeater in Windsor, ON, was officially connected to the Canadian arm of the DMR-MARC network, otherwise known as DMR-MARC Canada, thereby providing hams in the Windsor area with full access to the DMR-MARC worldwide network.

To access this system, hams will need a DMR capable radio, which are built by several manufacturers, including Motorola, Vertex Standard, Harris and Hytera, to name a few. Any hams in the Windsor area with a DMR capable radios will be able to use the VE3UUU DMR repeater to communicate with other hams using any of the following virtual channels, otherwise known as “talk-groups”:

World Wide talk-group;
North America talk-group;
Canadian national talk-group;
Ontario provincial talk-group;
Local Windsor area talk-group;

To access the VE3UUU DMR repeater, the frequency is 444.4000 MHz, with a +5.0 MHz offset.