Category: Radios

Motorola / Radios

The Motorola Railroad Spectra – part one

As well as being a ham radio operator, I also am a huge rail buff. As such, I had long wanted to add a railroad radio to my collection. Unfortunately, the only ones to be found for sale were either old radios from the 80’s with limited feature sets, or newer Astro radios from the big M that were way more than I was willing to pay for a radio. Fortunately I was able to stumble on a for-parts Motorola Spectra on ebay for a very, very decent price with shipping. The radio was advertised as untested, but pulled from

Read On
Radios

Tytera MD-380 Initial Impressions

DMR is the hot new digital mode that everybody seems to want a piece of, even though it’s been around for several years. The real reason everyone’s been jumping aboard is the rise of inexpensive DMR portables, specifically ones like Tytera’s MD-380. For $170 US you get a fully functional UHF digital radio that can do both conventional analog 70cm as well as DMR communication. Previously radios like the XPR line from the big M were going for upwards of $500 used, so this is a welcome price drop. It’s not unlike how Baofeng revolutionized entry-level radios a few years

Read On