Well considering that they have P25 capable scanners at decent, and falling,
prices, P25 for ham rigs is doable. But they seem intent on pushing the D-Star
standard on us... when in my eyes P25 is a far better choice. But I see it as a
far better choice in part because it means surplus gear is an option, and the
ham manufacturers see locking us into a standard that is not available in
surplus rigs as more $$ for them.
But I just purchased a VHF Astro Saber on Ebay for under $350... 255 channel,
6w, P25 and analog. I have purchased UHF Astro sabers for under $125 shopping
around.
And of course any Saber, digital or analog, is far, far, far better than any
commercial ham rig.
Tim
W4WTF
Bob Dengler <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
At 4/24/2007 05:17 PM, you wrote:
>I don't know. Like any other radio gear it depends on the brand, model,
>and how badly the seller wants to sell I guess. Motorola isn't the only
>maker offering P25 digital audio capable radios (we'll assume CAI/IMBE
>compatible). Icom, Kenwood, and others are also offering rigs and surplus
>stuff pops up at the most unexpected times.
>Gary
What would be far more interesting to me would be for one of the ham
manufacturers to offer a P25 user radio. How much would adding the vocoder
add to the cost of a current analog FM model? If it's comparable in price
to Icom's DStar radios (which are substantially more than their analog
counterparts - roughly double the cost), it just might be worth it.
Something to add to my wish list of radio features to deliver to the reps.
at Dayton, along with better IMD performance & split CTCSS tone.
Bob NO6B
