radio KM4BA VHF UHF DMR Motorola

Motorola XPR-4550 UHF DMR Mobile

 This rugged mobile is a fairly recent addition to the fleet. While it has some limitations for amateur usage it also has some capabilities many ham focused radios do not have. 

While the Motorola XPR-4550 has some limitations for amateur usage it also has some capabilities many ham focused radios do not have. 

Pros:

  • Very well made physically
  • Great audio
  • Integral GPS will work with APRS through DMR
  • Roaming across DMR channel/talkgroups (this is very neat)
  • Can direct access zone change via P1 button. Not as useful as Zone Up and Zone Down
  • This is the radio most of the early ham DMR's was copying. You can see it in the menus, etc. Especially the CS-800 and TYT menus. 
  • Can be remote mounted using a separation kit. I'm seeing these on ebay at ~$100

Cons:

  • Must use Motorola CPS to program
  • Limited to 1000 contacts
  • Zone order is alphabetical, which can be addressed by using leading characters in the CPS
  • Display showing the Contact name/ID is smaller and a bit fainter than the Channel Name line (this is addressed on the more expensive 5500)

Programming your Moto radio is a bit non-intuitive to get started if you are using a sample or provided codeplug. This is because the Moto CPS saves the radio serial number in the "Archive" (their term for the codeplug). This article will walk you through the steps.  

Motorola DMR radios typically have roaming capability. I've recently configured roaming for my XPR-4550 and here's some details on how it works and how to setup. 

The Motorola DMR radios typically have integral GPS capability. This is directly supported by APRS, and is a very useful feature.