Hello everyone
I have a set of 6 Motorola DP1400 two way radios. They are all programmed to channel 5 by the previous owner which is not a problem.
The problem is they don’t seem to have any range at all and can only hear each other when basically in the same room or line of sight. Also the voice coming through the speaker doesn’t sound as clear as it should.
Are there any simple fixes to this or is this a common problem ? The previous owner said they were working great.
Thank you
Do you need a base station transceiver with these or something of the like ?
Oddly - I’m in Belfast, belfast?
When you say line of sight - that’s different from across a room. You don’t need a repeater - hand helds will do small buildings - radio to radio. The thing to check is that they are all exactly the same. The whole lot won’t be faulty. Explain a bit more what is happening and what you’ve tried - as in distance and the sound. Maybe a little video clip on youtube so we can hear? That could help?
When you say they are programmed to “channel 5,” what channel 5 are you talking about? These are digital business radios, and must be programmed to your own licenced frequencies. Because they are digital, the voice should be coming across very clearly.
Are you trying to use business radios on unlicenced frequencies such as PMR446 if in the UK, or GMRS if you are in North America?
If you purchase used radios, the supplier should be able to tell you the exact frequency they are programmed for and whether that is a digital or analog frequency. Plus, you must be licenced for that frequency use.
Is it possible they may have been stolen and are used public service radios? Digital radios have the ability to be disabled by the original owners to prevent them being used if lost, stolen or sold later on.
Motorola charges for their programming software for many of their radios, including the DP1400. If you bought them from a dealer, they should be able to help you. This is not the usual performance. They should be 100% clear and should be able to transmit and receive from blocks away.
If you bought them from an individual, I would be very suspicious.
I bought them from a supplier, new to all of this, I’m sure it is just simple user error on my end
I will read the manual and speak to the Supplier I bought them from !
Thank you for the help
There’s not really any user error. It does seem odd to have to use channel 5, as opposed to the usual ch1 - but they either normally work, or they don’t. They don’t really have a function where audio would be bad? It’s either press the button and a voice pops out or nothing.
Don’t forget that with DMR there is always latency. Your voice is delayed coming out of the other radios and if you get close you get a very strange digital echo. Do your test in a different room. Then you can assess the quality without the delay. They do sound a little roboticin tone - that is normal.