Motorola radios: the Motorola Solutions two-way radio families

Motorola radios: four families of two-way radio

Motorola Solutions makes radios for work, from a shop floor to a police force. They fall into four families. Each family uses a different radio system, so radios from two families often cannot talk to each other.

DMR, P25 and TETRA are three digital radio standards. DMR is an open standard for business radios from ETSI.9 P25 is a public safety standard made under TIA, and TETRA networks run in over 100 countries.68

Motorola Talkabout walkie-talkies are a separate consumer line for families and hikers. They use the license-free FRS channels in the US.10 The Talkabout comparison covers them.

Pick two radio types below to see how DMR and P25 differ and whether they can talk to each other.

Motorola on-site business radios: CLS, RM, DTR, Curve and XT

On-site radios are Motorola's simplest work radios. They have few buttons and few channels, and they cover one building or site. Motorola sorts its US on-site radios into unlicensed and licensed models.1

The license-free models in the US:

• DTR700. A digital radio on 900 MHz, license-free, with 50 channels. Motorola claims up to 350,000 sq ft or 30 floors.11
• Curve. A 1 W radio on 902 to 928 MHz, license-free, with 10 channels and Wi-Fi for a voice assistant.12
• RMM2050. A 2 W radio on the five MURS channels, which need no license in the US.213

The licensed models in the US:

• CLS1410. A 1 W UHF radio with 4 channels and 56 business-only frequencies.14 Motorola's guide says you need an FCC license to transmit.15
• RMU2040. A 2 W UHF radio with 99 business-only frequencies, also licensed.162

In Europe and the UK, the XT radios fill this role. They run on PMR446, the license-free band, at 0.5 W.17 Motorola says the XT420 and XT460 work with no subscription or call charges.1819 Both have 16 channels and 219 privacy codes.20

MOTOTRBO digital radios: Motorola's DMR line

MOTOTRBO is Motorola's name for its DMR radios. DMR is an open ETSI standard that carries two calls at once on one 12.5 kHz channel.9 The R2, R5 and R7 also work in analog, so they can talk to older radios.32122

The table lists the current MOTOTRBO hand-helds and who each one is for.

The R2 and R5 follow DMR Tier II, the tier for licensed radios on fixed channels.3219 The R7 adds Tier III, which is trunking: the system picks a free channel for each call from a shared pool.229

Motorola also sells system modes on top of DMR. The R7 data sheet lists IP Site Connect, Capacity Plus and Capacity Max, and the R2 supports the first two.223 The business radio systems guide explains when a site needs them.

Motorola radio names in North America and Europe

Motorola often sells the same kind of radio under two names. North America uses one set and Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) another. The newer R-series uses the same names in both.2627

Regional twins share a role, not every spec. The XPR 3300e is rated IP67 and the DP3441e IP68, though both send 5 W on VHF and 4 W on UHF.3125

Motorola radios compared: power, water rating, battery and price

The table shows Motorola radios from each family, with power at the highest setting. Battery is one maker's claim with a standard battery, so larger batteries run longer. A price shows only where we have a recent dealer price, with its month.

Which Motorola radio to choose for work

Start with the license. If you want no paperwork, the choice is a DTR or Curve radio in the US, or an XT radio in Europe.111218

With a business license, MOTOTRBO is the usual path. The R2 is the everyday choice, at 5 W on VHF and 4 W on UHF.3 The R5 suits loud places, and Motorola rates its speaker at up to 106 phons.21

Pick the R7 for the hardest jobs. It holds up to 1,000 channels, survives 2 m of water for 2 hours and has an intrinsically safe option for hazardous areas.22 In Europe, the R7Ex carries ATEX approval for explosive air.26

APX and TETRA radios are for public safety networks. An agency picks the standard its network runs, P25 or TETRA, and then the radio.68

Motorola APX radios for P25 public safety

APX radios are built for police, fire crews and public agencies. They run P25, a set of more than 80 public safety standards; TIA publishes most of them as the TIA-102 series.6

P25 comes in two phases. Phase 1 carries one call per channel and works on simple and trunked systems. Phase 2 carries two calls per channel and works only on trunked systems.6

Motorola's APX range runs from the APX 900 to the APX NEXT.7 The APX 900 is aimed at government services and public works. The APX NEXT XN is certified to the NFPA 1930 standard for firefighters.7

The APX 8000 shows what the top models do. It works on four bands: 700/800 MHz, VHF and two UHF ranges. It sends up to 6 W on VHF and is rated IP68 to 2 m for 2 hours.5

Motorola TETRA radios for emergency services

TETRA is a digital trunked radio standard developed with ETSI, the European standards body.8 Motorola says TETRA networks run in over 100 countries, for police, ambulance and fire services, utilities, rail and refineries.8

Motorola's current TETRA hand-helds are the MXP660, MXP600, MXP7000, MTP3000 series and MTP8000Ex. The MXM600 is the radio for vehicles.32 The MTP8000Ex is built for hazardous areas.32

The MXP600 works on 350 to 470 MHz and can send up to 2.8 W. Outside TETRA coverage it can switch to Wi-Fi and keep working through Motorola's DIMETRA Connect.33 The MXP660 adds built-in LTE for the same purpose.34

Current and discontinued Motorola radios

Motorola lists older radios on discontinued pages and names replacements in lifecycle notices. These are the main changes in the business range.

Motorola gives June 30, 2030 as the end date for software support and hardware repair renewals of the canceled XPR 3000e radios.28 Dual-mode radios let a fleet move from analog to digital at its own pace, Motorola says.4

Motorola radio batteries and accessories

The R5, R7, APX 8000 and MXP600 all list IMPRES batteries.2122533 An IMPRES battery stores its charge history, and an IMPRES charger uses it to decide when to recondition the battery.37

Battery size changes the run time a lot. In digital mode, Motorola claims up to 21.5 hours for the R5 on a 2,200 mAh battery. On a 3,200 mAh battery the claim rises to 32 hours.21 For earpieces, remote speaker microphones and holsters, see the accessories guide.

Questions

Sources

1. Commercial and business on-site two-way radios · Motorola Solutions
2. RM Series two-way radio user guide: RMU2040, RMU2043, RMM2050 · Motorola Solutions
3. MOTOTRBO R2 data sheet (EMEA) · Motorola Solutions
4. MOTOTRBO CP100d Series portable radios · Motorola Solutions
5. APX 8000 all-band P25 portable radio data sheet · Motorola Solutions
6. Project 25 frequently asked questions, version 1.9 · Project 25 Technology Interest Group
7. APX P25 portable radios · Motorola Solutions
8. What is TETRA? · Motorola Solutions
9. The DMR standards, developed by ETSI · DMR Association
10. Talkabout T600 series walkie-talkies · Motorola Solutions