| N4KVE |
Rating:      |
2022-01-10 | |
| CS700 GREAT STARTER RADIO. |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
| I’ve had mine for almost 4 years now. Picked it up at Dayton for $50, literally brand new. While I have several Motorola, & Hytera DMR radios, I needed something to use on the boat while out fishing, so if it falls overboard, it’s no big loss. The 700 has great TX, & RX audio, & has a real dual conversion receiver instead of the newer “radio on a chip” SDR receiver. It has a few shortcomings. If the radio is receiving a signal you can’t get into the menu, & if you’re in the menu, & the radio starts receiving a signal, you get tossed from the menu. But for $50, I’m not complaining. No FW upgrading hassles as there is no FW to upgrade. Certainly better than any TYT, or Radioddity one chip wonder, it’s a great back up radio. |
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| KB4TXW |
Rating:     |
2017-03-05 | |
| CS750 Update |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
This is a follow up to my previous review of the CS700 back in 2015. I now have a CS750 with the newest firmware, and all I can say is wow!
I decided to purchase a CS750 after reading all of the positive feedback online but I was a little hesitant after my prior experience with the 700.Well this time around I have a completely different opinion. First, the new firmware is great. You can load over 6,000 contacts, over 2,000 channels. The monitor function works both on digital and analog. On digital, it will show you the color code, time slot, talk group number and radio ID. In analog it breaks the squelch on a channel, good if you have PL set. It has a mic gain setting in the PC software, the TX and RX audio are excellent. The RX sensitivity is also fantastic. It feels good in hand and is easy to operate. The only negative for me is still the plastic blue PTT button. The other buttons and cover are rubberized, why can't they make the PTT the same? Hence the 4 instead of a 5. This is a powerful little radio that will only get better. Connect Systems has done a great job! |
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| KD0HMH |
Rating:     |
2016-05-04 | |
| Great firststep into DMR |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Great first step into DMR Large learning curve is the reason foe the 4 but would recommend to anyone. Connect systems will update to a 750 for under $100 mine goes in soon.Great range and battery life. |
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| KD0DUJ |
Rating:      |
2015-08-17 | |
| great radio |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I bought the CS-700 at local ham fest and I am impressed with this radio here is why the radio sounds crisp and clear on analog and digital the I like is that it the Motorola 2 pin speaker mics
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| VE2EBP |
Rating:      |
2015-05-26 | |
| Nice radio loaded with a lot of features |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
This is a great radio. Audio is beautiful and totally smooooth... Actually, it has a much better audio on transmit and receive than some of the motorolas that I know such as the XPR6550.
The radio is sturdy. It's made all of metal inside so the radio doesn't get hot when transmitting for a long time, which is important for us, ragchewers...
I managed to perform a programming error which confused the radio. I was amazed at the warping speed and great Customer service at Connect Sys. They returned my call in a few minutes!
This company has a lot of potential for growth amongst the ham community.
Please investigate the CS750, their later model. My understanding is that it's pretty much the same radio inside except that it has 10,000 memories and contacts instead of 1000. Plus it comes with some added bonus features as ANI (MDC-1200), DTMF squech and I don't know what else.
None of them have built in GPS which would be nice for future versions.
I rated the radio 4 simply because the PTT doesn't 'feel' as sturdy as I would have expected for a radio of this class. A rubberized PTT would have been nice with swivel at the bottom of the PTT...
Other than that, I would recommend this radio, or even better, the 750 to any ham that wants to get in to DMR.
To end on an upside note, this radio comes with the charger and the programming software (and interface cable).
How can you go wrong? No need to go see a dealer to program your radio. It's all in the package and it's very easy to program. I figured it out within less than 1 hour, I had 4 repeaters programmed with all their talkgroups, etc.
Very very nice. Great job Connect Systems and thanks Jerry for your great and excellent service.
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| N8PMG |
Rating:      |
2015-05-18 | |
| Excellent value! |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
| This is my 3rd DMR radio, with the others being Hytera professional models. The 700 compares very well to the more expensive Hyteras in performance. The software is a little less user friendly, but the price is definitely right. Battery life is good and I have had no problems of any kind. |
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| KT4WO |
Rating:      |
2015-04-06 | |
| VERY, VERY Nice! |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
I almost gave it a "4" due to the "feel" of the PTT button. If it holds up the "5" stays, if not.."4".
Other than the PTT button feel, this is a VERY well built radio. I also have a Moto XPR-3500 and although the CS-700 is not a Moto, I think it is VERY close in build,look and feel. At less than HALF the PRICE!!
In a few weeks/months I will update my review. As this radio is for public saftey, it will get much harder use than in ham service.
KT4WO |
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| K4JAR |
Rating:     |
2015-03-30 | |
| Very nice radio and not cheap junk at all |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
The price is right and the radio is very good and feels great in my hand. Anyone who says it is bulky or thick must have little tiny hands, it has a solid quality feel. I got mine from CIS and ordered an extra battery and the hand mike. It comes with a charger stand and the radio fits in it snugly and easily. You can leave it on while it is in the stand to keep it charged. Getting use to DMR audio will take a liitle getting use to, it is not crisp and clear as analog. Other than that DMR is really very cool to use.
The software is available online and there are several you tube videos that help you understand the setup. If you have a local ham group where someone can send you the code plug to use that will make things pretty simple. It's different and understanding the programing will take a little playing around if you are like me and what to fully understand it all. I wish the software was a bit more flexible and hope they update it soon with more features like being able to adjust the backlite time on and being able to search the digital contacts list that can hold 1000 ham call signs that are displayed when they are talking.
I have yet to get Radio Check to work. That is suppose to be able to tell you that someones radio is on - I guess you can just call them to find out too.
All in all this is a fine radio and great one to start out with on DMR without spending many times more for a Motorola. |
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| K1VI |
Rating:      |
2015-03-11 | |
| Excellent! Does what I need |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
Just getting involved in ARES, and CT is moving toward standardizing on DMR. Bought the CS700 two months ago, and it has done everything I have asked from it. In other reviews, there have been comments about low audio, but not in my experience. I had one comment to that effect my first day using the HT, and adjusted my use slightly, and no further comments. Now, I use the speaker-mike, and don't think about that. Kudos to Jerry @ Connect Systems -- It just plain works, for a fraction of the price of MotoTrbo units. Maybe they do more, but the CS700 does what's needed.
73 Mike K1VI |
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| AE5YJ |
Rating:     |
2015-02-28 | |
| my gateway into DMR |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| Loving this radio. Being a commercial set, it's features are pretty locked and straightforward. No real gripes, does suffer from slightly lower audio on xmit...you can always tell the moto users from the CS users. I find myself adjusting the volume frequently. Inexpensive, decent quality, and stable performance thus far. I wish there were some other settings I could change in the program, such as backlight intensity and duration but I suppose that is only a minor nitpick. Radio does what is is meant to and is built like a tank. I have dropped it a couple times with no issues whatsoever. I am thinking about buying a couple more for my vehicles. DMR is way to much fun, I highly recommend it. It has put some fun in my ham radio ops, where I was kindof getting stagnant. 73 |
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