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Reviews For: Motorola Syntor X , 32ch, 110 watt radio

Category: Transceivers: VHF/UHF+ Amateur Base/Mobile (non hand-held)

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Review Summary For : Motorola Syntor X , 32ch, 110 watt radio
Reviews: 5MSRP: 3200
Description:
32 channels, 110 watt, mobile rig
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0055
N7NBC Rating: 2009-08-01
Great, Great Radio! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have a Syntor X programmed for 10m and 6m frequencies. Bought it off Ebay for $125 but I've had thousands of dollars worth of fun making DX contacts all accross the U.S.

People always comment on the great audio and strong signals.
N1MG Rating: 2008-02-13
They Rock! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Top notch. On 10 FM guys ask me all the time what rig I'm using because the audio is so good. When I say Motorola they say "Oh, I figured". The Syntors are top notch.
KF4FTG Rating: 2004-12-14
Great mobile !!! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The Motorola Syntor X is a great mobile radio, and also makes a great base unit if you have space to hide all the cables. Most SyntorX cable sets are at least 12' long and have close to 50 wires in them. Not to mention mic and speaker cables plus the antenna coax. Admittedly, the power is overkill in most base applications, but you can't ask for a better signal.
I have 3, 110w Lowband (6m-10m), 110w VHF-HI (2m), and 30w UHF (440). I ran all 3 mobile for several years. When I got my latest ride, there wasn't room to hide all the cables, so I'm now using the Lowband and UHF as base units. Nice thing about using these radios mobile is they have the power to be heard. I now use a Yaesu 7100 for 2m/440 in the car, and it doesn't even begin to compare!!! My daily drive takes me parallel to the ridge where all the radio/tv/pager,etc. towers are. My poor 7100 is absolutely useless for that couple of miles due to all the interference it receives. I can't hear anybody I try to talk to thru the mess. On the other hand, when I had the SyntorXs mobile, I never heard a bit of the interference, and could easily have a conversation on simplex. It's easy to see why Motorola charged $2000+ for these radios new, and no wonder why all the law enforcement agencies used them!
A close friend of mine runs the same 3 radios(his UHF is 100w) mobile currently, and his dog actually helped test the sturdiness of the SyntorX. My buddy had the cover off one of his radios, and had taken the dog to the vet. On the way home, the dog vomited in the radio. After hosing the radio out (yes, with a water hose) and drying it well, he hooked it up and turned it on. Still worked perfectly!!!! Ever since, we've said that SyntorXs are "puke" proof !!!
The only real problem is programming. Most Motorola shops want way too much to program a radio. I decided it was worth buying an eeprom programmer(less than $150)and have an old 386 computer dedicated just for the programmer. And for ham frequencies only, there is free software available on the internet..
I highly recommend the Motorola Syntor X..
WB6NVH Rating: 2004-08-09
Commercial quality at a bargain price Time Owned: more than 12 months.
There are several power levels of this radio available on the VHF models. I like the 40 Watt versions on VHF and UHF as it's just enough power and doesn't tax your battery to the limit. As far as I know, all lowband versions are 110W.
The low band (10/6 meter) and VHF (2 meter) versions of these radios are great, but they are not something for non-technical types to get up and running. The main hassles are programming the internal memory EEPROM and getting all the jumpers and wiring figured out to attach a control head and cables (if the radio didn't come with any, which is typical.) The low band version will do 10 and 6 meters in the same radio, although in cold weather the 10 meter transmit VCO on some radios will fail to lock until the radio has warmed up a bit. The VHF versions will not receive on 2 meters properly without slight re-alignment of the front end resonators, which is not trivial. The UHF versions require quite a bit of fiddling to move into the ham band and work properly. But once the radio has been "converted," they make a wonderful mobile with good audio, plenty of power and reliability. I have occasionally run across a "buzzing" sound on received audio, which is cured by tightening the screws which hold the personality board and main power connector. The "BatLabs" website has a great deal of helpful information on these radios.
K5JEP Rating: 2003-10-25
AWSOME Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Bought this radio (2 of em actually) off Ebay, have one in my truck and one in the house. This thing is a little complicated to hook up if you have had any experience with them. But the audio is solid, and this thing is a power house at 110 watts. Drawbacks, you need a good 30 amps to supply it if you use it in the house, it ways a ton, and alot of wires to conceal (control head, power cables, speaker, etc). The good out weights the bad in my book. The audio is sweet both TX and RX.