Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: GE/Ericsson/Ma-com MPA

Category: Transceivers: VHF/UHF+ Amateur Hand-held

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : GE/Ericsson/Ma-com MPA
Reviews: 5MSRP: 1400
Description:
Commercial HT usable on the ham bands
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0055
N9NGU Rating: 2019-10-06
Great Radio - Tough as Nails Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've owned my hamflashed VHF M-PA, for well over a decade, and it's proven to be very reliable. A few years ago, I picked-up some new-old stock batteries from New London Technology (https://www.newlondontechnology.com/). They're NiCad in chemistry, and appear to work fairly well for their age. Now, I need to find a copy of the Hamflash Manual, since I've seemed to have lost my copy. Programming this radio is not intuitive, at least not until you've done it a few times.
VE2FXO Rating: 2017-01-31
Great radio, but accessories are getting harder to get Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had several of these radios for many years and they tune down to the amateur bands without problems and are also excellent for GMRS use.

If it's good enough to earn a place on the ISS Space Station then it deserves a place in my shack :-)

My only gripe is that accessories such as speakermics, programming cables and batteries are getting harder to get as time goes by and they dont show up on Ebay as often as they used to. Also you might have to replace the lithium battery (BR425) inside if the radio is not used for a number of years.
KC2GDF Rating: 2007-03-20
A great multipurpose rig Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have several of these radios and they are great. They completely outperform any Japanese ham rig. Both the VHF and UHF can be programmed about 10 mhz out of the assigned split without modification. You can also HAMFLASH the rig as explained above, allowing you to program through the keypad. The only downside is that these rigs take a special GE antenna connector, so you won't be able to connect to your bnc stuff. These radios are starting to come cheap on the used market, many police and fire outfits are now upgrading making for great used deals. The M-PA's older brother the M-PD is also a great radio, that takes the same batteries and accessories. Plus they are so ugly, nobody would ever steal one:) These are great for making lunch box repeaters.
N1VVD Rating: 2005-11-14
My Favorite Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have 2 of these radios and I really love them.
There is something about their audio that I really like. Its very clean and natural and has some real low end to it.
My motorola HT's are louder, but they don't sound as nice.
You can find these on ebay with the HAM Flash code on them for a decent price.
They are big and heavy, but they are worth it...
KG2V Rating: 2005-11-14
Good but heavy Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Typical of most commercial HTs - great audio, great signal, built like a tank. Available in various bands and "splits", plus 3 different versions - the "select" (16 channels max), the scan (192 ch max- in banks of 16 channels) - no DTMF keypad, and the System (same as scan, but with keypad). Programming is via a GE programming box, or a RIB/cable available from Price Industries

One NICE feature is that certain versions (ex AGEIS/EDACS) can be "Hamflashed". Hamflash allows the radio to be front pannel programmed in the ham bands ONLY, but limits you to 64 channels, and removes some of the esoteric non ham related features (man down button etc).

Batteries are available from various sources, but are NOT cheap