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Reviews For: Motorola Astro Digital Saber

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

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Review Summary For : Motorola Astro Digital Saber
Reviews: 5MSRP:
Description:
Digital P25 version of Saber series HTs
Product is not in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0054.6
N1IG Rating: 2020-10-06
decent radio, CPS issues were a pain Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I used various versions of the Astro Saber portable radio for years at work, in a wide variety of situations and adverse conditions. The radio always worked, and had great TX & RX audio. I've looked at a few on a service monitor, and the sensitivity was very good for a portable.

The BIG complaints are with the code plug software, and with compatibility with newer versions of the radio. For some reason, this always seemed to be an issue at the most inopportune time at work. It seemed to be more of an issue with the Astro vs the previous Saber radio.

KD0DUJ Rating: 2014-12-03
Exellent radio for ham Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have the astro saber model 3 and it is a stellar radio that does p25 with no problem and I would recommend this radio over the saber 3
N4KVE Rating: 2011-10-20
GREAT RADIO Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have been using these radios for many years. There is no Government version that is keypad programmable. The XTS5000, & XTS2500 can do this if they have the Q52, & Q53 option. The Astro Saber is a great radio, & if upgrading from a regular Saber, most accessories will work. I give this radio a 10. GARY N4KVE

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Earlier 5-star review posted by N4KVE on 2011-10-19

I have been using Astro Sabers for years and they are great radios. There is no such thing as a Government model that is keypad programmable on the Astro Saber. Only the XTS5000, & XTS2500 with the Q52, & Q53 option, & some 1550's with the special red battery. All Astro Sabers must be programed with a computer using RSS, or newer CPS. While I own these newer radios, in my opinion they don't work better than the Astro Saber. They were made from 1993-2003 give or take a year. GARY N4KVE
KA5PIU Rating: 2011-10-19
Good cheap Moto! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
If you are going to get one try for the Government model as they can be reprogrammed from the radio.
Not all are P-25, some may be Moto type IIi or type III digital.
They are of excellent build quality, far better than any ham talkie.
I would give it a bit better rating but this is Moto and as such may require RSS and the like, not exactly ham friendly.
Battery packs tend to run expensive but they can be cut open and cells replaced.
With a CVC it will also double as a mobile and work very well as the radio simply slides out, nothing to undo or disconnect.
KA7EKW Rating: 2011-09-17
Better than some new HTs Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Everything good that you hear about the Motorola Saber is better in the Astro Digital Sabers.

The Astro gives you APCO P25 digital operation, which is not only legal on ham bands, it is what D-Star wishes that it could grow up to be. P25 has been in public safety service for nearly 20 years, so you know that it's tested and reliable.

Most Saber accessories are compatible with Astro Saber, though antennas and a small antenna extender used on some accessories are NON-compatible with earlier Sabers.

I have a number of these, in various bands, and have had them since the mid-1990s. I actually prefer them to most of the Motorola radios being produced today, and fortunately these live forever. They don't have all of the bells and whistles of a lot of ham gear, but that just means you don't have to carry around a manual to figure them out.

Controls are simple -- volume, channel, PTT and several buttons and switches which are software-defined.

Most hams will want the Astro Saber III, which has full controls plus TouchTone pad. If TT isn't something that you need, you can go with an Astro Saber II and get all of the other features.

You should check out the Astro Saber information on www.batlabs.com before buying, but these are on Fleabay in the sub-$200 price range.