Our personal choices……

for the Motorola radios offering the best value have been made based on the requirements of those we serve – mainly public safety first responders.

You may wonder why we didn’t include the CP200.  The answer is that it costs almost as much as a PR400, yet the PR400 has a number of features, including page sending capability that are not available in the CP200.  There are some other reasons, but suffice it to say that we think the PR400 is a better value.

You will also note that we omitted all HT750 series radios with the exception of one model.  The HT1250 compares closely to the PR400 display model.  Additional information on the HT1250 and other top choice models is available by clicking here.

We didn’t include the HT1000.  It’s a great radio but it has been discontinued.  The new PR1500 takes it’s place and is compatible with original HT1000 accessories.  Of course you know that the old favorites – the P110, P1225, GP300 and GP350 have been discontinued.  Additional information on all current Motorola models is available by clicking here.

We are introducing a radio that may be new to you, the PR860, our first offering with the Impress battery system.   

All of the handheld radios referenced are supplied with advanced chemistry batteries (Nickel Metal-Hydride or Lithium-Ion with the later normally being the best choice).

All handheld radios include a rapid desk charger as standard.

We ALWAYS recommend purchasing the optional extended warranty.  You can get up to five years of factory depot service for less than the cost of a single repair. 

All of our radios feature the ability to operate as a pager (some of them can SEND pages) and all of them feature MDC-1200 digital ID for positive identification of callers as well as responding to an over the air disable code if the radio is lost or stolen.

All radios are APCO-25 Phase One narrow band compatible and all are both MIL-SPEC and IP-54 compliant (IP54 is the standard for water and dust resistance).

Popular options including speaker micro phones and cases are listed as well Radio Interface boxes (RIB’s), programming software and connector cables for those who wish to do their own programming.

The bottom line is that if you have a limited budget, the PR400 would be a good choice.  If you already have HT1250’s and they meet your needs, stick with the HT1250.

If you want the smallest possible radio with trunking capability, choose the EX600-XLS and if you want the most rugged radio available, choose the PR1500.

If you want the best value with better sensitivity, better audio, improved reliability, and a battery system that gives you maximum operating life at the least cost, our recommendation would be the PR860. 

Model

PR400 Std/Display

HT1250 w/display

EX600-XLS 
 w/display

PR860 No Display

PR1500 No Display

Typical selling price (VHF)*

 $650 to 
$750

$850 to
$1,000

$850 to
$1,000 

$850 to
$950

$1,100 to
$1,300

UHF Adds

$25

$38

$42

$42

$42

$50 Programming fee

FREE

FREE

FREE

16

32

Speaker-Microphone

$74

$66

$68

$59

$59

Leather case

$36

$41

$30

$41

$41

Spare battery

$84

$80

$86

$68

$68

Std. Warranty term

2 years

2 years

3 years

$30

$30

Man down option

N/A

$150

N/A

$160

N/A

Extended Warranty

$47 (4 yrs. Total)

$86 (5 yrs. Total)

$26 (5 yrs. Total)

$61 (4 yrs. Total)

$61 (4 yrs. Total)

Impress battery system

 No

No

No

Yes

No

APCO-25 Compatible

Yes – Phase One

Yes – Phase One

Yes – Phase One

 Yes- Phase One

Yes – Phase One

Weight

13.30 Ounces

15.0 Ounces

9.5 Ounces

 17.5 Ounces

19.85 Ounces

Dimensions

5.12 x 2.4 x 1.65”

5.4 X 2.26 X 1.5”

4.61 x 1.58 x 2.48”

5.40 x 2.26 x 1.60”

6.0 x 2.3 x 1.0”

Battery Life

12 – 17 hours

8 – 11 hours

10-14 hours

 13 - 17 hours

 10 - 14 hours

No. of channels

 16 (32 Display)

16

160

16

32

Low band available

No

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

MIL-SPEC 810

C, D, E & F + IP54

C, D, and E + IP54

C, D, and E + IP54

C, D, and E + IP54

C, D, and E + IP54

MDC1200 Signaling

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Charger/Battery

Rapid 1600 mAh Li-Ion

Rapid 1500 mAh NiMH

Rapid 1320 mAh Li-Ion

Rapid 2000 mAh Li-Ion

Rapid 1525 mAh Ni-Cd

2-tone Paging

Yes – Receive

Yes – Send/Receive

Yes – Send/Receive

Yes – Send/Receive

Yes – Send/Receive

Software/Rib

$299 - $275

$299 - $275

$299 - $275

$299 - $275

$299 - $275

Programming cable

$75

$75

$150

$150

$150