[ETS/PARC List] Motorola vs Ham Radio

[Don Wilson]

The Yeasu 857 will now cost $2,700, will have a proprietary interface into
the radio for software (you have to sign a licensing agreement to see the
details), the radio software will be a $400/year annual subscription and you
will have to have any memories in the radio programmed by a Motorola Service
Center.  Motorola will issue a press release later this week to the effect
that anyone attempting to write software to communicate with the radio
without a Motorola licensing agreement will be vigorously prosecuted.  In
addition, a MARS version (the 857M) will be available for $3250 and a public
safety version (the MTS-857) will be available for $5980.  There are no
differences in the different models of the 857, except that the MTS-857 can
only be sold directly by Motorola sales reps and the MTS-857 will be
certified to meet a specific FCC regulation regarding oscillator stability.
Rumors indicate that Motorola has encouraged the FCC to create an NPRM on
this very important public safety concern (reportedly millions have been
killed due to poor HF communications as a result of oscillator instability).
Further, blocks of frequencies will be available on each radio that are
non-overlapping.  To achieve continuous coverage, a set of three radios will
need to be purchased (clearly in order to meet the stringent standards
across the HF band, the software was adjusted to work only in certain
frequency segments for each band).