[Motorola] Old Motorola Equipment Numbering System

[Glen Zook]

You forgot the "C" for the "Compa" station as the
first letter which was generally a base station in the
30 inch high cabinet although there were 42 inch, 48
inch, and 60 inch high cabinets that were used on
various models of the "Compa" station.  The "Compa"
was VERY popular from the late 1950s all the way
through the 1990s.

An "H" was for any "handheld" units, not just the
"Handie Talkies".

Also "R" for units that were manufactured for use by
the railroad companies.  Those included units made to
run from 72 volt DC and 110 VAC and/or 110 VDC.

On car telephones the model numbers often started with
TLB for lowband, TLD for highband, and TLE for UHF
(450 MHz to 470 MHz).  These units generally included
a duplexer to allow full duplex operation.  The "W"
was used primarily for the tube type mobile units that
were made for Western Electric which included some car
telephone units that were really just modified mobile
units and for regular mobile units that were sold to
Western Electric / AT&T.

Units that were not frequency specific, especially
remote control units started with TLN (i.e. TLN-1200
series remotes).  However, the TL series was used for
all sorts of sub assemblies in any unit.

For the 2nd "digit" a "0" indicated no transmitter
(receiver only units as in the HO3BNC series which
were "Pageboy I" pagers, etc.).

A "6" was for 80 to 90 watt output transmitters.

A "7" was for 100 watt to 120 watt output transmitters
(i.e. the U71LHT 100 watt lowband Motrac, the U73MHT
110 watt output highband Motrac).

A "9" usually indicated a 330 watt output station.

The letters at the end also included "C" for units
that could use any type of battery (again the H03BNC
comes to mind).

An "R" indicated a unit that came from the factory as
a repeater.

A "BY" station was the table top base stations that
were from the 1950s and a "BR" was a rack mount
station.

"SP" was the designation for a "special product" which
could involve anything from a different paint job to
very serious modifications.  The most "famous" of the
"SP" jobs was the "cameltran" which were some lowband
Motran units that had every piece of metal that was
visible (even with the cabinet removed) gold plated
(including the printed circuits, front panel, etc.). 
These were made for a high official in one of the Arab
countries to be mounted on camels!  The radio fit in a
saddle bag on one side, the 12 volt batteries in a
saddle bag on the other side, and the whip antenna was
mounted on a platform that was above the camel's hump!


Before the last letter (or letter) and after the 3
letters the following was generally in place:

First number:

1 = standard squelch
2 = "Private Line" only
3 = "dual squelch" ("Private Line" and standard
squelch)
4 = "Digital Private Line"


Second Number:

0 = "wide band" (+/- 15 KHz deviation)
1 = "narrow band" (+/- 5 KHz deviation)


Third number:

0 = single frequency
3 = dual frequency transmitter and receiver
7 = 4 frequency transmitter and receiver
(those are the "most common")


Fourth number:

This could indicate all sorts of minor variations.


Starting around 1945 until the "new" system was in
place the following was in general use:

FMT = lowband transmitter

FMTU = highband transmitter (i.e. FMTU 30D "coffin"
transmitter)

FMR = lowband receiver

FMRU = highband receiver (i.e. FMRU 16V "coffin"
receiver)

FMTR = lowband transmitter / receiver unit combined

FMTRU = highband transmitter / receiver unit combined
(i.e. FMTRU 80D)

There were other letters/numbers used by Motorola but
those listed by W0RW plus those above generally take
care of at least 90% of the "older" units.

By the way, I worked for the Motorola Service Station
in Atlanta, Georgia, my junior year at Georgia Tech
(1965 - 1966) and then for Motorola C&E (the old
"two-way" division of Motorola) my senior year (1966 -
1967).  Next, I owned the Motorola reconditioned
equipment center for the south-central United States
(we were located in Plano, Texas, a suburb of Dallas
on the north side) from 1970 until Motorola went out
of that "end" of the business in 1979.

Glen, K9STH


--- W0rw at aol.com wrote:

This is the general Motorola Equipment numbering
system, (you will always find exceptions).  The
Motorola numbering system is given by six basic
characters...  Letter, digit, digit, letter, letter,
letter...









Glen, K9STH

Website:  http://k9sth.com

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