Alltel Verizon Motorola M800 Digital Analog Bag Phone Review Problems Wattage

Alltel USCC Verizon Bag Phone Motorola M800

Verizon Wireless and US Cellular USCC now sell the M800.

This is my new Motorola M800 Digital CDMA and ANALOG Bag Phone. The power output is about 500mw Analog and 325mw Digital CDMA. This phone is only 1/2 watt, the old analog phones are 3 full watts, I bought this to use in remote areas, mostly in the Mojave desert. Performs a little bit better than a standard tri-mode handset in analog mode, not nearly as well as a full 3 watt phone. Most of the cell coverage in the Death, Saline, Panamint Valley and parts of rural Nevada are Analog only. Some areas now have digital as of March 2007. Check out some of my rural phone setups.
New! FAQ Page With Your Questions
New! Alltel Analog Turn Off Timeline
M900 GSM Demo Video Here (same basic functions at m800, all gsm phones are 2 watts cellular band)

Upgrading?? You need This adapter to connect the M800/900 to your existing antenna.

27 dBm = .5 watts, 30 dBm = 1 watt Radio Performance: Bands: CDMA 1X 800/1900MHz; AMPS 800MHz Output Power: CDMA 1X 800/1900: 0.25W; AMPS 800: 0.4W Motorola M800 FAQ Page* Approximate weight - 10lbs Motorola says they offer a optional booster, Makes it 3 watts in Analog ONLY. Alltel carries a booster (2 watt)- UMISM00 $199.99 Part number for the cable kit - MMISM16 $9.99 Display is black and white with blue back light. Can be ordered from Alltel customer service. 800-alltel1 Alltel has the best coverage of rural areas in the USA. *.25watts digital Is easily usable over 40 miles form the tower, if tower is configured for extended range. A note on digital performance with the m800 or any digital phone. Most all digital tower have hard distance limits, power, antenna or phone cannot get around this. If the towers limit is 20 miles and your rural home is 22 miles from the tower, the phone will not register on and will not be usable. This is noted when the phone cannot complete a call in digital and defaults to analog. This is an issue that has been popping up more often.	Tip- If you currently are using a 3 watt analog only bag phone, don't upgrade until analog service is turned off in your area. The m800s specs and performance are about the same as most Motorola handsets like the W315 tri-mode. In my area analog service will continue through the 3rd quarter of 08 and maybe longer depending on usage. The m800 WILL NOT perform as well as a full 3 watt phone in a rural analog only environment. FCC Test Results (measures a little higher than Motos specs) ANALOG Frequency (MHz) Power (dBm) 824.04 - 27.80 836.52 - 27.82 848.97 - 27.78 CDMA 800 Frequency (MHz) Power (dBm) 824.7 - 25.03 836.52 - 25.00 848.37 - 25.01 CDMA 1900 Frequency (MHz) Power (dBm) 1851.25 - 25.06 1880.0 - 25.06 1908.75 - 24.99 (The M900* is a GSM version of this phone)
	Direct connect external mag mount antenna. This antenna stuck to roof of vehicle yields 9-12db (3-4x) more signal strength than phone on passenger seat with stock antenna. External antennas drastically improved the performance of this phone, and it get the rf radiation outside. Antenna has tnc connector, just unscrew stock antenna and connect. Get it Here
	External Microphone Input The M800 Bag Phone offers an external microphone for use in the car environment. This is for a condenser mic, phone applies a phantom power to this mic input. Mini usb connector to connect to PC: Packet data MAX BR support 153.6 kbps 12 volt input, cigarette lighter or power supply
	Privacy handset. The button activates voice name and number dialing. Very good sound quality, almost land line good. I cant say enough about the audio quality. Has a huge speaker and high quality mic for speaker phone. Just pick up the handset press the button and say the number. This is a no gimmicks flat out telephone. Does have a web browser. Has TNC connector for external antenna. External antenna provided with phone is poor quality and sounds tinny.
	2.3 amp 12 volt lead acid battery. Hands-free mode: 105 minutes Handset mode: 240 minutes Standby time: 10 hours Dimming back light increases runtime
	Tethering/Data connection info. PC or MAC (I don't know if it works with MAC) The M800 works great as a remote internet connection. (digital signal required) The M800 IS NOT an EVDO high speed data capable phone. 1x (dial up speed) data only. Because it can be powered by 12 volts, has a solid TNC antenna connector and mini usb port it make a perfect field service internet connection. Directional Yagi antenna and LMR-400 low loss coax significantly improve reception Enlarge Picture Check out some of my rural phone setups. Email: nuggettzz2000@yahoo.com
To enter Test Mod: (for antenna aiming) ## DEBUG(33284) If it works the 4 won't show and the screen usually dims slightly very briefly. Then menu then left soft key should toggle the FTS screen on and off. Inputting the code again will disable test mode	For a good description of test mode see: Click Here Use (FFF) Current RF RSSI in dBm for antenna aiming. The lower the number the better.
Pattern Problems The current M800 privacy handset just doesn't hold up as well as we had hoped. Given that we're on the fifth revision of the handset, it would seem they're not holding up as well as Motorola would like either. A bad Handset can cause a variety of problems, but no matter how much of a phone issue it might seem, a Handset swap usually fixes it.	Some examples: Phone refuses to turn on until old Handset is un+re plugged, Phone power cycles itself at random intervals, When PH used earpiece audio is transferred to it, but HF mic is kept active instead, No audio at all when PH used, etc.

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