Year in year out, Motorola has been designing walkie talkies to bridge the communication gap we face in places where mobile phones are inefficient. Not only have they developed radios for hiking, camping, security, baby monitors, schools and industrial use, they have also continuously improved on problems surrounding walkie-talkies.
Motorola’s XPR 7000 series is nothing short of efficient when it comes to industrial and organizational use. The members of this family are all built with features that make work more comfortable and safer for professionals.
These two-way radios are integrated with Bluetooth and wifi, enabling you to pass messages across while working without wires getting in the way. Other features common to Motorola XPR 7000 series include enhanced audio quality that makes audio messages more audible, so no information is lost due to noise on site. Coupled with this are its watertight body and intuitive accessories; all this and more make this Motorola series the best for industrial use.
One of the prominent members of this family is Motorola XPR 7550e. If you are looking for an excellent radio for both outside and inside use, this radio is your best bet. It comes in both VHF and UHF design, which makes it suitable for use anywhere. From public safety to oil and gas, mining and manufacturing industries, Motorola XPR 7550 is very useful, and it enhances productivity.
To find out more about this radio, it’s amazing features and why you should be buying it, read through this review.
Table of Contents
Considerations choosing Motorola XPR 7550e Radios
There are certain things one must consider when deciding what radio to buy for professional work.
Size
The major downside to having a radio with multiple functionalities is the bulk, and this radio is no exception. However, the weight can be an advantage because it makes the radio more noticeable on-site or during work. Since it weighs about 315 grams, it is harder to lose in a dynamic industry where rigorous work is being done.
Besides this, the radio has a dimension of 5.5× 2.2×1.4in, which is relatively portable to carry around all day despite its many functions. The best part is that it comes with a belt clip, so you don’t have to worry about it getting in the way of your work.
Ease of use
When looking for a walkie- talkie for professionals working on-site, the functions need to be easy to use and understand, and The 7550e delivers just that. This radio has a flexible menu-driven interface with large icons and navigation buttons that are easy to use.
Some work would require your attention all day, and this radio would be with you every step of the way. It has a day/night mode function with its five-line color display feature that allows for improved resolution for viewing the screen in broad daylight and at night. That way, you don’t have to strain your eyes to read incoming messages during the day or in the dark hours of the night.
The radio also has an orange button at the top that makes it easy to summon help with one touch in case of a fall or accident.
While programming the walkie talkie may not be very easy for an amateur, your system administrator or radio dealer can easily program it to fit your needs. After which you can make use of the Motorola XPR 7550e manual or user guide, which is very explanatory and easy to use.
The user guide goes straight to the point and explains in detail everything you need to know about the radio, so you don’t make costly mistakes or ignore useful features.
Build quality
Durability is a factor that must not be taken lightly when it comes to walkie talkies. Since everything in life is programmed to expire sooner or later, we can only hope to make things last longer. It’s also general knowledge that things of high quality are quite expensive. This Motorola radio is able to make up for its price with its long-lasting features.
The radio’s rugged design makes it last longer because it is tightly sealed against wind or dust and has a detachable dust cover.
One thing that is guaranteed with walkie-talkies is the device falling from our hands, but you would have nothing to worry about as the radio has a sturdy build that gives the radio protection from shock. However, I would advise that after purchasing this radio, you keep it far from the reach of children and also handle it with care.
Battery life
The last thing you would want as a professional is to buy a walkie-talkie with many functions but a short battery life, which renders it almost useless. Not only will it limit your communication with other site workers, but it can also reduce your productivity. This Motorola radio has been built to last for up to 20 to 29 hours, depending on the functions in use.
The device can use nickel-metal-hydride(NIMH) or lithium-ion batteries. Still, it is essential to know that Motorola solutions charger will give the best results when you charge the authorized battery. It is equally important to note that the radios should be turned off when charging to comply with the warranty and avoid damage.
Better communication
Let’s face it, the major reason why you need a walkie talkie is in order to connect easily to other members of your team. This walkie talkie has been built specially to address that need.
It has a powerful audio amplifier that gives room for loud and clear speech while canceling out industrial noise for smooth communication. It is also equipped with full keypads and a simplified text messaging system so you can send one on one messages without risk of losing important information to third parties.
Motorola XPR 7550e Review
Advance call features
You can relate the call functions on this device to your regular mobile phone in so many ways. Only that it gives you more options. Here’s a list of some of the options you get
Group calls: Say you need to contact your group members and have them give you essential information individually, this feature lets you do just that. After configuring your radio to a part of a group, you can receive calls from members of that group or make calls to the group users.
Broadcast calls: This feature is a little different from the group call because it lets you make a one-way voice call to other users, but the recipients of the call can only listen; they can’t respond.
Private call: In case you have to pass an essential but discreet message to one person, this function lets you do that, but for it to work, you might need the help of a system analyst to set it up.
Phone calls: This type of call is a call between an individual radio or a group of radios and a telephone.
Added to these features is the phone book, missed call alerts, call forwarding, call logs, call queue and priority call for putting non-important calls on hold while the high priority call takes it place when all channels are not busy.
All in all, there are so many features available on this device to make calling safer and more convenient.
Text messaging
Passing a message across has never been easier; you can simply send or receive data from another radio or text messenger app with this radio.
There are two types of text messages, the Digital Mobile Radio (DMR) short text messages with a maximum character of 23 and the other text message with a maximum character of 280. Like I said, this radio almost like the average mobile phone, but it is more functional. Like a mobile phone text message app, you can edit, forward, delete messages, and even have a word predict function.
Enhanced privacy
You would definitely not like important information leaking out to outsiders. The radio helps to prevent unauthorized users from eavesdropping on information from any of your channels by using a software-based scrambling solution.
It also has a stun/revive feature that lets you disable or enable any radio in the system in case it gets stolen. The radio can be disabled by the console or by another radio.
Job tickets
This feature makes job distribution easier. It enables you to receive messages containing the list of tasks to be done.
Indoor location tracker
With this easy to activate feature, you can keep track of all radio users who are in discoverable mode.
Password lock feature
This feature allows you to restrict access to your device when your radio is on to increase your privacy option further. You can set a desired four-number password and change it whenever you like.
Lone worker
When there is no user activity on your radio like receiving a job ticket, group-call or pressing a button for a predefined time, this feature triggers an emergency condition programmed by you or your dealer.
GPS operation
You can quickly locate mobile work teams using the integrated GPS.
Intelligent audio
It has a powerful audio amplifier that gives room for loud and clear speech while canceling out industrial noise for smooth communication. This feature increases the volume of the radio automatically depending on the level of noise in the environment.
Monitor
The monitor feature makes sure that a channel is free before transmitting.
Bluetooth
This feature allows you to connect your radio to Motorola xpr7550e accessories or any other Bluetooth device commercially available. When using the radio and its accessory, it is advisable to separate them.
Emergency alert
When you are in a critical situation, you can trust this feature to initiate an emergency at any time and on any screen display, even if there is current activity on that channel.
When you press the emergency button, you initiate the programmed emergency mode. You can choose to enable or disable the emergency mode.
The emergency alert is not a voice call but a notification that is sent to radios configured to receive these alerts.
Voice announcement
If you cannot see the content displayed on your screen by any chance, this feature would enable the radio to produce an audible version of whatever is on screen. Like the text-to-speech feature, this feature indicates the current zone or channel the user has just assigned.
This push to talk button serves two major purposes. When a call is in progress, hitting the button allows the radio to transmit to other radios in the call. Immediately the button is pushed; the speaker is activated.
The second function is only useful when a call is not in progress. The button is able to make another call.
Audio tones
There are varieties of tones for different alerts, including phone calls and text messages, to tell one apart from the other.
Keypad lock
The keypad lock feature prevents you from accidentally dialing other radio users or changing radio settings, and it is effortless to activate.
There are five programmable buttons on this Motorola radio. These buttons can be programmed by you or your dealer to serve as shortcuts to radio functions, and yes, you have so many options to choose from.
Text to speech
Although this feature is only enabled when the voice announcement feature is disabled, it is still very handy when you need to receive important messages hands-free. Text to speech feature can audibly indicate the channel, Current zone, content of received text messages and content of received job tickets.
Talk around
Talk around lets you receive messages when your radio is out of range from the repeater but within the talking range of other radios. This feature makes sure that you stay connected at all times.
1000 channels
This radio comes with 1000 channels, which is far greater than most radios in the market.
Pros
Day/night mode on the display
Easy to use Text messaging system
Basic/ enhanced privacy
Full-color display for icons on the screen
Emergency button
Push to talk button
More channels, up to 1000
Better range(8%more)
Improved accelerometer for optional man-down.
Increased battery power
Compatible with different Motorola accessories
Full keypad with programmable buttons
Rugged body
Transmit interrupt
Channel-lock
Emergency button
Better waterproofing
Cons
Requires a dealer or system analyst to program
High cost
FAQs
How to lock keys on a Motorola XPR 7550e
You can lock or unlock your keypad using two methods. The first method is more or less like a short cut.
First method
Press the ok button, followed by the * button.
Second method
1) Press the ok button to access the menu option
2) Navigate using the upward or downward key to select utilities. Hit the Ok button
3) Again, Navigate using the upward or downward key to choose a radio setting. Press ok
4) Navigating upward or downward, select keypad lock and click ok.
If the keypad locks, the display will show a key padlock. If it is unlocked, it will show keypad unlock.
Conclusion
As you might have noticed from this review, the Motorola XPR 7550e radio is incredible. It has so many functions for solving the different communication problems professionals face at work. The attention paid to detail while designing this radio is simply impeccable.
This radio encourages teamwork and safety. With this Motorola radio, you can be sure that both the user and the radio can be found anytime should an accident occur. Coupled with that is the fact that your information and data can stay secure with no compromise.
The radio is even supported by many system technologies like site connect, capacity plus, wave on cloud, connect plus, and others are giving it more functions and incredible abilities. The best part is that it has been designed to work well with different Motorola XPR 7550e accessories, further improving your user experience.
One of the downsides of radios with multiple functionalities is that it’s usually a war for self-programming to work, so Motorola solutions recommend that your dealer or system analyst program the radio.
As expected from a radio this reliable and helpful, it is expensive, but it is worth every penny. Looking at the functions provided by Motorola XPR 7550 and it’s durability, including the five-year warranty offered by the Motorola solutions, I can boldly say that it is an investment you won’t regret.
Suppose you are a professional that takes pride in getting your job done fast, easily and efficiently while minimizing risks and making the most of your time. In that case, you know what radio to get, the Motorola XPR 7550e radio.
