United Star AN/PRC-148 MBITR
There currently two offerings: the Spartan and Tactical Workshop working MBITR repros. I personally have no experience with them. There's also a few dummies, the Spartan being usually considered as the only one worthy. But... what about this new contender? A complete set with working military connectors, antennas and competitive functionnality for under 300$... Mmm...
For your pleasure, me and my teammate Yannos ordered two of these : to complete our setups (reenacting), have a good radio and be the early adopters to test them for you!
They are available from several retailers. A group order will also be made here on ASC to save you some money and cross-border trouble
Basic Information
The testing units are 2nd batch (November 2010), recognized by the "CCI" sticker on top. For those who saw Jimmy Sjogren's review (
here) might notice that his review unit does not have this sticker which probably explains the differences with ours. "Real Deal" information:
Wikipedia,
Thales (Official manufacturer's website)
Technical specs
- Adjustable stepping (5kHz/6.25kHz/10kHz/12.5kHz/25kHz/50kHz)
- Adjustable transmitting power (0.5W/1W/2W/3W/4W/5W)
- 100 Memory frequencies
- Editable channel name
- Voce emission feature (VOX)
- Battery indicator
- Cable replication
- Adjustable backlight brightness
- Lockable channel mode
- 2000 mAh lithium battery
- Headset compatibility: U283/U (electret microphones, or condenser with specific PTT) and Kenwood 2-pins.
- Antenna compatibility: TNC
Packaging
- 2000 mAh lithium battery pack
- 0.34m (13.5po) short antenna
- 1.2m (4ft) blade antenna
- 1.1m (45po) antenna relocation cable + MOLLE clamp
- Power adapter (battery charger)
- Programming cable (serial plug... some people might need a USB adapter)
- Programming software (see post #2)
- User's manual (relatively good english, modern chinese, traditional chinese)
- Wrist lanyard
- Radio procedures sticker (Medevac/air support/deliberate attack considerations)
Review
Pictures (from the web, I'll take some myself later)
As you can see, the kit is complete. Comes with all you need to use it right away including -something I especially appreciate- United-Star's own version of the Antenna Relocation kit, which allows to install the large antenna on the back of a plate carrier if needed. Unfortunately, the included programming cable uses serial plugs which are getting phased out of most modern computers... You will need either a USB adapter (which might be tricky and cause drivers issues) or, my personal choice, just buy a USB programming cable. Being compatible with Kenwood cables (Kenwood, Puxing, Wouxun, etc... most midrange chinese 4/5W radios) makes it relatively easy to find.
Only thing that seems a bit less professional are the software miniCDs which are blank (not United-Star branded) and... don't always work. Mine did, but I had to send the software to my teammate as his wasn't working for some reason.
Other than this issue, the radio is beautiful; even if it has a plastic outer casing, it has a nice weight, and doesn't have any play anywhere. It feels sturdy, and the plastic is hard (won't get scratched too easily). The U283 comes with a plastic cover, attached with a small lanyard. The channel selection knob clicks nicely in place and the rubber buttons feel great. The LCD is also easy to use.
It is not
waterproof, but it is
waterresistant. So... if it rains, you shouldn't have any issues. But it's not designed to be submerged, so I would be careful if I have to cross a river or similar situations.
Only complaint I have as far as the exterior goes is the volume knob; it turns too easily, I can definitely see it getting turned all the way up/down ingame, eventually causing communications issues. We'll see later if there's anything to be done about this. If you're using the Kenwood-type plug (or need to program the radio), just remove the two small screws on the "gold" panel at the right of the radio, and make sure you don't loose them!
EDIT: Now that I've gamed it, it is indeed easy to turn the volume button by accident... I personally just set it then added a small piece of ducktape to keep it in place, but I'll check if there's anything else I can do that's less ghetto.
A little realism thing...not huge, but still: the MAST (antenna relocation cable) ends aren't covered, so they are visibly shiny silver. Not a huge issue, but I would've liked if they were either rubber covered or anodized. This should be easy to change with a small piece of heat shrink of the proper diameter.
As far as antennas goes, it's using the TNC plug - same as the real antennas, which can be found on eBay! For those who would prefer more low-profile antennas, it's easy to find SMA adapters to use Puxing/Wouxun/etc antennas. The whip antenna looks good. The blade antenna also looks good; it stays straight in the air if let loose, but also folds down easily without excessive torsion (which could lead to cracks on the joints) if needed. Note that the whip only has the gooseneck part that's working - what's left (the blade itself) is just a dummy for the looks which screws and the tip of the gooseneck.
Don't forget that you need to put some force down, and keep it while screwing on.
The battery pack is detachable and the mecanism is firm, no play at all. Unfortunately, as of feb 26th, none is available separately. I asked the distributor who told be it's not currently planned,
but will see what can be done...
So far I used it for two game days (8h) without having to recharge it, so it should be good enough for most people during milsims under 48h (unless you're a designated radio operator and are constantly emitting).
As a base of comparison, a Puxing PX777 has a 1200 mAh battery... and I used had mine for 5 days in -25 weather on hike and it died on the 5th day. At 2000 mAh for the MBITR, it should definitely last long enough.
It comes with a "pin charger" (2,47mm diameter,
12V output, pending confirmation) which you just plug directly into the battery pack (see the small hole, on the battery below). Mine was North-American plug, which is correct for me. I do not know if there is an EU (or other standard) version.
Manual is bilingual (english/chinese). Not perfect, but totally understandable. That being said it's missing a section on software use (no manual on the CD, nothing in the booklet) and the section on programming directly on the radio is very basic, so you'll probably have to play around a bit. Anyone familiar with other radios shouldn't have a problem but newcomers to programmable radios will probably get lost in the options...
I will
try to write a basic guide, but anyone willing to help is very welcome!
Many have been asking questions about the U283 plug... well first of all,
it is fully working. However, the impedence it has been designed with means that you
cannot use condenser mics out of the box.
It will work with, assuming you have the proper plug:
- Davie's TASC1 (real)
- Bowman (real)
- Peltor COMTACI/II (real) with Element/Z-Tactical microphone (it's plug & play without modification)
- Any repro (Element/Z-Tactical) headset rewired with a U283
- Peltor COMTAC & MSA Sordins with impedence matching box/mpedence matching PTT
- H250 (real)
As you can see, given you have the right PTT, it can work with any headset. Otherwise, if it doesn't have the correct impedence, you won't be able to emit properly (reception will work perfectly).
The Kenwood plug will work with all the usual suspects (Z-Tactical/Element, Cavalvy, etc...)
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Q&A
Does it work on PMR frequencies?
Yes, it is adjustable within the software. I don't have any PMR radios (here in North-America, we're using FRS/GMRS frequencies) so I can't confirm, but based on the programming capabilities, it is. Emitting strenght is also programmable.
Is it compatible with FRS/GMRS?
Yes (well, 400-470), and yes, programmable either on the radio itself or on the software
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(This is my personal radio, which I've "dirtied" a bit with some light paint)
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NOTE TO ANYONE LOOKING TO BUY IT
For
both FRS/GMRS and PMR frequencies, you should get the
UHF 400-470mHz version.
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Bottomline: being someone who's striving for realism, I'm glad I bought it. Even with the little issues, which can all be solved somehow,
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Feel free to ask any other questions you might have! I will answer these to the best of my knowledge. Please post them in the topic (
not by PM) so it can benefit other members... it also allows other people to answer, which can be done much faster than just me. Thanks!
I hope you enjoyed this review and that it will help you make a good and informed decision!
See following post for downloads and other utilities.