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The Quantar & Quantro Station Index Page Compiled by Robert Meister WA1MIK and Mike Morris WA6ILQ The page maintainer got so much email about Quantars that he had to remove his contact information.

Here are some of the major differences between the Quantar and the Quantro:

• The Quantar is completely self-contained in one unit. For battery backup or revert, it requires 24-28 volts.
• The Quantro is a Quantar station with one or two external power supplies and amplifiers from an MSF5000 station. Everything runs from 12-14 volts.
• Some people prefer the Quantro because a variety of power supplies can be used and because used MSF5000 amplifiers are usually less expensive than those for the Quantar. On the other hand, the Quantro takes up more rack space than the Quantar because of the external power supplies and amplifiers.
• Because of the external power amps, there are versions of the Quantro that can put out more power than the Quantar. There are versions that use two MSF5000 amplifiers.
• The same software is used to program both units.

As of December 31, 2020 the Quantar radios are no longer supported by Motorola.

The Quantar ranges are as follows:
VHF Range 1: 132-154 MHz.

VHF Range 2: 146-174 MHz.   Some specification sheets say 150-174 MHz.

UHF Range 1: 380-433 MHz.

UHF Range 2: 438-470 MHz.

UHF Range 3: 470-512 MHz.

A different manual says R0=380-433, R1=403-433, R2=438-470 , R3=470-494, R4=494-520

Usually the VCOs will lock a couple of MHz above and below...

The CPS is RVN5002. Early versions would not work on 64 bit windows. The later CPS locked you into narrowband unless you had an entitlement key.
Version 14.10 and earlier allow wideband. I don't know which version was the one that forced the unit into narrowband. The last version was R14.13.00.
The cable is a a nine-pin male (Quantar end) to nine-pin female (computer end) null-modem cable (Motorola part number is 30-80369E31) but you can make one yourself.

1 no connection
2 <=> 3
3 <=> 2
4 no connection
5 <=> 5
6 no connection
7 <=> 8
8 <=> 7
9 no connection

Articles and Brochures:

	Ordering a Quantar Station   Compiled by Robert W. Meister WA1MIK A list of the major categories one would need to specify if ordering a new station. Now you can understand why model numbers are so hard to come by and could be nearly meaningless.
	General Quantar Info from Motorola Electronic Catalog   175 kB PDF file Equipment, options, descriptions, and prices. From September 2003.
	VHF Quantar Station Specifications brochure   266 kB PDF file
	UHF Quantar Station Specifications brochure   98 kB PDF file
	Quantar and Astro-TAC Stations brochure   2 MB PDF file
	Quantar and Astro-TAC Receivers Specifications brochure   110 kB PDF file
	Quantar Field Replaceable Units   Compiled by Robert W. Meister WA1MIK Lists of the various FRU part numbers which should tell you what your station is equipped with.
	An Overview and Beginner's Guide to Interfacing the Quantar station   Reworked by Robert W. Meister WA1MIK Images show the major assemblies and all rear panel connectors. Describes the most common interfacing signals.
	Identifying a Quantar Station   Submitted by Martin A Flynn W2RWJ Useful information and selection suggestions, plus lists of module numbers.
	Quantar Enhanced Wildcard Features Without Leaving In The Enhanced Board   Submitted by Josh Heide K6ZRX This programming feature was discovered purely by accident, but it opens up possibilities.
	Mike's Miscellaneous Motorola Minutia page   Compiled by Mike Morris WA6ILQ Additional Quantar tidbits and helpful parts information.
	One person reported "I was able to convert/tune an R2 range receiver down to 144. Looks like the receiver has two VCOs, one for each of the bands, high and low. When I tried to program it below 145.6 MHz the Rx1 indicator flashed red. I figured the VCO was out of lock. There are two coils in one shielded section of the receiver PC Board which I found to be the VCO coils. I'm not sure yet which one is which, but I tuned each one turn clockwise then the Rx1 indicator went green. I was able to tune the R2 preselector with no problem down to 144. There was no issue with the high range exciter and PA using it for the low range down to 144."
	The Transmitter audio input impedance is unusually low, about 500 ohms. Some external audio sources (like some amateur radio repeater controllers) do not have sufficient audio level. This can be cured with an external amplifier, or modifying the external device for a higher level.
	The Quantar power supply fan can be replaced by the ADDA AD0912HB-A73GL-LF. This is a 92mm x 92mm X 20mm fan with the tachometer leads. They are stocked by Mouser as part number 664-D0912HBA73GLLF.
	W9CR's Quantar Wiki page contains even more Quantar tidbits and helpful parts information.

Manuals:

As long as the Quantar and Quantro are current Motorola products, most of the later manuals are still available for purchase. The prices listed below should be taken only as a rough guideline. Motorola adjusts prices quarterly, and offers one set of prices to their dealers / service shops, another on their order desk, and a third to self-maintaining fleet customers (i.e. police departments, fire departments, etc).

As of April 2011 the available Quantar manuals are:

	6881088E90 Quantar Service Manual -   This is the service manual for Quantar, Quantro, DSS-III, ASTRO-TAC Comparator, ASTRO-TAC receiver. It includes schematics, part location details, and parts lists, for every module EXCEPT the power supplies. This manual is over five inches thick.
	6881095E10 Quantar User Guide
	6871012P36 Quantar Instruction Manual on CD-ROM
	6881127E40 Quantar Repeater/SAM Manual
	6881085E35 Quantar/Quantro RSS manual
	6881088E90 Quantar/Quantro Service manual
	RVN5002AZ Programming Software, current version (as of March 2011) is R14.09.01

Plus there are various separate Functional manuals for each of the above product lines. If anyone has relevant part numbers, with or without prices, please let us know.

PDF versions of any currently available manual won't be posted here at Repeater-Builder. The older manuals that are Cancelled or No Longer Available (NLA) are a different story.

	Quantar RSS Instruction Manual 6881085E35-AG   20 MB PDF file.
	Quantar Digital-Capable Station Instruction manual, p/n 6881095E05, scan courtesy of Eric Lemmon WB6FLY. This manual includes station installation, module configuration and removal, and all interfacing information for the Conventional, SECURENET, ASTRO, 6809 Trunking, and IntelliRepeater systems on VHF (25 and 125 watt), UHF (25, 100, and 110 watt), 800 MHz (20 and 100 watt) and 900 MHz (100 watt). When it was available in paper form it was over two inches thick. Part 1, Front Matter   836 kB PDF file. Part 2, Description   1.14 MB PDF file. Part 3 Installation   2.8 MB PDF file. Part 4 Operation and Maintenance   2.7 MB PDF file. Part 5 Receiver Modules   3.1 MB PDF file. Part 6 Transmitter Modules   3.16 MB PDF file. Part 7 Station Control Modules   7.1 MB PDF file. Part 8 Wireline Interface Modules   2.98 MB PDF file. Part 9 Station Backplane Board   1.1 MB PDF file. Part 10 Power Supply Modules   7.8 MB PDF file. Part 11 Antenna Relay and Circulators   1.95 MB PDF file. Part 12 Duplexers   3.06 MB PDF file. One of the options from Motorola for the VHF, UHF and 800/900 MHz Quantar units is an in-cabinet duplexer. Each section includes a description, an adjustments procedure, performance specifications, rack mounting informaiton, and a field tuning procedure. See the files below for the option number to use when ordering a duplexer. VHF: (Click here for the VHF section only - 762 kB PDF file.) The unit that Motorola supplies is a relabeled Celwave model PD5042-1 and is factory tuned to your frequency before shipping. The performance of this six-cavity pass-notch duplexer can be better than 100 dB isolation between transmitter and receiver. UHF: (Click here for the UHF section only - 735 kB PDF file.) This duplexer is identical to the RFS/Celwave PD526-4-2 and is factory tuned to your frequency before shipping. The performance of this six-cavity pass-notch duplexer usually exceeds 100 dB isolation between transmitter and receiver. 800/900 MHz: (Click here for the 800/900 MHz section only - 374 kB PDF file.) Part 13 Modem, Peripheral Tray and Ultra High Stability Oscillator (UHSO)   1.28 MB PDF file. Part 14 Station Configuration   4.11 MB PDF file. Part 15 Station Interfacing   1.6 MB PDF file. All of the above 15 sections as a single file (none of the SMRs below are included)   22 MB PDF file. Quantar Instruction Manual Revision SMR6815 dated August 2005   65 kB PDF file. Don't bother printing this one - it's just a text change ("from '95% relative humidity' to '95% relative humidity, non-condensing') plus a European Union legality notice. Quantar Instruction Manual Revision SMR6868 dated January 2007   167 kB PDF file. This SMR describes a VHF Power Amplifier Module change - models TLD3101G and TLD3102G have been replaced by CLD1298A and CLD1299A, respectively. It also instructs you to toss the removed pages on the old modules. I wouldn't - you never know when you will stumble across an older module and wish you had the info... Quantar Instruction Manual Revision SMR6901 dated Febuary 2008 3.14 MB PDF file. This SMR added information on the new station control modules (CLN8426A, CLN8447A, CLN8426A and CLN8447A). It is 45 pages long and replaces major sections of the manual index and several other pages. Quantar Instruction Manual Revision SMR6915 dated April 2008   102 kB PDF file. This one-page SMR describes a one-word correction to SMR6901. All of the above 15 sections plus the four SMRs as a single PDF file.   25 MB PDF file. The entire original Instruction manual, not scanned; no SMRs   4.5 MB PDF file.
	Quantar PDR 3500 Portable Repeater Basic Service Manual 6881093C75-O   780 kB PDF file.

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This page created 02-Sep-2009.

This web page, this web site, the information presented in and on its pages and in these modifications and conversions is © Copyrighted 1995 and (date of last update) by Kevin Custer W3KKC and multiple originating authors. All Rights Reserved, including that of paper and web publication elsewhere.