Most of the times I've seen a CDM with problems, it was because somebody was hacking around with the software. If there is a plus, the CDM has some pretty good audio quality - and their reliability is also good. Older Kenwood software can have some of the same issues running on newer Operating systems, but in general the Kenwood stuff is easier to acquire and use. I'm glad you found your way to The stuff they sell is pretty decent at prices comparable to what you might see on Ebay - but as you found out, they'll also do the programming, which can save you some money and some hassles if you really just wanted to buy a radio you can count on right away. Heck, I remember getting a call from a guy with 40+ years radio experience because he couldn't figure out the 'Personality assignment to zone' feature Motorola tossed in at the bottom of the CDM programming tree (it's not a bug - it's a FEATURE!). I'd agree that trying to set up the software and program a CDM radio can be a daunting task for someone new to radios. I'll post and update after I get it connected and on the air. Oh well, for what I have into the Motorola, my intended use and it is a solid radio, it should work fine. It seems that programming for that is much simpler. Looking back (hindsight is 20/20) I wish I would have gone with a Kenwood. If I do, I'll eat the cost and time to ship it back to them and have them take care of it. This is going to be a simple base station unit and I don't need to be making changes to the programmed 'channels' or frequencies. They did some additional programming for me (no charge) and it shipped today. I contacted and luckily caught them before finishing my radio. Too many hurdles, headaches and work arounds for me. Not to mention, you would need a computer running NOTHING newer than Win 8 to run the software. You can official buy a subscription to the software direct from Moto but for the cost you could buy a new radio set up for GMRS, no programming needed. Do a quick search on Chirp, nothing shows there.

With Motorola, they are proprietary in their programming software.

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