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Motorola SABER RSS
Radio Service Software
Most, if not all, Motorola 2-way radios can be programmed by means of a dedicated purpose-written piece
of software, called Radio Service Software or RSS for short. Every type of radio, and sometime even
every individual model, requires its own RSS. This page deals with programming a standard SABER I, II or
III hand-held radio. It allows channels to be assigned with a frequency, output power, CTCSS and many
other features that the radio is capable of.
As the SABER radios were developed in the late
1980s, it should be noted that the RSS was also
developed in that era. As a result, it won't run on a
modern Windows-based computer. Please read this
page carefully before attempting to program the
radio. In particular read the warning below.
Furthermore, you should get yourself a copy of the
RSS User's Guide [1], as the software is not self-
explanatory and most of the options have a rather
cryptic desciption. The User's Guide gives a detailed
explanation of each of the options and comes with a
number of examples.
The configuration data of a SABER radio, is called a
codeplug
. A codeplug defines the features of the radio,
but also the channels and their properties (e.g. CTCSS). The RSS allows codeplugs to be read from a radio,
store them to disc, modify them, and write them back to the radio.
Before attempting to write a configuration to a radio, it would be wise to read the current status of the radio
first, and store this codeplug on your harddisc. If something goes wrong when programming the radio, you
can use this 'golden' codeplug to restore your precious radio. Also, before you start, make sure you read
and understand the RSS User's Guide.
Warning
Please note that the SABER RSS can not run on a Windows-based computer or anything that is faster than,
say, 50 MHz, not even when running it in the DOS shell. The software was written in the late 1980s and
contains timing loops that are based on the speed of a PC of that era. Faster computers will attempt to write
the data at a higher rate, resulting in corrupted radios. Although this sounds serious, it is possible to recover
such radios once the data rate is correct again.
Prerequisites
In order to program a SABER radio, the following is required:
Old 386 PC with DOS
This is probably the most difficult-to-find part. As the RSS software was written many years ago
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