I have observed that a significant number of Motorola users within the ham radio community tend to display discontent toward individuals utilizing traditional ham radios. This behavior may stem from overcompensation or a desire to feel elite. Notably, I am acquainted with several ham radio operators who use Motorola equipment and do not exhibit this behavior, although they appear to be in the minority. It is troubling to witness individuals within a group disparaging average ham radio users for not utilizing Motorola equipment, as this behavior can be perceived as a form of bullying. Sooo, here what comes to my mind when I run across posts from the Motorola elitists.
1. Appliance Operator: While this term is used for any ham who doesn't build their own gear, it is frequently leveled at Motorola users. Because Motorola radios are "channel-steered" (meaning you can't just spin a dial to change frequencies; you have to pre-program them via computer), purists call them appliance operators—implying they are just "pushing buttons" on a sealed black box they don't truly understand or control.
2. Batwing Brigade: This is a direct reference to the Motorola logo, which looks like a stylized "M" but is universally nicknamed the "Batwing." If someone is said to be "part of the Batwing Brigade," they are likely someone who spent $4,000 on a radio just to check into a local $25 repeater net.
3. Commercial gear Elitists: They enjoy the "over-engineering" of the radios but often struggle with the fact that these radios are notoriously difficult to program (requiring expensive, proprietary CPS software).
4. Whacker: While a "whacker" generally refers to someone obsessed with looking like first responders (flashing lights, many antennas, and tactical vests), the term often overlaps with the Motorola crowd. These are the guys who carry an $8,000 APX handheld to talk on a local repeater just to look "official."
In closing, whether you use a $50 Baofeng or an $8k Motorola, we’re all in this hobby together. Truth be told in this modern era of large networking, multimode infrastructures, it’s extremely hard to tell the difference on air anymore. Use what makes you happy and gets the job done. If I wanted Motorola products I would simply go purchase them but when Anytone, TYT or Yaesu etc will do the job, and do it exeptionally well, then thats enough for me. 73’
