a good radio?

Radios and communication related equipment.

a good radio?

Postby redneck1 » Wed Jul 11, 2012 4:07 pm

Need some help on selecting a good radio? I plan on getting a set of sordins but I have no idea on what radio is good or what to get. I have heard that a lot of people like icom but I have know experience using such radios or programming them. If you know of a good radio chime in I’m just looking for some good advice on what radio to get! not looking for cheap talkabout type im looking for a good military type handset.
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Re: a good radio?

Postby Archangel 06 » Wed Jul 11, 2012 7:10 pm

You need to decide what band you're going to be talking on first.

Previous Rant RE: Comms (somewhat out of context, but I'm too lazy to type something else up) wrote:Ok, I'm gonna voice a pet peeve here. The "motorolas" everyone keeps talking about - that's not what they are. They are FRS (Family Radio Service) radios. Multiple companies make FRS radios. We also have people in the community that use Tri-Square (Truly their own system), Land Mobile, Business, CB? (Do we have anyone that actually uses CB?), Amateur, and I think some MURS (Multiple-Use Radio System). In those groupings are different price ranges. Each grouping also has its pro's and con's as far as performance. Please, decide what SYSTEM you will use, then decide what brand so as to figure out how much it will cost to outfit your team.
Nasty wrote:TM preforms so well because all TM's have little fairies living in the hopups and gearboxes that give awesome accuracy, but as soon as you take them apart and modify them, the fairies fly away.

It is common knowledge.
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Re: a good radio?

Postby wurger » Wed Jul 11, 2012 8:18 pm

Speaking from experience, a 5w UHF programmable radio will always be superior to the cheaper Talkabout type radio, assuming you have preassigned frequencies. The biggest drawback to the business class radios is the inability to change the presets in the field (without a computer). I play at large open fields in SoCal. The fields are very rocky, and the large rocks just suck up the signals from the low power Talkabout/Midland radios I used to use. My Icom burns through the rocks, and I never have trouble communicating with other Icom/Motorola/Kenwood users. And our common fields are large enough that I can easily be a mile or more away from the recipient of my signal.

Just don't get a GP-68. It will never work right with US spec radios.
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Re: a good radio?

Postby Archangel 06 » Wed Jul 11, 2012 9:31 pm

Speaking from experience, a 5w UHF programmable radio will always be superior to the cheaper Talkabout type radio, assuming you have preassigned frequencies.
That's illegal. The frequencies the "Talkabout" radios (Family Radio Service) are programmed for allow you to use .5 watts. A special FCC license is needed to use over .5 watts PEP on channels 1-14. You are allowed higher power on GMRS frequencies, but for those you also need a license.

My Icom burns through the rocks, and I never have trouble communicating with other Icom/Motorola/Kenwood users. And our common fields are large enough that I can easily be a mile or more away from the recipient of my signal.
What's causing that difference is that these commercially licensed UHF handhelds have far better antennas and higher power output (5 watts). They would perform the exact same on the FRS frequencies, if that were legal.

Also, before someone whines about me getting "technical", here are a few of my qualifications:
Seattle Office of Emergency Management SRAD-O (Senior Radio Operator)
Clackamas Emergency Manager's Office RAD-O (Radio Operator)
General Class Amateur Radio License
Intern for Icom America
Nasty wrote:TM preforms so well because all TM's have little fairies living in the hopups and gearboxes that give awesome accuracy, but as soon as you take them apart and modify them, the fairies fly away.

It is common knowledge.
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Re: a good radio?

Postby wurger » Wed Jul 11, 2012 9:48 pm

Archangel 06 wrote:That's illegal. The frequencies the "Talkabout" radios (Family Radio Service) are programmed for allow you to use .5 watts. A special FCC license is needed to use over .5 watts PEP on channels 1-14. You are allowed higher power on GMRS frequencies, but for those you also need a license.


Yep, have one.
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Re: a good radio?

Postby Diegunner » Thu Jul 12, 2012 12:04 am

Unless you wave it in front of the police saying this is illegal I really think they have bigger problems then someone with a radio.
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Re: a good radio?

Postby redneck1 » Fri Jul 13, 2012 4:26 pm

What icom do u run and how do u program them.
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Re: a good radio?

Postby Archangel 06 » Fri Jul 13, 2012 7:33 pm

I was issued an IC-F9021T (UHF P25 Digital), and I programmed it at work. I also currently have an IC-F4261DT (UHF IDAS Digital) that I'm getting familiar with. Again, programmed at work.
Nasty wrote:TM preforms so well because all TM's have little fairies living in the hopups and gearboxes that give awesome accuracy, but as soon as you take them apart and modify them, the fairies fly away.

It is common knowledge.
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Re: a good radio?

Postby wurger » Fri Jul 13, 2012 9:40 pm

redneck1 wrote:What icom do u run and how do u program them.


F-4001. Program via Icomm software and USB cable. Unfortunately 32bit OS only, so I have to keep an old computer around in case I need to change freq's.
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