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UV-5R for Public Safety

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mipsyop

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I just got hired as an on-call EMT for a local service and have a UV-5R that i use for skywarn and other lical events. My question is as follows.... (Please forgive me if this is a dumb question). I entered my county's fire frequency which has a csq, when i keyed the mic, there was a sound like a phone dialing. I then released the button without trying to voice test to see if it worked because i was afraid i may have done something incorrectly. Just wondering if this is normal as i dont hear this when the county or other radios communicate on this channel. Is this my radio or can it not be used for pub safety??? Thx!!!!
 

prcguy

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The radio is FCC type accepted and can be legally used but you need the licensees permission to transmit on their frequency. It most certainly would be narrow band. Are all the parameters programmed properly? If its a repeater I doubt it would be csq on transmit.
prcguy
 

mipsyop

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Thx for the reply. Not sure about parameters. My pc and programming software aren't playing well with the radio. No response from radio error message. I will look into everything else. :)


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robertmac

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Not very familiar with the radio, but these CCR probably are not best for public service use. Does it have DTMF dialer turned on? Is the roger beep [for lack of better terminology] turned on? Does it have a tone burst turned on [for European repeater access]? Just some things to look at on the manual and computer programming.
 

quarterwave

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Observations:

Yes you could use this radio for PS, however as an owner of one, I would not recommend it.

The unit is great for hobby use, it is quirky and unless you lock it down right, you may not be able to mash the PTT and be talking on the right freq when you need to. It just doesn't compare to real purpose built radio for commercial use.

The SW can be funky to get going, I turn my radio on AFTER I plug in the cable, and you need to select the right port. Sometimes, I still get an error but try again with success.

If you use it for this service, I would turn the dual band/channel off so that it is on a single channel at one time and cannot toggle to the last channel received in (in dual mode) thus making you check the screen and toggle your A/B before you TX. You can also lock the keypad from the keypad.

Verify your departments freq...just because people listen to it with no tone doesnt mean there is none, or a repeater. Also, be aware they may use "talk around" when on site, and you'll need to program that too.

I would buy something like a P1225 or something for budget conscious use if you a volunteer, etc trying to get started. It can be programmed as a pager, and then operate on your freqs with no confusion.

It's the same reasoning you don't put HAM-like radios in cop cars....don't need fancy, you need capable, but easy to use. In the middle of a situation, there is no time to devote to "fiddling" with your rig.
 

quarterwave

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If it's this:

154.40000 WNPH478 BM CSQ STRN PAGE Fire Paging - ARMER TG 24822 FMN Multi-Dispatch

You may want to be sure they even use it for comms beyond paging. That may be why it is listed as no-pl or even be no-pl. It appears it could be a simulcast off of a trunked system talk group.

My local FD does this. They are on the state-wide system, but the patch their old VHF in to TX pages and dispatches only (from the console) so the surrounding departments, and off duty guys with VHF pagers can be reached.

In other words, they don't actually do business on VHF, but they simulcast dispatches there for convenience.
 

mipsyop

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Sauk Rapids, MN
With the radio on that channel, i hear traffic, but good point about simulcast. That's most likely the case. Oh well, at least i can hear what im getting into!!! Lol


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Elfnetdesigns

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A lot of fire and EMS use the same frequency for 2-way traffic and paging messages. 2-way traffic is usually separated by a PL/DPL tone where pages use 2-tone or POCSAG encoding.

You may want to see if your supervisor or fire chief has the frequencies and tones you need to allow the radio to be programmed correctly.
 

SCPD

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I wouldn't reccomend it for two way public safety fire critical missions or law enforcement critical missions. As a interoperability side radio for monitoring I'd say yeah. It is handy as it is dual band and can monitor interop channels. As a monitor for a pager channel I'd say yeah however it does not do two tone or any paging capabilities. It would be just monitoring everything unless your dept uses a specific Pl so only your traffic gets heard to you.
 

MTS2000des

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aside from the other comments about the UV5R not being fit for public safety use, when programming any subscriber radio/device, you should always consult the licensee to verify frequencies/PL/DPL, offsets, bandwidth, etc before programming anything used for duty use.

And of course obtain authorization from them and your dept before using any personally owned equipment.
 

KC9HI

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I just got hired as an on-call EMT for a local service and have a UV-5R that i use for skywarn and other lical events. My question is as follows.... (Please forgive me if this is a dumb question). I entered my county's fire frequency which has a csq, when i keyed the mic, there was a sound like a phone dialing. I then released the button without trying to voice test to see if it worked because i was afraid i may have done something incorrectly. Just wondering if this is normal as i dont hear this when the county or other radios communicate on this channel. Is this my radio or can it not be used for pub safety??? Thx!!!!

You've programmed a PTT-ID for the channel that you are using. One of 15 PTT-IDs can be programmed on each channel to transmit at the beginning, end or both beginning and end of a transmission. Each PTT-ID is an up to 5-digit DTMF signal. Just reprogram the channel with PTT-ID disabled.

Jim KC9HI
 

JASII

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Mipsyop,

Stearns County is on ARMER. The paging is on the frequency you mentioned and when you hear traffic it is being patched from the ARMER system. That little portable will do a great job for receiving 154.400, but you need an ARMER radio to communicate back to Stearns County Sheriff's Office.
 

12dbsinad

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Mar 15, 2010
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I'm not real familiar with these cheap little radios, but are these units still being sold with both wide/narrow capability? And if so, how are they able to get away with a part 90 certification if it is not restricted to narrow only on part 90 frequencies?
 
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nd5y

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Dec 19, 2002
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Wichita Falls, TX
are these units still being sold with both wide/narrow capability?
Yes. You can program any frequency as wide or narrow.

how are they able to get away with a part 90 certification if it is not restricted to narrow only on part 90 frequencies?
You'll have to ask the FCC why they were certified at all to begin with. They are also capable of front panel programming and VFO operation out of the box.
 
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