Newbie with a question

[luckyvision]

Hi all,
My Sons have organized an impromptu Airsoft league. I picked up 4 used Motorola RVD2020 (RDX series) radios with RLN6423A earpiece & ppt clip microphone, chargers & paperwork at a rummage sale for $100 total.. great deal i think. they all work well.

According to the documentation they can be set up for VOX operation, but a motorola USB cable is required. i can't localy find the cable. i can find it on the net for about $40, but.. well i'm cheap, lol.

is there a way around the cable, or a way to ..hack i guess, a regular USB cable? or at least an alternative that will work cheaper? the software doesn't recognise the radios on a regular USB cable.

Thanks for your time!
--Lucky

[W2NJS]

Um, not to spoil your fun but what kind of FCC license do you have for these radios?

[MOONBOOTS]

It's better to pay the $ to get a working cable, than to try & make your own. If the download should fail, the radio could be bricked. Try to get the cable from a reliable source. Factory is best, but there are some decent aftermarket cables that are OK. You certainly don't want to use a cheap cable on a XTS5000, but for your inexpensive radios, you don't have much to lose. Have fun with those guns. GARY N4KVE

[luckyvision]

Thanks Moonboots, appreciate the info, will order the proper cable..

Originally Posted by W2NJS

Um, not to spoil your fun but what kind of FCC license do you have for these radios?

Wow W2NJS, You must be great fun on a date! lol... I have all the licences, in triplicate posted on the wall where the kids meet. Also, We, in the future, will require every new member to have a copy of the licence tatooed on their rear end, so the Feds don't think they're some kind of kids terrorist group waiting to ambush the ice cream truck...

They are business radios, & anyone can buy them at good 'ole Ace Hardware without a background check or 3 day wait. just like an airsoft gun...

Thanks for asking.

[WV8VFD]

Originally Posted by luckyvision

Wow W2NJS, You must be great fun on a date! lol... I have all the licences, in triplicate posted on the wall where the kids meet. Also, We, in the future, will require every new member to have a copy of the licence tatooed on their rear end, so the Feds don't think they're some kind of kids terrorist group waiting to ambush the ice cream truck...

They are business radios, & anyone can buy them at good 'ole Ace Hardware without a background check or 3 day wait. just like an airsoft gun...

Thanks for asking.

Not to sound like an a** here, but unless you plan on using them for MURS if they're VHF radios, it will require a license. If they are UHF, each person that isnt direct family has to have an $85 GMRS license. Your best bet would be MURS.

And where is this ACE hardware that sells motorola business grade radios? They may sell bubble pack FRS radios, but last time I checked Motorola didn't let hardware stores and walmart sell their professional grade radios.

[luckyvision]

I garentee ppl buying these online don't have licences..
found thru a google serch:

Ace

[W2NJS]

Lucky,

Just trying to save you some expensive embarrassment, that's all. The radios you mentioned are UHF only and as such require a license from the FCC, whether you like it or not. I personally don't care if your a** ends up being prosecuted, but the fact is you can't willy nilly go and run your own radios, except under certain restrictive conditions which your radios don't meet, without a license, that's all.

[Luis_R]

Originally Posted by W2NJS

Lucky,

The radios you mentioned are UHF only and as such require a license from the FCC, but the fact is you can't willy nilly go and run your own radios, except under certain restrictive conditions which your radios don't meet, without a license, that's all.

Wrong, the radios he has are VHF low power and as such can be used on itinerant frequencies, as well as some unlicensed MURS freqs. No license required.

[W2NJS]

Luis,

All itinerant frequencies require a license, and yes, these radios do come in VHF, too, but their use on MURS channels is questionable. I honestly don't care whether the guy gets a license or not, but that
should be his choice and he should be informed of the serious consequences if he gets caught by the
FCC (admittedly not very likely) for unlicensed operation.

[Ensnared]

I tried MURS prior to purchasing a RS GMRS. In fairly flat terrain, MURS did not transmit quite as far. I am waiting on the FCC to neutralize GMRS licensing. I refuse to pay another hefty licensing fee. I'll wait.

[TroyLynx]

In the United States, the Multi-Use Radio Service (MURS) is an unlicensed two-way radio service similar to Citizens Band (CB). Established by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission in the fall of 2000, MURS created a radio service allowing for unlicensed (Part 95) operation, with a power limit of 2 watts. The FCC formally defines MURS as "a private, two-way, short-distance voice or data communications service for personal or business activities of the general public." MURS stations may not be connected to the public telephone network, may not be used for store and forward operations, and radio repeaters are not permitted.

Channel Frequency Authorized bandwidth Channel Name
1 151.820 MHz 11.25 kHz N/A
2 151.880 MHz 11.25 kHz N/A
3 151.940 MHz 11.25 kHz N/A
4 154.570 MHz 20.00 kHz Blue Dot
5 154.600 MHz 20.00 kHz Green Dot

[Luis_R]

Originally Posted by W2NJS

Luis,

All itinerant frequencies require a license, and yes, these radios do come in VHF, too, but their use on MURS channels is questionable. I honestly don't care whether the guy gets a license or not, but that
should be his choice and he should be informed of the serious consequences if he gets caught by the
FCC (admittedly not very likely) for unlicensed operation.

Even tho it's not Part 95 with the radio being able to do narrow band and being a 2 watt radio chances are he's ok. Now if the radios were from the RDM series then no problems at all for use on the unlicensed MURS freqs ( matter of fact they already come preprogrammed with them ). But, if it was me, I would get a GMRS license as you stated and save myself the trouble ( I mean for $85 ) why not?? Better than a $400 - $1000 fine.

[wyomingmedic]

Here is my experience with airsoft and radio comms. I have played airsoft for the past 5 years, and I like to frequent BIG regional games. Usually, these are held on private pieces of land.

I have had several owners check each and every 2way radio being used. They are learning that they are responsible (or COULD be) for the communications that happen on their property and don't want any problems from locals or feds.

So if you are planning on the kids going to big games, you really do need to make sure the radios are legal. IF a field owner gets a complaint about folks on his field who are interfering with licensed users, they have been known to 86 players. This became a problem a few years ago with a company called Dragonredairsoft.com who sells non FCC compliant rigs over their website. A TON of them hit the U.S. airsoft fields (because they look identical to the military Thales HTs) and FCC letters started flying.

WM

*edit* Here is the link to the radios from Dragon Red. These are the Gen4 and it looks like they can actually be set on the correct FRS frequencies for U.S. and EU PMR. The Gen3 could not and folks were setting them "close" to the correct frequency and interfering with licensed businesses. Plus, these are field programmable from 400 to 470 MHz. So kids were putting them ANYWHERE. These radios are why you need to watch yourself when it comes to airsoft games. Because others ARE watching.

[Ensnared]

I'll wait and see if they eliminate the license. Truthfully, I only used the pair of radios at Mardi Gras in Galveston, Texas.