IP Site Connect compatible radios

blhar15 · Feb 17, 2018

We are just getting a Motorola solution implemented and looking at using IP Site Connect to interconnect our various locations. Have a question about compatible radios. Are only the Motorola brand radios able to use this system? We need to buy a bulk of radios and looking for a less expensive solution.

Thank you in advance!

RadioGuy7268 · Feb 17, 2018

The big question is: Do you need the radios to roam automatically between sites?

If you plan to connect two (or more) distant locations together, and the radios will mostly stay "on-site" at their particular location, there is not much to be gained by automatic roaming. Any Tier II DMR radio could be configured to work within that system, and still access one (or two) wide area IP Site Connect slots on a properly configured DMR repeater.

If you have a large campus or huge multi-story building that requires contiguous coverage for mobile workers who will often roam between the two (or 3. or more) coverage areas, then you probably need the capability of automatic IP Site Connect roaming.

If you're already getting the system implemented, what did the salesperson tell you about your options? Was this question/budget concern made clear?

blhar15 · Feb 17, 2018

We are mainly doing this on our own right now with some help from a Motorola expert. We do not need roaming as the sites are many miles apart in a separate city. The question is how to configure those other DMR radios such as the TYT MD-390. We were testing this yesterday and was able to work with the Motorola XPR radios we have, but we were not able to get the TYT radios to work.

Thanks

N2AL · Feb 17, 2018

blhar15 said:
We are just getting a Motorola solution implemented and looking at using IP Site Connect to interconnect our various locations. Have a question about compatible radios. Are only the Motorola brand radios able to use this system? We need to buy a bulk of radios and looking for a less expensive solution.

Thank you in advance!

Look at Hytera system radios. I’ve used a similar system and the Hytera’s are able to function on the system for a fraction of the cost as it compares to a Motorola radio. Also last I checked, Hytera does not nickel and dime users for each added radio function, but Motorola does.

blhar15 · Feb 17, 2018

I have looked at the Hyteras but for a radio with a display, their least expensive model close in price to the basic Motorla such as the XPR3500e. Might as well go with Motorola in that case. I am hoping I can use something like the TYT or Anytone DMR radios with IP Site Connect. Those can be had for around $100 each versus $400 or $500.

Thanks

thassler · Feb 17, 2018

I know the MD-380's will work. People buy them around here to monitor our IPSC system. I program them as "Rx Only" but have also programmed a few for TX just to test. I wouldn't recommend them however even for just business use. The ones I've tested for transmit seem to interfere with the other slot sometimes.

RadioGuy7268 · Feb 17, 2018

If your Motorola expert is the one who configured the system, do they know that you are trying to get some inexpensive (and likely not FCC type accepted) radios on the system?

Do you have access to an existing Motorola codeplug? I'm assuming that you already know the frequency, color codes, and talkgroup ID's of the system. There are settings beyond that which can cause you problems if the sites are configured for Privacy.

While the DMR Motorola radios are made to be compatible with DMR Tier II standards, not all features and functions are always set to those standards. Motorola has some proprietary features that operate ' above' the DMR floor, and are not going to work with your less expensive choices.

If you've got an expert - they should have explained that to you already, or at least told you how the system was configured.

buddrousa · Feb 17, 2018

Does your Motorola EXPERT work for a Motorola Radio Shop or is he good at programming ebay bought Motorola Radios?

N2AL · Feb 17, 2018

blhar15 said:
I have looked at the Hyteras but for a radio with a display, their least expensive model close in price to the basic Motorla such as the XPR3500e. Might as well go with Motorola in that case. I am hoping I can use something like the TYT or Anytone DMR radios with IP Site Connect. Those can be had for around $100 each versus $400 or $500.

Thanks

If you are building a Land Mobile System, I urge you to heed this warning: STAY AWAY FROM CHINESE RADIOS!! TYT, Anytone, Baofeng, or any other knock offs.

Trust me when I say you get what you pay for, and those radios are liabilities on any Land Mobile Radio system. You are obviously investing a chunk of change on the repeater equipment, so whatever you do, don’t cheap out on the radios.

RFI-EMI-GUY · Feb 17, 2018

N2AL said:
If you are building a Land Mobile Staten, I urge you to heed this warning: STAY AWAY FROM CHINESE RADIOS!! TYT, Anytone, Baofeng, or any other knock offs.

Trust me when I say you get what you pay for, and those radios are liabilities on any Land Mobile Radio system. You are obviously investing a chunk of change on the repeater equipment, so whatever you do, don’t cheap out on the radios.

Ditto on that.

There are some cheap radios that have defective power ramp up/down waveform and they interfere with the adjacent time slot. A very basic DMR requirement that a caveman could do, but apparently not the Chinese engineers being caged up and paid with bowls of rice.

These cheap Chinese radios are a plague on the radio universe. DONT DO IT!

K2NEC · Feb 17, 2018

I hope you are kidding when you say that you want to use a TYT on an Motorola IPSC system.
Let's start by saying receiving IPSC and transmitting on it are 2 completely different stories. The only reason you can RX it is because you are only on 1 tower. For a system that needs to connect automatically to a site the TYT are NOT an option. Do not cheap out and go for cheaper radio's. They might just decide one day that they won't work (which is dangerous for the employees) and they aren't even compatible with IPSC. The best solution for this (in my opinion) are the XPR6550. If you don't need Motorola support these will do just fine. They do IPSC and also have Capacity Plus if you decide to upgrade one day. They also aren't as expensive as the XPR7550's because they are older. If you need support or warranty then the XPR7550's are your other option. Do yourself and your employees a favor and stay away from Chinese radio's. The TYT MD-380 is marketed as a commercial radio but is really only meant for HAM.

blhar15 · Feb 18, 2018

Thank you for the replies and understood. We were just looking for a less expensive option at first. We are a retail business so radios are not a critical thing, more of a convenience. This is new for us and I did not want to invest a ton of money to find out down the road our people do not utilize the system as much as we thought they would.

K2NEC · Feb 18, 2018

blhar15 said:
Thank you for the replies and understood. We were just looking for a less expensive option at first. We are a retail business so radios are not a critical thing, more of a convenience. This is new for us and I did not want to invest a ton of money to find out down the road our people do not utilize the system as much as we thought they would.

If you didn't want to invest in a lot of money you should have just went with analog

RFI-EMI-GUY · Feb 18, 2018

blhar15 said:
Thank you for the replies and understood. We were just looking for a less expensive option at first. We are a retail business so radios are not a critical thing, more of a convenience. This is new for us and I did not want to invest a ton of money to find out down the road our people do not utilize the system as much as we thought they would.

Limit the initial radios to workers who are on their feet and the receptionist. I would look for a bulk deal on some CP220d or SL300 radios for the workers and something higher tier for management that will have roaming capabilities. If you have a runner that goes between sites, he should have a mobile with roaming as well as a handheld with roaming. There are a lot of options, and as has been said the cheap radios will probably lessen the experience.

Hytera is a good brand and they may have roaming compatible with the IPSC. I have no first hand experience on the compatibility across brands.

The nice thing about IPSC roaming capabilities is that workers who are sent to other locations temporarily cannot forget to switch channels, which while might not seem to be a safety benefit for your needs, certainly is an operational benefit. Check the model feature set because some low tier models won't roam automatically or it is a cost option.

RFI-EMI-GUY · Feb 18, 2018

KD2LQG said:
If you didn't want to invest in a lot of money you should have just went with analog

He has multiple sites, so having the digital with IPSC makes connectivity over a WAN or LAN /VPN much easier. Plus with narrowbanding of Part 90, who wants the new crappy coverage of analog.

RFI-EMI-GUY · Feb 18, 2018

FYI the DMR technology is supported by a number of third party software and hardware vendors, so your retail operation might find that there is an inventory control software package that will allow workers to scan bar codes or take other data and enter into a database. Might save you money on locating inventory across sites. They even have software to track GPS and for Guard Tour so you can make sure security guards are really checking doors and not playing Candy Crush.

RadioGuy7268 · Feb 18, 2018

RFI-EMI-GUY said:
Limit the initial radios to workers who are on their feet and the receptionist. I would look for a bulk deal on some CP220d or SL300 radios for the workers and something higher tier for management that will have roaming capabilities.

With Motorola's recent inclusion of the former Vertex lineup, there are some other inexpensive Motorola brand options for DMR in a basic voice package radio w/o site roaming or GPS. Check out the EXV-261. Probably not as rugged as a CP200d, or as slim as the SL-300, but still compact - and at a much lower price point.

RFI-EMI-GUY · Feb 18, 2018

RadioGuy7268 said:
With Motorola's recent inclusion of the former Vertex lineup, there are some other inexpensive Motorola brand options for DMR in a basic voice package radio w/o site roaming or GPS. Check out the EXV-261. Probably not as rugged as a CP200d, or as slim as the SL-300, but still compact - and at a much lower price point.

Very true and Vertex/Standard has always been a reputable brand.

IP Site Connect compatible radios

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