Is there an entry level handheld that would be suitable for NXDN? We have the constant duty radios for the users that require them but we were looking for something for less than even occasional use.. The radio would sit in a charger in an office.
There are only a couple of companies that make NXDN capable radios.
Kenwood
Icom
Alinco
Alinco makes the DJ-NX40 UHF radio:
http://www.alinco.com/Products/nxdn/DJ-NX40/DJ-NX40T.pdf
Icom makes an entire line of NXDN capable radios, sold under the IDAS product line. The Icom F2000D is the lower tier radio that will do what you need.
Kenwood has a couple of options you can take a look at. The NX-340 is the lower tier commercial radio, and may be your best choice. List price is $367.50
Kenwood also recently released the NX-P500, a low cost 2 watt UHF NXDN radio. List price is $275, but you should be able to shop around and find them a bit cheaper.
I fully understand the desire to find a lower cost alternative. Radios can be expensive, depending on how you look at it. If you consider the value they can add to the work force, they generally are a very economical tool that can boost production.
It's really not a good idea for someone not familiar with radio systems to be trying to buy radios on line without understanding the technical details. As you discovered, it's easy to purchase the wrong thing.
Not only the wrong thing, but it's really easy to buy low end Chinese junk that doesn't meet the FCC requirements. Unfortunately the internet has allowed equipment to be sold in the US that shouldn't be.
As for cost savings….
Looking only at the cost of the radios will miss the rest of the costs associated with them. Purchasing programming software, cables, as well as the labor that goes into properly setting them up to work with other radios, the risks of getting the wrong products, violating FCC rules, and the issues of having dissimilar batteries, chargers, user interfaces, etc. should be considered.
If you take a look at the cost differences between the Kenwood NX-340 and the NX-P500, you are looking at less than $100.00.
Since your time figuring out how to program them isn't free (you don't work for FREE do you?), your employer should consider that in the costs.
Since the user interfaces between the radios are different, you'll have a bit of a training curve. Again, staff time isn't free.
The Chirp programming software probably isn't going to work on the NX-P500, at least not any time soon. Adding in the cost of the Kenwood programming software needs to be considered. $258 list price for the software, that's almost the price difference between 3 NX-P500's and 3 NX-340's.
Considering all this, it would be worth the time considering just purchasing a few more NX-340's. Get your dealer to program them up for you (negotiate them doing this for free as part of the purchase) and you'll be done. Interchangeable radios, interchangeable batteries, etc.
Sometimes trying to save a few bucks ends up getting really expensive. We occasionally have to consider this where I work. It's really easy to tie up a bunch of engineers in meetings trying to save a few thousand dollars, only to discover we've blown through the cost savings in labor.
