Dual band Motorola mobil.

[Sullivan27]

Hi guys.
Im looking for a dual band mobil radio, any recommendations? The stronger the output the better.
2: dose a dual band require 2 antennas?

 

[mmckenna]

Hi guys.
Im looking for a dual band mobil radio, any recommendations?

Motorola APX7500 are dual band, but you need to specify which bands you want. I'm going to guess based on the "stronger output" and say you want VHF and UHF for ham use? The VHF side will cover 2 meters. The UHF R1 will cover 70cm.

Or if you really want luxury, APX8500 and you can have VHF, UHF 700 and 800MHz.

The stronger the output the better.

You can get 110w VHF and UHF, but you can also just use a better antenna and that'll improve your reception, also.

2: dose a dual band require 2 antennas?

No.
You can run a dual band antenna, depending on which bands you want.
Or you can run two band specific antennas.

 

[Sullivan27]

I wanna use VHF and UHF for public safety use,
If I use it with 2 antennas will I have a better TX/RX?

 

[GTR8000]

There's no such thing as a Motorola dual/multi band mobile that would do VHF and VHF; each band must be unique. Did you mean VHF and UHF? Is this for the county or for Hatzolah? You need to be more clear as to what exactly you're trying to accomplish here. And no, using two antennas for the same band won't make you magically have better TX/RX, in fact it would make things a whole lot worse.

 

[Sullivan27]

My bad VHF and UHF. And No, not Hatzolah I'm from Rochester, New York.

 

[mmckenna]

I wanna use VHF and VHF for public safety use,

Are you a paid employee of a accredited public safety agency?

Before blowing a LOT of money on one of these radios, I'd do some homework first:

-You cannot transmit on any public safety frequency without direct permission from the licensee. That's covered in the FCC rules. Even if you work for the agency, you as an individual are not licensed, the agency is. Get something in writing that says they agree to let you use your own radio on their system. This is not optional.

-You will need to abide by all the FCC rules and the limitations of the license. That means that you cannot exceed the RF power listed on the FCC license, and you will need to figure in antenna gain into the ERP calculations.

-Remember, it's TWO way radio, more power only works in one direction. Rather than focusing on "The stronger the output the better." you should be looking at your antenna system.

-If you use your own radio on your agency frequencies, they become responsible for making sure the radio operates entirely within specifications. That means any used radio you purchase needs to take a visit to a service monitor to be fully aligned and tested. Do NOT buy a used radio off e-Bay and just assume it's good.

-You need to have -ALL- the information needed to program the radio. Radio Reference data base is not an authoritative source and may not include all the necessary information to program the radio. This is why it is imperative you get written authorization from the agency and have them provide all the necessary information to program the radio to work within the confines of their license.

-If the agency does not use this exact model radio with the same flashcode, someone is going to have to build a programming file for the radio. That's going to require the programming software, all the correct data, programming cable, and a lot of skill/knowledge. This isn't hobby radio stuff, that s**t doesn't fly in public safety.

-If any of the radio systems you legally have access to are trunked, you will not be able to program the radio to work on that system. If it's a trunked system, stop now.

-If the agencies are running encryption in any form, you will not be able to program the radio to work on their system. There's no way around this.

-The radio must have the correct flashcode for the features the agency uses.

-The agency may have radio ID requirements, you need to know what those are, get a radio ID assigned, and have it programmed into the radio.

-You need to know if the agency is using analog or digital, If digital, you need to know what flavor digital.

Honestly, your post raises a lot of red flags to those of us that do this for a living. Please, please tell us exactly what you are authorized for, what you are licensed for, and what your skill level is. These radios are expensive and if you do not know exactly what you are doing, you are going to waste a huge amount of money, and you risk getting caught/busted. Without proper authorization you can go to jail for this sort of stuff. Please be honest with us, we've been doing this a long time and we can tell…..

If I use it with 2 antennas will I have a better TX/RX?

There are way too many variables to answer that question. The antenna type/design will depend on what the FCC license ERP requirements are.

Usually two separate PROPERLY installed antennas will work better than dual/multiband antennas. But this isn't mag mount/Chinese antenna territory. The agency will have someone that can help you make the right choice based on their coverage requirements.

 

[Sullivan27]

Ok ill explain,
So basically I HAVE a written letter from the agency, they told me in order to use private vehicle's I need to do my own research on a mobil radio.

- THEY will program it for me.

To be more specific! NO not responding in private vehicle's rather to listen to the call, respond, acknowledge the call, then meet up with the team.

Out here in the remote area's the radio coverage is not the best from portables.

- I may have praised my question in a way that others think is suspicious or red flags.
I'm reading the threads here for a while now.
No need to worry about stepping on other people's toes.

 

[K2NEC]

It's a mobile radio, not a mobil radio. Mobil is a brand of fuel.

 

[mmckenna]

OK, that's helpful and makes a bit more sense. Thank you for clarifying.

So, they will program the radio for you. Good, that saves you some headaches. But you can't buy random radios online and expect them to do that.
Whoever handles their radios, be it someone on staff, or a local shop, they'll only have programming software and cables for specific models. They should also have a premade programming file for them. They should be telling you which radio brand, model and band you need to purchase. If it is Motorola, they also need to tell you what flashcode it needs to have.

If this is a real public safety application, then they should not be relying on random used radios bought on line. That's a safety risk. Radios age and will drift. Radios, especially those in public safety applications, need to be periodically aligned and tested by a competent tech with the right test equipment.

I'd recommend asking for clarification on which radio they expect you to have, what they'll support, and what their expectations are. The last thing you should be doing is coming to a hobby radio site and asking for recommendations.

We're happy to help, but it doesn't sound like you have all the information. That can lead to very expensive mistakes. APX7500s/8500's can run a few thousand dollars, plus the bench time for alignment/programming, plus installation, antennas, etc. You don't want to make an error here.

 

[K2NEC]

OK, that's helpful and makes a bit more sense. Thank you for clarifying.

So, they will program the radio for you. Good, that saves you some headaches. But you can't buy random radios online and expect them to do that.
Whoever handles their radios, be it someone on staff, or a local shop, they'll only have programming software and cables for specific models. They should also have a premade programming file for them. They should be telling you which radio brand, model and band you need to purchase. If it is Motorola, they also need to tell you what flashcode it needs to have.

If this is a real public safety application, then they should not be relying on random used radios bought on line. That's a safety risk. Radios age and will drift. Radios, especially those in public safety applications, need to be periodically aligned and tested by a competent tech with the right test equipment.

I'd recommend asking for clarification on which radio they expect you to have, what they'll support, and what their expectations are. The last thing you should be doing is coming to a hobby radio site and asking for recommendations.

We're happy to help, but it doesn't sound like you have all the information. That can lead to very expensive mistakes. APX7500s/8500's can run a few thousand dollars, plus the bench time for alignment/programming, plus installation, antennas, etc. You don't want to make an error here.

To add to this, used radios come with a significant amount of unknown risks. The radio could have sat on a shelf for its entire life and never saw service or a service monitor. Or the radio could have been involved in a fire, cleaned up, and resold. Worse case scenario it's entirely parts built and not even a legitimate radio from Mototola. There's just too many factors from the previous owner that could make this a less than favorable purchase.

Realistically this should be a new purchase from an authorized radio vendor, which isnt something you will find here.

 

[Sullivan27]

It's a mobile radio, not a mobil radio. Mobil is a brand of fuel.

Wow your really helpful...

 

[Sullivan27]

OK, that's helpful and makes a bit more sense. Thank you for clarifying.

So, they will program the radio for you. Good, that saves you some headaches. But you can't buy random radios online and expect them to do that.
Whoever handles their radios, be it someone on staff, or a local shop, they'll only have programming software and cables for specific models. They should also have a premade programming file for them. They should be telling you which radio brand, model and band you need to purchase. If it is Motorola, they also need to tell you what flashcode it needs to have.

If this is a real public safety application, then they should not be relying on random used radios bought on line. That's a safety risk. Radios age and will drift. Radios, especially those in public safety applications, need to be periodically aligned and tested by a competent tech with the right test equipment.

I'd recommend asking for clarification on which radio they expect you to have, what they'll support, and what their expectations are. The last thing you should be doing is coming to a hobby radio site and asking for recommendations.

We're happy to help, but it doesn't sound like you have all the information. That can lead to very expensive mistakes. APX7500s/8500's can run a few thousand dollars, plus the bench time for alignment/programming, plus installation, antennas, etc. You don't want to make an error here.

Thank you for clearing! Your help is really appreciated.

 

[prcguy]

Motorola APX7500 are dual band, but you need to specify which bands you want. I'm going to guess based on the "stronger output" and say you want VHF and UHF for ham use? The VHF side will cover 2 meters. The UHF R1 will cover 70cm.

Or if you really want luxury, APX8500 and you can have VHF, UHF 700 and 800MHz.



You can get 110w VHF and UHF, but you can also just use a better antenna and that'll improve your reception, also.



No.
You can run a dual band antenna, depending on which bands you want.
Or you can run two band specific antennas.

You don't need to choose between R1 amateur and R2 public service bands on the APX any longer. There is an out of band APX mod which will make a UHF R2 cover about 430 to 520MHz and an R1 will go into the 490s. For public service use and amateur its best to use a native R2 and use the mod to get down to 430. After the firmware replacement that gives the out of band operation you can have the radio aligned over the entire range including the new out of band area.

This used to be a paid for mod but its been released to the public for free and will work on mono band or dual band APX like the APX 7000 and 7500. The mod consists of new firmware for the radio and a file for CPS.

 

[nokones]

Wow your really helpful...

He's just being normal, you'll get used to it.