• To anyone looking to acquire commercial radio programming software:

    Please do not make requests for copies of radio programming software which is sold (or was sold) by the manufacturer for any monetary value. All requests will be deleted and a forum infraction issued. Making a request such as this is attempting to engage in software piracy and this forum cannot be involved or associated with this activity. The same goes for any private transaction via Private Message. Even if you attempt to engage in this activity in PM's we will still enforce the forum rules. Your PM's are not private and the administration has the right to read them if there's a hint to criminal activity.

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    To obtain Motorola software see the Sticky in the Motorola forum.

    The various other vendors often permit their dealers to sell the software online (i.e., Kenwood). Please use Google or some other search engine to find a dealer that sells the software. Typically each series or individual radio requires its own software package. Often the Kenwood software is less than $100 so don't be a cheapskate; just purchase it.

    For M/A Com/Harris/GE, etc: there are two software packages that program all current and past radios. One package is for conventional programming and the other for trunked programming. The trunked package is in upwards of $2,500. The conventional package is more reasonable though is still several hundred dollars. The benefit is you do not need multiple versions for each radio (unlike Motorola).

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Totally confused newbie

Scoopnrunner

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Hi all again. I posted a few questions about the new out of my price range Radtel 950, so scratch that. An SDR that can scan so scratch that too. One or two other issues so I am down to this. Can any of these low cost radios be programed from the keypad instead of Chirp, WiFi or other more scientific methods? I just want to program 10 UHF frequencies from the front keyboard. Thanks all for your patience and have a Happy Thanksgiving.
 

Scoopnrunner

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I was going the Ebay route for regular used scanners but got burned a time or two in the past. Even though the 950 is a tad more than my purchase ceiling but since I can program it from the keypad that will be my choice unless there are more affordable radios of that type.. My last question is are there any comparable radios like these that base versions? I searched various sites looking for a scanning base version of these radios and saw some Malachie radio. Sounded too good to be true. I am a 74 year old man who misses the days of the easy to keyboard program the Uniden and Radio Shack scanners. Again, sorry for all the questions.
 
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K9KLC

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I was going the Ebay route for regular used scanners but got burned a time or two in the past. Even though the 950 is a tad more than my purchase ceiling but since I can program it from the keypad that will be my choice. My last question is are there any comparable radios like these that base versions? I searched various sites looking for a scanning base version of these radios and saw some Malachie radio. Sounded too good to be true. I am a 74 year old man who misses the days of the easy to keyboard program the Uniden and Radio Shack scanners. Again, sorry for all the questions.
If you're only wanting to monitor 10 UHF channels, look around for a used scanner. There's several near me for sale now for under 50 bucks, I honestly think one was $35 if I remember what I saw correctly.
 

K9KLC

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I was going the Ebay route for regular used scanners but got burned a time or two in the past
I guess I'm lucky, I read descriptions carefully, message sellers and only deal with those that answer and am yet to get burned on eBay. Of the times there was a question I returned it and got either a replacement or my money back. It's all about communication and picking the right sellers. Good luck!
 

K9KLC

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Hi all again. I posted a few questions about the new out of my price range Radtel 950, so scratch that. An SDR that can scan so scratch that too. One or two other issues so I am down to this. Can any of these low cost radios be programed from the keypad instead of Chirp, WiFi or other more scientific methods? I just want to program 10 UHF frequencies from the front keyboard. Thanks all for your patience and have a Happy Thanksgiving.
What are the frequencies you're trying to scan, are they analog (normal FM) frequencies?
 

mmckenna

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I was going the Ebay route for regular used scanners but got burned a time or two in the past. Even though the 950 is a tad more than my purchase ceiling but since I can program it from the keypad that will be my choice unless there are more affordable radios of that type.. My last question is are there any comparable radios like these that base versions? I searched various sites looking for a scanning base version of these radios and saw some Malachie radio. Sounded too good to be true. I am a 74 year old man who misses the days of the easy to keyboard program the Uniden and Radio Shack scanners. Again, sorry for all the questions.

I get being burned.
But the CCR's (Cheap Chinese Radios) aren't much better. There's an 80+ post thread going on right now for some poor guy trying to make a CCR do one of it's most basic functions and it's failing.

Sometimes the best tool for the job is the one that's actually designed for it. Often these transceivers will not scan as well as an actual scanner, which can be important depending on what you are trying to hear.

If used ain't your thing (I get it) there are some inexpensive analog only scanners that will do what you need:
Yeah, it'll cost a bit more than the CCR's, but it'll give you a lot more capability and do the job right.
 
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