ICOM models for fire service?

[tkline98]

I am looking for suggestions on which ICOM portable models would be worth looking at for use in a fire department. I have looked through the Icom Americas website but find comparing models there very cumbersome. I have received no response from the ICOM government sales line either.

I'm looking for something that has 2-tone decoding, MDC decoding, CTCSS, DCS, and at least 64 channels, alpha channel naming, and a display. Most important (to me) is programming software that allows copy and paste and moving code files from radio to radio.

Also, someone mentioned they have seen a small portable that would work as a pager replacement. Any thoughts on that one?

We are UHF 460 analog. No trunking or digital needed.

Thanks
Tom

 

[12dbsinad]

The small pager portable you speak of is the F60V. You can get a model with voice record and vibrate alert. Icom also came out with the "minitor" alert tones for that radio. I've used one of these and I was very impressed. If you closed your eyes you'd think you had a minitor sitting beside you when the tones are dropped. Pricing is very competetive as that of buying a pager. I know of many FD's that are going with these instead of pagers because of cost and the ability to actualy have a radio that serves as a pager.

Other models i'd recommend is the F4161, or the F4261 (waterproof). These do 2 tone decode but no vibrate/record or minitor alerts. These have top channel selector knobs which some people want to have when wearing gloves or changing channels without looking at the radio.

The FD's near me use a mixture of F60V's for "pagers" and F4161's for fireground/ truck mounted radios. They have been working well from what i hear. Hope this helps.

 

[haleve]

Icom Radio For UHF Fire Service

Red Dog Radios

Tom Ohlsson is the owner & a member here.

 

[cabletech]

check you PM

 

[RAD909]

We will be happy to help you

Yes, the Icom F60V is definitely one you should look at. There are a couple of others we might suggest depending on your needs.

We would be happy to discuss your needs and the best options with you. We are an authorized Icom dealer, and we have special pricing for fire departments. Give us a call at 855-289-2929. You can also visit our website where we have a compare feature that allows you to compare the different models. Here is a link https://quality2wayradios.com/store/icom-handheld-business-two-way-radio

 

[jeatock]

Fire Service

If you are looking for a small format radio suitable for daily carry / pager replacement try the F60. I have carried the same one on my belt for years in a nylon cell phone case I picked up at a home store. Small, full featured and submersible. Functions mimic the accustomed pagers, plus scan, plus you can transmit. The down side for incident command is the lack of a channel knob- a royal pain if you don't subscribe to the adage "Every White Helmet comes with a radio for each hand" and need to change channels often. Decent for interior crews and pump operators, but program a button to lock out inadvertent channel or function changes. I also program a TX-inhibited 'Carry' channel to reduce butt-dialing.

Second choice is the F4161 / F4261. ('D' suffix indicates IDAS digital.) Same price as the F60. Set the display to single line for better visibility. Program a button for "Zone" and use the big channel knob to select channels on the fly. I usually program channels 1-2-3-4 (dispatch) and 15-16 (ground tactical) to be the same in all zones, and change only the middle channels for the particular zone needs. That way the marginally communications savvy can still talk on the primary channels even when they have put their radio in the wrong zone.

Third choice the the F80. Bigger, with a two-day battery, and submersible. Analog only or analog/P25 'D' versions are available. I have several career agencies that have used them for five years without a glitch... except for self inflicted - using the antenna as a handle is not wise.

All of the above use the same speaker-mic. The HM-159 is a good mic, but the PTT can be hit accidentally. Spend the extra for the submersible HM-169.

I received one of the brand new F2000's two weeks ago and am carrying it to find out how it will be. So far, so good. Tiny but solid, and except for the smaller display appears to have all of the features of the F4161.

 

[12dbsinad]

Third choice the the F80. Bigger, with a two-day battery, and submersible. Analog only or analog/P25 'D' versions are available. I have several career agencies that have used them for five years without a glitch... except for self inflicted - using the antenna as a handle is not wise.

Just an FYI, For whatever reason the F80 has been discontinued and no longer in stock. The F70 (VHF) version is still available. I have a 80 and it still gets lots of use, its a good performer with a receiver that would blow the doors off of many others...

 

[wa1nic]

You might want to consider the "man down" option for FD use.

ICOM has a board (UT-124R) as long as the radio has a free slot that will accept it.

 

[jeatock]

Proviso: I lied just a bit; I have both UHF and VHF radios out in daily use, but personally I'm in a VHF environment (F50/F3161/F30/F1000). Except for the frequency the radios all perform the same and have the same feature set.

12db has it right- the receiver on all of the models is typical Icom: best anywhere.

As of this morning the F80DS 01 (P25, 400~470 MHz) is still available from I-A on closeout pricing. Street price for a P25 non-trunking portable should be <$800.

 

[RodStrong]

Red Dog Radios

Tom Ohlsson is the owner & a member here.

+1.

 

[mformby]

As a retired 2-way dealer (Motorola, Icom & Vertex) I sold a lot of the F50/F60 radios. Lots of features, durable and all with a fair price. The only negative to fire fighter is the size. Being so small it can be hard to operate wearing gloves. I recommend taking your gloves and play with the radio before buying it to see if it will work for you. A larger model may work better and be more functional. Don't get me wrong, I love the radio, but some things can be too small for the job.