• 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.

    If you are having trouble legally obtaining software please state so. We do not want any hurt feelings when your vague post is mistaken for a free request. It is YOUR responsibility to properly word your request.

    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).

    This is a large and very visible forum. We cannot jeopardize the ability to provide the RadioReference services by allowing this activity to occur. Please respect this.

RCA??

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LubeckTech

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I just saw a New RCA BR850 IS portable which they say has a 4 watt output. Upon investigation it I found this website;

Our History | RCA Communications Systems which looks impressive.

Funny thing is the ONLY place which sells this equipment is Discount Two Way Radio

https://www.discounttwo-wayradio.com/

So is the original Radio Corporation of America (not Thomson Consumer Electronics) alive and selling industrial radio products or is Discount Two Way Radio private labeling Hytera radios and sponsoring a bogus website trying to convince people RCA is back in the two way radio business?
 

cmdrwill

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NOT the RCA that we knew. The two-way section died in the late 80's, after the last service station got sold off tho several different 'investors'.
Again someone using a famous name. Like other brand name thieves. Browning, Tram, ect.
 

LubeckTech

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Not only is Discount Two Way Radio the only source for these radios they are the only ones with programming software. The radios are supposed to be wirelessly cloneable but to get the first one programmed you have to send it to Discount Two Way radio. No software or cables available.
 

mmckenna

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Jul 27, 2005
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Junk radios.
Someone at work bought a few of the analog models and wanted me to program them to match the rest of their radios.
As usual, they didn't talk to me first, just show up, "fix this" and expect me to make it all work.
Took some digging, but came to the same conclusion LubeckTech did. The shop that sells them is the only one that can do the programming. They won't sell software. I had them return the radios and purchase a few new Icom's in their place.

Junky Chinese radios. By the time they bought the radios, went through all the stuff with me and then sending them back, it cost more than if they'd bought the Icom's first.

Save your money and prevent headaches.
 

lmrtek

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All that WAS RCA was dead and buried in the late 80s when GE bought them out then sold the consumer division to Thompson who was clueless as to how to run a consumer electronics company

The two way division was sold and renamed several times but in the end couldn't survive

I can literally call a Chinese company like Baofeng and have them produce the same radios with "Motex" on the label

If you look at Bearcom, and TEKK, radios, you will see that they look strangely similar to RCA
 

jaspence

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RCA name

It is not uncommon to see RCA, Zenith, Polaroid, Magnavox, and other defunct brand names show up on a product. Someone usually owns the right to the name/trademark and sells the right to use it on a product. I have a tablet/laptop small computer with detachable keyboard made using the RCA brand. Other than a touch pad limited by the driver, it runs Windows 10 32 bit very well and has a bright screen with good color.
 

Project25_MASTR

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All that WAS RCA was dead and buried in the late 80s when GE bought them out then sold the consumer division to Thompson who was clueless as to how to run a consumer electronics company

The two way division was sold and renamed several times but in the end couldn't survive

I can literally call a Chinese company like Baofeng and have them produce the same radios with "Motex" on the label

If you look at Bearcom, and TEKK, radios, you will see that they look strangely similar to RCA
Beacom radios (at least current models) are relabled Icom and Vertex Standard radios. The software is standard software and the radios are actually labeled with Bearcom model numbers by the OEM.

Sent from my SM-T713 using Tapatalk
 

SCPD

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Feb 24, 2001
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Looks neat and fancy with the blue display but like mentioned junk. We had got a couple to demo and like said they must do the programming. No go for the department that wanted them since things change time to time and it isn't ideal to have to send in a portable or all to be programmed when it can be done by techs locally.
 
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