MCS 2000

[italiasown]

I apologize for being a complete noob. I am a firefighter for my local company, and purchased this radio for my vehicle. Not knowing anything about radios, I thought I could just mount it and listen to our firehouse frequency for calls. I have no need to respond via the radio. Am I able to plug it in and use it as a scanner without "programming" it? Or does it need to be programmed just to create zones with the frequencies that I need to hear? I apologize if this question is in the wrong location. I did a search and this was the first post that came up.

 

[mmckenna]

It will need to be programmed to work with your system.
Best done by a knowledgeable technician. Find out who takes care of the radios for your agency and talk to them.

While it's possible to program them yourself, it's not easy and requires software and programming cable, all which cost money. Paying a radio shop for an hour of labor will be cheaper in the long run and it will be set up correctly.

 

[italiasown]

It will need to be programmed to work with your system.
Best done by a knowledgeable technician. Find out who takes care of the radios for your agency and talk to them.

While it's possible to program them yourself, it's not easy and requires software and programming cable, all which cost money. Paying a radio shop for an hour of labor will be cheaper in the long run and it will be set up correctly.

Thanks for the response MMCKENNA, unfortunately I am just a vollie in the FD and there is no one to program my radio. I was going to purchase the RIB cable I needed to do it, but was hoping that there may be someone on this forum who has the hardware/software, and ability to do it. I just don't know where to look for someone on here to do that. Any idea's?

 

[RadioGuy7268]

Software is proprietary Motorola, and you should read the "sticky" about that before you ask more.

I'll second the idea of paying to get it done if you're not real sure about what you've got or how it works exactly.

 

[mmckenna]

Thanks for the response MMCKENNA, unfortunately I am just a vollie in the FD and there is no one to program my radio. I was going to purchase the RIB cable I needed to do it, but was hoping that there may be someone on this forum who has the hardware/software, and ability to do it. I just don't know where to look for someone on here to do that. Any idea's?

There's many of us that can program these. Trick is the shipping to/from.

Also, it depends on what you want programmed. You'd need to know the specifics of the system, and you'd need to be 100% confident in that information.

Most people/shops will also require something in writing from your chief on agency letter head giving you permission to be on their system. The FCC rules are pretty clear on that, and there is no exception for volunteers.

Someone, somewhere programmed the radios for your department. See if you can find out who touched them last and see if they can help. At minimum, they'll have the correct programming info.

 

[SteveSimpkin]

Could you provide the County and name of the FD you are trying to listen to?
Depending on the type of system it is, it may be easier (and cheaper) to sell this radio and buy a scanner instead. Since you are only monitoring the system you do not need the complexity, programming expense and potential liability of a two-way radio.

 

[rescue161]

Are you even sure that you got the same band that your department is using? The MCS2000 came in several different band configurations. If it is a simple receive-only conventional channel, then most anyone can do that for you. If it is on a trunking system, then that is more involved and can be a huge liability for anyone that does program it for you.

More info is needed on the system that you intend to monitor.