nrembis
Member
Just curious if anyone is using the above mentioned models and what the likes and dislikes are for each? Ive currently got a 3011 on order, hope it gets here soon.
Thanks!
Thanks!
-
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.
Anyone using the F3001 and 3011
- Thread starter nrembis
- Start date
- Status
nrembis
Member
as a reference I am currently using a department issued Motorola GP350 and it absolutely sucks as far as reception goes and battery life sucks. So I'm hoping this Icom F3011 I have on order is better than it. I'm also going to be programming the 3011 myself....I hope its not too hard to figure out, never done it before.
stevelton
Member
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2005
- Messages
- 359
I have the 3011 and a 4001 (UHF version of the 3001). Both are fine radios/ main differences arre the 4001 has 2-tone an MDC, 3011 doesnt. That makes the 3011 VERY easy to program. Reception wise, its not too bad, but nothing to brag about.
Steven
Steven
nrembis
Member
Thanks for the reply Steven, no one at my FD uses icom...so locally I have no help. Im giving up the GP350 because the dept that issued it to me Im quitting, just dont have the time to give them monthly to stay on the roster. My main dept only issues pagers, but will allow us to have a portable if we buy our own, they just cant afford to give all of us a radio
nrembis
Member
I overlooked the 2-tone thing.......is that similar to how my pager drops our tones...If im understanding pagers correctly it stays muted on the frequency until it detects the tones, trips my pager, wakes me up and opens the squelch so we can hear the traffic.
Can the portable radios be setup same way as pagers? 3001 vhf?
Can the portable radios be setup same way as pagers? 3001 vhf?
I personally use the IC-F3011 (and have sold dozens) and I'm very happy with the radio. I find it to have great reception and I have only heard good comments from others. Very robust radio. Hope your experience is similar. If you have any questions once you get it, or need help progamming it, just let me know
Steve
Steve
gmrsoutlet
Member
Yes, 2-tone is the tones that are typically used to dispatch fire departments/pagers.
nrembis
Member
Thanks Steve.
GMRS Outlet, I ordered the 3011 from you since you were an authorized Icom dealer, sent you a couple emails prior to ordering and replies were quick and you have several positive customer remarks on this forum. I got the tracking number for usps, but says nothing yet, so not sure when it will arrive. I appreciate your responsiveness thus far.
Nick
GMRS Outlet, I ordered the 3011 from you since you were an authorized Icom dealer, sent you a couple emails prior to ordering and replies were quick and you have several positive customer remarks on this forum. I got the tracking number for usps, but says nothing yet, so not sure when it will arrive. I appreciate your responsiveness thus far.
Nick
gmrsoutlet
Member
It did ship on Friday, but the Post Office has the entire weekend off. My local office even got half of Friday off. So you won't seem movement on that thing until they return to work on Monday. No service Saturday because of the Holiday.
nrembis
Member
Thanks, working folk should have the holidays off, so radio will get here when it gets here, not too concerned about that
Got a question though on the 2-tone. I know the 3011 i ordered doesnt do it, but the 3001 does. does the 2-tone on a portable radio work the same as it does for say my pager on how it stays muted until until tone detected then pager trips with loud audible tone then can hear dispatch.
the way our pagers are setup for my dept we have one solid single tone that trips for a squad run, then if its a fire run it trips with 2 different tones.....I can tell as soon as the pager trips what type of run its going to be.
gmrsoutlet
Member
Yes it is exactly the same thing.
wxwarn285
Member
I own a IC-4001 (UHF version of 3001) HT and I love it, I am a volunteer firefighter with two departments and also a ham radio operator and it fits my needs great, I think it's batter then the Motorola PR-400 HT that my county issued me. I have it programmed for 2 tone with diffrent dept. and it takes 440mhz like a chemp...73's
nrembis
Member
Update.....
I got the 3011 Wednesday afternoon, had it programmed in about 20 minutes or so after arriving, gotta say its pretty nice, reception is much better than the Moto GP350 I was using. I'm still trying to fine tune the squelch a bit though, Its finicky, I think it is because our fireground channel is CSQ and no PL is used.
The radio itself is great, however, not too sure about the mic though. It is the 158L, its small and seems like a toy to me, LOL. Also, seems volume is greatly reduced with mic...dont see a way in software to keep radio speaker on when mic is attached unless im overlooking it, so only get audio from mic....Im wondering if the 159L is louder/better???
I got the 3011 Wednesday afternoon, had it programmed in about 20 minutes or so after arriving, gotta say its pretty nice, reception is much better than the Moto GP350 I was using. I'm still trying to fine tune the squelch a bit though, Its finicky, I think it is because our fireground channel is CSQ and no PL is used.
The radio itself is great, however, not too sure about the mic though. It is the 158L, its small and seems like a toy to me, LOL. Also, seems volume is greatly reduced with mic...dont see a way in software to keep radio speaker on when mic is attached unless im overlooking it, so only get audio from mic....Im wondering if the 159L is louder/better???
There's also a lot of good after market mcis out there too. I'm a big fan of Pryme speaker mics. Good quality and good price. We sell a lot of them and have good feedback from customers. Here's their site Welcome to PRYME Radio Products
stevelton
Member
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2005
- Messages
- 359
As a Pryme Dealer, I can say they are nice products. VERY heavy duty.
I also have the 159l, and I like it alot better than the 158. I would have spent the extra money for a Pryme mic though.
I have the SPM-3100a series, which has the coax built in to bring the antenna up to the mic. I use this on both my VHF F3011 and UHF F4001 handhelds. Many people told me not to bother using it on VHF, but I find it does help some, and looks cool too
Steven
I also have the 159l, and I like it alot better than the 158. I would have spent the extra money for a Pryme mic though.
I have the SPM-3100a series, which has the coax built in to bring the antenna up to the mic. I use this on both my VHF F3011 and UHF F4001 handhelds. Many people told me not to bother using it on VHF, but I find it does help some, and looks cool too
Steven
I've sold both to users and have received positive reports from all. So far, so good.
When programming, remember that 2-tone channels are muted (Inaudible in Icom-ese) until something makes the channel 'Audible'. Re-mute time is determined by the Timer-A or Timer-B setting.
The newer software has much improved 'right-click' help.
The HM159L is much better.
When programming, remember that 2-tone channels are muted (Inaudible in Icom-ese) until something makes the channel 'Audible'. Re-mute time is determined by the Timer-A or Timer-B setting.
The newer software has much improved 'right-click' help.
The HM159L is much better.
I'm curious about the two-tone decoding on the F3001/4001 series as well, and if it has been improved on the more recent series of Icom radios such as these.
I have an F43 that I bought a few years ago, and overall it's a decent radio, but found the 2-tone features to be lacking in a few areas......no AND/OR muting option, plus the alert tones leave a lot to be desired in both volume and length when it receives a matched tone set. Nowhere near as attention-getting as an HT1250.
Just wondering if anything if different with the newer series of radios, or if it's basically the same as the older ones?
I have an F43 that I bought a few years ago, and overall it's a decent radio, but found the 2-tone features to be lacking in a few areas......no AND/OR muting option, plus the alert tones leave a lot to be desired in both volume and length when it receives a matched tone set. Nowhere near as attention-getting as an HT1250.
Just wondering if anything if different with the newer series of radios, or if it's basically the same as the older ones?
nrembis
Member
I just ordered a 3001 as well, I want to test the 2-tone, hoping it is similar to how my minitor II alerts me.
nrembis
Member
My 3001 arrived and have gone through the programming, its a bit more detailed than the 3011 was, I cannot figure out how to keep it muted until it detects my depts tones...squad runs are a single long tone 810.2 and fire runs are a 2 tone 553.9/810.2
the radio overall has louder audio than the 3011....which will be nice when I have the siren on in the truck.
the radio overall has louder audio than the 3011....which will be nice when I have the siren on in the truck.
I'm the chief technician at an Icom dealer and I'll tell you the truth. I like the F3011/4011 radios but consider the 3001 and 4001 to be absolute garbage. Icom has made a few mistakes and that series is definitely one of them.
I'm seeing marginal performance specifications at best, and the receiver on the 3001/4001 just doesn't stack up well to the 3011/4011 or F14/24 series. Sensitivity is relatively poor and they're not very resistant to interference from other nearby channels.
I would ONLY recommend the 3011/4011 radios. I try NOT to sell the 3001/4001 but some customers are so cheap they'll only buy the cheaper radio. Then they complain that it sucks. Go figure.
The bitter aftertaste of low quality lingers after the sweetness of the low price is long gone..
Elroy
I'm seeing marginal performance specifications at best, and the receiver on the 3001/4001 just doesn't stack up well to the 3011/4011 or F14/24 series. Sensitivity is relatively poor and they're not very resistant to interference from other nearby channels.
I would ONLY recommend the 3011/4011 radios. I try NOT to sell the 3001/4001 but some customers are so cheap they'll only buy the cheaper radio. Then they complain that it sucks. Go figure.
The bitter aftertaste of low quality lingers after the sweetness of the low price is long gone..
Elroy
- Status
