I was brought to this forum discussion thread after using the duckduckgo search engine (a google alternative) to try and quickly grab some info about ANI-ID, PTT-ID, etc, for the UV5R and similar radios. I'm glad I did. Three of my four UV5R sets are older production, and, came with Part 90 tags. My fourth is the "2015" version, not part 90, and happily reserved for HAM only use. Please see my question at the bottom of this post, Thanks!
I work for a very large company in Eastern PA. They have five Motorola analog FM repeaters, five talk-arounds for when those repeaters are down, five auxilliary simplex channels, and, an emergency channel for security staff. The handhelds are mostly old model Motorola HT 750s. Some supervisors hve newer sets, but programmed just like the old ones.
The pool of useable radios is slowly dwindling, especially in the maintenance dept where I work as an electrician. Our shifts overlap, so, sharing the radios is leading to a variety of problems, and, some of the sets have to be reinforced with electrical tape every time you change out the battery, to keep it from beeping all day long while you walk about (worn battery connections). The company, like most nowadays, is loath to spend a dime where it does not have to, so, we are left to deal with the radios as best we can.
I got sick and tired of arguing over a worn out HT750! additionally, as an electrician, I perceived this as a safety issue.
So, about a year ago, I started figuring out the frequencies and DCS info on my own (they actually don't know it! They leave that to the Motorola dealer.) Once I had that, I programmed my oldest, most worn Baofeng, and, started bringing it in.
It worked out OK for me! Better than the damaged Motos. I did have to drop to carrier squelch, probably not a good option for some other sites but is tolerable here. I went on to recommend the "Anytone" and "Woxun" radios to others because of the receive issues but some showed up with the Baofengs, I look for the Part 90 tag, program them, and, they are generally satisfied. I make sure that they understand the limits of such cheap gear as best I can, and, gladly offer what tech support I can. Management is basically supportive, however, they are limited by corporate policy as to what vendors they can buy from, so, don't yet have purchase access to these cheapies.
I do have one question related to the original post: We would like to be able to see the I. D. of the various radios as they transmit, as there is always folk who think even their Motorola is a toy! We know the Motos have transmitter I.D. of some sort, and the Chinese gear can be programmed with one, What would be a decent cheap radio with a display that can show us these various I. D. codes as they transmit? Maybe my Baofeng already does this? have not found it yet... Thanks! ... Robert I. Baker, WA2IEK
