Calgary area Motorola Mobile Radio as Scanner

[technocardy]

Hey!

I've been wanting to add a base scanner to my vehicle so I can have one on the go without having the hassle of bringing my handheld(s) in and out each time. Or so I can have one if I'm out and something pops off.

The used scanner market doesn't really seem to have much going on for it in Alberta, or at least from what I've been able to see, so I've been exploring options. One option I've come across is getting a Motorola mobile unit and having it installed in my vehicle like I would a base scanner. A new Uniden BCP536HP is $700-ish where a Motorola used mobile radio is $200-$300.

I believe that programming the Motorola unit isn't as easy as let's say a Uniden scanner. I believe you need to go to someone with authorized software to update it? Are people in the Calgary area willing to program Motorola radios as scanners?

Since Motorola's are, ya know, radios, I believe there's an option to get them programmed with PTT disabled?

Is a Motorola radio a good alternative to a scanner? And if so would something like this be a good unit for Calgary and area?

(in case the link is down by the time someone clicks on it, it is a Motorola XTL 2500 P25 Mobile Radio 800 Mhz)

Thanks!

 

[mmckenna]

A new Uniden BCP536HP is $700-ish where a Motorola used mobile radio is $200-$300.

Or less, depending on what you are looking for.
But you'll need to consider installation, unless you have experience doing it yourself.
You'll need a DC power feed and a properly installed antenna. No point in going through all this and then hooking up a cheap mag mount antenna to it.
You can also set it up to be 'ignition switched' which will turn the radio on when you start the car, and turn the radio off when you shut off the engine.
And in a mobile application, external speakers can make listening a lot easier. Bigger speaker = cleaner and more easily understood audio.

I believe that programming the Motorola unit isn't as easy as let's say a Uniden scanner. I believe you need to go to someone with authorized software to update it? Are people in the Calgary area willing to program Motorola radios as scanners?

It's specific software for specific families of radios. The software can be expensive, as are the programming cables. The software can also be pretty complex for the uninitiated. If you can find someone who has the software and will program it for you, that can be a good deal. If you decide later on to get your own software/cable, at least you'll have a good starting point.

Since Motorola's are, ya know, radios, I believe there's an option to get them programmed with PTT disabled?

Correct.

Is a Motorola radio a good alternative to a scanner? And if so would something like this be a good unit for Calgary and area?

Depends.
One drawback with Motorola's is they have a very limited scan list. You can scan one bank of 16 channels at a time, that's it. You can have multiple lists, but it's still only one list at a time. In public safety/commercial applications, scan functions are used very carefully. Large scan lists lead to people missing important traffic. This limitation often turns people off on Motorola radios.

The other gotcha….
If you are planning on using this to listen in on trunked systems, there's a ton of variables you need to fully understand before buying a radio:
Motorola radios run off FlashCodes, those are what determines what features a specific radio has. While these radios are capable of doing a lot, they can only do it if it's active on the flashkey. If the flashkey in the radio doesn't support something you need, it would need to be reflashed ($$$) by a dealer, and I'm not sure they are doing those currently, as these radios are falling out of favor and have been replaced with newer models.
Also, proper monitoring of trunking systems in non-affiliation mode requires some very detailed knowledge and skill to set up correctly. The challenges with this, along with the 16 channel scan limit, usually results in someone like me suggesting you just stick with a regular scanner. Regular scanners will scan a whole lot more, and are much easier to program.
If what you want to listen to is encrypted, then all bets are off. Without encryption keys, you won't be able to listen in.

If what you want to listen to is non-Trunked, and you understand the limitations, they can be great radios for listening. They have better receivers and filtering than what you'll find on consumer scanners. I don't do much scanning, but I do have a Motorola VHF radio in my truck. I use it for amateur radio as well as work use. The receivers are much better than anything I ever had on the ham or scanner side.

 

[technocardy]

Or less, depending on what you are looking for.
But you'll need to consider installation, unless you have experience doing it yourself.
You'll need a DC power feed and a properly installed antenna. No point in going through all this and then hooking up a cheap mag mount antenna to it.
You can also set it up to be 'ignition switched' which will turn the radio on when you start the car, and turn the radio off when you shut off the engine.
And in a mobile application, external speakers can make listening a lot easier. Bigger speaker = cleaner and more easily understood audio.



It's specific software for specific families of radios. The software can be expensive, as are the programming cables. The software can also be pretty complex for the uninitiated. If you can find someone who has the software and will program it for you, that can be a good deal. If you decide later on to get your own software/cable, at least you'll have a good starting point.



Correct.



Depends.
One drawback with Motorola's is they have a very limited scan list. You can scan one bank of 16 channels at a time, that's it. You can have multiple lists, but it's still only one list at a time. In public safety/commercial applications, scan functions are used very carefully. Large scan lists lead to people missing important traffic. This limitation often turns people off on Motorola radios.

The other gotcha….
If you are planning on using this to listen in on trunked systems, there's a ton of variables you need to fully understand before buying a radio:
Motorola radios run off FlashCodes, those are what determines what features a specific radio has. While these radios are capable of doing a lot, they can only do it if it's active on the flashkey. If the flashkey in the radio doesn't support something you need, it would need to be reflashed ($$$) by a dealer, and I'm not sure they are doing those currently, as these radios are falling out of favor and have been replaced with newer models.
Also, proper monitoring of trunking systems in non-affiliation mode requires some very detailed knowledge and skill to set up correctly. The challenges with this, along with the 16 channel scan limit, usually results in someone like me suggesting you just stick with a regular scanner. Regular scanners will scan a whole lot more, and are much easier to program.
If what you want to listen to is encrypted, then all bets are off. Without encryption keys, you won't be able to listen in.

If what you want to listen to is non-Trunked, and you understand the limitations, they can be great radios for listening. They have better receivers and filtering than what you'll find on consumer scanners. I don't do much scanning, but I do have a Motorola VHF radio in my truck. I use it for amateur radio as well as work use. The receivers are much better than anything I ever had on the ham or scanner side.

Thank you for the incredibly informative reply! Turns out there's a lot I don't know haha. It seems the limited ability to scan would be the biggest issue as well as what flashkey's are activated. Might be too big of a gamble and end up costing similar, if not more than, a regular scanner in the end.

While I do plan on getting an amateur radio license in the future I'm not quite there yet. Based off of your feedback it seems the way to go based on what I'm looking to do is a scanner.