• 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.

dmr

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K4EET

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By "public DMR radios" I am not quite sure what you mean by that. Is this for business or personal use and who do you plan on talking to?
 

jbudget3

Member
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Its going to be for personal use. Long story short we will have about 20 radios and if everything goes to plan a repeater
 

K4EET

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The other thing that nd5y asked was "why do you think you need DMR radios?" For 20 DMR radios and a repeater, I would like to know how o_O BIG o_O of a budget do you have? You do know that something like GMRS might be more appropriate depending on what you are going to use this for. How about some more details before we spin our wheels too deep here? What is the proposed use going to be for (in general terms to be sure that whatever service we suggest that it does not violate FCC rules and regulations). How far away are the radios going to be from the repeater? Are the radios going to be mobiles or handhelds (portables)? Where roughly are you located? I ask this because if you are in the Rocky Mountains, your repeater may cover out to about a mile in any one direction to a portable, if even that :) LOL :ROFLMAO:). If you are in downtown Chicago, depending on the frequency band, the same thing might apply depending on where you are standing. You see, radio SYSTEMS have to be DESIGNED as a whole. Corners cannot be cut unless you are willing to accept that the system may not work when you turn it on. I don't think any of us are going to stick our neck out too far without knowing a LOT more details from you. We want to try to steer you in the right direction and that may be seeking out a professional radio system installer due to the size of the system and the size of your investment that you are talking about; especially in the DMR realm.
 

alcahuete

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Sounds like a neighborhood watch group of sorts, if I had to guess.

GMRS is going to be far more expensive if the 20 users are all separate and not family members. $70x20=$1400. You also get the pleasure of dealing with the wasteland that is GMRS, and all the garbage that goes with it. You are also forced to use analog, as digital is not allowed on GMRS.

Assuming this is for something "business" related, the Part 90 license makes so much more sense. Frequency coordination and the license fee will likely be around $500-600, which is going to save you money, potentially, and you don't have to deal with GMRS, the kids, roger beeps, music, people screaming, people playing television and radio shows, people re-broadcasting their scanner, etc. If it's anything professional, GMRS should not even be in the list of options.
 

MTS2000des

5B2_BEE00 Czar
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Everything K4EET said is spot on. Repeaters aren't like WiFi access points or consumer electronics. While not Elon Musk level engineering, it does take one with experience, training and some pretty expensive calibrated tools (service monitors/tracking generators, ISO-Ts, etc) to PROPERLY and ACCURATELY make one sing and give you your money's worth. This is, of course, one has gone through the licensing and frequency coordination process and has what he/she needs.

Whether it's part 90, 95 or 97, a GOOD repeater costs money and the other point is the cost of the site, rent, utilities, etc. If the desired coverage is more than a mile or so with body worn portable coverage, the price will go up in parallel with performance.
 

K4EET

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<snip> GMRS is going to be far more expensive if the 20 users are all separate and not family members. $70x20=$1400. You also get the pleasure of dealing with the wasteland that is GMRS, and all the garbage that goes with it. You are also forced to use analog, as digital is not allowed on GMRS. <snip>
Yes, worst case on the licensing, you are correct. For now, we mainly need to know what jbudget3 is planning to do with their radio system.
<snip> Whether it's part 90, 95 or 97, a GOOD repeater costs money and the other point is the cost of the site, rent, utilities, etc. If the desired coverage is more than a mile or so with body worn portable coverage, the price will go up in parallel with performance.
Exactly... And that is why we need some more information from jbudget3.
 
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