• 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.

FRS "Base Station" for Intercom?

Status
Not open for further replies.

03msc

RF is RF
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Jun 3, 2011
Messages
3,962
Location
The Natural State
Does anyone know of any current, for lack of a better term, 'base station' (intercom-looking) FRS radios? I'm looking to replace an old intercom from Radio Shack back in the day (it's one that utilizes the AC power wires throughout a home/business). I remember years ago seeing some that looked similar to this type of intercom (sat on a desk, had a PTT button on top, call button, channel selection, etc.) but a brief search seems to have come up empty now.

The market for them may have been close to nil and manufacturers nixed them but I thought I'd ask in case someone knows of some on the market that maybe are called something different than what I have searched.

Prefer this type to a handheld radio for this application so that's why the question. Obviously otherwise there is a myriad of handhelds that would work.
 

R8000

Low Battery
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Dec 19, 2002
Messages
1,009
You could just buy a intercom system from Amazon, there's plenty of them on there.
 

Groeteschele

Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2020
Messages
46
Location
Munich
Dakota M538-BS make a MURS tabletop radio. Blackbox DMR make a VHF/UHF tabletop radio. Not know if Blackbox radio MURS or FRS or user programmable for own frequencies. Always best to get dedicated wireless tabletop intercom that has channels scrambled so neighbor don't know your family secrets like old cordless phones and baby monitors.

37a26de5-4ecd-43af-ad9a-bc903f553b88_1_1.jpg37a26de5-4ecd-43af-ad9a-bc903f553b88_1_1.jpg

dam538bs.jpg
 

jaspence

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Mar 21, 2008
Messages
3,042
Location
Michigan
Don't count on 2 miles with the FRS. Even 2000 feet can be a stretch. Dakota's home page is all MURS based radios. In areas without major obstruction problems, the 2 watt MURS VHF frequencies should be better than the FRS UHF radio.
 

russbrill

Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2020
Messages
380
Location
Sacramento, CA
Does anyone know of any current, for lack of a better term, 'base station' (intercom-looking) FRS radios? I'm looking to replace an old intercom from Radio Shack back in the day (it's one that utilizes the AC power wires throughout a home/business). I remember years ago seeing some that looked similar to this type of intercom (sat on a desk, had a PTT button on top, call button, channel selection, etc.) but a brief search seems to have come up empty now.

The market for them may have been close to nil and manufacturers nixed them but I thought I'd ask in case someone knows of some on the market that maybe are called something different than what I have searched.

Prefer this type to a handheld radio for this application so that's why the question. Obviously otherwise there is a myriad of handhelds that would work.

If I remember correctly, the Rat-Shack intercoms used 49 MHz... They were good for around the house use, not much more...
 

n1das

Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2003
Messages
1,601
Location
Nashua, NH
Dakota M538-BS make a MURS tabletop radio. Blackbox DMR make a VHF/UHF tabletop radio. Not know if Blackbox radio MURS or FRS or user programmable for own frequencies. Always best to get dedicated wireless tabletop intercom that has channels scrambled so neighbor don't know your family secrets like old cordless phones and baby monitors.

View attachment 85557View attachment 85557

View attachment 85558
Those Blackbox tabletop VHF/UHF radios look suspiciously like repackaged Baofeng UV-5R radios. They probably will do everything that a regular Baofeng UV-5R will do (and just as illegally too).
 

iMONITOR

Silent Key
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Sep 20, 2006
Messages
11,156
Location
S.E. Michigan
These were the best wireless intercoms ever sold by Radio Shack! 900MHz crystal clear, good range.
85589
 

SteveSimpkin

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Apr 13, 2009
Messages
987
Location
Lancaster, CA
I had forgotten about those little gems... The ones I remember had the Push-to-Talk bar across the bottom and the speaker above, really plain looking... Late 70's, early 80's stuff...
The intercoms sold by Radio Shack in the 70's and 80's typically used Power Line Carrier (PLC) as the method to transport audio between stations. PLC intercom systems communicate using a very low FM frequency over your house's existing 110 volt AC house wiring that supplies power to receptacles and light fixtures. You just plug them in anywhere you have an outlet and they're ready to go. These intercoms are typically passed off as "wireless" intercoms since you do not have to install wiring between locations. They didn't always work very well.
Here are some examples from the 1980 Radio Shack catalog.
 

RFI-EMI-GUY

Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2013
Messages
6,859
RITRON makes some UHF base stations that are wall mounted, 2 Watt and self contained except for a wall wart power supply. You can find them used on ebay. Very well made.
 

NWI_Scanner_Guy

SCANNING THE AIRWAVES SINCE 1987
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
2,298
Location
Hammond, IN

KD8DVR

Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2004
Messages
1,303
Location
Columbus, Ohio
Those Blackbox tabletop VHF/UHF radios look suspiciously like repackaged Baofeng UV-5R radios. They probably will do everything that a regular Baofeng UV-5R will do (and just as illegally too).
Those "baofengs in a box" also have no FCC certification. They are marketed as business band radios; but lack the required Part 90 certification.
 

DeepBlue

Member
Joined
Jun 14, 2016
Messages
170
Location
Columbus, Ohio
I believe the 900 MHz stuff was very wide and could not be picked up by a standard receiver? Someone refresh us on that. I know some of the 900 MHz cordless had an encoding scheme.

S.
 

vagrant

ker-muhj-uhn
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Nov 19, 2005
Messages
3,149
Location
California
You’re thinking of Spread Spectrum. Not all devices have that, even though they use 900 MHz. If one wants secure communication without a license, the Moto DTR700 is a fine device. It is more expensive than FRS, but one gets what one pays for.

For inside a home, or whatever your WiFi coverage, using the Amazon Alexa devices to talk room to room is very inexpensive and your neighbors will not listen in.
I believe the 900 MHz stuff was very wide and could not be picked up by a standard receiver? Someone refresh us on that. I know some of the 900 MHz cordless had an encoding scheme.

S.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top