Yaesu: FT-270 Programming questions?

[arcfire1109]

Hello everyone,

First post here and looking for some guidance, First off I am not into Amateur radio I am a volunteer firefighter who is having trouble programming this FT-270, I have some channels working, others are not, I am on a very small dept and have been tasked with finding a decent cheap radio we can switch to since our old radios (15-20yrs old) are failing left and right.

Anyway, I have a software called FTB2070 which I bought, It reads/writes the radio, I just think I am messing up the frequencies somewhere which is why I can Send/Receive on some but not others....


If someone would be willing to help out who knows what they are doing, Please PM me, I do not want to post the frequencies on public forum for the entire world to see.

Thanks!

 

[AK9R]

Notice to the original poster

Because of your low post count, you will not be able to receive PMs. If you want answers from the forum members, it will have to be in this thread until you get your post count up.

Notice to posters replying to this thread

We don't need another thread where the posts only address the fact that radio that the user has chosen is not compliant with FCC rules for anything but amateur radio.

If you can help the user with his programming questions, please contribute to the thread.

 

[mmckenna]

So, without knowing the exact frequencies you are trying to program, I'll have to guess at some of this:

The Yaesu FT-270 is a radio designed for the amateur radio hobbyist. Out of the box it's only set up to transmit inside the 2 meter amateur radio band, 144.000MHz to 147.995MHz. Trying to program it or transmit outside those frequencies to transmit will likely cause an error.

On the receive side, it'll receive just fine from 136MHz to 174MHz.

Since this radio is designed for use by amateur radio operators and set up to only transmit inside the amateur radio bands (out of the box), it doesn't have to meet the more stringent FCC requirements that commercial/public safety radios do. This is what the FCC calls "Type Acceptance". Type acceptance is a list of technical requirements that the radio is required to meet to be permitted to transmit on those parts of the band. Since the amateur radios are not designed to work in the public safety frequencies, it doesn't have the FCC type certification, and is set up to not allow transmitting outside the amateur radio bands.

So, short answer is that you have the wrong type of radio.

Yes, they can be modified to transmit outside the amateur radio band, but there are some legality issues with that. Even as a volunteer fire fighter, your department is required to use properly type accepted radios as part of your departments license. Using a non-type accepted radio can cause some issues, including substantial fines from the FCC. But, yeah, it can be done and there are those that choose to do it.

As a volunteer fire fighter, you know that others lives depend on you having the right tools and training. Using non-type accepted radios not only puts the FCC license at risk, but also can create some liability issues.
These amateur grade radios are not designed to put up with the use and abuse that a fire fighter will put them through.

So, legality issues, durability issues, liability issues, and just having the wrong type of equipment.

It's your choice, you can search the internet and find instructions on how to modify the radio to transmit out of band. As a professional radio tech, I can tell you that you'd be putting the departments FCC license at risk.

A radio designed and certified to do what you want is really what you need. While I understand the cost of new equipment is very high, there are options:
There is a lot of good used gear out there on the market. If this is just for daily carry use and not for use on the fire ground, then you'd probably be OK with a used radio. For actual use in a structural fire, you really do want to have the right stuff.

Do some searches for used Motorola VHF HT-1000's, MTS-2000's, etc. Those are suitable used radios that are available in quantity on the used market. They are relatively cheap. It'd still recommend getting them checked out by a competent technician to make sure they are still operating within spec.

Good luck, don't give up on this. There are a lot of good solutions out there.

 

[robertmac]

Thanks mmcKenna for clarifying the often illegal use of amateur radio out of their intended use. And this is posted in an amateur radio thread. Now if the OP wishes to give more information on what frequencies and PL codes he is trying to input I would gladly try and help if, outside the amateur radio band, he is just wanting to monitor. If he has had this illegally modified to transmit out side the amateur bands I don't fell I can legally help. Yaesu radios are easy to program if familiar with them, even without a program, and I am not familiar with the one mentioned. I only use RT software. So give the frequencies and we can go from there.

 

[ko6jw_2]

Aside from the legalities (which unfortunately don't seem to bother a lot of people) there is the practical point that these radios are not narrowband in the public safety radio sense. Therefore, they should not be used as such. As an example, I have a friend who is a ham and active in the CAP. I said that some of my radios have MARS/CAP capabilities. He replied that this is no longer valid due to narrow banding and the fact that the CAP is starting to use P25.

I have an FT-270 (and an FT-277). These are excellent and rugged radios for ham use. They are not public safety radios.

By the way, if you don't have a ham license, please don't transmit PERIOD.

 

[sloop]

I know the problem that you are facing. I am also a firefighter for a small dept. Check out the Vertex Standard VX-261 or 264. The 261 is a 16 channel radio and the 264 is 128 channels. I just purchased a vx-264 for $128.00 on Amazon. Since I bought mine I have not been able to find one for less than $185.00. The 261 is cheaper going for about $150.00. Programming software and cable runs for about $50.00. Both of these radios are made for public service and are narrow-band.

 

[Project25_MASTR]

The pertinent info to the radio has already been provided, however if still considering replacement options check out the Tecnet TP-8000 from Maxon.

Though not the ideal radio for fire service, it is submersible and low cost. Maxon even has a trade in program to further discount the radios (it will be competitive in cost).
Bonus, Maxon is also based out of Kansas. Just tell them a Walker & Associates rep sent you their way.

 

[arcfire1109]

Thanks for the replies everyone. After reading your information and insight I have started looking for radios that are within our budget and still public safety usable.

If I have any issues once I find some I will be sure to ask here again.

Thanks!