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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.
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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).
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Government Surplus/Used Public Service Radios
- Thread starter ZachSmith
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n5ims
Member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2004
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- 3,993
There are many around if you look. While most (well, nearly all) don't specialize on radios, they do deal with auctions of surplus property, which does at times include radios. A few links are below to get you started, but search around for those in your area since they will generally work best for you (it's hard to judge quality from a picture or two on the internet).
I would normally avoid the sites that don't directly do the auctions or at least are the government agency that handles the surplus property for the local, county, state, or federal government (or company selling their own property). If you deal with a site that simply acts as a broker for you, the additional fees for their services generally just cost you more but provide you minimal benefits beyond finding the folks that actually do the auctioning, which you can generally find yourself using Google).
Federal auction site --> http://gsaauctions.gov/gsaauctions/gsaauctions/
Arkansas State site --> https://www.arstatesurplus.com/
North Carolina State site --> NC Department of Administration - State Surplus Property
Texas State site --> State Surplus Property — Texas Facilities Commission
Auction company that handles several cities, counties, school boards, and other group's auctions --> http://www.renebates.com/
I would normally avoid the sites that don't directly do the auctions or at least are the government agency that handles the surplus property for the local, county, state, or federal government (or company selling their own property). If you deal with a site that simply acts as a broker for you, the additional fees for their services generally just cost you more but provide you minimal benefits beyond finding the folks that actually do the auctioning, which you can generally find yourself using Google).
Federal auction site --> http://gsaauctions.gov/gsaauctions/gsaauctions/
Arkansas State site --> https://www.arstatesurplus.com/
North Carolina State site --> NC Department of Administration - State Surplus Property
Texas State site --> State Surplus Property — Texas Facilities Commission
Auction company that handles several cities, counties, school boards, and other group's auctions --> http://www.renebates.com/
plato
Member
methusaleh
Member
Try picking up the phone and calling your local agencies and asking if they have any old radios hanging around. Some departments do not turn them in to the radio shops when they are done, and might have a roomful of radios for you to look at. I was able to get many mobiles for new hams, and several repeaters' worth of equipment for my old ham club, just by calling local departments and volunteering to carry away their unwanted equipment.
Just keep in mind that if you plan to use them *for their original service* narrowbanding might get you, and if that's 800MHz, then rebanding might, as well.
+1 to the 10th power!
I am working on narrowbanding for my agency and have been asked to give a hand to a few others in our county.
My agency is in pretty good shape, but we are still going to have some gear that will be obsolete come 1/1/2013. There will be virtually no market for used wideband gear in the US except for the hams and a few others. Since a huge chunk of the 150-174 spectrum is covered by Part 90 radio systems, who else are you going to sell it to?
I am seeing all kinds of wideband VHF and UHF gear for sale on Ebay and elsewhere these days. 25 months from now, anyone who buys any of it for Part 90 applications will be looking for new gear, again.
Is that like "To Infinity... and Beyond!!!"?
That was a kinda old thread, but no one had said anything. And "figuring out how it will break" is what I've gotten paid for for the last 2 decades...
Narrow banding!
Hello.
There is now crates of that stuff available!
California narrow banded its highway patrol setups.
This is a low band radio and a VHF high or UHF mobile repeater and talkie.
I went to Humboldt county just a few days ago to get some of this.
In Texas they switched to P-25 and all of the VHF high and UHF stuff is available.
The big problem is not the RIB, the box that connects your radio to the computer, that is easy, it is the software (RSS).
I did get the CHP stuff going, but Motorola RSS is a real pain, even once you get it!
But, yes, look around, so far I have had to pay nothing more than perhaps a case of beer.
I do very poorly with local law enforcement but super good with DPS, (State police).
So, I no longer have contacts to get 800/900 MHz and am stuck getting the far more useful VHF/UHF stuff!
I breath fire so i do benefits for DPS and the like, they are happy, I am happy, everybody is happy.
Note that I resigned from law enforcement and have no authority as a LEO, not that it mattered, the only thing I ever did was the parades and the like, PR only.
Yet I have been able to do far better!
Hello.
There is now crates of that stuff available!
California narrow banded its highway patrol setups.
This is a low band radio and a VHF high or UHF mobile repeater and talkie.
I went to Humboldt county just a few days ago to get some of this.
In Texas they switched to P-25 and all of the VHF high and UHF stuff is available.
The big problem is not the RIB, the box that connects your radio to the computer, that is easy, it is the software (RSS).
I did get the CHP stuff going, but Motorola RSS is a real pain, even once you get it!
But, yes, look around, so far I have had to pay nothing more than perhaps a case of beer.
I do very poorly with local law enforcement but super good with DPS, (State police).
So, I no longer have contacts to get 800/900 MHz and am stuck getting the far more useful VHF/UHF stuff!
I breath fire so i do benefits for DPS and the like, they are happy, I am happy, everybody is happy.
Note that I resigned from law enforcement and have no authority as a LEO, not that it mattered, the only thing I ever did was the parades and the like, PR only.
Yet I have been able to do far better!
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