firebus29
Member
With a new fire season cranking up, I just wanted to share my satisfaction with the Icom F- 521 (50 watt, 256 channel, scanning VHF transceiver). We were required to go to narrow-band capable equipment by the Forest Circus (we contract to transport wildland firefighter crews) and chose the Icom over the super-overpriced Motorolas.
Other brands seemed to be acceptable, but did not have near the features of the F-521. These units really take a beating...dirt, smoke, rough roads, etc. and have given us nothing but superb service. Being field programmable and with 10 different talk groups, in addition to two-way communications, we also use them as RX only scanners while on the road between incidents. Anybody else have comments on the unit?
Other brands seemed to be acceptable, but did not have near the features of the F-521. These units really take a beating...dirt, smoke, rough roads, etc. and have given us nothing but superb service. Being field programmable and with 10 different talk groups, in addition to two-way communications, we also use them as RX only scanners while on the road between incidents. Anybody else have comments on the unit?
