Help re. Frequency numbers

[pop69er]

Hello, folks.
I am new to radio technical stuff, but I read here and look often. I only talk on the board for questions regarding work.
Regarding that, perhaps I can find help here.

I am looking to purchase my own portable radio for work in my private security job, as I purchase A LOT of my own equipment at this time just due to so many users sharing radios, so you have battery issues, things get mixed up, quality not always very good etc.

The problem, we do not know the frequencies. Boss does not care about if I buy stuff, we just don't know.
We use Bearcom BC300D radios, along with one Bearcom BC400D radio that was upgraded due to a repair.
The frequencies are not public or anything on this website, we are just a small building and outside in our parking lot.

From the research I have done, these particular radio models are a Motorola variant rebranded by this common radio company, and that they are compatible with a DMR Digital voice and analog too, so I assume the devices are probably using the DMR upgrade. I read also that they cannot be programmed by some random person, only computer at the radio dealership.

What I am looking to know if there is some way by some device, radio checker or something on the computer that can tell you what the numbers are for each channel so that it can be programmed onto a compatible radio and where to buy it?

Okay, thank you so much.

J

 

[rajames53]

Before you purchase anything, I would contact the company that is supplying radios to your employer. They would have that information as they set up your employer radios to start with. You would also need to check with them to see if they any restrictions on you having a privately owned radio on your employers' network. Some companies lease radio and services to other companies and are the license holder for those frequencies and may not allow for you be on their network.

RJ

 

[mmckenna]

Yeah, there's a number of things you need to do FIRST:

As mentioned above. You, as an employee are NOT licensed by your country to use those frequencies. You or your employer need to figure out whose name is on the license and get written approval from them to use your own radio on their frequency. I know you are not in the USA, but the rules tend to be similar on this. The FCC has some strongly worded regulations for doing this. I suspect Canada does too.

If the radios were handled by a radio shop (likely) then you need to get the correct programming info from them, if they'll give it to you. There's more to knowing the frequency, analog/digital, time slot, color code, etc. Licenses grant very specific permissions for things like power levels, locations of use, number of stations, etc, which you won't be able to find without license info or directly reading the radios.

The better option would be to talk to your employer and have them give you the name of the radio shop and a signed letter saying you may purchase a radio programmed to use on their system.

You don't want to go down the rabbit hole of buying an overpriced turd radio like the BC300/BC400's, plus the software, plus the programming cable, plus the learning curve of how to program radios. While I can appreciate the desire, it's going to be expensive.

If you can get all the programming info -and- you can get permission to use their frequencies, then there are much, much better radios out there.

 

[pop69er]

Thank you so very kindly for the information reply back quickly.

I will check maybe with the boss then because I did not know the two way radio was that complicated and legal.

Again the information was extremely helpful, so thank you kindly.

J

 

[mmckenna]

Again the information was extremely helpful, so thank you kindly.

J

Yeah, there's a lot to it if you want to remain on the legal side of this, and I bet you do.

Plus, by the time you buy the radio, software and cable, plus all the time to learn how to program it, you might actually save money by just having the shop program it for you. Buying software and cable only makes sense if you are programming a lot of radios, or make frequent changes to your own.