You hope what isn’t true? That there are options other than Motorola? That the monthly rate was down to $10? Please clarify.
There’s nothing new under $1000. If I recall correctly the least expensive new radio was around $2000. There are used options out there from places like Sunny Communications; stay away from XTS/XTL-series Motorola radios, as they may not have Link Layer and you can’t get it for those radios anymore. I think the cheapest Motorola APX model is the APX900 portable, which is probably in the $1500-2000 range.
I have no idea who your radio guy is, but don’t limit yourself to a particular radio brand based on who can program them; any reputable dealer in Ohio should be able to program radios on MARCS. Average citizens cannot do it; it’s a secure system and programming keys are very tightly controlled.
In your area, Cleveland Communications sells both Harris and Kenwood radios. B&C Communications handles Motorola. I’m sure there are EFJ and Tait dealers, but I don’t know who they are up there. The MARCS Program Office should be able to steer you to a dealer; I’ve never known them to refuse to steer someone to a brand other than Motorola when asked. Don’t let them tell you that Motorola is the only thing out there, but if there’s grant money out there to get radios, grab it, no matter who makes the radios. You don’t have to use only a single brand of radio; get what you can afford as the money is available.
Ultimately, you’re going to have to pony up some serious money no matter what radios you buy; these radios aren’t cheap, and as a former firefighter/EMT (in my younger days), the last thing I’d want to do is crawl into a burning building toting a cheap radio.
That was a huge typo, oops! I meant "I hope that's true". Darn autocorrect kills me every time.
We still have enough radios on the trucks thanks to the grant. Those were covered. But we’re talking about personal and EMS radios, which usually aren’t covered by MARCS grants anymore, and frankly, the grant funding itself is drying up fast.
It used to be that everyone had their own VHF or UHF radio and could actually communicate. Now, we’re barely able to equip our officers, let alone every responder. Dispatch phased out support for the old VHF and UHF systems due to budget constraints, and as a result, most of the repeaters around here have already been pulled. That made our old radios useless, and the few semi-affordable ones we had can’t meet the new authentication requirements going into effect in about a month.
We’re trying to find something solid, like we used to have, but at this point it might just be a new status quo: people pulling out their cell phones to call dispatch, hoping for enough cell coverage, waiting to get through, and then listening on Unication G5 pagers when they actually receive a signal. Honestly, the newer pagers are without signal more often than not in our area.
What’s even more frustrating is that the $6,000 radios we got through the grant are the ones we’re struggling with. You lose signal just walking into a metal building or a modern house with radiant barrier insulation. These are top-of-the-line models, and they still fail where the old VHF portables had no issue. I can only imagine how the budget-friendly $300 to $2,000 radios are going to perform in those same conditions.
The move to MARCS was supposed to be progress, but for rural volunteer crews like ours, it feels like we’ve taken a huge step backward in both day-to-day functionality and responder safety.
I just hope nothing tragic ever happens because members couldn’t communicate when it mattered most, because of this “new and improved” MARCS system. The system unintentionally destroyed interdepartmental communication, unless someone rides in on the fire truck. Those crews get a radio on scene per person, but our ambulances only get one radio for the squad, even though we run with a minimum of two people. We simply can’t afford to issue more. EMS can’t communicate like we used to, simply because not everyone has a radio anymore. And even once we’re on scene, we still run into signal issues, especially in or around metal buildings or new homes with radiant barrier insulation or floor heating. That is not just inconvenient, it is dangerous. One day, a medic might not hear a mayday unless they just happen to be standing near someone with a radio who does.
Thank you for the input, guys. I’ve got some homework to do, but honestly, it’s starting to feel like it might be time wasted. It’s just not looking like we’ll ever have the budget to go with high-end radios for regular members, and the lower-cost options bring serious performance concerns. I’m not seeing a path forward right now that makes this a good use of time or resources.
Sadly, real change probably will not happen until something like that does. And that is exactly what I’m trying to prevent, but with the cost of these radios, I’m not sure I will be able to.
