• 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.

    If you are having trouble legally obtaining software please state so. We do not want any hurt feelings when your vague post is mistaken for a free request. It is YOUR responsibility to properly word your request.

    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).

    This is a large and very visible forum. We cannot jeopardize the ability to provide the RadioReference services by allowing this activity to occur. Please respect this.

Meaning?

Coffeemug

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Mar 10, 2008
Messages
131
Location
Warminster BUCKS Co. PA
We use MDC at work. Usually the MDC bursts are filtered by the PL tone, so end users don't often hear it. Scanner listeners that run carrier squelch will.
On the ham bands, many run carrier squelch and will hear it. Most don't know what it is, and that tends to piss off amateurs. They'll usually complain (and loudly). That can be a good reason to run it, or not.

Some have set up their repeaters to require it. That's a handy tool to have to keep most prying users from accessing repeaters you don't want them to.

If you have to listen to it a lot, it gets annoying. It's a cool thing to play with, and figure out how it works. Good knowledge to have. But, yeah, it's got it's place, and FRS/GMRS/MURS/amateur usually isn't it.
I don't know why that I was about apologize, because I don't have anything apologize for. I knew that I was right about MDC having a place in Commercial Business and Public Safety. I took a long break from Amateur Radio, I mean once in a while I'll try to make contact with some guys I use to be Town Watch with, but that's about. My Mother passed away 6 years ago this past June, and my long girlfriend and childhood friend passed away 4 years this past. So, I guess I feel into a slump. I do listen to LEARN and they sound as if they watch too much classic Police Dramas or Trucking Movies with the Ten Codes. I don't know how many of those members were or are currently Law Enforcement Officers, but it seems like they overboard with the Ten Codes. Some of those younger members, I'm surprise that they understood those Ten Codes. Well, thank again for chewing earing off by telling me that I don't know what talking or that I'm boring a watching Mrs. Butterworth come out of the bottle. Although I tend to agree with you to a point.
Merry Christmas if I don't correspond with you before!
 

mmckenna

I ♥ Ø
Joined
Jul 27, 2005
Messages
25,382
Location
United States
My Mother passed away 6 years ago this past June, and my long girlfriend and childhood friend passed away 4 years this past.

Sorry to hear that, that sucks.

Nothing at all wrong with MDC if it's used in the right context. What you'll usually run across is amateurs/GMRS users that don't know what it is and get annoyed by the sound.

I've used in on amateur radio. I run commercial gear, so Motorola radio at the house and Kenwood or Harris in the vehicles. I've got the radios set up to send MDC on PTT release, but it cuts the PL tone before it does, so we don't hear it. It's useful to know if it's the base or my wife in her truck calling me. Since we're on a 2 meter simplex frequency, there's usually no one to be annoyed by it.

The LEARN thing is interesting. Most cops I know don't talk like cops out of work hours. They want to get away from that stuff. If a bunch of guys are on GMRS using that sort of language, sure sounds like they are taking it all too seriously, or are non-public safety users playing wanna-be.
 

Coffeemug

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Mar 10, 2008
Messages
131
Location
Warminster BUCKS Co. PA
Sorry to hear that, that sucks.

Nothing at all wrong with MDC if it's used in the right context. What you'll usually run across is amateurs/GMRS users that don't know what it is and get annoyed by the sound.

I've used in on amateur radio. I run commercial gear, so Motorola radio at the house and Kenwood or Harris in the vehicles. I've got the radios set up to send MDC on PTT release, but it cuts the PL tone before it does, so we don't hear it. It's useful to know if it's the base or my wife in her truck calling me. Since we're on a 2 meter simplex frequency, there's usually no one to be annoyed by it.

The LEARN thing is interesting. Most cops I know don't talk like cops out of work hours. They want to get away from that stuff. If a bunch of guys are on GMRS using that sort of language, sure sounds like they are taking it all too seriously, or are non-public safety users playing wanna-be.
I want to apologize for sounding as if I am putting myself down. No one should ever put themselves down, and I have a bad habit of doing that. What I want to say is,
you hit the nail when you said that most cops or I'll use in my own words, the majority Law Enforcement Officers rather use plain language when not conducting job related duties over the radio or face to face. I can't say when they're off the clock, because in Public Safety, a Law Enforcement Officer or any First Responder is always on the clock, or the clock doesn't exist like in other occupations.
Mr. Mckenna
I know that I didn't have to tell you that, but I wanted you to understand that I knew that, because one of two things I've you learned as Police Explorer the clock doesn't mean you quit after 8 hours or 12 hours, and the other thing, always expect the unexpected. You have a Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays, but Merry Christmas is appropriate.
 
Last edited:

radiocrazy123

Member
Joined
Mar 7, 2022
Messages
67
If it's legal and allowed by the FCC, then I will do it. Simple, as that. 10 codes & MDC included. I don't need to justify my reasons to any user of gmrs.

An offended listener? That's fine by me.

People are often offended by matters they do not understand.
 

Coffeemug

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Mar 10, 2008
Messages
131
Location
Warminster BUCKS Co. PA
If it's legal and allowed by the FCC, then I will do it. Simple, as that. 10 codes & MDC included. I don't need to justify my reasons to any user of gmrs.

An offended listener? That's fine by me.

People are often offended by matters they do not understand.
I probably sound like a moron sometimes with the posts that I have posted, but I do my best to stay in step. I mean in regard to the current FCC's Rules and Regulations. If you want to use MDC on your FRS / GMRS equipment, then go ahead, that's your choice. Of course, the use of Ten Codes is perfectly alright, even though some individuals may say otherwise. Now, on Amateur Radio, you know some HAMs will cringe when they even hear Ten Codes on or off the radio. Those HAMs will say this isn't CB radio; we don't use Ten Codes on the Amateur Radio Bands.

Merry Christmas
 
Top