MOTOROLA HT-200: Not available to PD's for many years?

[Archie]

Read the HT-200 was invented in 1962 yet the NYPD and likely others, did not implement them until several later. Why the delay? Were they not perfected enough when invented for public safety users? Or maybe it was a budgetary issue? Correct that they had cost about $1K each back then?

Many Thanks and stay safe.

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

They were relatively low power compared to mobile radios of the time. It wasn't until some time later, Motorola developed the TAC voting comparator, a precursor to the SpectraTac, and cities could employ portable radios. If I recall correctly, Chicago had some 700 receivers deployed. Those may have been on multiple channels, but the system was quite extensive in numbers of RX sites.

 

[kevinparrish]

This was the same situation in San Francisco. . . Portable radios were very expensive at the time and back in those days SFPD was all 45 MHz low-band (simplex) operations. It wasn't until around 1970 that the very first portable radios were purchased by the department. The first UHF radio system used portables only, the repeaters were all Motorola, portables were manufactured by Hallicrafters. . . Some years later the Hallicrafters portables were finally replaced with the very first generation of Motorola "MX Series" Handie-Talkies. . . This SFPD radio system was known as the PIC System. Personal Instantaneous Communications.

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

LEAA Grants fueled some of the major radio communications systems enhancements on the 60s and on.

Law Enforcement Assistance Administration - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org