Motorola PR400- UHF & VHF

[KC2GVX]

The college I work for uses these radios for their satellite campus. When I was testing them out, I found them to be programmed for two channels.

CH 1- 152.975, DCS 145
CH 2- 478.6625, DCS 445

I am completely out of the loop with Motorola radios, but is it common for these models to have a VHF & UHF channel programmed in them? I was under the impression they were one or the other.

 

[SteveC0625]

The college I work for uses these radios for their satellite campus. When I was testing them out, I found them to be programmed for two channels.

CH 1- 152.975, DCS 145
CH 2- 478.6625, DCS 445

I am completely out of the loop with Motorola radios, but is it common for these models to have a VHF & UHF channel programmed in them? I was under the impression they were one or the other.

My spec sheets show the PR400 to be either VHF or UHF, but not both. It is not a dual band radio.

I am wondering if there is a cross band repeater or some similar device
on campus allowing communications on both bands. Our local school district uses VHF portables for on-campus stuff like maintenance and security. The buses are all UHF using a large off-site repeater for good coverage over a long distance as it's a rural school district. They also have a cross band repeater at the school which allow staff on the VHF portable to communicate directly with any of the buses.

Did you get the frequency info from reading the codeplug? Or some other way? When you tested them, did the portables transmit directly on both frequencies or did they hit a repeater or similar?

I'd be real interested to see the codeplug on them.

 

[KC2GVX]

I did this very informally. I took the radio, keyed up spoke some words on channel 1 & 2. I had my PRO 2055 set to signal stalker and it hit on the frequencies I listed when I keyed up, and I heard my voice on the scanner. As far as I know, there is not a repeater on this satellite campus. There are no antennas or repeated equipment within the facility. When I tried channels 3-16, I got a tone when I tried to key up.

 

[SteveC0625]

I did this very informally. I took the radio, keyed up spoke some words on channel 1 & 2. I had my PRO 2055 set to signal stalker and it hit on the frequencies I listed when I keyed up, and I heard my voice on the scanner. As far as I know, there is not a repeater on this satellite campus. There are no antennas or repeated equipment within the facility. When I tried channels 3-16, I got a tone when I tried to key up.

Pop the battery off the radio and make a note of the model number. I can decode it for you and we'll know what band the radio actually is. Then you can set the 2055 to hunt just one band or the other and determine what the Tx frequencies really are.

 

[KC2GVX]

Okay, here is the model number:
AAH65KDC9AA2AN

 

[SteveC0625]

Okay, here is the model number:
AAH65KDC9AA2AN

VHF (146-174)
5 Watts
16 Channels
No Display

Make sure your scanner is only hunting VHF and try your search again.

 

[KC2GVX]

Okay thanks. I will do that.
What would cause me to get the hit on that UHF frequency?

 

[SteveC0625]

Motorola PR400- UHF & VHF

Okay thanks. I will do that.
What would cause me to get the hit on that UHF frequency?

Could be be a harmonic, especially if your scanner is an older one. I still would not rule out a cross band. Have you heard any traffic on your scanner on the UHF frequency?

 

[KC2GVX]

The radios are used for coordination between two buildings that sit next to each other. During the normal fall & spring semesters, they only use channel 1. I was just being nosy and wanted to see what additional channels were programmed, if any.

 

[N0YFE]

Motorola PR400- UHF & VHF

Channel 2 may open up a UHF link to to a remote repeater in another area of campus. I worked at a campus that ch 1 was talk around and ch 2 used an on campus VHF repeater with a UHF link to our campus across town. The remote campus site used a linked VHF and UHF radio as a cross ban repeater.

 

[Quickcall]

How about licensing info?

 

[KC2GVX]

The main campus is 20 miles away from this satellite campus. The main campus is large and uses 152.975, but MOTOTRBO with a repeater, which we are licensed for. Maintenance uses a different VHF frequency with a repeater in analog. This satellite campus is 20 miles from the main campus, and the staff I work with state they have NO radio contact with the main campus with these radios. The license does not specify the satellite campus, just the main campus- but in the same county.

 

[Quickcall]

The main campus is 20 miles away from this satellite campus. The main campus is large and uses 152.975, but MOTOTRBO with a repeater, which we are licensed for. Maintenance uses a different VHF frequency with a repeater in analog. This satellite campus is 20 miles from the main campus, and the staff I work with state they have NO radio contact with the main campus with these radios. The license does not specify the satellite campus, just the main campus- but in the same county.

Whats the FCC callsign?

 

[SteveC0625]

WQBV680

The license specifies a 40 km radius around the main campus for all frequencies for mobiles.

152.3225 FB2 at 1 COLLEGE DRIVE, TOMS RIVER, NJ, OCEAN County and MO
152.9750 FB2 at 1 COLLEGE DRIVE, TOMS RIVER, NJ, OCEAN County and MO
157.8525 MO only
159.7800 MO only

 

[KC2GVX]

Well I figured it out, the channel 2 is the maintenance channel- 159.555. Not sure why I was getting that UHF hit.