need advice, technologically challenged

[palmettosfinest]

Ill apologize in advance because im sure my questions have been asked before, but ive been searching and cant quite find the answer im looking for...

First off, im a 911/radio dispatcher for my local pd, and a volunteer rescue squad member in my local county. I have a Motorola cp200 radio from the county that I use for calls and that works fine, however due to my affiliation with the police department I tend to help them do traffic control for accidents or other random things as im driving by and the issue ive had recently is not having radio contact with the officers due to not having my pd programmed into the Motorola. All the channels on the motorla are full and necessary, so the only option is to get another radio. My plan was to get another cp200 that has 4 channels and go with that, however the more ive looked into doing that the more confused ive gotten. here are my questions:

1) Will a Motorola cp200 be able to rx and tx on my pd's channel? the officers use moto xts2500 and 5000's that are 800mhz, dispatch uses some sort of Motorola desktop (I don't know what even though ive been using it for over 3 years.) Im almost positive the signals are trunked but I know they are analog.

2) Whats the difference between a 430 (random number im using) MHz radio and an 800? I don't specifically need the difference if its too complicated to explain shortly, but basically will the lower number MHz radio rx and tx with a higher number MHz radio?

3) If its possible, are there any other cheaper radios I should look into that will tx and rx in the same ballpark as a cp200? new or used, im not picky as long as it works. Also as far as reliability, the most exposure is rain. I will only be using this radio as a backup, or as stated earlier, for auxiliary activities with police in a non-enforcement way so reliability isn't as big a deal as the price tag to me.

I know that's a lot of questions for a new guy, but this seemed like the best place to get them answered. Also, my pd chief knows im looking and is perfectly ok with me operating on the police radio for auxiliary assistance. We're a small dept with no spare xts's for me to purchase, that definitely was my first question to him.

Thanks for the help!

 

[dmg1969]

Ill apologize in advance because im sure my questions have been asked before, but ive been searching and cant quite find the answer im looking for...

First off, im a 911/radio dispatcher for my local pd, and a volunteer rescue squad member in my local county. I have a Motorola cp200 radio from the county that I use for calls and that works fine, however due to my affiliation with the police department I tend to help them do traffic control for accidents or other random things as im driving by and the issue ive had recently is not having radio contact with the officers due to not having my pd programmed into the Motorola. All the channels on the motorla are full and necessary, so the only option is to get another radio. My plan was to get another cp200 that has 4 channels and go with that, however the more ive looked into doing that the more confused ive gotten. here are my questions:

1) Will a Motorola cp200 be able to rx and tx on my pd's channel? the officers use moto xts2500 and 5000's that are 800mhz, dispatch uses some sort of Motorola desktop (I don't know what even though ive been using it for over 3 years.) Im almost positive the signals are trunked but I know they are analog.

2) Whats the difference between a 430 (random number im using) MHz radio and an 800? I don't specifically need the difference if its too complicated to explain shortly, but basically will the lower number MHz radio rx and tx with a higher number MHz radio?

3) If its possible, are there any other cheaper radios I should look into that will tx and rx in the same ballpark as a cp200? new or used, im not picky as long as it works. Also as far as reliability, the most exposure is rain. I will only be using this radio as a backup, or as stated earlier, for auxiliary activities with police in a non-enforcement way so reliability isn't as big a deal as the price tag to me.

I know that's a lot of questions for a new guy, but this seemed like the best place to get them answered. Also, my pd chief knows im looking and is perfectly ok with me operating on the police radio for auxiliary assistance. We're a small dept with no spare xts's for me to purchase, that definitely was my first question to him.

Thanks for the help!

This would probably be a question better posed to whoever manages your county's radio system, I would think.

 

[WA0CBW]

Q1--Your Motorola cp200 will not work on an 800 Mhz trunk system.
Q2--A radio works on specific bands and frequencies. 450 to 500 MHz is the UHF band. 800 Mhz is a different band. So a 450 MHz radio will not work with an 800 MHz radio.
Q3--You will need two different radios. One for the conventional (non-trunked) frequencies and one for the trunked 800 frequencies.
Also know that 800 trunked radios require a system key and ID number from the trunked system manager. The manager will need to authorize your radio into the system. You will also need programming software and programming cables. Programming for an 800 MHz trunked radio should only be done by the system operator or manager due to its complexity and knowledge of the system parameters. As Dave said you need to discuss this with the manager/operator of the trunk radio system.
BB
BB

 

[N8IAA]

Since your county and city are on the Palmetto P-25 system, and they want you to help, they should provide you with a radio capable of using that system on their TGID's. You shouldn't need to get your own radio.
Larry

 

[palmettosfinest]

Ok, Thank you for the responses, this helps alot