Need recommendations for radios compatible with Motorola CP185

[KSHUM1983]

Hi everyone,

I hope you’re all doing well. I’m in the warehouse business, and we’re currently using Motorola CP185 radios. With our team growing, we now need additional radios—about six more—but are looking for more affordable options.

Could you recommend any radios that would be compatible with the CP185 right out of the box, or would they need programming to ensure compatibility? Our budget is $150. For reference, here are the basic specifications of the CP185:

• Analog only transmissions
• 16 channels
• Monochrome display
• UHF (435-480 MHz) or VHF (136-174 MHz*) frequency bands
• 4 Watts (UHF) or 5 Watts (VHF) max power output
• 11 hours battery life and up to 16 with hi-cap battery

I appreciate your assistance and look forward to your suggestions.

 

[K2NEC]

There is no radio that will be compatible with your CP185 right out of the box. Your radios are programmed for your warehouse, any radio will need to be reprogrammed to whatever you are using.

You also need to seriously reconsider your budget if you think you are getting 6 radios for $150. Just shy of getting cheap Chinese crap off ebay, you won't be able to meet your requirements.

 

[mmckenna]

There's some additional information that's needed before anyone can really offer accurate advice:

What country are you located in? Rules vary.
What does the license issued to your company allow? Different countries approach this differently.

What actual frequencies are you using? The CP185 comes in different models for different bands. We'd need to know exactly what you have.

Be wary of anyone that recommends the low cost Amazon/EBay type radios. Many of those radios are not legal to use on all of the radio spectrum, and if you are operating under a license issued by your country, you absolutely need to abide by those rules.
Cheap radios won't last long, especially in industrial applications. They also have poor performance, which usually leads to user frustration.
A $150 per radio budget is pretty low if you want something decent. To get something that I'd consider proper for that sort of application, you are probably looking at something more in the $250 - $300 range if you want it to last more than a few weeks.