• 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.

Question for someone to give me help..

Status
Not open for further replies.

mmckenna

I ♥ Ø
Joined
Jul 27, 2005
Messages
23,615
Location
Hiding in a coffee shop.
K thanks and again can someone find me good FRS radios I should get that I won’t pick up anyone else on the channel we use.

Again, FRS is NOT going to give you a private channel. It's a shared radio service, so that means anyone can use the same channel you are. You are provided no protections from other users. You can set the "privacy" codes on the radios, and that will help hide -some- of the interference.

If you really want your own channel that won't be likely to get interfered with, you need to move away from FRS and GMRS radio services to something that will give you some additional control:

Yeah, more money, but you get what you pay for. If your employer keeps wanting to spend $20 on radios for their operations, they are going to get exactly $20 worth of quality out of them. There's a really good reason why big companies go to professional radio shops for this sort of stuff. The Motorola DTR line is about the best you are going to do without getting licensed.
 

mmckenna

I ♥ Ø
Joined
Jul 27, 2005
Messages
23,615
Location
Hiding in a coffee shop.
I know we will see what the company help us fund to but I would only need like 6 I think

Buying used might be an option.

But you are not going to get what you want on FRS. The radio service is not set up that way. You could try MURS, but you may find interference there, also. There are still grandfathered licenses using MURS frequencies. Decent MURS radios will cost you as much as the Motorola DTR's.
 

mmckenna

I ♥ Ø
Joined
Jul 27, 2005
Messages
23,615
Location
Hiding in a coffee shop.
Do u have to have a license to use MURS frequencies

No, you don't need a license. It's what is referred to as "license by rule" by the FCC. That means if you follow the rules set forth by the FCC for the service, you can use it. Same with FRS.

MURS rules are here:

If you want decent quality MURS radios, try the Ritron NT-152M. But remember, MURS is still a shared service, limited to 5 channels. In most parts of the country there are a lot less users on MURS than there are on FRS, but there can still be drive through fast food systems, licensed/grandfathered users, etc. It's not going to be a private channel like the DTR radios will have.
 

KK4JUG

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Dec 13, 2014
Messages
4,245
Location
GA
You probably need to resign yourself to the fact that it's gonna cost a little money to get what you want. None of those "unlicensed" services will give you privacy...period. Though not FRS-cheap, the DTR radios are probably the least expensive devices you will get that meet your criteria.
 

rescuecomm

Member
Joined
Jun 20, 2005
Messages
1,445
Location
Travelers Rest, SC
I might be wrong, but seems the FRS radio power limit is 2 watts ERP. So exactly how the Midland 5 watt radios are rated will determine this. Very few handhelds can actually do 5 watts ERP on a stubby duck antenna. Also, with fixed antennas, how would one test for the RF carrier power?

Bob
 

mmckenna

I ♥ Ø
Joined
Jul 27, 2005
Messages
23,615
Location
Hiding in a coffee shop.
I might be wrong, but seems the FRS radio power limit is 2 watts ERP. So exactly how the Midland 5 watt radios are rated will determine this. Very few handhelds can actually do 5 watts ERP on a stubby duck antenna. Also, with fixed antennas, how would one test for the RF carrier power?

They are FRS/GMRS radios, GMRS permits them to use 5 watts on the GMRS channels. These probably pre-date the last rewriting of the GMRS and FRS rules a while back.
Carrier power can be tested in the factory off the RF amplifier. ERP can be tested in an anechoic chamber with the right test equipment, antennas, etc.
 

rescuecomm

Member
Joined
Jun 20, 2005
Messages
1,445
Location
Travelers Rest, SC
I looked up the FCC ID number. That radio is shown on a test fixture radiating 36.57 dbm. Four and a half watts on high power from that short antenna? Hard to believe on a consumer radio, but that's what was in the records.

Bob
 

Marine_Cotporal

Simplex Kid
Joined
Dec 10, 2015
Messages
68
MURS may be the cheaper answer for you. Here’s why. Like already said here, FRS and MURS are shared public frequencies that do not require a license. You may get interference even if using a privacy code. However, less people are on MURS. Less people equals less interference. The reason for less people is that there aren’t really any cheap bubble pack MURS radios sold in stores like Walmart, Dick’s ect like it’s done for FRS.

Mostly the only people you will hear on MURS on a regular basis are businesses like Walmart if you are near them and perhaps people that illegally use MURS frequencies on Baofeng HAM radios but that really isn’t the majority. They for the most part do not make it a habit of being on the the airwaves constantly. They will set their MURS frequencies on cheap Baofengs for just in case prepper use mostly.

Legitimate people on legal MURS radio are far less common than FRS users since there are fewer MURS radios for sale and the ones that are for sale usually can only be bought online. That limits the casual person just buying a MURS radio because they do not know what they are looking for when buying them online compared to just going to the store at the hunting section to buy a radio for ATV or camping use for example or for their kids to play with in the backyard.

As far as cheap MURS radios go, you can buy radios for less than a hundred bucks each.


 
Last edited:

JimBobTerp

Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
331
Location
Easton,PA
MURS may be the cheaper answer for you. Here’s why. Like already said here, FRS and MURS are shared public frequencies that do not require a license. You may get interference even if using a privacy code. However, less people are on MURS. Less people equals less interference. The reason for less people is that there aren’t really any cheap bubble pack MURS radios sold in stores like Walmart, Dick’s ect like it’s done for FRS.

Mostly the only people you will hear on MURS on a regular basis are businesses like Walmart if you are near them and perhaps people that illegally use MURS frequencies on Baofeng HAM radios but that really isn’t the majority. They for the most part do not make it a habit of being on the the airwaves constantly. They will set their MURS frequencies on cheap Baofengs for just in case prepper use mostly.

Legitimate people on legal MURS radio are far less common than FRS users since there are fewer MURS radios for sale and the ones that are for sale usually can only be bought online. That limits the casual person just buying a MURS radio because they do not know what they are looking for when buying them online compared to just going to the store at the hunting section to buy a radio for ATV or camping use for example or for their kids to play with in the backyard.

As far as cheap MURS radios go, you can buy radios for less than a hundred bucks each.



Thanks I was looking at that 10 pack of radios that you posted and there’s also another one on there I’m looking at beside that maybe that $84 one as well so I’ll bring that to attention to the people I work with and see what we can work out maybe even if I have to purchase it maybe they’ll reimburse me for it
 

KK4JUG

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Dec 13, 2014
Messages
4,245
Location
GA
Choose carefully. Remember, the cheap sometimes comes out expensive.
 

mmckenna

I ♥ Ø
Joined
Jul 27, 2005
Messages
23,615
Location
Hiding in a coffee shop.
Thanks I was looking at that 10 pack of radios that you posted and there’s also another one on there I’m looking at beside that maybe that $84 one as well so I’ll bring that to attention to the people I work with and see what we can work out maybe even if I have to purchase it maybe they’ll reimburse me for it

Yeah, cheap can get really expensive.

If you are going to recommend a change to management, give them options. Figure out the price for quality radios, like the Ritron's. Then figure a mid price model. then figure the Cheap Chinese Radios.

That way when they go with the cheap Chinese radios and they fall apart after a few months, you can say "Hey, I gave you options…"
 

JimBobTerp

Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
331
Location
Easton,PA
I wanted to know what frequencies if anyone knows what these radios are using?? My company might want these. Also can someone help me find the programming cable I would need for this so I can program them. Also can u help me find a 6 pack of like a mic clip that will work with this radio and hopefully I can get them about the same time day I get the radios or the day after.

 

mmckenna

I ♥ Ø
Joined
Jul 27, 2005
Messages
23,615
Location
Hiding in a coffee shop.
They appear to come preset with a mix of FRS and GMRS channels.

So, right back to where you started from. You could program them to something else, but everything else is going to require a license in the UHF band.

MURS or preferably the Motorola DTR's.
 

JimBobTerp

Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
331
Location
Easton,PA
But can’t find a 6pack or more of MURS radios. I don’t want to buy 1 radio at a time. Can someone please help me maybe a 6 pack or 10pack. Thanks
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top