R30 R30 - In 2020, what do you listen to the most with it?

[eorange]

I might not get away with that here in Macomb County, MI. Michigan's MPSCS P25 system is very active with multiple simulcast systems and numerous towers everywhere. I could test it by programming my scanner with just the voice channels and omit the control channels.

Correct. It's an interesting experiment, and the unit will display the TGID and NAC. Would be interesting to know if your P25 reception is as solid as mine.

 

[eorange]

I used to own the 8200 MK-III. Good receiver but you know what killed it for me? No PL/DPL tones built-in.

That actually wasn't an issue for me. I didn't use that radio to listen to public safety. Regarding that card...yes, it was from an old-school era and I don't think they cared about DPL. I have a single card, and it's the voice inversion which is permanently stuck inside the radio and I don't think it's ever coming out. The little eject slider won't budge it. It actually worked very well here, but the services that used VI have since moved on.

I am discovering the use of the Quick menu more and more, depending on what you are doing. I also like (for example) how you can change the mode and tuning step during a band scan on the fly, without stopping. They have done a pretty good job on the user interface.

 

[iMONITOR]

They have done a pretty good job on the user interface.

That must be new for ICOM, they've always been horrible in that regard.

 

[N1SQB]

That must be new for ICOM, they've always been horrible in that regard.

Maybe in the past, but trust me, they have improved significantly with the R30. As my friends will tell you, I'm a picky bastard. I haven't gone below 30 Mhz yet but above that, it is a dream to use. Just when you think you it all figured out, you discover something new. I love it.

Manny

 

[N1SQB]

That actually wasn't an issue for me. I didn't use that radio to listen to public safety.

I have dedicated scanners yes, but I like to get full use of my receivers whenever possible. So while the 8200 wasn't primarily for public safety monitoring, it bothered me that it was one less thing I could use it for. Those days are done now...

Manny

 

[eorange]

I haven't gone below 30 Mhz yet

That's where the R30 will spend half its time. I've just started to play with the combo of NB, ATT, and RF Gain settings to clean up AM and USB signals. Pretty amazing this is all in a handheld.

 

[wcu02mpa]

I have had mine for about a month. I like low band FM and 20M SSB HAM. It is a lot of money, but wow do you get a lot for it. I also listen to P25 stuff and satellite radio pirates.

 

[DeepBlue]

Someone mentioned in another group someplace, maybe the Groups.io pages for the R30 that they couldn't hear the SatCom Pirates. For me I placed the whip fully extended and about 2 ft off the ground. Vary the distance of the antenna from ground and also try tilting the antenna to favor the South a bit. Search out the frequency listings here and on other sites for the SatCom Pirates as well as the FltSatCom frequencies. I programmed then ALL in mine and hear traffic (pirates) sometimes on up to 8 or more frequencies. They can be prolific at times.

Anyway, glad others are liking the receiver. I have been using mine for months and love it still. Same minor complaints about the screen still hold true as far as the blue color and being mono-toned. Other than that it still does everything I wanted it to do.

Sean

 

[N4DJC]

Someone mentioned in another group someplace, maybe the Groups.io pages for the R30 that they couldn't hear the SatCom Pirates. For me I placed the whip fully extended and about 2 ft off the ground. Vary the distance of the antenna from ground and also try tilting the antenna to favor the South a bit. Search out the frequency listings here and on other sites for the SatCom Pirates as well as the FltSatCom frequencies. I programmed then ALL in mine and hear traffic (pirates) sometimes on up to 8 or more frequencies. They can be prolific at times.

Anyway, glad others are liking the receiver. I have been using mine for months and love it still. Same minor complaints about the screen still hold true as far as the blue color and being mono-toned. Other than that it still does everything I wanted it to do.

Sean

The screen is the only reason I sold mine, I just can't see the dang thing in relatively bright situations. A great receiver though, nothing else in a handheld touches it, if they'd fix that floppy telescoping antenna.....

 

[eorange]

I also love the one touch recording, and how it saves the metadata in the file properties.

I know it's not a scanner, but if it only followed a CC it would truly give the deteriorating scanner market some serious competition. It has so many advanced features, one being the temp lockout options - very well thought out.

 

[OpSec]

Everything...it's a great receiver to run in band segments and just "snoop" for signals. Once I see something I want/need to listen to, I can either zero in on it with the R30 or other radios.

It works well when the .gov and .mil boys are in town...all sorts of signals pop up then.

 

[N4DJC]

I also love the one touch recording, and how it saves the metadata in the file properties.

I know it's not a scanner, but if it only followed a CC it would truly give the deteriorating scanner market some serious competition. It has so many advanced features, one being the temp lockout options - very well thought out.

It works pretty well on smaller systems, but being able to alpha tag a talk group would be a big improvement.

Simulcast is not an issue at all, sounds great.

 

[WX5812]

Would the Icom R30 be worth getting to listen to fire,police and ems in Fort Worth TX?

 

[mass-man]

PD is encrypted! Uniden SDS100 is best bet for what you can hear on FWRRS!

 

[DeepBlue]

Encrypted is different than Encoded. If the Dept you want to listen to is truely Encrypted, nothing will work. The R-30 will receive P25 Encoded and you will hear that just fine (as long as it isn't Encrypted)

S.

 

[racingfan360]

If the Dept you want to listen to is truely Encrypted, nothing will work.

Unless in theory "the department" in question was using nxdn, which I accept they're not in this case. I use my r30 a lot to listen to encrypted nxdn, but then I know the system and the system key, and this isn't in the US where it would be illegal anyway.

 

[eorange]

I assume you have the non-US R30. Does it have a menu option to enter a key?

 

[racingfan360]

I assume you have the non-US R30. Does it have a menu option to enter a key?

Hi - yes I have the UK version. It works really well. Also has this function for dPMR but I've not tested this. Very easy to access the menu via the keypad or via memory file programming. Descrambling works much better than the AOR DV series and audio quality is just as good as my Nexedge portables.

 

[kruser]

I assume you have the non-US R30. Does it have a menu option to enter a key?

The standard encryption options have always been available for the NXDN and dPMR modes with the US firmware as well.
It's a basic form of encryption that is not very secure. The code can easily be guessed from the pool of available scramble codes.
I think there are 32,768 or 65,536 keys available to chose from for NXDN. Not sure about dPMR mode.
I'm not certain it's really considered a form of encryption though.

I tried it with a Icom portable. I selected and set a code for one of the NXDN channels. The 8600 would not pass audio on that frequency but once I set the 8600 to the same privacy code, the 8600 received the portable just fine. I remember the 8600 displayed something different on its display when it encountered the NXDN signal that had the privacy code set but I don't recall what it said.

For another portable model I can't recall, the code needed on the 8600 was off by 1 from what was used in the unknown portables TX settings.

 

[eorange]

Thanks, I see the options now. I didn't realize the Quick menu was context-sensitive depending on the mode.