Radio for Amateur and Non-Amateur usage

[n9upc]

So first of all please no flaming, or this is stupid, or why are you doing it replies.

The county that I work for/with was recently given some funding to purchase radios for emergency or special events that occur in the county. The one stipulation that was placed on the funds was that it needs to be used for radios that can be used by either amateurs (on the VHF or UHF amateur bands) as well as by public safety/public safety partners (non-amateur VHF or UHF). While the funding is nice it is NOT a significant amount so we are trying to get the most bang for the buck.

We had a list that we would like to have as features which are:
1.) VHF/UHF (136-174Mhz & 420-470 Mhz) Analog only
2.) Kill/stun feature by DTMF (or two-tone if needed)
3.) Locking keypad (user/idiot proof)
4.) Encryption (NOT FOR AMATEUR USAGE JUST PS usage)

One full requirement is that they must legal radios for the US and the dealer we buy from MUST be in the US and an ACTUAL business. No eBAY business of Bob's Radio Warehouse & Pottery Barn.

We were looking spending $130 or less, and less is more because then we can order more radios. We would like to order a minimum of 5 but based on some prices of the radios either 5 was not possible OR some of the other models would allow us to maybe even get 10 to 12.

We looked at the Wouxun UV-3x but were having a hard time finding them at the price point of $130 or less. We then looked at the Baofeng UV-82HP or 82c as they have some of the features we want to have in them. Puxing was promising but I cannot find a US dealer or one that has dual bands in stock within the next week.

Finally, we are not looking at used commercial as we do want the ability to do some of the programming from the keypad and for the most part these MIGHT get used two or three times a year but that is it. Having to have a radio that requires a computer, software, and cable to program adds another link into the chain for failure. Therefore, investing into radios that cost more than $130 is not the best move. In addition if a $35-$130 radio breaks or becomes inoperable, in this day and age, it is easier to replace than repair.

Any suggestions would be great and helpful in regards to radio model/brand and USA dealer/store.

 

[NDRADIONUT]

For $130.00 no way....

 

[Voyager]

I agree. Anytone might get you close, but I don't recall if they have the stun feature.

 

[KC4RAF]

As already posted, no way!

In your post:

"We had a list that we would like to have as features which are:
1.) VHF/UHF (136-174Mhz & 420-470 Mhz) Analog only
2.) Kill/stun feature by DTMF (or two-tone if needed)
3.) Locking keypad (user/idiot proof)
4.) Encryption (NOT FOR AMATEUR USAGE JUST PS usage)"

that type of radio will not be found for $130 each. You're talking about quite a few hundred dollars per radio.
And I for one would not recommend any of the cheap transceivers you mentioned.

 

[gewecke]

Chinacom radios are what you get for that price ... 73,n9zas

 

[Citywide173]

I think your funding source is setting you up for failure with the stipulations and funding amount. Could there be a political agenda at work?

 

[KE0GXN]

Have you considered or looked into the GSA auction or your State's surplus property process?

 

[AI7PM]

I think your funding source is setting you up for failure with the stipulations and funding amount. Could there be a political agenda at work?

Yeah. Something here isn't right.

 

[AI7PM]

Have you considered or looked into the GSA auction or your State's surplus property process?

And depending on your purpose, they may "Grant" them to your county.

 

[kayn1n32008]

In your post:



"We had a list that we would like to have as features which are:

1.) VHF/UHF (136-174Mhz & 420-470 Mhz) Analog only

2.) Kill/stun feature by DTMF (or two-tone if needed)

3.) Locking keypad (user/idiot proof)

4.) Encryption (NOT FOR AMATEUR USAGE JUST PS usage)"



that type of radio will not be found for $130 each.

And on top of that, once you through dual band, and encryption in, that certainly limits your options... At minimum you will need to increase the budget by a factor of atleast 10 to get all those features in the same radio.

When it comes to encryption, you likely WILL need a digital radio. What kind of encryption will PS users need?

As to stun/inhibit, I'm not sure what is out there that will inhibit/stun with DTMF or 2-tone... If anything.

 

[n9upc]

First of all thank you to all that have replied or sent me a PM providing me with some information that I have asked for instead of making comments not helping with an answer.

So first of all I guess the better term instead of grant would have been funds given to the county by a benefactor. This person had volunteered with the county in a few events and situations and saw that the amateur group could have been equipped better and had some issues with communications. Hence, he did some research on his own and in turn came up with some of the ideas that were listed here. Some of the other 'wants' were input from other sources and means that I have no control over.

If you wan to call it a political move or something shady go right ahead. All I know is that this was given to me to task and to be honest I have not used a Wouxun or Puxing in like 5 to 7 years so I was not sure what is out there and the such.

Next, the pricing that we have found was below the $130 mark but I wanted to see if anyone knew of any products out there that was around of below that pricing point. I know that baofengs or whatever other radio is out there can be had for only $30-$40. However, based upon the money and the amount of radios this was a price point that was created by someone else and asked that I try to adhere to for the funding. If we do need to go over so be it but the goal was not go much over that price.

As for the public safety aspect the county has a few channels that are used for internal county interoperability between county agencies and even strategic partners. The benefactor in this case was helping at an event and saw that people of different groups and organizations who needed to talk to one another could not due to either radio incompatibility (VHF to UHF) or because the radio they were using was not legally able to talk on another band.

The state and surplus auctions are great but once again these are for Motorola, Kenwoods, EF Johnsons, etc that need a computer, software, and cables to program. We are looking for something that has the ability to unlock the keypad to program the radio as well as being dual band instead of single band.

Finally, I am not going to give a FF, EMS worker, or LEO a baofeng for work and tell them to go have a happy. However, when certain agencies are using GMRS/FRS for communication during events because upper state officials said it is ok I rather have them using a type accept radio on the authorized county channels. Be this as it may the ability to use a baofeng, puxing, tyt, etc for non-vital comms is not far from using an GMRS/FRS during a flu pandemic clinic.

As stated thank you to those that PM'd me and gave me some suggestions on make/model as well as retailers and I will be contacting them on Monday. Thank you for everyones time in this matter and go Cardinals!

 

[DaveNF2G]

Keypad programming is generally prohibited for radios that can be used on Part 90 frequencies. Finding an FCC approved Part 90 radio with the ability to be programmed on non-Part 90 frequencies like the ham bands from the keypad is probably not possible.

 

[prcguy]

The Anytone AT-3318UV-A should have everything you need except encryption for $100. I believe you can program your PS frequencies into channel memory then limit the VFO via software for amateur only use, plus it has a stun feature. See Wouxun is history | Buy a better radio, buy Anytone
prcguy

 

[KE0GXN]

Good luck either way, but you'd be surprised what you can find at a State surplus or even the GSA auctions.

73

 

[Citywide173]

If you wan to call it a political move or something shady go right ahead. All I know is that this was given to me to task and to be honest I have not used a Wouxun or Puxing in like 5 to 7 years so I was not sure what is out there and the such.

Based on the information you gave, it appeared that something was not right. I have seen departments have to pay back grant money because they did not apply it in the prescribed format, and the constraints which you described made it appear that you would not be able to meet the requirements. I have also seen equipment taken and given to other agencies when the grant was not followed. If all of the requirements were from one source, I would be concerned that someone, somewhere was using your agency (and you) to acquire radios that met their needs.

It is not the case here, and I did not mean to insult anyone. Many departments only see the dollars and do not realize that sometimes it is better to walk away from a grant than to get stuck with sub-par equipment that they had to pay for in the end.

 

[bill4long]

(deleted by author)

 

[KB3KBR]

Keypad programming is generally prohibited for radios that can be used on Part 90 frequencies. Finding an FCC approved Part 90 radio with the ability to be programmed on non-Part 90 frequencies like the ham bands from the keypad is probably not possible.

Relm radios would probably be the best bet Relm RPV4200 and RPU4200 Portable Radios

a few of my guys in my fd use these, I have one of the older models and both it and the newer models can be programmed from the keypad, only disadvantage is no dual band

 

[Project25_MASTR]

Good luck. It's almost garanteed that if encryption is needed, you'll need a digital radio.



Current dual band digital portables go for around $2000. You might consider purchasing single band mid-tier analog portables (look at Tecnet) perhaps in VHF and then adding a mobile based crossband repeater (agian I would look at Tecnet). Depeinding on the dealer, Tecnet portables will run you around $90-$140 depending on the model. The mobiles will run around $250 (but you'd only need two).



In most cases, it's easier to program channels in advanced as most display radios have 128+ channel capacities these days.



From reading what was previously posted, a cross band repeater may be the overall solution to begin with (eliminates the need for dual banded subscribers making it more idiot proof).

 

[prcguy]

How would Relm radios be the best bet? We went from finding a radio that had 3 of the 4 features needed by the OP and the Relm radios have zero features the OP asked for. They are not dual band, they don't have a kill/stun feature, they don't have a locking keypad and they don't have encryption.
prcguy

Relm radios would probably be the best bet Relm RPV4200 and RPU4200 Portable Radios

a few of my guys in my fd use these, I have one of the older models and both it and the newer models can be programmed from the keypad, only disadvantage is no dual band

 

[bharvey2]

It seems that the requirements provided to you are a recipe for failure. In order to transmit on your departments freqs, you will need a Part 90 radio. That will exclude a number of the Chicom radios. Further, the front panel programming is typically a no-no with Part 90 radios as well. Many radios can be had with relatively inexpensive software and cables. For reliability's sake, it doesn't make sense to have end users manipulating the programming criteria. For your department's sake (and liability) this should be a no-go.

My gut feeling is that this isn't a grant per se, but a HAM wannabe that is willing to make a donation with strings attached. Mind you, I don't work in the Public Safety radio so I have don't have any sandbox to protect but this whole thing just seems fishy.