Store and restaurant frequencies!
- Thread starter smb3
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stingray327
Member
Sam's Club uses 154.6000 same as Walmart though these 2 stores are the same company.
But what frequencies does Costco use?
Costco gets licenses for discrete stores. If you look in the database for the area, or do a name search, you will see many different frequencies being utilized.
n1das
Member
Costco Wholesale near me in Nashua NH is using Motorola 900MHz FHSS digital radios. No license required. They appear to be using the DLR series radios. The DLRs make perfect sense for the application. I'm curious if this is just one particular case or Costco starting to use these radios in all stores nationwide.
Unlicensed Business Radios - Motorola Solutions
Motorola’s on-site two-way business radios are designed to meet your business needs, helping your team coordinate quickly to address customer needs.
I haven't actually seen the radios because I don't shop there but I am able to listen to them on my DTR650 and DTR700 radios. I used to own a fleet of DLR1060 radios. Costco is operating on one of the factory default public groups. I am reasonably sure it's Costco I'm listening to based on the retail chatter heard. People seem to be using these radios out of the box at the factory default settings like FRS bubble packs. I purposely keep the default public groups in my DTR programming so I can monitor for activity in my travels.
Given that I don't shop at Costco, how do I know they are using DLR radios? I have owned a fleet of DLRs and currently own fleets of DTR650 and DTR700 radios. I have gotten to know them well and know the features each model has.
Costco DLR radio clues:
1. Operating at factory default settings makes them real easy to monitor with another DLR or DTR radio. The first step is to be able to monitor them.
2. The radios have badly distorted transmit audio when someone talks loudly or eats the microphone when they talk. The DLRs and the older DTR410/550/650 models don't have AGC in the transmit audio. The DTR600/700 models added AGC to clean up the transmit audio. The DTR600/700 has the best transmit audio, the DLRs have the worst, and the older DTR410/550/650 models are somewhere in between.
3. Costco's radios respond to Call All Available and Page All Available commands from my radios when I've tested these features. The older DTR410/550/650 radios don't have these features. The Call All Available and Page All Available features were implemented by using two public group IDs which the older DTRs simply treat as normal public groups. The older DTRs don't respond the way the DLRs and the new DTR600/700 models do with these group IDs.
4. The new DTR600/700 models first started shipping in November 2018 and I have been listening to Costco long before that. The DLRs were released in 2015. Costco's radios are unlikely to be DTR600/700 radios because the DTR600/700 models didn't exist yet and the older DTRs don't have the Call All Available and Page All Available features which started with the DLR series.
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467.8500 at my local Costco!
TailGator911
Silent Key/KF4ANC
I have a few Favorites/Scan Lists on my scanners dedicated to area businesses. The itinerant and dot radio frequencies are easily found and some of them are busy, but a lot of businesses in my area are going with DMR systems. I find it easier to go into the FCC ULS system (website) and search for all licenses in a particular county, then add them accordingly. I have seen some businesses go to 900mhz radios, but not too many. Mostly DMR UHF and some with their own encryption. Funny, the nearby mall security does not use encryption, but the parking lot sweepers do.
stingray327
Member
Costco Wholesale near me in Nashua NH is using Motorola 900MHz FHSS digital radios. No license required. They appear to be using the DLR series radios. The DLRs make perfect sense for the application. I'm curious if this is just one particular case or Costco starting to use these radios in all stores nationwide.
Unlicensed Business Radios - Motorola Solutions
Motorola’s on-site two-way business radios are designed to meet your business needs, helping your team coordinate quickly to address customer needs.www.motorolasolutions.com
I haven't actually seen the radios because I don't shop there but I am able to listen to them on my DTR650 and DTR700 radios. I used to own a fleet of DLR1060 radios. Costco is operating on one of the factory default public groups. I am reasonably sure it's Costco I'm listening to based on the retail chatter heard. People seem to be using these radios out of the box at the factory default settings like FRS bubble packs. I purposely keep the default public groups in my DTR programming so I can monitor for activity in my travels.
Given that I don't shop at Costco, how do I know they are using DLR radios? I have owned a fleet of DLRs and currently own fleets of DTR650 and DTR700 radios. I have gotten to know them well and know the features each model has.
Costco DLR radio clues:
1. Operating at factory default settings makes them real easy to monitor with another DLR or DTR radio. The first step is to be able to monitor them.
2. The radios have badly distorted transmit audio when someone talks loudly or eats the microphone when they talk. The DLRs and the older DTR410/550/650 models don't have AGC in the transmit audio. The DTR600/700 models added AGC to clean up the transmit audio. The DTR600/700 has the best transmit audio, the DLRs have the worst, and the older DTR410/550/650 models are somewhere in between.
3. Costco's radios respond to Call All Available and Page All Available commands from my radios when I've tested these features. The older DTR410/550/650 radios don't have these features. The Call All Available and Page All Available features were implemented by using two public group IDs which the older DTRs simply treat as normal public groups. The older DTRs don't respond the way the DLRs and the new DTR600/700 models do with these group IDs.
4. The new DTR600/700 models first started shipping in November 2018 and I have been listening to Costco long before that. The DLRs were released in 2015. Costco's radios are unlikely to be DTR600/700 radios because the DTR600/700 models didn't exist yet and the older DTRs don't have the Call All Available and Page All Available features which started with the DLR series.
I am not too familiar with these DLR or DTR frequencies or radios. Can a Home Patrol 2 or BCD 436 pick up these frequencies?
If Costco is on 900MHZ isn't that the old telephone cordless phone freqs? If so then you can pick up these freqs. on scanner.
nd5y
Member
The 902-928 MHz band is shared amateur radio, radiolocation, government, ISM equipment and low power Part 15 devices including cordless phones and Motorola's digital radios. Most scanners can tune the frequencies but the Motorola radios and most other devices use FHSS or other modes which no scanner can receive.
Awesome work 
Over this side of the world, we have a mix of:
UHF CB: Mostly for smaller businesses and traffic controllers.
UHF headsets: Most larger stores are using these. Kmart, Target, Officeworks, BCF, Super Cheap Auto, JB HiFi.
UHF handhelds on a business frequency: Used at shopping malls and larger stores.
Over this side of the world, we have a mix of:
UHF CB: Mostly for smaller businesses and traffic controllers.
UHF headsets: Most larger stores are using these. Kmart, Target, Officeworks, BCF, Super Cheap Auto, JB HiFi.
UHF handhelds on a business frequency: Used at shopping malls and larger stores.
Costco near me uses 468.2125 (67.0)
I used to update that Stores wiki page (I created the page from a dedicated stores bank in my scanner) but haven't been actively updating it in quite a while.I don't think anybody maintains that page any more. This one (the link in the above page) has a lot more.
US-Nationwide Businesses-Retail - The RadioReference Wiki
wiki.radioreference.com
Note: I've seen a lot of stores migrating to 468.xxxx intinerant freqs since I last updated that page.
Best to use the US Nationwide Business Retail wiki page.
n1das
Member
What nd5y said.
FHSS information:
Frequency-hopping spread spectrum - Wikipedia
en.m.wikipedia.org
The Motorola DTRs and DLRs are not monitorable on any consumer grade receiver (scanner) so don't even bother trying. The only inexpensive and practical way to monitor them is to have one yourself AND everything has to be programmed properly. Many businesses seem to be using them right out of the box at the factory default settings, like FRS bubble packs. I have monitored local activity on the default public talkgroups from time to time in my travels. That's how I found the Costco near me is using them.
I have a quick but related funny story to share. My wife and I were using our DTR650 radios at a ham radio flea market (NEAR-fest) in NH and somebody tried to monitor us and failed of course. My wife had gone to get some food from one of the food vendors and I was elsewhere on the fairgrounds. She was talking to me on the radio while walking by herself to meet up with me and a guy at a table asked her what frequency we were talking on. Since she didn't know, she asked me over the DTR radio. I said they are digital radios operating in the 902-928 band and using FHSS. The guy said "Ohhh...so THAT's why I can't find you on my spectrum analyzer!" We were hiding in plain sight. LOL.
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stingray327
Member
So who is using the old cell phone frequencies?
n1das
Member
New cell phones.
The cell phone frequency ranges censored from scanners are still very much used by cell phones. The phones and networks are all digital now. The old analog AMPS cell phone networks have been gone for quite a while.
n1das
Member
I routinely search the 450-470MHz band to capture most store and restaurant frequencies. Aside from Walmart* using MURS 154.57 and 154.6, the 450-470MHz range is where I find the most activity.
I also scan the out of box default public talkgroups with my 900MHz Motorola DTR radios. The little Motorola DLR series radios are popular and people use them right out of the box at the factory default settings like FRS bubble packs. I have been finding increasing activity on 900MHz in my travels.
I also scan the out of box default public talkgroups with my 900MHz Motorola DTR radios. The little Motorola DLR series radios are popular and people use them right out of the box at the factory default settings like FRS bubble packs. I have been finding increasing activity on 900MHz in my travels.
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stingray327
Member
The 902-928 used to be the newer cordless phones freqs?
Many retailers in my area use these 4:
467.850 "Silver Star"
467.875 "Gold Star"
467.900 "Red Star"
467.925 "Blue Star", most of the Best Buys I go to operate here at D506
I have all the common business and itinerant frequencies in the wiki mentioned above me programmed into favorites lists on my Unidens and have great success in most cases by scanning this list. Alternatively you can enable "close call" if your scanner has it
467.850 "Silver Star"
467.875 "Gold Star"
467.900 "Red Star"
467.925 "Blue Star", most of the Best Buys I go to operate here at D506
I have all the common business and itinerant frequencies in the wiki mentioned above me programmed into favorites lists on my Unidens and have great success in most cases by scanning this list. Alternatively you can enable "close call" if your scanner has it
nd5y
Member
902-928 is a shared band containing amateur radio, radiolocation, federal government, and unlicensed part 15 devices including ISM (Industrial Scientific andMedical equipment) some cordless phones and other wireless junk.
Most newer cordless phones are on 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz along with bluetooth wifi and other unlicensed part 15 devices.
nd5y
Member
Many store chains (and a lot of other businesses) have licenses for nationwide operation of 2 watt portables on those four channels.
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