How many will do it for free? Tech time is expensive, times are hard, and many cities and counties are requiring that costs be recovered for all services rendered. How many will make their techs available at all to program ham rigs?
Why use commercial radios on Ham bands
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How many will do it for free? Tech time is expensive, times are hard, and many cities and counties are requiring that costs be recovered for all services rendered. How many will make their techs available at all to program ham rigs?
I think that would depend upon the tech, his being a ham, if one was willing to wait till time was available, and how active the local hams are with the shop and agencies. One can't always expect total stranges to give something away, but if you are providing a service in return....
Good Day-
I should add some details to my statement about cities and counties having radio shops.
Many citiy and county governments have radio shops. Our local one has a couple of hams and they will do programing after hours for us. Also, on large jobs, our local emergency manager will cover the cost from their budget. Over the years they have included a few dollars in their annual budget for those costs.
Also... as a reminder... programing is just part of the job. Tuning is the rest of it and that is where the real cost is. The equipment and talent is very expensive.
Thanks for all the ideas.
Ken
I should add some details to my statement about cities and counties having radio shops.
Many citiy and county governments have radio shops. Our local one has a couple of hams and they will do programing after hours for us. Also, on large jobs, our local emergency manager will cover the cost from their budget. Over the years they have included a few dollars in their annual budget for those costs.
Also... as a reminder... programing is just part of the job. Tuning is the rest of it and that is where the real cost is. The equipment and talent is very expensive.
Thanks for all the ideas.
Ken
KE4RWS
Member
Commercial for me . . .
I've said this before, but I use commercial portables because I HATE those cheap-@$$ belt clips almost all amateur-made portables have on them. They're usually small, cheap, plastic clip-on belt clips that slip or break off at the slightest strain. Again, not all but MOST are like this.
Also, the internal speaker on a commercial portable radio is usually larger than those found in amateur-made portables. Therefore, offering MUCH better audio receive quality. Personally I loved those big ol' old Icom & Radio Shack portable radio's. You KNEW you had a radio in your hand back then, and the receive audio was superb compared to the absolute TINY amateur-made portables today.
Clearly there are exceptions to this rule, however, for the most part I don't care for these ultra small amateur-made portable radio systems out today. They are definitely feature-rich, but lack the good old fashioned ruggedness, durability & feel of a good commercial portable radio. Plus, God forbid you drop your radio. There is a high probability something will break if it's an amateur-made radio. The durability of commercial radio's have a higher build quality to them which resist breakage MUCH more so than those made by amateur radio companies. Once again, although SOME amateur manufacturers are increasing their build quality, commercial portables typically have higher build standards and will hold up much longer than almost all amateur portables.
But that's me . . .
I've said this before, but I use commercial portables because I HATE those cheap-@$$ belt clips almost all amateur-made portables have on them. They're usually small, cheap, plastic clip-on belt clips that slip or break off at the slightest strain. Again, not all but MOST are like this.
Also, the internal speaker on a commercial portable radio is usually larger than those found in amateur-made portables. Therefore, offering MUCH better audio receive quality. Personally I loved those big ol' old Icom & Radio Shack portable radio's. You KNEW you had a radio in your hand back then, and the receive audio was superb compared to the absolute TINY amateur-made portables today.
Clearly there are exceptions to this rule, however, for the most part I don't care for these ultra small amateur-made portable radio systems out today. They are definitely feature-rich, but lack the good old fashioned ruggedness, durability & feel of a good commercial portable radio. Plus, God forbid you drop your radio. There is a high probability something will break if it's an amateur-made radio. The durability of commercial radio's have a higher build quality to them which resist breakage MUCH more so than those made by amateur radio companies. Once again, although SOME amateur manufacturers are increasing their build quality, commercial portables typically have higher build standards and will hold up much longer than almost all amateur portables.
But that's me . . .
D
DaveNF2G
Guest
You make it sound as if commercial radio companies don't build ham radios. They do.
990adv
Member
I was asking this very same question a few months ago. Checked out many radios at hamfests and online. Talked to many people at hamfests. Even got to touch, feel, operate a few of the radios. Most of the gear I am writing about was Motorola but some other brands as well.
In the end I decided that the pros just were not that useful to me. I have an Icom 92ad and a Yaesu VX8dr. Both with GPS handmics. I do not baby them, yet I do treat them as property I worked for. They get wet and muddy. At least one but usually both go with me all the time. Hiking, backpacking, camping, on bicycle or motorcycle, to work etc. they have been great. For my situation these two radios work perfectly.
More power to anyone that wants to use commercial gear. I do think the Motorola XTS radios are cool. I know I will be checking them out in the flea market at Dayton in a couple months. Who knows, I might just have to buy one if the price is right(very low). You can never have to many radios.
In the end I decided that the pros just were not that useful to me. I have an Icom 92ad and a Yaesu VX8dr. Both with GPS handmics. I do not baby them, yet I do treat them as property I worked for. They get wet and muddy. At least one but usually both go with me all the time. Hiking, backpacking, camping, on bicycle or motorcycle, to work etc. they have been great. For my situation these two radios work perfectly.
More power to anyone that wants to use commercial gear. I do think the Motorola XTS radios are cool. I know I will be checking them out in the flea market at Dayton in a couple months. Who knows, I might just have to buy one if the price is right(very low). You can never have to many radios.
KE4RWS
Member
Vertex VX-150 / Yaesu FT-250R
Although I haven't handled the current Yaesu FT-270R 2-meter portable, I do recall the Vertex VX-150 (which is now the Yaesu FT-250R I believe), was the ONLY amateur-made portable radio I was actually impressed with. It had a REAL belt clip and the build quality was quite good. The receive audio was also very good. Of course, I realize Vertex is the commercial division of Yaesu, but the VX-150 was manufactured and marketed as an "amateur radio" vs. a commercial radio. Maybe that's why they rebranded it a Yaesu FT-250R. Who knows . . .
Either way, I was impressed with this radio, and it appears the FT-270R looks like it may be equally as good and is actually a tad bigger than the VX-150/FT-250.
Although I haven't handled the current Yaesu FT-270R 2-meter portable, I do recall the Vertex VX-150 (which is now the Yaesu FT-250R I believe), was the ONLY amateur-made portable radio I was actually impressed with. It had a REAL belt clip and the build quality was quite good. The receive audio was also very good. Of course, I realize Vertex is the commercial division of Yaesu, but the VX-150 was manufactured and marketed as an "amateur radio" vs. a commercial radio. Maybe that's why they rebranded it a Yaesu FT-250R. Who knows . . .
Either way, I was impressed with this radio, and it appears the FT-270R looks like it may be equally as good and is actually a tad bigger than the VX-150/FT-250.
In summary, not "field programmable".
KE4RWS
Member
N4KVE
Member
Sometimes a ham radio is a clone of a commercial radio. Take the Vertex Yaesu 170/270 series. A first cousin to an existing commercial radio they make. Very solid, & won't break if you drop it. I have a Yaesu 7400 UHF mobile ham radio, & again very similar to their commercial line. In 15 years it has never had 1 intermod squeal. Of course there are other Ham radios that have no relation to any commercial radio, & yes if you drop it, it's toast. So it depends what you buy in the first place. Just buy a FPP XTS & you'll have the best of both worlds. GARY N4KVE
P25 is now available via Icom, Harris, and EF Johnson
Agreed 100%!! I carry my XTS5000 VHF and UHF everywhere and love them. The built quality, rx and tx characteristics, and ability to go digital are all great reasons for me to be a Moto Fan!
73s de Singh, AJ4VS
mgolden2
Member
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)
I have to ask (if you dont mind answering)
How much did those xts5000s cost?
I have to ask (if you dont mind answering)
How much did those xts5000s cost?
I won't tell you exactly what I paid, but I can tell you this - if you are diligent and patient, you could probably get them for about $800-ish each with accessories. Yup, not cheap, but i don't regret the purchases one bit. My next purchase will probably be in the $3K range...the coveted APX7000. Of course this will also include selling the 2 xts's to fund that purchase.
Hello my name is Singh - AJ4VS, and I am an addict
N4KVE
Member
Your price is right on. I got my radio from a guy who sold his 2 5000's to get the APX. However, you can get XTS 2500's for a couple hundred less. GARY N4KVEI won't tell you exactly what I paid, but I can tell you this - if you are diligent and patient, you could probably get them for about $800-ish each with accessories. Yup, not cheap, but i don't regret the purchases one bit. My next purchase will probably be in the $3K range...the coveted APX7000. Of course this will also include selling the 2 xts's to fund that purchase.
Hello my name is Singh - AJ4VS, and I am an addict
KE4RWS
Member
/\/\ Pricing
I don't know how long it will take for XTS's to come down to my level but they are cheaper now than ever before. Heck, the first HT1000 I bought back in the 1990's was around $350. Now you could buy 6 or 7 of them for that price if you look around a little. It's funny how prices come down when a product floods the [used] market. I'd love to have an XTS but I have no use for a P25 radio where I live so it's pointless for me at this time. If anything, more XTS's on the market helps drive down the cost of the Astro Sabre, another favorite of mine.
The APX does look like a cool radio system though, but it ain't gonna happen in this house for a LONG time - if ever.
I won't tell you exactly what I paid, but I can tell you this - if you are diligent and patient, you could probably get them for about $800-ish each with accessories. Yup, not cheap, but i don't regret the purchases one bit. My next purchase will probably be in the $3K range...the coveted APX7000. Of course this will also include selling the 2 xts's to fund that purchase.
Hello my name is Singh - AJ4VS, and I am an addict
I don't know how long it will take for XTS's to come down to my level but they are cheaper now than ever before. Heck, the first HT1000 I bought back in the 1990's was around $350. Now you could buy 6 or 7 of them for that price if you look around a little. It's funny how prices come down when a product floods the [used] market. I'd love to have an XTS but I have no use for a P25 radio where I live so it's pointless for me at this time. If anything, more XTS's on the market helps drive down the cost of the Astro Sabre, another favorite of mine.
The APX does look like a cool radio system though, but it ain't gonna happen in this house for a LONG time - if ever.
All of which are in "commercial" not "ham radio" product lines, so as I said our only off the self options are to use Part 90 gear and adapt it to the Ham bands if we desire those modes.
kb2crk
Member
i use older motorolas on the ham band and love them. the receive is great and the extra power helps with those distant stations. they sound great on the air too.
N4DES
Retired 0598 Czar ÆS Ø
The 146.625 repeater in Hobe Sound is P25 capable and I'm sure you can talk to it from there. :wink:
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