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XG-100p for a civilian
- Thread starter KJ4SKP
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That's why I run a Harris bluetooth wireless speaker mic. The brick can sit in the corner and I just carry around a tiny little speaker mic.
And I've heard that the range on those is extraordinarily good
Actually,I was thinking more along the lines of if you drop it and the battery "prongs" on the bottom of the radio become bent. The battery could become permanently affixed to the radio and be almost damn near impossible to take off.
Didn't think of that to be honest.
Question. . . I have a Harris BT speaker mike for my (work issued) XL200P, but I have not been impressed with the speaker audio; it's way too tinny sounding. Is there a way to tweak it in RPM2 to give it a bit less treble on the RX side?
Likewise the XG100P in RPM. . .
I have not seen anything in RPM for receive audio EQ. My Harris BT mic is a little thin sounding on receive, but its also very intelligible and it gets really loud without distorting and the lack of bass probably extends battery life. I could probably take it apart and diddle the EQ inside but its not a problem for me yet.
overtheair
Member
Not to change the subject(Harris to Relm), but I have been eyeing the BKR 9000. While still expensive, it seems like a nice replacement, plus the software is a heck lot cheaper too.
Synapt
Member
I just got an XG-100P as a hand-me-down of sorts from a buddy at a different station, thankfully already programmed for all the main local stuff we handle but unfortunately I apparently have absolutely no Harris dealers on the western side of PA, so I got no idea how I'm gonna get this thing re-programmed when we finally go P25 :/
I find it honestly somewhat sad how hard Harris restricts the software and then even further restricts the ability to become any form of authorized reseller or radio programmer.
Never really seen any in western pa. Harris / macom was never a strong seller here.
You think it might be because they want to limit the ability for those with ill intent to talk on an emergency services radio system?
Synapt
Member
Yeah I finally got a response from Harris just moments ago actually, they gave me a bunch around Philadelphia and one in NYC lol. I wonder how difficult it is to become an authorized Harris tech/programmer.
How so? Most of us in PA still use open VHF and UHF bands. I've literally been using my $120 Baofeng for my fire duties. I've even got several surrounding local municipal officers I program Baofengs for because they're far more affordable to the department than motorolas. So anyone that has ill intent is just gonna go buy a cheap VHF or UHF radio to do it (and we have in fact had someone do that very thing just a few years ago here). They sure as hell aren't gonna go buy a $1000+ radio to do it with just to have it seized after doing it lol.
The main reason I got this as a hand-me-down though is several of our counties are (finally?) going P25 either end of year or early next, so I wanted something that would let me be ready and not have to worry about it potentially coming out of the department budget (more so since w/out Harris dealers here, we're probably gonna end up going Motorola or Kenwood which are gonna be $4000-5000+ radios.
Edit: Interestingly I've found multiple authorized harris sellers/vendors that do sell the software, however they've all been regionally-limited so far (ie; basically can only sell within their specific city/county).
Harris is no different than any other radio manufacturer; they allot their dealers specific areas of responsibility and woe to the dealer who attempts to step outside his boundaries.
As far as becoming an authorized programmer, you would certainly have to be associated with a dealer and go through the appropriate training. Freelance programmers are not a thing in this business unless they're doing it on the sly, which can open up a major can of worms for the illicit programmer if/when they get caught; personally I wouldn't want the liability (screw something up, something goes wrong, you've got a major problem on your hands).
In your case Lauttamus Communications is a Harris dealer and is apparently near you; they're based in Weirton, WV with additional offices in Morgantown, Wheeling and Pittsburgh. (800) 285-2197 or (304) 723-5555.
You could also check with Cleveland Communications in Cleveland, or AMK Services in Columbus.
You should stop doing that. You really going to use Baofeng radios for mission critical applications!!!! They have crappy rejection and spurious signals galore.
Used Motorola XTS stuff is becoming reasonable cheap. However with all used equipment you should have it aligned on a service monitor to check out before using.
Synapt
Member
Harris is no different than any other radio manufacturer; they allot their dealers specific areas of responsibility and woe to the dealer who attempts to step outside his boundaries.
As far as becoming an authorized programmer, you would certainly have to be associated with a dealer and go through the appropriate training. Freelance programmers are not a thing in this business unless they're doing it on the sly, which can open up a major can of worms for the illicit programmer if/when they get caught; personally I wouldn't want the liability (screw something up, something goes wrong, you've got a major problem on your hands).
In your case Lauttamus Communications is a Harris dealer and is apparently near you; they're based in Weirton, WV with additional offices in Morgantown, Wheeling and Pittsburgh. (800) 285-2197 or (304) 723-5555.
You could also check with Cleveland Communications in Cleveland, or AMK Services in Columbus.
I definitely understand that for hardware sales (ie; the radios themselves), but since harris doesn't sell the software directly you'd think the restriction doesn't apply on software at least.
Only reason I'd care to become authorized is if there's nobody else literally remotely around here, it could be a decent investment w/ a lot of the counties doing the P25 route soon. I would foresee a lot of other stations being interested in the price of harris multi-band radios over motorola or kenwood if there was someone localish able to program them.
I'll check out Lauttamus though. Cleveland and Columbus would basically be nearly as far as Philadelphia, but Lauttamus is right across the state border behind Pittsburgh so that would be a super close option, no idea why they didn't include them in the list.
The UV-82's (particularly the UV-82HP) are actually a sturdy line compared to the others, and none of us have had any issues at all with them (which is more than I can say about my harris currently lol). But they're only basic UHF/VHF dual-band, no 800 and no P25.
The main problem with Motorola XTS's are that they're single-band as far as I've seen (or at least can find of any still being sold). Closest lower-end priced ones I can see are the recently-ish discontinued ATX 7000's but the prices for those used even are still a bit more than they would be for this Harris in the same case.
PA is a smorgasbord of frequencies and junk, which when you work multi-department/mutual association the preference is a multi-band radio rather than multiple individual ones. But even then, if I do find an XTS or ATX in any functional quality, isn't Motorola pretty much just as stingy on the programming software as Harris? Though I guess the chances of finding a closer authorized programmer would be higher also.
Not my story to tell but a friend of mine in the FD said one of his FF's told him he would rather use a baofeng than the Motorola radios they were issued because if he dropped or damaged his baofeng then it's a $20 radio and not an expensive one.
You know what they say, you can put lipstick on a pig but it's still a pig.
chrismol1
P25 TruCking!
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2008
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I love it! and when the evacuation alert goes un heard when the baofeng misses it after being dropped a few times or melts. Have them disassemble a baofeng and then ask them to bet their life on one vs a true radio built for public safety operation. Everyone should disassemble a baofeng in their lifetime if they have a chance. Better yet, ask the lawyers what their response is when they find out a department full of baofengs when they get sued for a fataility
I don't care whose feelings I hurt but if you use a Baofeng for public safety you are a moron of the highest degree. Those cheap kids toys have no business being used in life safety scenarios. Recommending them based soley on price is dumb. If your dept can afford an engine but can't afford a portable radio maybe you need to re-evaluate your budgeting. Most of these people who get these radios are buying them because they 'want' a radio not because they 'need' one. If you really need it the dept should provide it, and it should be something worthy of NFPA/APCO life safety use.
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