Someone school me in VHF Radios

[rofowacker]

Ok,


I do not know squat about radios... I know that our dept is using highbands for com's in addition to the county 800mhz system. I have been issued a radio (CP200 16 bank VHF 146-178) I would like to add a Mobile to my 2 trucks, and also a personal portable. I think we bought these (cP200 & CM300) as that is what the local sales guy pushed. I am looking around and I have seen the HT1000 in bulk pretty cheap, and I have also seen a few mobiles cheap too.. Not afraid to spend dough on myself, however if we could find some cheaper alternative so we could issue to all the ff's and have spares on the truck that would be cool too...


So what are the big things to look for and why are the HT1000 so much cheaper then CP200 besides size?

 

[Respondcode3]

CP200 are narrowband compliant. HT1000 are no longer made or supported by Motorola . Unless its a late model HT1000 DN model they arent trully narrowband compliant. The are good radios but now getting older.


If your intrested I do have a nice clean late model VHF HT1000 with 2 batterys and a charger in looking to sell. I can program it too.

 

[fleetcomm]

Ok,

I do not know squat about radios... I know that our dept is using highbands for com's in addition to the county 800mhz system. I have been issued a radio (CP200 16 bank VHF 146-178) I would like to add a Mobile to my 2 trucks, and also a personal portable. I think we bought these (cP200 & CM300) as that is what the local sales guy pushed. I am looking around and I have seen the HT1000 in bulk pretty cheap, and I have also seen a few mobiles cheap too.. Not afraid to spend dough on myself, however if we could find some cheaper alternative so we could issue to all the ff's and have spares on the truck that would be cool too...


So what are the big things to look for and why are the HT1000 so much cheaper then CP200 besides size?

What price range are you looking at? The HT1000 has been a great radio but, Motorola no longer suports it and that means that they will not guarantee parts and they no longer repair them at the motorola depot. The HT1000 on some models will not narrow band which is mandatory at the end of 2012 if the fcc does not push the date back. You need to find a newer radio that will be narrow band compliant and I like Motorola radios because we have used them for the 25 years that I have worked here and they make a great radio. There are other brands of radios that are just as good but you need to consider the ability to get it repaired and programed. The mobile I would say that a motorola cdm1250, cdm750, or cdm1550 is a good choice for the money.

 

[rofowacker]

Well I have seen the cp200 new for 259. Obviously if I can spend less on one or 2 for the price of one that would be good. These are also wants and not needs.....


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[Steve0625]

There are other brands of radios that are just as good but you need to consider the ability to get it repaired and programed. The mobile I would say that a motorola cdm1250, cdm750, or cdm1550 is a good choice for the money.

If the OP only needs analog narrowband, the CDM1250 in particular will really fit the bill.


The 750's are limited to 4 channels and do not have a display. I have one in my truck at the moment, and it has been a great radio, but it is coming out in favor of a 1250 because I need a few more channels and want the digital display in place of flashing lights.


The 1550's seem to be consistently much more expensive than the 1250's on the used market, and unless you need 128 channels or trunking, LTR, or PassPort, are really overkill. But if you can find a deal on one and can't do better on a 1250, it will surely do the job.


The 1250's do 64 channels, Quick Call II encode and decode, MDC encode and decode, and DTMF encode and decode. I've seen them as low as $150, but watch what accessories come with it. Mounting bracket, power cable, microphone, and optionally, an accessory connector for ignition sense and other applications are all needed. If the radio has all the accessories with it, it would still be a good deal just under $200.

 

[fleetcomm]

If the OP only needs analog narrowband, the CDM1250 in particular will really fit the bill.

The 750's are limited to 4 channels and do not have a display. I have one in my truck at the moment, and it has been a great radio, but it is coming out in favor of a 1250 because I need a few more channels and want the digital display in place of flashing lights.


The 1550's seem to be consistently much more expensive than the 1250's on the used market, and unless you need 128 channels or trunking, LTR, or PassPort, are really overkill. But if you can find a deal on one and can't do better on a 1250, it will surely do the job.


The 1250's do 64 channels, Quick Call II encode and decode, MDC encode and decode, and DTMF encode and decode. I've seen them as low as $150, but watch what accessories come with it. Mounting bracket, power cable, microphone, and optionally, an accessory connector for ignition sense and other applications are all needed. If the radio has all the accessories with it, it would still be a good deal just under $200.

Thanks for posting the break down on the cdm series. I had to run by the shop and was in a hurry when I did the post and didn't think about all the info on these radios. The CDM series is on its way out and xpr series is taking its place. I really hate to see that because these have been great radios and I like the displays. I have started putting the xpr radios into service and there working fine just don't like the display as well as cdm.

 

[rofowacker]

Right now we are using 16 channels, however more area departments are moving to them so expandability would be good but not required...


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[Rhinojoe]

You and Your Department can face an FCC fine is the radios are programmed to and used to transmit on this band as this is an Amateur Radio License is needed by every operator to use these freqs.

 

[rofowacker]

I believe that we have some sort of freq that we licenesed for our use.


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[cvfd1615]

You and Your Department can face an FCC fine is the radios are programmed to and used to transmit on this band as this is an Amateur Radio License is needed by every operator to use these freqs.

He never claimed he was operating the radio on amateur radio.

 

[Respondcode3]

You and Your Department can face an FCC fine is the radios are programmed to and used to transmit on this band as this is an Amateur Radio License is needed by every operator to use these freqs.

He was giving the bansplit of the radio. It doesnt mean he is using it there.. Relax

 

[ryan81986]

CDM1250s are great radios, and their portable counterpart, the HT1250 is a great radio as well. Very versatile and fairly rugged.

 

[NYBLS42]

CDM1250s are great radios, and their portable counterpart, the HT1250 is a great radio as well. Very versatile and fairly rugged.

Agreed, I've been using the HT1250 for a while, in addition to EX600, but there's something nice and sturdy about the HT that I really appreciate. Ditto the CDM1250. Most of our buses have PMs, but fly cars and individual vehicles often use the CDM.


Speaking of, if you're looking for a CDM1250 in VHF, I've got one for sale, comes with mic and wiring harness, feel free to PM me. Happy to address any questions about that model as well as anything else I can tell you about VHF mobiles or portables.

 

[SEAFIRE]

You could also find a used MOTO VHF M1225 to use for a mobile, I didn't see that one mentioned yet.


You could also look at the MOTO P1225 for a portable, pretty much same radio as the CP200, except it is older and can't receive QCII unless it has a board installed. We bought a few used but refurbed w/ new cases for under $200 a while back. Some P1225's have a display and a front keypad, the display models have more options than the standard model.





A few of our volunteers run mobiles in their POV's, some have MOTO M1225's and others the ICOM IC-F121 51, they got the ICOM mobiles brand new for $260 plus shipping, not bad for a 50 watt narrowband capable 100+ channel VHF mobile.


All of the Emergency Services ( Fire / EMS ) in our County are analog so digital is not a must unless you want to listen to SO, DPS, or PD, I have an ICOM Digital mobile IC-F1721 in my POV and have had no problems at all with it.


We used to use HT1000's until narrowband was first implemented on one of the Fire Channels here, only two of our HT1000's would do narrowband so they were retired.


For portables we currently use MOTO CP200's, MOTO XTS2500 model 1 and 2's, and a very few MOTO P1225's.


Some of our members have their own personal P1225's and CP200's.

 

[dbono97]

I love the HT1000's. Even though Motorola no longer will "support" them, parts and repair will be pretty cheap.


If you go that route, make sure the serial number ends in a "DN", or it will not comply with current FCC standards regarding narrowband.


-DB

 

[SlickTop Solutions]

I love the HT1000's. Even though Motorola no longer will "support" them, parts and repair will be pretty cheap.

If you go that route, make sure the serial number ends in a "DN", or it will not comply with current FCC standards regarding narrowband.


-DB

Even with a DN designation the HT1000 still will not do the new splinter channels and thus is not truely NB compliant.

 

[ark_firefighter]

edit

 

[Rhinojoe]

He never claimed he was operating the radio on amateur radio.

Just passing on info as the OP said he knew little about radio freqs.


I'd hate to see a dept. get hit with an embarrassing FCC Notice.

 

[ryan81986]

Just passing on info as the OP said he knew little about radio freqs.

I'd hate to see a dept. get hit with an embarrassing FCC Notice.

Yeah because a department is going to just randomly start broadcasting on an amateur band.

 

[Light It Up]

so i search the forum and looked around but cant seem to find a answer to my question.


i am looking for a quality mobile that does both uhf and vhf any ideas guys?


is there such a thing? what should i be looking for? will i have to sacrifice quality to have uhf and vhf?


thanks so much


in advance

 

[ryanm]

so i search the forum and looked around but cant seem to find a answer to my question.

i am looking for a quality mobile that does both uhf and vhf any ideas guys?


is there such a thing? what should i be looking for? will i have to sacrifice quality to have uhf and vhf?


thanks so much


in advance

You can get a Kenwood 790/890 pair that is 2 RF decks and a single control head. That is about as close as you are going to come (that I know of) with a Public Safety grade radio. They are just severely expensive.


I really prefer my separate control heads for each band. That way I can listen to something on each at the same time.

 

[fleetcomm]

You can get it but it is very expensive http://www.motorola.com/web/Business/Products/APX_7000XE/_Documents/APX_Mobile_Radios_Brochure.pdf I would rather use two mobiles in a vehicle because if I have problem with one radio then I still have one that will work. I have an APX portable and still carry another radio in my go pack just in case there is a problem.

 

[Light It Up]

ok so whats my best choices if my budget for 2 mobiles 45-60 watt is about $200-$250 range?


thanks so much guys

 

[ryan81986]

Get yourself some CDM1250 mobiles. They are great radios and are easy to program. And they are relatively inexpensive (as far as radios go) on ebay.

 

[fleetcomm]

Get yourself some CDM1250 mobiles. They are great radios and are easy to program. And they are relatively inexpensive (as far as radios go) on ebay.

The CDM1250 radios are great radios at a very reasonable price and I have about 60 cdm1550 in service as a secondary radio to communicate with surounding counties and they have been bullet proof . You get a lot of bang for you buck. I also want you to know that these radios are going to be on the way out and when motorola does stop making them you will have about 3 years of support and that means they will stop making parts and repairing them. Just a little FYI.

 

[cvfd1615]

TK-7160H or TK-7180H should also be severely considered.


To save some money for VHF even the TK-760HG's are damn good radios too.

 

[fleetcomm]

TK-7160H or TK-7180H should also be severely considered.

To save some money for VHF even the TK-760HG's are damn good radios too.

Kenwood and Motorola both make very good radios and one thing to consider is do you have a local support shop for the brand of radio you buy. This might make the dicision easier for you so that you can get it fixed if it tears up or to get it programed when need be because narrow banding will be soon and there will programing to do.