Radios/walkie talkies

[ironsniper1]

Was not sure where to post this but was wondering if anyone here has used Harris brand radios and what your thoughts on them is,

In the TVA job I'm doing they give us Harris brand radios to use to stay in contact model is the XG-75 which I like kinda heavy and bulky but work well,

my other question is, is there a radio I can buy that let's say I go to target to upgrade their pcs, and I want to use my own radio,

is there one where I can program it to the same freq as target including channel?

[enfield]

Do you just want to listen, or do you want to transmit as well?

[ironsniper1]

Both

[Dustbuster]

Most walkies operate on GPRS service which is the band that FCC has allocated for commercial and general use by the public. Easiest way to find out is to ask them for the make and model of their radio. If they won't cough it up, you can hang and listen w a scanner, and log it or walk in with a frequency counter and catch it when they transmit...
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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 of course it ate my spelling.

[Dane]

[quote name="luke9511" post="1100779" timestamp="1390659944"]Was not sure where to post this but was wondering if anyone here has used Harris brand radios and what your thoughts on them is, In the TVA job I'm doing they give us Harris brand radios to use to stay in contact model is the XG-75 which I like kinda heavy and bulky but work well, my other question is, is there a radio I can buy that let's say I go to target to upgrade their pcs, and I want to use my own radio, is there one where I can program it to the same freq as target including channel?[/quote] What you are looking for is not your average gmrs type radio. Check out: http://www.motorolasolutions.com/US-EN/Business+Product+and+Services/Two-Way+Radios+and+Pagers+-+Business Short answer is yes you can use your own radio it just hinges on how much money you want to invest. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[wareagle]

I like the Baofeng Uv5r. They are cheap ($35) with decent capabilities.

[ironsniper1]

I like the Baofeng Uv5r. They are cheap ($35) with decent capabilities.

that looks like something I could use/carry with me, here's the one we use not bad for a radio that costs $2000 dollars

[enfield]

You might want to ask for their permission before you start transmitting on their radio system. Otherwise you could be considered to be interfering with their licensed system.

The Baofeng would probably do the job, but it's not field-programmable.

[JayC]

The TVA radio network in question is a P25 trunk system. There are no radios you can go buy at target that are compatible with this system.

If you guy a P25 compatible radio on the right band you're going to need somebody in their radio shop to set it up for you. Expect to pay north of $1300 for a new radio that is compatible with their system.

FRS/GMRS bubble pack radios from Target and Walmart are simplex only and won't talk to a repeater as a general rule. The baofengs recommended above are good radios for the money, but don't support P25 trunking, and technically require a ham radio license to use and therefore can't be used for business purposes.

The reality is you probably won't get in trouble for using them on frs/GMRS operation, or on business bands.... Although they aren't type accepted by the FCC for those uses.....

Don't use a radio unlicensed or for business on ham radio freqs they do monitor that heavily and it will result in you getting a nasty letter from the FCC or up to a $10,000 fine... And that happens all the time. Edited January 27, 2014 by JayC

[Capbyrd]

GMRS DOES REQUIRE A LICENSE!  

http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/general-mobile-radio-service-gmrs

 

 

Again, GMRS requires a license.  

[enfield]

GMRS DOES REQUIRE A LICENSE!  

http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/general-mobile-radio-service-gmrs

 

 

Again, GMRS requires a license.

 

And so does every other service except CB, FRS and MURS.

[glowdotGlock]

A question for some of the radio guys... I have a kenwood TK 3107 16 channel. Can if be programed with FRS frequencies? It is just one I have had for a couple years and would like to utilize it with my set of FRS walkies. And if so, can anyone program it? I don't have the cable or softeare but it is a brand new radio.

[whitewolf001]

You know, I pride myself as being fairly knowledgeable, that is until I stumble across threads like this where I have NO experience in wireless technologies whatsoever. It leaves me feel little out of place...

[enfield]

A question for some of the radio guys... I have a kenwood TK 3107 16 channel. Can if be programed with FRS frequencies? It is just one I have had for a couple years and would like to utilize it with my set of FRS walkies. And if so, can anyone program it? I don't have the cable or softeare but it is a brand new radio.

 

Not sure it's legal, even if it's possible.  Radios for services other than amateur need to be type-accepted by the FCC.

 

Edit - Looked up the radio, it should be possible to program the radio to FRS frequencies, but the power limitation on FRS is 1/2 watt ERP and the radio won't meet the Part 95 type certification requirement.

 

"Generally, radios made for GMRS, FRS and MURS as well as CB cannot be designed to operate outside of the prescribed frequencies of the radio service, or operate at higher power than is allowed, and in the case of FRS, cannot have a removable antenna."

 

So, it's possible but not legal.

Edited January 28, 2014 by enfield

[enfield]

You know, I pride myself as being fairly knowledgeable, that is until I stumble across threads like this where I have NO experience in wireless technologies whatsoever. It leaves me feel little out of place...

 

Get a ham license and this gap in your education will be filled!  ;D

[ironsniper1]

I wasn't saying buying one from target target uses walkie and I some times do work for them and would like my own radio to use

[chipperi]

+1 on the beophung or Wouxon uv3d  I am a licensed amateur radio operator and have the Wouxon UV3D and I love it....you can unlock it from the ham bands and program most Business service freqs into it. Was about 100 a few years back. I got mine from Powerworx.com

[ironsniper1]

And I do plan to get a Ham radio license

[enfield]

Having a ham license won't make what you want to do legal.  Target is running a licensed business network (read 'closed') and you can't just pop up on their network and say "Hi".  If you want to talk on Target's system, ask them to issue you a radio.  If they do, all's good.  If they don't, they don't want you.

 

You can listen all you want, but you can't talk without their permission.  The FCC takes a dim view of interference with licensed services.

[JayC]

It CAN be programmed to FRS freqs, but it's not type accepted for FRS so you'd be violating FCC regulations by using it.   Because of that you might have a hard time finding a radio shop that will program it for you...

 

But, it is type accepted for GMRS use, channels 15-22 on bubble pack radios, and while technically GMRS 15-22 channels require a license, it's virtually unenforced...  You'd probably have no trouble getting a radio shop to program up those freq's.

 

I don't have the ability to program Kenwood radios, I do have the ability to program P110 Motorola's which are similar radios.  And since I have a ham license, I won't knowingly program radios that violate FCC regulations :)

 

Truth is you'd be better off buying a Baofeng UV-5R off of amazon for less than $30 and programming it yourself.  It has the same range as the TK-3107, plus 100+ channels and can cover MURS (os both VHF and UHF in one radio) as well...  Again completely against regulation because of type acceptance, but the FCC rarely if ever enforces type acceptance on these bands.

 

A question for some of the radio guys... I have a kenwood TK 3107 16 channel. Can if be programed with FRS frequencies? It is just one I have had for a couple years and would like to utilize it with my set of FRS walkies. And if so, can anyone program it? I don't have the cable or softeare but it is a brand new radio.

Edited January 29, 2014 by JayC