where could i buy a radio? is ebay the only place? could anyone in toronto recommend a local place? could you guys give some suggestions on what model to get?

i'd like to find something that could receive campus security radio, and possibly communicate with other UE enthusiasts at meet-ups. would this cost under $100?

frs radios are on the cb band right? this would be of limited use to me. any chance of reprogramming them?

thanks for all replies

FRS Radios are on the 400mhz band, CB Radios are on the 20mhz band. At all the meets I have been to, we have used an FRS frequency to communicate with other explorers, so any Commercial radio you get that will operate on the 400mhz band, you could programm it to communicate on FRS. What Campus Security do you want to listen to. also from looking, you will probably be spending in the range of 150 to 200 to get a basic commercial radio, charger, and speaker mic. From my looking the radios that are in the low end that are most used are

Kenwood TK-3102 (2ch that can be converted to 16CH)
Motorola SP-50 (Make sure its UHF, the 2ch can supposedly be converted to 10ch)
Motorola GP-300
Motorola HT1000
Motorola P1225 (Make sure its UHF, 16ch)

Those are the low end/lower priced ones that I have learned about from the guys on here, and searching Ebay. For purchasing them, I am not sure of a local place to get them, most times if you go local you will be changed a much higher price then going ebay. I am looking for a few radios, and the best prices I have seen are from searching Ebay, and getting them there.

I have just gotten in to this stuff, so I may not be 100% right on, but anything that I missed or screwed up on the other much knowledgable guys on here will fix or post.

Conundrum

Those radios are all pretty good FRS replacement radios, much better built, can take more beatings, better battery life, better range. All around, for another 50-75$ youu can get a much better radio then any FRS Crappy tire special.

HEHEHE I enjoy my sabers. THey were about 150 a pop when I was done but DAMN what a imporvement.

Posted by NZero Those radios are all pretty good FRS replacement radios, much better built, can take more beatings, better battery life, better range. All around, for another 50-75$ youu can get a much better radio then any FRS Crappy tire special.

the one particular frequency i'm trying for is
166.59 (mhz i think)

so basically the difference between a dedicated FRS radio and one of the ones that conundrum mentioned is that those are programmable and could be used on FRS band as well as other freqs?

how about police/fire system? i understand this is a trunked system, and i think exkalibur once said something about needing a trunk-tracker for this usage...

Posted by tbone the one particular frequency i'm trying for is 166.59 (mhz i think)

After doing a TAFL (Technical and Administrative Frequency Lists) lookup on that frequency (166.59mhz) It comes back as licenced to Laidlaw Transit. the radios I posted will not go that low in the spectrum, to get that you would have to look for another radio that would operate on the VHF frequencies, or use a Scanning Radio (RX only)

Posted by tbone so basically the difference between a dedicated FRS radio and one of the ones that conundrum mentioned is that those are programmable and could be used on FRS band as well as other freqs?

the ones I mentioned can operate on the 400mhz band, which is the same band that FRS and GMRS operates on, some radios are narrower in which frequencys they will work on, some are wider, e.g. one may only do 420mhz to 480mhz, yet another one may do 400mhz to 500mhz. most of the commercial radios can be programmed by just getting the software and programming cable/rib, and connecting it to the radio. the other advantage of commercial over frs radios is the durability, and reliability.

Posted by tbone how about police/fire system? i understand this is a trunked system, and i think exkalibur once said something about needing a trunk-tracker for this usage...

For police, fire, ambulance, gov, etc you would need somthing like the Motorola MTX8000 Type II Trunking for handheld/portable, or a MOTOROLA SPECTRA 800MHZ Radio for Mobile.

Conundrum

the radios to listen to police fire are a little more pricy. If your just going for recieve try a scanner that does trunking. However if your like me and would like to transmit you could. or on similar freqs etc

Just ignore my ass for the gods Im new to.

Yep.

It depends where/what.

In York Region:

Police: 800MHz Trunking
Fire: 800MHz Trunking
Ambulance: VHF Trunking

The Police and Fire Departments are on the same system, Ambulance is on a different system.

I'm not sure about Kingston, but I think they are on 800MHz Trunking as well.

-Mike

thanks for clearing all that up guys,

Posted by Conundrum or use a Scanning Radio (RX only)

do you guys recommend any particular scanners? handheld preferred. do they all generally get to ~160 mhz ?

again i'm wondering where to buy this stuff - is ebay basically the only way?

where do companies that use radios go? i know that when i used to work for a surveyor, he went to some place up in barrie for radio service...

buying anything motorola from the company will cost you sevel hundred or thousand over normal market value. Ebay is the way. The choice depends on freq range what quaility and how much cash you have. State that and maybe a little help can be forwared.

RadioShack trunking scanners are pretty decent. A friend of mine had an RS Pro-94, and it did a good job getting the campus trunked radio (Motorola type-II if I recall...)

But come on people! A motorola commercial radio looks WAY cooler and way less suspicous then a scanner ever will! MMMMMMMMMM, MTSX!

rosie

Posted by r0sie But come on people! A motorola commercial radio looks WAY cooler and way less suspicous then a scanner ever will! MMMMMMMMMM, MTSX! rosie

you get off on that dont you, both you and ExKa|iBuR do... I digress, back to ebay to look for some more radios for my new collection.

Conundrum

Posted by Mark The choice depends on freq range what quaility and how much cash you have. State that and maybe a little help can be forwared.

well i mentioned above that i was specifically trying to pick up 166.59 mhz, and was trying to do this for under $100 CAD.

i also wanted to be able to transmit on the common frs band because I understand these freq's are often used on UE meetups.

100 is pretty low. Its going to be hard to find anything that will do that for 100. maybe 150. I have to do some reaserch but heres two things. ONe if your going motorola and want to talk you have to program your radio. Two is that most portables dont scan. You would have to stay on that channel.

tbone:

I can sell and/or direct you to a radio that will listen to that VHF frequency. However, I doubt I can do it for so little, $100 is like nothing!! Buuuuut there is no time like now to start a collection!

rosie

Posted by r0sie I can sell and/or direct you to a radio that will listen to that VHF frequency. However, I doubt I can do it for so little, $100 is like nothing!! Buuuuut there is no time like now to start a collection!

well this gear is going to get pricey. what model are you referring to, and is it at least under $200 ?

motorola sabers are under 200 easy and they haveVHF. Not to mention tons of other ones.

Posted by tbone well this gear is going to get pricey. what model are you referring to, and is it at least under $200 ?

Thats what the golden envelope is for, PM.

rosie

oh, and i know all you guys are probably into listening to trains, transit, when you are on them. does this require an additional radio, or could it be covered by one of those mentioned above?