PACNWComms

Monitoring analog UHF near my work right now. Always busy on UHF, and a lot of DTR series Motorola radios in use on default TalkGroups as well (they were sold to many on the local river to get away from the UHF users that proliferate the area). Lots of vessel crews, barge workers, construction and flaggers on DTR, and those that did not get that memo, still using cheap UHF blister pack radios.

Have been using SDR's for a long while now, as well as software defined military radios. Wat made me break into the amateur side was finding out that Icom was supplying the first few "black box" receivers for the Predator (RQ-1, surveillance only, no Hellfire missiles back then) fleet. The civilian versions of the PCR-1000 had some issues, like being able to be opened up like those purchased for military/export use. Now, like others have mentioned, I monitor my own networks with SDR receivers, and the HackRF is better than the cheaper USB versions, but it is so easy to just carry along a small USB/antenna and listen to what is nearby. For portability, I used a re-purposed Hinge Health Amazon Fire tablet and SDR# with USB dongle. For the money, great combination and makes the tablet useful again. My newest "scanner" would be a Uniden BCT-15X (possibly a handheld Uniden floating around somewhere), as the SDR USB sticks are on every older computer now, doing something at some point.

My employer has a "Spectrum Management" organization, while I fall under the "hardware" side of the equation. I have had to specify this 2017 aspect to them so many times it has led me to send them to some of your videos for layman's term version of FCC legalese. We use everything from Motorola TalkAbout series GMRS, to APX8000/8500 radios.....and where the specific model meets the needs and legality of the area they will be used (nationwide). So many people do not understand that things changed in 2017.

Ok, that is pretty funny. Although, in my case I would probably have some three letter agency come at me even for that. I work in a unique clique. Still, may have to buy some of those.

"Take a look at the Motorola XPR "e" series and the Vertex EVX radios if you want to see what a SDR chip coupled with good electronics and a little filtering can look like. Heck, even the older CDM mobiles had great analog receivers with some nice audio." Why I use CDM 1550LS+ (surplus from previous employer) and a XPR7550e for GMRS use now. Great radios that do what I need them to do. And will most likely last for years doing so. Better equipment, and paying attention to detail on coax and antenna means better signal quality, less power loss and more reliable use.

For local Search and Rescue, used FRS/GMRs often in the past (decade or so ago) as many state and national parks tried to popularize FRS Channel 1 for emergency use, but it seems to only be used by little kids asking "hello" now. Even some search and rescue helicopters were equipped with Garmin Rino series GPS/radios.....and a local park claimed that these had been used to find some lost hikers at some point, but possibly just a local anecdote. Unless Garmin's have improved (they have several generations of newer GPS/radios now), they seemed like a great idea but never saw them actually used much for emergency situations. Just good to have if you find yourself in a situation where location is known via GPS, and a radio signal might be heard.

Yes, while the ones in the unit work, I did find several online vendors that have "tube kits" for the SX-24/25, not too bad of a price, ~$65 to replace all the tubes. Might buy a kit just to have when one finally goes. They do get hot, noticed to top hinged cover had some black scorch marks from the tubes that get the hottest.

Wife knows I can find something birthday wise in many larger thrift stores...so she encouraged it and we went for my last birthday to an area with a lot of them. Bought an old Hallicrafters SX-24 with matching speaker. Doesn't look like much but still works (most of my "gifts" were radios from several stores). Not going to hide my purchases, last was re-casing kits for some well used Motorola XPR-6550 handhelds (right after getting the SX-24 and some other older radios).

Have been fighting some sites buying these batteries, to include the Motorola APX/XPR knockoff through Grainger......and wondering why the chargers (Motorola IMPRES) and Cadex condition charging profiles do not work with them. either the batteries get very hot and charging stops, or they all have the same chip/serial number and fail the IMPRES charge/condition charge cycles. Have forced many to do what they should have in the first place, buy from reputable vendors (one's who at least refund you if they sold fakes, or ones that do not meet sales specs). mAh capacities seem to vary a lot, and you can feel it in weight in many cases.

However, my tastes also go the way of Kugellager above, I have a lot of Hallicrafters receivers as well. Most recent acquisition this past week. SX-24 with speaker. Needs to be cleaned up, but is fully functional. The "No!" on the speaker was next to a note card stating that you had to buy the radio before powering it on (I discretely plugged it in, with the volume to minimum and turned it on as the speaker was not connected - wanted to see if all the tubes worked at least).

What sits at my desk at work.....helps me keep tabs on the analog gear. Have several more Realistic/Radio Shack/GRE receivers around as well. Very useful for FRS/GMRS monitoring.

+1 on this. I have found many people that do not even seem to realize there is a difference, Japanese made Yaesu FT-8900 series radios, versus Chinese copy of that radio. Quality is very much an issue, and I have found many of these in state Emergency Operations Centers, often as spares or replacement for the original Yaesu. One person even told me that for the price, they expect them to fail and will replace them with another Chinese knockoff, as they can afford it. (Never mind the time to get another radio, supply chain, procurement, and so on adding to lost time as downtime).

Looks like some of the Subaru's I see around my area, lifted, brush guard, lots of extra lights, and "Overlander" stickers all over them. Then, they have a GMRS (usually a high priced Midland) radio installed. That Camry would be pulled over for the lack of fender's or mud flaps in my area, but it would be interesting to know what that owner was going for. (Hopefully it is not a 4 cylinder with those oversize tires though, and how is the braking)?

I can't say I go "off-roading" just secondary roading.....logging roads and maintenance of repeater sites in areas where logging often takes place. I have an old Blazer and Suburban that get used for this purpose. Blazer for fun and shorter wheelbase, and Suburban when I want to camp or sleep inside a larger vehicle. For work and play, I use either Cobra 29 LTD classic CB and older FRS/GMRS radios, to include: Garmin Rino 120/520/530 radios, Anytone 878 variants, Motorola TalkAbout variants, Motorola Trbo XPR6550's, XPR7550e, and an all in the palm Cobra ST WX 75 CB. As others mentioned, CB is still the "Go To" for many, to include logging trucks and forestry workers....do not want to meet on of those trucks coming down the mountain when you are going up it. GMRS works great in vehicle convoy's, while CB is still more popular in my area and secondary road use. Work wise, my employer requires CB, and another form of radio, as well as cell phones for all drivers. The Cobra 29 series, 75 CB, and cell phones get used often for off roading and secondary road use. However, while the Cobra radios hold up, the microphones are garbage. Quality has gone down a lot over the years, even on older long lived models. Channels used vary by site, trail, road, or construction/logging crew.

Interesting thread I clicked on, only because today I received a call for a lost APX4000 Model 2 on a trunked radio network. I had to explain why I was only going to"Transmit Inhibit" the radio, as then they usually end up at one of our repair shops, when someone notices they receive, change channels, and otherwise appear to function until you try to transmit. Many organizations in commercial radio shy away from stun and kill, and the use of system keys helps keep your radios/programming within your organization. It would be interesting to know if CCR's now have this as well? Some do most everything else as found on commercial radios.

PolyPhaser all the way. Something like this would work for that KG-1000 Plus. https://www.polyphaser.com/type-n-surge-protector-1.2ghz-gas-discharge-tube-098-1013g-a

I should add that these fake batteries are also being sold as replacements for APX900 and APX4000 series Motorola radios as well. Had another site and incident where these counterfeit batteries entered the supply chain as "stores" batteries, spares purchased in bulk across the enterprise, to replace equipment damaged/used/lost during emergency response incidents. This was the battery in question and website for purchase details - I DO NOT RECOMMEND anyone buy these batteries! https://www.grainger.com/product/BANSHEE-Radio-Battery-Fits-Motorola-52XP74

Glad you have the right person....just now seeing this. I am in WA State, but often went to Alaska for the oil industry. My solar repeaters were for use on buoys and for oil spill response. Now, I manage radio networks for a private corporation with fire departments spread across the United States......taking much of my time right now as we are upgrading everyone to APX6000XE and APX8000XE handhelds, lots of work.

In my area, everyone seems to want to look like they "overland" but never even leave the pavement. I have even noticed the CB radio crowd mount two antennas, one on each side of their lifted Jeep or truck, but not even have a radio connected, as it looks cool. I show up with my old Blazer and a Phantom Antennex antenna, and they wonder if I even have any radio gear installed (helps with some of the hiking trail parking lot thieves too). Advertising cool gear in your rig may look cool, but does it work....some times yes, and sometimes no. I am amazed at Midlands marketing though, they are filling a niche for sure. But for those that know what I use, I'm just the "Motorolian Empire Warlord"....another person's words. (That does sound cool, I must admit). Whatever you use, make sure it works well, and is installed well (grounded, adequate power, less bends in low loss coax, good antenna), and you will be far ahead of many that just buy off of websites and plug things in.

Car I used to have, with an Antennex Phantom UHF antenna on the trunk, right next to a whisker VHF antenna. Less C pillar in the way, but still a metal ground plane, and managed to get about 12 miles range or so, depending on terrain. If you get that antenna up on your roof, picture looked like a possible camping awning up there, above that, you should get pretty good range out of that Midland antenna. A previous poster has a YouTube video comparing that Midland antenna with another similar style....the Midland is not bad for what it is. Just get it higher, and less obstructed.

My joking answer is, don't do it! Unless you want a hobby to become an obsession, profession, side gig, take over your life, etc. This leads to taking electronics classes, engineering school, geek related jobs, and taking over your life in some way shape or form. In all honesty, I have recently used FRS, GMRS and amateur radio to recruit future radio technicians, as this is a field that is not going away, and IT departments may only be able to take over some of the network connectivity aspects of larger radio systems.....but it can lead to a very lucrative hobby/career. The youngest technician I work with is 38 years old, came from Icom America, and will probably inherit an enterprise (nationwide) Motorola based radio network. Which started by him getting his amateur radio license as a teenager. (This was before the recent FRS/GMRS changes that took place in 2017, otherwise I would recommend starting with FRS and then GMRS - no test to take). Find a radio club, take the test, learn as much as possible (by doing as much as possible within time/budget) and one day it may pay the bills, fund the hobby/obsession.

Thank you WRKC935 for explaining vertical separation as well. Many get caught up on horizontal separation of antennas, with zero mention of vertical being an option and often used by commercial users on radio towers. For the OP, just get a duplexer, they are fairly cheap now and work better than two antennas, coax, and figuring out where to place them. Keep it simple and you will get better coverage/service with less maintenance and complexity as a result.

I still use two of these as Motorola radio programming computers. One had been placed on my boat, when I had one, for coastal navigation and Motorola related uses. A laptop replaced that use case on the boat though for a while. Great old school Motorola computers. The touch screens still work on mine, but one has the orange/Emergency button broken on top. Some firefighter tried to JBWeld it back and it became a programming computer at that point. Mine run WindowsXP, but still useful for what they are.

Just saw this on another radio related forum. Anything is better than nothing, as long as it is effective communications when it is needed. Seems like this topic goes around every few months. In the Olympic National Forest in Washington State for example, Channel 1 FRS with no tones is monitored and mentioned as often as possible. I know some military and Coast Guard helicopter crews still carry issued Garmin Rino radio/GPS units for this reason. Then there are those that do not realize that Channel 1 may not be the same on every radio (older FRS radios, and those by different manufacturers), or that post-2017 radios should have a standard channel/frequency plan. With cheaper radios proliferating, that require programming, this can confuse many people. I still carry my own Garmin Rino's when out and about, no matter which state I am in, as it does seem to be beneficial....and there always seems to be someone on FRS, even in remote areas. (I also use a Motorola XPR7550e and Anytone 878 variant as well).