A couple of stupid questions about radios;

L

LakeEffectKid

Full Registered User
Hi guys,
But of an awkward question (well, actually, a series of questions!) hoping that I can rely on your wisdom, knowledge and experience to help me out yet again!

I'm seriously considering buying a set of radios myself, as I've been messed around by hire companies before (either not delivering on time, charging extras, or not sending the right types/numbers), as well as venues themselves (either don't have any and said they did; batteries always dying because they're never charged, or just broken).

I was only planning on using them at one site I work at regularly for events (the company can't provide any and the venue refuses to pay for them because they're "not essential"), or for any work that I get offered personally, not through any of my companies. I've worked with a few different makes and models over the years, and I was going to go with a dual-pin motorola (the cp040), as it's the one I've encountered most frequently and seems the most reliable.

Here comes my series of questions;
•Legally, when I purchase them, is there anything that I have to do? Ie; with regards to a broadcast license?
I should point out that I'm not exactly flush with cash at the moment, and am currently looking at sourcing some preowned ones that are surplus to requirements by other users (I know how much they're worth individually brand new).
I realise that I will need to test them, by charging them, going through channels, testing whether they transmit and receive, as well as extension ports. As it may have to source from different sources, here come the noob-y questions;
• How easy is it to reprogram a batch of radios to use one freq?
• Can I use different types (ie 4 channel and 16 channels, VHF & UHF) in the same network?
• Can a radio be swapped between VHF and UHF just by changing the programmed freq. and the antenna?

I should point out that, at this moment in time, I personally only require them for 2 weeks, and would then, in all likelyhood, be looking to sell them on (don't get me wrong; I may keep them as a backup to working at other sites where comms are non-existent, but my financial needs may prevent this)

Can anyone help me out please?

Many thanks,
LEK
 
There are more people here more qualified than me to answer but I'll start by suggesting that if it's only for 2wks you could look up Amazon for uhf radios from China, they can be programmed to 'free' uk freqs and aren't bad, I actually have six of them lying in a draw somewhere that pulled me out of a hole at a time. You'll get two for just over twenty quid or ten for around £130 earpieces included.

Just a thought.

Col
 
LEK
There are no stupid questions...
Every so called "Expert" on here, started by asking questions.
I started when I was 10, watching water come out of a towel my mother had washed and was 'winding' it through an old two roller mangle. "You can't compress water" my mother explained and added, "...or any other liquid either." Naturally, I asked "Why not?" to be told that there was no air or other empty space in most liquids.
 
LEK I can certainly help you out here, both in terms of likening the kit and pointing you in the right direction and will drop you a note with some info.

But the short version is that business radio licensing is really fairly straight forward and I have suggested on here a few times that we set up a shared network for jobs just like this one.

As Colonel said, you can pick up half decent hardware for very little these days, Amazon are just one of many options.

The UHF/VHF question is less straight forward, you can indeed get kit that does both bust as with all compromises you lose something in return. I would suggest that UHF is best suited to what you want to do, if I guess rightly you are inside or around a building.
 
Hytera is really nice kit, tried the small one (can't remember the model)with the pre programmed text facility recently and loved it. Micro USB charging is a major bonus!
 
Not meaning to derail this thread but talking about radios, when I was a teenager I was into radios, 27mhz sideband rigs. I said to my granny who I lived with, "would you mind if I put an ariel in the back yard?" she said "no problem, go ahead" I built a 3 element quad and put it up, she didn't expect that lol. Them was the days before the internet
 
I love the 11mtr band, most of my mates have all done the ticket to go amateur but I didn't. I like being a pirate lol.
27.555
-.- .. -. -.. .-. . --. .- .-. -.. ... -.-. --- .-..
 
Last edited:
Hi guys, I haven't been on for a while, but here's a brief update;
I went out and purchased 6x UHF Motorola CP040's, all brand-new, for a pretty damn good price! I've had them checked over, and they're real, not imitations (I was wondering because of how cheap I got them!) I'd done a little research before I got them & guessed UHF would be the best option. You're right Customloads; predominantly Inside buildings. I was sure i'd seen a thread on here somewhere about a shared CPW Freq., but couldn't find it!. The issue i've got is that I don't currently have a license. My dealer set the radios up for me, and since then, i've gotten a hold of the CPS Software & a programming cable. The problem is, while I can see the freqs programmed in, I have no idea what the "Default" ones are, so I don't know if someone else's freqs are programmed or the default. I've used them a few times in locations around London, & had no issues (Haven't strayed into someone elses' comms chatter).

I've been thinking recently that, as I don't use them very often (I charge management at my venues if I supply radios/extra radios, which I think is fair). I doubt there's anyone on here that does, but does anyone know anything about renting radios to people? As in, legal requirements/setup & stuff?

Many thanks
 
LakeEffectKid said:
You're right Customloads
Click to expand...

I know ;)

Your dealer should really have set them up on a frequency that was legal for you to use.

I can sign you up to the shared frequencies licence no worries, just drop me a PM. You can then use your software and cable to program the radios accordingly.
 
Back
Top