Mobile Radio choice: Dual band vs. 2m?
- Thread starter Martinjmpr
- Start date
verdesard0g
Search and Rescue first responder
I just ordered one of these to use for search and rescue >>> https://powerwerx.com/db750x-dual-band-commercial-mobile-radio
Gooseberry
Explorer
Ok a v71 might have been better just saying.
I have used a f6a for sar for the last well 15 years if not more and it has worked for all local LE and the park service I did. I did not need 440 but I did monitor frs in the field just incase.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
verdesard0g
Search and Rescue first responder
I have used
That is an amature radio, does it have 2.5khz spacing? I need that for a coupe of SAR repeaters and it's more expensive too!
That is an amature radio, does it have 2.5khz spacing? I need that for a coupe of SAR repeaters and it's more expensive too!
DaveInDenver
Middle Income Semi-Redneck
Narrow band analog like you're using is 12.5 KHz channel spacing and eventually 6.25 KHz. Technically the TM-V71 is capable of doing this. It will do as small as 5 KHz steps. Alternatively you can pick 6.25, 8.33 (on AM aircraft band), 12.5, 15, 20, 25, 30, 50 or 100 KHz steps. Most current Part 90 radios do 2.5 KHz channel steps as a convenience but it's not strictly necessary as long as some version of a 0.5 KHz step is available.
What cannot be adjusted easily is frequency deviation. The TM-V71 does 5 KHz deviation. Some ham radios can do half deviation of 2.5 KHz with a menu setting. A TM-V71 AFAIK cannot do this so to be compliant with narrow band the radio would have to be physically adjusted. As an aside this (your transmit envelope) is a pretty obvious way people illegally using modified ham radios give themselves away on the air.
As NTIA and public service move to P25 this question of narrow band FM is going to be less important, though. There are no ham radios that do P25. But volunteer organizations and lots of commercial users still will use it for a while.
Last edited:
deserteagle56
Adventurer
I installed 3 of the Yaesu FTM-7250DR radios into 3 of our Sheriff's Department SAR vehicles in the past few weeks. Time will tell but so far they sound good and really get out there.