Radio Suggestion

Flatshovel · Post by **Flatshovel** » Sat Aug 12, 2006 8:59 am

Hi all, new to the board. I am looking for a vhf radio that I can program ham 2 meter freqs into as well as the 5 murs freqs. I am trying to stay legal with the FCC and trying to find a radio that is part 95 certified so I can use it on the murs freqs. I also understand that if the radio was certified part 90 before 2002 it is grandfathered under the rules and legal to use. Would anyone know of any radios motorola, kenwood, etc.... that are fairly new or older that are certified part 95 if newer or part 90 if older, with at least 8 channels or more and have the bandsplit from 136-174? Please help, I would like to carry just one radio instead of two all the time.
Any recommendations?

Thanks,
Joey

jhooten · Post by **jhooten** » Sat Aug 12, 2006 9:11 am

Some where I have an e-mail from the FCC office in Houston that confirms the Ht1000 is MURS grandfathered if properly programmed. Remember to turn the power down to 2 watts and set the three 151 channels for narrow to be legal on MURS .

fogster · Post by **fogster** » Sat Aug 12, 2006 9:14 am

If you're just doing 2 meters and MURS, you just need 144-155 MHz. (And, unless you're doing packet/CW/satellite work, you'll probably just need 146+ MHz.)

The "problem" with a radio certified for use in the MURS band is that, unlike most ham rigs, they can't be front-panel programmable. You need a computer to program them, along with requisite cables (and, in Motorola's case, a Radio Interface Box), along with the software (Motorola's is called RSS, and is pretty expensive).

Personally, I use a Motorola Saber. It's a big radio, has all the programming headaches described above, but it's solid as a rock, works great, and mine does the 146-174 MHz split. (Note that they come in various bandsplits, some of which won't work for ham. eBay sellers are also notorious for listing (deliberately or otherwise) the wrong bandsplits, so buyer beware.)

I'd imagine that most any VHF Motorola radio would meet your requirements, as long as you were careful to get one in the right bandsplit.

Edit: I'm not too knowledgable about Part 90/95, so I wouldn't swear that the Saber was legal there. I only use mine on the 154.57 / 154.6 freqs, which don't require narrowband.

wa2zdy · Post by **wa2zdy** » Sat Aug 12, 2006 11:02 am

My MT2000 is so programmed and yes, the MURS freqs are at 2w and the 151.xx freqs are narrowband. The way I interpret Part 95 this is legal. I sure hope I'm correct.

Dan562 · Post by **Dan562** » Sat Aug 12, 2006 11:08 am

Hey, don't forget about the 145.110 to 145.490 MHz repeater outputs with -600 KHz Offsets which fall into the 144.510 to 144.890 MHz portion of the 2 meter band. All of these repeater pairs use the 20 KHz channel spacing.

Robert HT220 · Post by **Robert HT220** » Sat Aug 12, 2006 12:00 pm

What about the MT1000? Is it OK to use it on MURS? I have both 154's and two 151's programmed in mine.

AEC · Post by **AEC** » Sat Aug 12, 2006 12:49 pm

PM sent!

fogster · Post by **fogster** » Sat Aug 12, 2006 12:57 pm

Dan562 wrote:Hey, don't forget about the 145.110 to 145.490 MHz repeater outputs with -600 KHz Offsets which fall into the 144.510 to 144.890 MHz portion of the 2 meter band. All of these repeater pairs use the 20 KHz channel spacing.

Interesting. I'd always thought it was like 420-440 MHz: whether by bandplan or just convention, it was basically free from FM. It seems I'm wrong. (I just found some repeaters down in that range listed in the repeater directory, although nothing within range of my HTs.)

Will · Post by **Will** » Sat Aug 12, 2006 10:16 pm

Robert HT220 wrote:What about the MT1000? Is it OK to use it on MURS? I have both 154's and two 151's programmed in mine.

No, not usable on MURS, does not meet specs. Exceeds 2 watts
Not narrowbanded.

W6JK · Post by **W6JK** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 6:13 am

fogster wrote:Interesting. I'd always thought it was like 420-440 MHz: whether by bandplan or just convention, it was basically free from FM. It seems I'm wrong. (I just found some repeaters down in that range listed in the repeater directory, although nothing within range of my HTs.)

420-440 isn't free from FM either. That's where all of the auxiliary and control links are. There's a subband for weak signal work near 432, TV around 426 and 434, and satellites near 435, but the rest is all FM.

fogster · Post by **fogster** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 7:04 am

Will wrote:No, not usable on MURS, does not meet specs. Exceeds 2 watts
Not narrowbanded.

Do the rules require that the radio not be capable of more than 2 Watts, or just that you not use more than 2 Watts? I have the Saber on low power on the MURS frequencies I have in it. I'd think that you could just dial back the power (if the MT1000 supports it? I've never laid hands on one) and be fine.

As far as narrowband, the 154.57 / 154.6 frequencies don't require it, as I understand it. I don't know if this is just a grandfather provision for existing equipment or not.

Will · Post by **Will** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 1:09 am

There is NO real grandfather provision for existing equipment, any existing equipment MUST meet all the specs setforth in the MURS technicial section. Most notabally: No more than two watts TX power
Transmit audio filtering

If the MT1000, or HT600/P200 series, Saber, ect, radios are used, they must be certified that they do NOT make more than two watts. And if used on the narrow band channels certified they meet the +/- 2.5khz transmitter deviation with the proper audio filtering.

The MURS regulations tightened the technical specifications, and some radios do not meet these specs.