Batboard

what radios were used during the tv series "in the heat of the night" late 80's to early 90's. wondering if anyone has any idea's. heck maybe one of you was a prop manager tech consultant and can answer the question.

i have identified vintage midland, ge and moto brand radios over the course of the series but can't identify the models or judge the bands used although they look like a lot of low band was used.

Batman wrote:what radios were used during the tv series "in the heat of the night" late 80's to early 90's. wondering if anyone has any idea's. heck maybe one of you was a prop manager tech consultant and can answer the question.

i have identified vintage midland, ge and moto brand radios over the course of the series but can't identify the models or judge the bands used although they look like a lot of low band was used.

got to tour the set in 1990 in Covington, GA where it was filmed when I was in high school.
What I saw were some HT200 shells, HT220's, Uniden Force (UHF) and some GE Mastr (VHF). The Mastr and Unidens were actually live radios and also used by the crew along with MPI's, HT600 and I saw one dude toting a Saber I.

I enjoyed the TV show and loved the movie! It was usually VHF-Hi MT500s for portables on the show. Vehicle mics were occasionally shown, but not the heads (and it was a mix of two-way and CB stuff). The chief's desk had a CB base unit posing as a police radio. I don't know who was in charge of continuity, but the episode lost credibility when an officer would call in on his MT500 and Carol O'Connor would answer on his Cobra or Radio Shack CB. Plus, the police cars only had CB antennas (magnetic, if memory serves me) which posed as FM two-way versions. Argh! I know, it was just a TV show with an Archie-owned low budget production company (in later years), but still. If you remember the movie, they made a huge deal of promoting their Motorola two-way stuff throughout the show. They even credit capturing the fleeing fugitive on the bridge with their new portable radios (HT200s???). Motorola looked good in that movie (base, mobiles, and portables). Hmmm, I need to get a life.

were all here because most of us are radio nuts and/or work in the business. think we all need a life lol

They did have some kind of Twin V radio on the desk, but never showed it working. On scenes where Tibbs was shown standing out of the car talking into a mike, there was no control head, & the mike was tie wrapped to the dash. Just last week on Blue Bloods, the detective was giving his location w/o pushing the PTT button. Years ago [in Diehard] Bruce Willis was talking to the cops on a Kenwood TH 21 ham radio. As radio nuts, we notice these things, but the producers assume most people won't. GARY N4KVE

yep i notice lots of radio related incontinuities in lots of different tv series and movies.

Yeah, my favorite on some older shows is when they show two people discussing something back and forth, and one has an HT220 with an obvious UHF antenna, and the other is an equally obvious VHF antenna.
Not to mention the lack of pressing the PTT.

i have noticed a midland Base CB used in the chiefs home, motorola Twin V and uniden force (and iirc even an old base repeater made by uniden and even an old midland base repeater in station), midland CB Base radios at station, mag mount CB Antenna's on cars, GE and moto, as well as CB mic's in mobiles, HT220's, MT500's, Midland portables sporting obvious VHF and UHF ducks. i used to know the name of the midland handhelds used and the midland CB base. i did not know the name of that old moto base and would love one of those old moto twin V cases (and/or complete vhf radio) and either mod it to operate on the 154 murs channels or gut it and put a 2 watt maxtrac vhf in there on the two 154 murs channels and get the old heavy duty desk mic then break out the maxtrac mic, volume, etc to front panel of twin v case and have one bad ass looking murs base i'm guessing as one poster stated they had a mixed hodge podge of radios and mics across different bands and in some cases just a mic tie wrapped to console, etc.

At least Roscoe never pretended to have a police radio. CB all the way and darned proud of it.