Batboard

Hello,

Currently I work in a facility that uses Nextels for communications, but unfortunately the nextels don't actually work in the building.

I'm looking for a cheap radio replacement for the nextels, and would like something that would last a good ten years (Like the P10s). Do you have any feedback on Motorola's new BPR40 UHF units? Price is the biggest concern, but I'm also looking for the best overall value.

I appreciate any suggestions or feedback. Thanks!

Usermm,

I guess my big question would be, what does your facility do? I work security and we use the ht1250's for officers, and the bpr40's for staff coordinating special events. The BPR's are a decent little radio for the price. While they are pretty solid, they are not nearly as rough an tumble as the ht1250s. They're perfect for office people, but I wouldn't put them out any in extreme conditions. I also think you'd be lucky to get 5 years out of the BPR's, but ours are still pretty new yet so I guess I should reserve my judgement. Just my two cents

- Andrew

You could also spring for a Nextel in-building radio coverage system. I used to help a guy install these for 2 years. You can pick up the bi-directional amplifier boxes on fleabay for less than $300.

http://cgi.ebay.com/DEKOLINK-Cellular-R ... dZViewItem

All you gotta do is put a beam antenna outside pointed at the cell tower and connect it to the BASE connector (w/ some low loss cable, preferrably Heliax) and connect several indoor antennas (through a series of power dividers to split the coax) to the MOBILE connector. Remember, iDen is 800 MHz, so coax losses are going to be high.

Of course you could call Nextel and arrange for this setup to be installed, but it's pretty pricey. I made it sound a little too easy. Just make sure you have pretty good isolation between the BASE-side and the MOBILE-side. If you don't, the thing will feedback on itself and not work properly (actually make it worse).

Just a thought...

Jared

The last place I worked, before I retired for the third and,
hopefully, last time was 'way out in the boonies in suburban
Maryland where the Nextel coverage was really crummy. They
put in a BDA for us that made the system work like it was
"right downtown" in DC. If you want to stay with Nextel
then the BDA is the way to go, and, regardless of the
expense involved, it WILL solve your in-building coverage
problems.

This would be for a medium sized middle school They would be provided to administration and facility operations people.

I like the idea of radios because of the lack of monthly costs. I'd just like to see them get the best value for their money. The ultimate goal is great coverage, which I think 4 watts would help with, but I don't want to have to buy radios that I need to replace every five years.

Any ideas?

Look at the newer 900mhz spread spectrum radios. I've heard some good things about them (second generation stuff).

The digital delay takes some getting used to, however, I hear they work pretty well.

I think they are XTN's? I'm not sure off hand.

-Alex

Alex, I think you're thinking of the DTR series (DTR550 & DTR650). The XTN series is basically a CP100 with another label on it, and instead of being sold through the dealer channel they are sold through wholesalers. I've found the DTR interface a bit clunky, and it is basically like a nextel without the cell phone or direct connect feature.

Anyhow, the DTR series advertises a coverage range of about 250,000 square feet, which is piddly compared to the 1-2 mile (possibly more if it's nice and flat or up on a hill) range of a UHF radio.

I've got some BPR40s in service at a few private schools, and they all used Spirits, SP50s, or SP21s prior to that. I've got a few customers left using 5-7 year old radios, so if th BPR40 holds up anything like the entry level business models before it then it should do fine. Time will tell, obviously.

escomm,

Do you have any suggestions for the next step up above the BPR40?

I've used HT1250LS, HT1550s, and MTS2000s working in EMS, but I think it's a bit overkill for a school radio. I want to keep it simple. Range and price are most important.

Thanks!

The next step up from there is the CP150, which quite frankly is a damn good radio. They are really not that much more expensive than the BPR40 (about $70 by list prices, assuming you go with the standard NiCD battery and 10-hour charger). They are a bit larger, and feel more rugged than the BPR40. They come in either a 4 or 16 channel version. The CP150 also comes in a wider split of UHF going from 438-470, whereas the BPR40 is relegated to 450-470 (though I doubt you'd have much use for ham freqs... ). CP150 also covers a bit more in UHF (146-174 vs 150-174). Probably the only negative about the CP150 is that it's relegated to 2 watts output, whereas the BPR40 will put out 4 watts on UHF and 5 watts on VHF.

To be frank, the CP series has a wider array of accessories, and you can also extend the warranty on the radios at time of purchase from the standard 2 years to either 3 or 4 years.

The next step up from the CP150 is the CP200, which is basically the same radio as the CP150 with MDC1200 PTT ID encoding and QCII Decoding and a hicap li-ion battery & rapid charger standard, and higher tx output (same as BPR40).

Also there is the CP125 which has a screen on the front, so your staff can look at the screen to know what channel they are transmitting on. I have one of these myself. They are 4 channel, (if you want more you can go with the AXU) 4 watt UHF, 5 watt VHF. Very compact.
For school usage, a very good radio.

This is the next step up from the BPR40 i believe. Otherwise its the CP200. If you only need 4 channels, the CP125 is definitely the way to go.

Yes. DTR's. My bad.

The BPR40 should work well with a school or local business, and the DTR might work as well. Although people are buying the new DTR series radio, I"m still not sold on them. Please note just last week, I sold over 200 DTR650's, so someone thinks they are cool....I just hate it when you can not add a repeater if you need additional coverage. Also, your current nexhell's might have the ability to work outside the system (simplex)...I'm not sure on the models but I think the i315 might do simplex and you don't have to worry about new equipment costs, monthly fees or hitting your nextel system.

Crimestopper

UserMM wrote:escomm,

Do you have any suggestions for the next step up above the BPR40?

I've used HT1250LS, HT1550s, and MTS2000s working in EMS, but I think it's a bit overkill for a school radio. I want to keep it simple. Range and price are most important.

Thanks!

Kenwood TK-2160 or TK-2170 would work as well. The TK-2170s we're putting in caches with a speaker mic and the AA battery pack were about $300/ea.

Lowband

KitN1MCC wrote:Lowband

33mhz or 46mhz?

For what it's worth, I wouldn't dismiss the DTRs too quickly: Not only has Humhead had a pair to demo for quite sometime now and experienced performance and coverage exceeding his 4 watt UHF radios, but we took them on a job to play with in a highrise hotel. These things worked through 47 (yes, fortyseven) floors straight up; our HT750s and 1250s didn't come anywhere near that performance on the non-repeater channels.

Further, they use the lower line two-prong accessories from the SP radio line. But I will grant you that a ten year life span is not likely.

Henry Cohen
Production Radio Rentals

PRR wrote:For what it's worth, I wouldn't dismiss the DTRs too quickly: Not only has Humhead had a pair to demo for quite sometime now and experienced performance and coverage exceeding his 4 watt UHF radios, but we took them on a job to play with in a highrise hotel. These things worked through 47 (yes, fortyseven) floors straight up; our HT750s and 1250s didn't come anywhere near that performance on the non-repeater channels.

Further, they use the lower line two-prong accessories from the SP radio line. But I will grant you that a ten year life span is not likely.

Henry Cohen
Production Radio Rentals

Another success story: Had a DTR rental that had great coverage from 3 floors underground ( Empire State Plaza in Albany) up and out to a parking lot .75 miles aways.It was a Union Rally event,coordinating arriving buses and the rest of the event underground.Programmed 7 units to Public talkgroup and 2 to private talk group for event mgrs.
They say they worked better than a previous mobile UHF rptr with UHF 750s for same event last year.
And not needing a license make it easier to do outof state rentals where our FCC license does not cover.
Wayne