Batboard

How good or bad are the visar radios? I have just read that some pepole dont like them and say that thay are a POS radio.

How well would thay work for SAR?

Are thay worth trading a ADSIII (radio only) for one?

JerryS

I presume you're referring to an Astro Saber III? Or maybe an Astro Spectra?

You better be getting a dozen Visars... you're talking a digital mobile or portable vs. a 16-channel, 2-digit display, compact portable. Not even close.

Visars are okay, but are designed for school administrators and such. I would not even give one to a janitor, he gets a ht1000. They are expensive to fix, as most repairs should go to the depot. And as for trading an astro radio for one, I would definately not do it.

stayaway from the Visars if your need is in SAR. consider the HT1000.

For the mostpart, the Visar and HT1000 radios support the same features, with the exception of the Visar having a two-digit segmented display and push-button channel selection vs. the HT1000's rotary knob.

I've had nothing but bad luck with Visars. The plastic breaks very easily on the housings, the antenna connector falls apart, etc.

I would most DEFINITELY advise AGAINST using them for SAR use. They would be a VERY difficult radio to operate with gloves on, and due to their small size would probably be much more easily lost and damaged if dropped.

The HT1000 and HT750 portables are comparable to the Visar in functionality, but are much more durable and gloved-hands friendly. The HT1000 would be the ideal choice.

As far as trading an Astro Digital Saber or Astro Digital Spectra for a Visar, I agree with the above posts - that's like trading in your Mercedes Benz for a Yugo.

MY OPINION: Value of an Astro Saber III - $500-$800 depending on features/condition. Value of a Visar: $125-$150 depending on condition. <--- MY OPINION.

HTH.

revision D Visars (the later ones) are a little more rugged than the earlier ones. They are surely not for harsh conditions, OTOH, if treated reasonably, they are decent radios with most of the features of an HT1000 (minus the ABC switch). I have a rev D UHF that works perfectly and is a great "wearable" radio, though some of the newer Kenwood's (the 2180/3180) are just as compact, more durable, and have more features, channels, etc.

To restate what has been said:

Visars are not much different than an HT-1000 folded in half. However, when Moto folded it, they took a darn good radio (HT-1000) and turned it into a problem waiting to happen (Visar). On top of that, they had to reconfigure the RSM connector, making it far less secure. If you won't be using an RSM, the PTT swx on a Visar is worse than the one on the HT-1000, and it is one of the weaker points of an HT-1000. Maybe even the weakest once they notched the board instead of drilling a hole in it.

I would not want a Visar for S&R. You need something far more reliable if someone's life is in the balance.

OK what would you sugest as a smaller radio then the ADsaberIII. I do not need more then 16 ch. Statewide and national SAR are analog so I dont need the digital. All of my freqs. are 151.505, 151.700,152.405, 157.665, and 158.400. None of the shops around here can key load the ADS. That is why I was looking at the Visar. All that I need is a good, small radio that will work for what I need. We are a non-profit team and all of our equipment is personal or donated that is the other reason I am looking to trade

Thanks in advance.....

JerryS

Ht1000 has the same features as the visar, and are pretty tough. That would be my first choice, then followed by a ht750 or ex500. But ask any firefighter, and the Jedi series like the ht1000 receive better than the waris ht750\ ex500.

About the only good thing I've heard before we took all of ours out of circulation was,
The ladies love them because there light and fit easily into a handbag.

JerryS wrote:OK what would you sugest as a smaller radio then the ADsaberIII. I do not need more then 16 ch. Statewide and national SAR are analog so I dont need the digital. All of my freqs. are 151.505, 151.700,152.405, 157.665, and 158.400. None of the shops around here can key load the ADS. That is why I was looking at the Visar. All that I need is a good, small radio that will work for what I need. We are a non-profit team and all of our equipment is personal or donated that is the other reason I am looking to trade

Thanks in advance.....

JerryS

Jerry, for a small radio look at the Kenwood TK2140, 2160, or a 2170. The TK2140 and the 2170 can both be self programmed without a PC if you need to. The 2170 is around $400.00 new.

You will be able to sell your Astro Saber here on the board.

Jim

Bruce1807 wrote:About the only good thing I've heard before we took all of ours out of circulation was,
The ladies love them because there light and fit easily into a handbag.

If you're looking for a radio that you can carry without looking too hamsexy or coplike, the Visar isn't a bad radio. If you're likely to give the radio any sort of light punishment, they're horrible.

The ladies are probably a section of your user community who would like the XTS 4000, if it were available on 800MHz.

mr.syntrx wrote: The ladies are probably a section of your user community who would like the XTS 4000, if it were available on 800MHz.

I'm sure they would love them but these are top government officials and they have way to many buttons for these ladies.

OK I have just pulled my head out of my A** and have seen the light. I will be picking up a coulpel "for the ladys" and will be looking for ht1000 for the rest of the team. I will be keeping two of them for my slef(Ihad planed that) so what I need to know is what to look for in a ht1000. Acording to our bylaws because we are a non-profit I can not outright sell the radios but I can trade them so what would be a good trade?

Jerry

JerryS wrote:Acording to our bylaws because we are a non-profit I can not outright sell the radios but I can trade them so what would be a good trade...

well it depends what you are getting in return...but those bylaws sound REDICULOUS! You don't have an operating budget? Not a single bi-diretional line item in which to sell & purchase equipment?

Selling isn't profiteering, it's cost recovery, volunteer nonprofits do it all the time with old gear. Being a nonprofit shouldn't be a problem, unless your organisation has really strange bylaws, in which case it is probably doomed to financial failure sooner or later. You can't run an organisation of any sort in the red forever, whether for-profit or otherwise.

Talked with some people in the front office and found that the reason I was told not to sell them is that the guy that dose our books don't want the paper work.

If you're willing to conider other brands and still want a small radio, take a look at the IC-F50. Waterproof, very rugged etc.

JerryS wrote:Talked with some people in the front office and found that the reason I was told not to sell them is that the guy that dose our books don't want the paper work.

I don't know how a sales letter, and then a recoup-ed funds letter is too much work. Sounds like you need to explore his replacement a little more, along with those visars...