OLD Radio Uses? Sabers / Systems Sabers etc

[loki71]

i have had a rack (6) of UHF Sabers and 2 VHF Systems Sabers that I had around for years which still work well. I used them for Amateur Radio periodically, monitoring local PD/FD mainly, SKYWARN, and periodically as talk around with friends at a farm or while doing something on GMRS.

but my area will soon be changing to NFM trunking, the whole area, the city, the county, and the state... leaving the monitoring of public services out of the equation... and really, that's where these radios saw most of their use. because there's not always a storm, not always someone to talk to on the local ham repeater, there's not always someone needing help working on their house which a radio can help with, there's not always an event or something at a farm, there's not always a parade or rescue or public event - but there's always something to listen to.

and because of this and my involvement with local groups, my fleet has grown as various entities have finally replaced their radios.

so now i'm left with more radios... and accessories. and i'm at a loss as to what i can do.

my best plan so far is to fill the VHF with MURS, MARINE, and NOAA in one zone, then another zone of local Ham repeaters and common simplex freqs... the UHF with a zone full of GMRS/PMR channels, then another of Ham... then.... let them sit until a need arises?

anyone have any ideas on uses for radios? I will probably end up putting the majority of them on eBay and hope they find a good home, but i'd like to keep a set and just set them up for the most amount of whatever functionality they have left. but what's left after the big changes to NFM and trunking?

i'm at a loss, there must be thousands of radios like this out there... there should almost be a sticky with suggestions, because some of the radios i have are in great shape, and not using them on some level seems to be a tremendous waste.

[MaxK98]

Here in Canada these would still be useful since Narrowband rules don't apply. Some fire Departments and public workers would could really use some radios like the sabers since they just won't die off like newer and cheaper radios.

[N4KVE]

Years ago I went to large racing events, like the Daytona 500, or NHRA drag racing. We'd all want to see our favorite racers, so the group split up once we got to the track. I'd give everyone a radio to keep in touch, & meet up for lunch. MX's, Sabers, & MTS2000's. Of course this was before cell phones, but even today I still use them, as they're louder than a cell phone ringing. Carrying these radios at Disney was great, as we walked to the head of the line & just got on a ride. Going anywhere in a group like a county fair, or zoo, it's helpful to have a radio, as the whole group hears everyone, unlike a cell phone where only 2 people can hear. The weak point is batteries, because on some of these older radios, it's cheaper to replace the radio than the battery. GARY

[MT2000 man]

Most everything around my area is now UHF P25 ( with the very few exceptions of a few PD's still on UHF analog, some are also 800 P25, etc. ) so most of my collection of UHF analog gear is now useless so they all sit around collecting dust ( GMRS has also become mostly dead in my area ). My XTS5000R gets most of the action now ( as it has for the past 3+ years ) with one exception, I still carry my little UHF Visar with me wherever I go. I use it for mostly what little GMRS action there is, and also for FRS when communication from car-to-car / group / family activities is needed. It's fantastic for that.

But all my UHF analog gear is mostly useless now.

[tsunami_australia]

In Australia there are groups like ACREM (www.acrem.org.au) and other voluntary groups (St Johns etc) that would REALLY appreciate radios like these. Most would even pay the postage on a donation. The bands of use here are V-HI and 400-520.

[Astro Spectra]

Didn't Australia already go narrowband?

[tsunami_australia]

There are a lot of services here that are still wideband. All new licenses unless specifically requested are narrow 12.5. Also some self funded voly groups here still run wide gear on narrow licenses due to lack of funding (not ideal but with no funding there is no choice).