At my job we use motorola HTs on UHF (400MHz+) using DPL/DCS
squelching. Sometime in the next few months we'll migrate to different
motorolas on VHF (150MHz+) using PL/CTCSS.

I'm a ham, but a somewhat inexperienced one.. I was wondering if y'all
could direct me toward a few dual or tri band HTs that would be easily
modified to tx those freqs, preferrably with the DPL/DCS capability
(since I think most radios come with PL/CTCSS), but if you know of one
that is super easy and only does PL, that would be great, too.
Comments on performance (ie intermod) are appreciated, too.

I've hunted around on mod sites and have come up with a couple of icoms
and a few alincos that appear easy enough to mod.. But, I wanted some
opinions from y'all.

There's probably no need to post the mod, I'll find it on the
internet.. Unless you want to make it easy on me and link to it. :-)

TIA! 73,

kc5rsv
thomas

On 11 Feb 2005 05:08:10 -0800, wrote:

At my job we use motorola HTs on UHF (400MHz+) using DPL/DCS
squelching. Sometime in the next few months we'll migrate to different
motorolas on VHF (150MHz+) using PL/CTCSS.

I'm a ham, but a somewhat inexperienced one.. I was wondering if y'all
could direct me toward a few dual or tri band HTs that would be easily
modified to tx those freqs, preferrably with the DPL/DCS capability
(since I think most radios come with PL/CTCSS), but if you know of one
that is super easy and only does PL, that would be great, too.
Comments on performance (ie intermod) are appreciated, too.


Thomas,

Did I get this correct? You want to modify an amateur radio so it
operates on a commercial band?

What you are doing is setting yourself up for a $10,000-$20,000 fine
and possible suspension or loss of your amateur license. Regardless
of technology, it is against the law to use non-type accepted
equipment on services requiring type accepted equipment.

You can read about some of the penalties imposed by the FCC on the
internet. I think the ARRL has quite a few reports.

You can get HT's and mobiles that will monitor the frequencies you
want to use if you like.

If you want to operate those frequencies, you might check with the
source from which your company is buying rigs and tell them that you
would like one that you can use as well but have a small budget. They
may find a used one for you that they can program for both your
company use and amateur use.

Good luck,

And... stay out of trouble, ok?

73
Buck
N4PGW

--
73 for now
Buck
N4PGW

Buck,

Thanks for the reply. I'm actually working outside of the US right
now, where the FCC doesn't care and no one else around here seems to.
I met another HAM here who's doing the same thing (with an IC-V8) and
really there is no one here to complain. Rest assured, I wouldn't
care if I were in the states.. And, when I get back to the states if I
don't leave the radio for someone else I'll not be operating it out of
ham bands. :-)

Have a good one!

73,

thomas

On Fri, 11 Feb 2005 12:04:29 -0500, Buck wrote:


What you are doing is setting yourself up for a $10,000-$20,000 fine
and possible suspension or loss of your amateur license. Regardless
of technology, it is against the law to use non-type accepted
equipment on services requiring type accepted equipment.

I've worked for a major radio company & about 95% of the ham radios
that came in for repair have been taken out of band.
( No, we never did the mods)
But I do have to say, these guys take them out of band & try to run
them at full power for long periods & invariably fry the PAs!
Goodbye warranty & hello expensive bill.
You'd be better off in the long run either buying a commercial radio,
or something like an Icom M88 ( programmable free channels and
ctcss).

In article .com,
says...

At my job we use motorola HTs on UHF (400MHz+) using DPL/DCS
squelching. Sometime in the next few months we'll migrate to different
motorolas on VHF (150MHz+) using PL/CTCSS.

I'm a ham, but a somewhat inexperienced one.. I was wondering if y'all
could direct me toward a few dual or tri band HTs that would be easily
modified to tx those freqs, preferrably with the DPL/DCS capability
(since I think most radios come with PL/CTCSS), but if you know of one
that is super easy and only does PL, that would be great, too.
Comments on performance (ie intermod) are appreciated, too.

snippety

You really don't want to do that if you plan to transmit with
them, at least if they're amateur-only transceivers.

The reason can be summed up in two words: Type Acceptance. In
order to be legally usable on frequencies other than amateur radio, a
transceiver must be type accepted by the FCC for the radio service it's
made for.

This means that the manufacturer of the equipment submits their
design details to the FCC, and the feds then say 'yea' or 'nay' on
whether said design is found to be acceptable for the specific radio
service in question. Amateur radio transceivers do not require type
acceptance because of the non-commercial nature of the service.

Using a non-type accepted radio on frequencies outside those it
was designed for will get you deep trouble should you get caught. The
feds have already made this very clear in the form of the recent
crackdowns on truck stops and CB dealers selling illegal linear
amplifiers, and CB radios modified to go into the amateur 10-meter band.

Now, with all that said: It is perfectly acceptable to buy a
commercial type-accepted radio, and program amateur frequencies into it
(assuming you have the appropriate amateur radio license). God only
knows how many hams have done this already, myself included. In fact,
conversion of commercial gear to amateur service is a specialty of mine.

There's probably no need to post the mod, I'll find it on the
internet.. Unless you want to make it easy on me and link to it. :-)

Do you really want to risk both your amateur license and that of
the commercial service you're trying to talk to? Yes, both of them WOULD
be put at risk by use of a non type accepted radio.

If you must do what you describe, get a commercial transceiver and
stick ham frequencies in it. The other way around is just not a good
idea.

73 de KC7GR


--
Dr. Anton T. Squeegee, Director, Dutch Surrealist Plumbing Institute.
(Known to some as Bruce Lane, ARS KC7GR,
kyrrin (a/t) bluefeathertech[d=o=t]calm -- www.bluefeathertech.com
"If Salvador Dali had owned a computer, would it have been equipped
with surreal ports?"