Best Radio Software For Pc
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It is not a problem of 2.4GHz frequency, but try to avoid using Wifi protocol in serious applications, as WiFi is designed for extreme data rate, it gives very little consideration to spectrum efficiency or co-existence with other radios.
Compared to which frequency band to use, coding schemes or some kind of frequency hopping(FHSS) is much more important to achieve the minimum probability of packet loss. Advanced coding schemes usually means higher cost of radio, so at least find a radio with some kind of FHSS implementation can give you much more robust performance.
Unfortunately neither Wifi nor a nordic 2401, as well as a large bundle of RC transmitters in the market, have FHSS feature.
Hi all, I'm looking for suggestions for what you all consider the best commercial UHF mobile and handheld radios that can be used for GMRS, also the easiest to acquire CPS software for programing, Thanks
I have a few TK880's and some Motorolas. For me, I prefer my Motorola XPR5550e over the TK880's. Of course the 5550 is a bit newer than the Kenwood 880. For my HT, I either carry my Wouxoun KG-UV9Px or my Motorola XPR7550. The 7550 receives weaker signals that the UV9P doesn't, but the TX side is about the same
Motorola, Kenwood, ICOM all make good commercial gear. For SAR alot of our users utilize ICOM for cost and programmability. Personally I use MSI equipment but I did use alot of ICOM in the past. Kenwood has some good gear also. As far at Motorola there is no need for APX radios. A CDM1250 is a solid little GMRS rig.
If you try to go the legit way for current model software for Motorola, you're probably going to be disappointed. Motorola is not interested in supporting Ham or GMRS at a corporate level, and getting things like Wideband entitlement for CPS software is nearly impossible. The newest CPS2 software for the XPR/Trbo series is not out in the wild, and the older CPS software won't even read new radios fresh from the Factory.
If you are dealing with older model analog radios like the CDM1250 mentioned above, the PM400, M1225, etc. then there are plenty of unofficial resources and available software, but it's still not 'Plug and Play'. If you are starting from nothing, you would probably be best served to purchase a radio that's already programmed for what you need, and then try to acquire the software & cables to read that radio & save a baseline profile that you can begin to experiment with.
My only experience with Kenwood is a TK880 Mobile and its been very positive. I don't have any experience with the Kenwood portable but I have to assume the quality of their portables have to be as good as their mobiles.
I use the Kenwood TK880 in one of my cars that can not accommodate a radio installation because of the physical size and the radio will accommodate multiple programming zones with as many channels you need in any zone. Also, the programming is not that difficult and the software is easy to acquire.
I'm more of a Motorola guy. I have the XTL5000 and XTL2500 mobile radios in my other cars and I have a large selection of various XTS5000 portables, along with the XTS3000, XTS2500, XTS1500 series, and various Astro Sabers, and numerous JEDI series portables.
I don't have any Waris radios but I have used them briefly in my previous life and have found them very reliable and easy to use. The programming software for the Waris radio line is becoming easier to acquire these days.
If you're in the market for a Waris radio, you have to be careful with the channel capacities. Some portables appear to be 128 channel radio but some of them on the market are only 16 channel radios. I'm not sure if the mobiles are in the same situation.
To be fair, any current commercial radio that you can get wideband on is going to be excellent for GMRS. There are plenty of options that are considered end of life that are great too. Motorola didn't have many, if any commercial radios that did get part 95 certification, but there are a boatload of Kenwood's that did.
Just a little anecdote on commercial radios. A few months ago I was given an old Kenwood TH-75A. I also have a brand new Baofeng UV-5R8W. Last night I was listening to the NOAA Galveston station and decided to check out the difference between these two radios. I still like the Baofeng but WOW! the Kenwood sounded significantly better.
I have a very nice Motorola XTL-2500 in the correct bandplan that many claim would be a good GMRS radio.
It is in excellent condition - it just sat there for years, didn't get much use at all but I learned that it is impossible for me to get programmed the way I want/need so I'm going to get rid of it.
What's amazing to me is that more GMRS radios don't offer a bluetooth-based companion app for the occasional tweaking of settings that are a PITA from a front keypad; stuff like CTCSS/DCS in particular. 462.600 has at least 4 different repeaters in my general area, each with different tone combinations, and there's a 625 repeater that just came up with another CTCSS code. 90% of the time, all I need is PTT and a preconfigured "Channel" - but when that other 10% happens and the laptop is back home, keypad programming for ALL of the GMRS (and Ham) radios out there is an exercise in frustration.
But maybe that isnt the right answer. Take a look at the Motorola Talkabout T5500AA ($50 for two; www.motorola.com), one of the walkie-talkie-type radios that have become so popular in the past decade. The T5500AAs work on both the FRS and GMRS bands, meaning that when used in GMRS mode they have a range of up to eight miles. When used in FRS mode, the power output is stepped down and range drops to about two miles. Use of FRS mode is unrestricted, but the Federal Communications Commission requires a license for GMRS mode ($80 for five years; ).
Along with the radios, youll want a pair of the Talkabout Speaker/Microphones ($40 each). These plug into the radio and clip to your jersey, then you stick the radio in your pocket. A button on the side of the microphone activates it so you can talknot quite hands-free, but one-hand. It would work well on a bicycle. Motorola also makes a headset that can be used with a voice-activation feature on the T5500AAs, but those probably wont work with a helmet. Besides, ambient noise will set the thing off.
I tried this radios-on-bikes thing once, when my brother and I were doing a long tour in Oregon. It was a bust. For one thing, even though GMRS radios offer longer range, theyre still line-of-sight devices. Get around a hill and your odds of making contact drop to almost nil. Along with that, battery life (three AAAs for each radio) is about six to eight hours. So you have to carry lots of batteries, or somehow recharge them with a solar charger. The radios ended up being dead weight.
I saw this post talking about manually binding the radio button (Populating radio button values with street addresses) but I would have thought the radio button would have had parameters like Choice 1, Choice 2 etc.
The radio makes for a great background companion. My grandmother always had her favorite station on when she cooked, and my mom tuned into NPR whenever we were on the road. I've been continuing the tradition, listening to my favorite radio station from my teenage years now that I live within its range again.
If you know the station, you can also ask your smart speaker to turn on your radio station of choice. Alexa is easy to command with the exact station number, or even just asking it to play NPR." (You might need to specify your zip code to get connected to your local NPR station, which was quick to do over voice command as well). Google Assistant, on the other hand, responded only when I could give it a specific radio channel number and used iHeartRadio to play it.
Tivoli Model Three BT for $300: This radio looks nice and comes with a lit-up analog clock. It's great for bedside tables since it has an alarm you can set, and a sleep button to turn the radio off after 20 minutes if you want to be lulled to sleep. Reception struggled more than I expected with such a high price, and setting the clock is frustrating.
Victrola Houston for $50: This is a good choice if you only listen to FM radio and want Bluetooth capabilities. It's nice to look at, and the dials feel higher-end than you'd expect. But the window to see what channel you're on is annoyingly tiny.
It's understandable to get frustrated with a new radio and its poor reception. The nature of radio waves means they're inconsistent in your home, so you might have to try a few spots to get the best signal possible. Even moving a radio a few inches can make a huge difference, but make sure your antenna is fully extended.