Posted: 9/8/2012 1:43:50 PM EDT
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We have a job coming up where there will be 4-6 guys throughout a building.
I'd like to set them up with some kind of fairly robust way to communicate. I need to do this within about two weeks. What would you do? I'd like to keep it under $100 each if I can. |
| I did ask exactly the same question a bit earlier. After doing some tesearch I've decided on Baifeng uv-5r. At $50 a pop I can afford to give them a shot. My plan is to program them to MURS and GPRS. If those are crowded, I'll have the main office obtain a commercial license. I'll follow up with reports. |
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The Baofeng UV-5R is certified under FCC part 90. MURS, FRS and GMRS are FCC part 95.
The Dakota Alert MURS handhelds can be had for under $75. It's hard to say whether these will work for the OP without knowing more about the building he's planning to use them in though. |
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Quoted:
I did ask exactly the same question a bit earlier. After doing some tesearch I've decided on Baifeng uv-5r. At $50 a pop I can afford to give them a shot. My plan is to program them to MURS and GPRS. If those are crowded, I'll have the main office obtain a commercial license. I'll follow up with reports. Thanks. I'll investigate. |
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How large is the building (length, width, number of floors) and what type of construction is it? 10 floors, plus a basement. That's not a huge building. Cheap ass FRS ("bubble pack") radios from Walmart might work. For $30 or so for a pair you can find out. |
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Another cheap no license radio is the Nextel I355 setup on direct talk. Its digital with 150 channels. Check the web for them. I looked at the Baofeng UV-5R at the Shelby hamfest. It looks a lot better in pictures than in person. But then what do you expect for $60.00! The Quasheng had a much better feel but was in the price range of a Wouxan KG-UV6.
RS |
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You will get much better performance in an indoor structure like that with the UHF band than VHF.
Get an LMR licensed UHF frequency, even if just itinerant. NXDN digital from Icom or Kenwood would be good but out of your price range. Would recommend avoiding the Chinese radios marketed primarily to amateur operators, when used for business purposes by non technical folks. Too many buttons to push and things to change or go wrong. There are some plain-front radios from the same manufacturers that would be a much better choice. |