I just want one that works on 6m...

How difficult is the software to source for one of these?   Thanks!

That's something I've never been clear on.
Last place I worked had four different Harris products. Each had a different way to program them. The name of the software suite was called RPA (radio programming... application? There's also a disc for tactical chat, and for another useless thing, too). I even looked in the RPA help files to see if there was a list that it would apply to, with no luck.
RPA did not require a dongle, but I am pretty sure it took a key.
It was really easy to brick a radio bad enough that it had to go to Harris for unfucking, so I tried not to experiment any more than I did. And, I never tried RPA to read anything but what I was told to use it with, and we didn't have the 152's or export version of the handhelds, so I never got to try it that way.
I know the HF version is out in the wild, but it is pricey as hell.
I have never seen a legit version of RPA for sale at a reasonable price, and I've never seen it on any of the comms sites hacked, either.

Many of those radios do a sort of 'mesh' and that's how you program the nodes, and there are certain security features that get pushed into the radio, some have a USB, others have a multipin connector, (some have both).

There is a very specific way to push them in, also. One file, if you load it twice, you'll brick that radio.

Good luck, if you find a copy, let me know.

Weird, I've never had an issue loading an RF5800. You can't read. It's a load only thing.

The Thales stuff allows for read and write and seems better arranged and easier to use.

I've skimmed through most of the 23 pages. Some very, very knowledgeable guys in here.

Having said that, has a consensus of sorts been reached? Is this a decent buy for a durable, long lasting handheld?

Does it HAVE to be programmed or can frequencies simply be manually entered?

No plans to do any custom hacks or programming as that's out of my league/interest.

Some of this may have been covered, but the custom mods and highly technical aspects muddied the water for me.

I'm not sure how many others have used all three brands of these. Currently the TCA gps is hands down the best version of these. The FCS has computer programming which is nice, but not worth the trade offs. The TRI and TCA are similar enough but simple things like automatic switching over to hand/headset when plugged in is a big deal and thus my preference for the TCA.

Also, how is the after market? What kind of antennas, headsets, mics etc do they take? Actual output power vs. advertised?

@mancow
@high_order1
@Saoirse

No consensus

Durable is relative. There are persistent issues with the antenna and audio ports.

All of them can be front panel programmed. A few can be programmed via cable.

Anything that can go on a legit military radio can go on these. With adapters, most .civ equipment can as well. Main issue is incompatible wiring and the two different types of microphones.

Output power is generally not a question. Hand held radios don't put out much by law.

If your AO is like mine, you will need two of them to get any company. There is four listed 6 meter repeaters in my county of residence and the next one over, Ain't one of them is on the air and I'm using a 50 watt mobile.

A handheld like that would be cool though.

@high_order1

I mostly want it to be able to talk to all my old mil pack stuff.

Copy that. We need somebody in Congress to poke the FCC into giving Part 95 a piece of a low band TV channel. Maybe 1.25 mhz worth for repeaters and direct communications.

Sorry. I don't know. I have only ever used the real ones.

I wrote out a long reply, and the system ate it.

Essentially, most of this could be answered by reading about the last ten pages.

My bet if I had to buy one, right now, would be the 2023 TCA with GPS from ShiQing^*. It does front panel programming like they all do. It also, with the 2023 usb cable, can be programmed remotely. It allegedly autosenses which microphone has been hooked on, which is a step up from the 2022 TCI where you have to dig in the menu. It also uses genuine Harris batteries without modification, which is another checkmark in its favor. And, of course, there is a dedicated remote display / keypad unit. I would be least likely to buy the green baofeng unit.

None of the KDU's are intercompatible with other year, same-brand radios as far as I know. None of the KDU's are intercompatible with other brands. None of the radios accessory ports can actually drive outboard Harris products; i.e. there is a drop-in convertacom for the 152 that can 'talk' to the 152 and change things, there are Harris amplifiers that need direction from the 152 to switch bands, etc etc. That legit Harris KDU that fell off a truck? Ain't happening. There is no smarts in them toy radios that can make this happen.

TRI - Triumph Instruments
TCA - I forget
FCS - FALCO Communication Systems


There's been a group working on reversing one of the earlier models, and that is what I was waiting for.

I have spoken a few times with people from TCA and FCS. I have never, ever gotten a response from Triumph Instruments. So whatever you get, unless you count JCI, there is no service after the sale. You are on your own.





I get decision paralysis.

None of these are going to make you happy if you can't accept the base premise; they are toys that sort of look like the Real Steel units. What no one really talks about is how trashy in output and ridiculous they are compared to an amateur radio 1/3 the size and weight and probably can be had at the same price. But we aren't talking about actually using the units, we want something that looks cool, and none of the ham units really scratch that itch. I get it.

These are toys for airsofters. They sprung from making thin plastic shells that you put a cheap radio inside of.

The original versions were just a dummy shell. Some even carried extra airsoft... pellets? BB's? Because they WANTED THE LOOK, NOT THE FUNCTION. Then, someone realized, hey, I could actually fit a bubblepack toy FRS inside of one of those. They put the cart in front of the horse, and never looked back. The 2023 TCA actually had a radio engineered to fit in the case, previously, they were nothing more than uncasing a poorly made radio and forcing them to drive a hacked up display and keypad on the 152 shell. Then people were upset because the side accessory port didn't match Harris's. lol
That yellow circle - on real ones, there is a hold up battery in there. There is nothing in the toys, there is no multiple waveforms (i.e., no DMR, no NXDN, no P25, no digital period), no real encryption, no frequency hop, no wideband. It is not a military radio. Period.


Latest versions use an aluminum shell and a gasket, but they still have issues with the antenna and audio ports twisting and or breaking off, because the LARPers and people that can't understand these aren't milspec hang a two foot antenna off of them and then are surprised when the port can't hack it. Or twist really hard with the milspec connector onto the toy radio port and the port twists off because they were assembled in hong kong by someone that has never heard of a torque wrench or loctite.

And, the 152 is long in the tooth. These things are made to make airsofters happy, not preppers or actual comms people. They are moving on; now they all want mesh. I say that to say I don't see a ton of effort being put into these replicas any more; they are all trying to figure out how to do cell based audio and local mesh data, which means MPU5 clones; that's where the money is going (except people trying to resurrect the old PRC-117's, for some reason; at least do ASIP, but no).


Lastly, it is irrelevant if they emit 8 watts instead of 15. This goes back to talking about them from the technical communications standpoint. There is an entire thing about how many watts Effective Radiated Power you have to increase in order to double effective talk range. Losing 1-4 watts at the port isn't it.

And, that's assuming you bought the $60 - 100 dollar legit antenna; because the toy radios come with shit antennas. They look correct, but most fail when you look at them on the meter. You could have 60 watts out into one of those legit, expensive, not broken military surplus tape measure antennas, but only be emitting 2-3, because they have to be resonant on the frequency you choose.

The actual military uses lower band frequencies with those. Airsofters use VHF and UHF with them, they generally are not designed for that and in cases only allow a fraction of the energy to pass, and in some cases, before burning the radio up because that isn't what it is designed to do and people begged for MORE WATTS instead of fixing the problem.

And, using the correct antenna isn't much better if it is duck taped into the harness. The aerial... has to be in the air to be happy. Up in the air where it can be knocked off or bent or whatever, so they rarely are found there.

The downside to correct antenna placement is, you don't want 10 watts of UHF into your eyes for any appreciable amounts of time, anyway. Especially with a radio that keys itself up all the time to tell everyone your location.

So, it's a trick question. You would have to have a real harris battery, that isn't a dead cell mil surplus throwaway, that is fully charged, the radio on a frequency somewhere in the middle of what it can handle, with a unfucked port, and a legit antenna cut for that center frequency to see what they are putting out. Too many variables, and a lot of people on youtube who are 'testing' these things don't seem to understand a lot of that. The meter may even SAY 10 watts, but, is it really?

I hope they do one more revision, the 163. Put a ton of features in it, make it really wide banded, and capable of doing audio and data at the same time. Throw in a LTE and 2.4g rf deck too. And they'd sell a ton of them at $300 each. But none of the manufacturers seem to care about it. I've asked several.

There are tiers. The top tiers already make things like this; they are not making a toy that would fuck them. The mid tier ham types still miss tubes too much to want to make money. And the bottom feeders that responded to me don't seem to understand what I am telling them, or care. They monitor the airsoft forums trying to find the pulse. Airsofters aren't comms people, they ape the comms people. So it's a vicious circle, and it is what it is, a kid buying a toy MPU5 with a remote thinking that's the entire ecosystem.

I'm out of hot air; get off my lawn




edit to add another couple of paragraphs no one will read, but I will link this post next time someone asks...

* since this is now the ad hoc sticky, ShiQing is the best distributor for TRI/TCA/FCS radios. He does not have a storefront that I am aware of, he is simply on ALL the social media that discusses these things. Easiest thing to do is search his handle and '152' and you can dial into whereever he is. I don't know of a single shit transaction with him, he ships quickly, and he actually somehow is dialed into all the Big 3, so he will have the latest revision of what you want. You buy anywhere else, it is almost guaranteed to be an older unit, so fewer features and probably plastic cased.
(I am not he)


Just stole this and reformatted it from ShiQing.

Differences among 2023 TRI TCA and FCS AN/PRC-152 replicas

Frequency Bands

TCA
UHF:  400 - 490Mhz
VHF 136 - 174Mhz
AM:106-136Mhz(receive only)
FM:78-108Mhz (receive only)

TRI
UHF1: 400 - 490Mhz
UHF2: 330 - 370Mhz
UHF3: 220 - 259Mhz
VHF 136 - 174Mhz
FM:78-108Mhz(receive only)
AM:106-136Mhz(receive only)

FCS
UHF: 400 - 480Mhz
VHF: 136 - 174Mhz
FM:78-108Mhz (receive only)

Max Out Power

TCA
15W (Harris battery) 10W (when use TCA Battery case)

TRI
15W (Harris Battery)

FCS
5W

Battery he ships (because of transporting lithium cells, I am guessing)

TCA
Comes with empty battery case that can input 4  18650 battery cell output voltage is 8.4V

TRI
Comes with TRI made 12.6V lithium battery that built in 6  18650 battery cell.Battery was sealed for waterproof,so it can not be disassembled.

FCS
Comes with empty battery case that can input 4  18650 battery cell output voltage is 8.4V


Frequency Programming

TCA
Manual Programming on radio directly and PC Programming

TRI
Manual Programming on radio directly

FCS
Manual Programming on radio directly, PC Programming, WiFi Wireless Programming by Phone
Note FCS has graphical interface Programming software. It also Support Radio and KDU firmware upgrade in future (If FCS release new firmware)

Functional of rotary knob
TRI
Turn ON/OFF Radio, Volume adjust
TCA
Turn ON/OFF Radio, Volume adjust
FCS
Turn ON/OFF Radio, Menu Confirm/Back,Frequency and menu option select

Repeater Function

TRI
UHF/UHF, VHF/VHF, UHF/VHF

TCA:
UHF/VHF
Note
TCA Radio has Speaker ON/OFF Option when used as repeater.

FCS:
???

GPS
TCA GPS Version TCA PRC152 allow Latitude and Longitude info showed on KDU and radio

TRI: I don't think they have one with this in a current version

FCS: ???

Automatic frequency selection:
TCA: Automatic frequency mode make radio more convenient and accurate finds the corresponding frequency and DCS/CTCSS code

Thank you for the response, really. That checked off a lot of boxes.

And the last part had me legit lol

You could always buy one of these.

If what drove it was open source so you could do things, it might not be bad for a not-handheld radio with no service or support.

Then there is the TBR-119

Only goes to 520, no guarantee it will last past the burn in period, and it is $2k. Don't really see how that fits in the 152 thread, but I am not its gatekeeper.

Anyone have a link to that UG to 2 pin adapter or better yet, a wiring diagram? A friend of mine is trying to adapt a PRC6809 to 2 pin Kenwood accessories but is having issues.

@Highorder

Your post should be made a sticky. That's pretty much what anyone needs to know about the PRC look a likes.

I'm perfectly happy with my GT-12 at 1/3 the price since I don't have any .mil stuff to use with it.

Doesn't surprise me, but it is only a matter of time before they screw up and make something worth buying though. Software defined radios are the new now. Go look at my K5 thread for something that isn't ready for prime time, but definitely puts it in the parking lot of ready.

Those actually tx in the 65-108 band?

Yes I know there is no ham band there.

Which one? The 152 data came from the main importer for the US. We've talked about this in the past, allegedly there was a version of 152 that did low band, but only like outdoor outfitter or someone like that ever saw one. I never have

The gt12 he talked about.

I want a low band capable 152. 6m, 10m, CB, 2m/440

Perfekt

fuck

See you down that rabbit hole lol

Lol. Yup...


My perfect ham radio is basically a modernized ft817 stuffed in a 152 style case and ht form factor. Uprated to 10W out, takes the Harris batteries. Has an extra bnc connector for HF antennas.

Alternately 30-512 coverage would be fine.

Can't find it on the anysecu nor the senhaix site. Found a review on here, kind of went off topic without really answering the question so far. See one on amazon, wonder if it is a scam?

The Senhaix doesn't transmit on the FM broadcast band or the aviation band. I can't say I've heard anything on the aviation band either. I got it from a guy who was looking for the air band RX to work decently. The FM band receive is okay and has come in handy when I needed a portable receiver.

The GT-12 doesn't have any water resistance rating at all. So while it's my general "take it with me" 2M/440 HT, it doesn't have a larping in the rain mode. It also doesn't output 10 watts, but about 6.5 watts is good enough for me. I have net checked on GMRS and it's good there. I use a Nagoya NA-701 with the bottom plastic trimmed for everyday stuff. The gooseneck supplied with the radio works very well, but more suited for a plate carrier. The radio could be worthy of a look, but they missed the boat with the splash rating and the speaker microphone connection.

Thank you and bummer.

I have piles of 30-512 stuff. It's not as fun as you would think. Other than some rare lowband skip and milair there isn't all that much. Everything of interest is P25 trunked or DMR, likely encrypted too. The days of fun radio are waning exponentially.

have you looked into bitbanging the firmware to unlock it to allow transmit? I emailed the manufacturer but for obvious reasons haven't gotten a reply.

People hear 30-512 and don't realize you need amps & antennas that match up to the band you're using, it's not just some magic xmit into a garbage whip on any frequency and it works because the radio's specs say it can.  I always had at least two antennas for my MBITR, I'd carry a whip that would give me the LOS freqs I needed & a UHF amp and a DM-C125 on the off chance I had to do something crazy in an emergency.

I'm not surprised at Senhaix not replying. They started a Facebook page and had someone administer it after they introduced the 8600 and 8800. Now it's only buyers posting on it. I have two comments waiting for 3 weeks and nothing. The GT-12 has 30 zones of 32 channels. My radio will channel scan if powered up on zone 1. If powered up on any other zone, pressing the assigned scan button gets the no-function double beep and nothing happens.

The radio is okay for $135.00 and has VHF TX 136-174 with UHF 400-512. I can only say it transmits on the ham bands, GMRS, and MURS. It has a nice sturdy case, zones, and knobs held on with screws. The zero IP rating, USB-C speaker microphone that comes out 90 degrees to the case, and dual transmit buttons. This and programming software made for cellphones? Well, who exactly is Senhaix targeting to sell these too? I've got a UV-21 PRO V2 coming. It may be just as effective at 1/3 the price.

I mean I know how to use it, i.e. different antennas etc. What do you have, is it buyable, and does it cost less than 3 grand?

Cuz the Civ 152 is not 30-512. IIRC the civ MBITR was, but those are unobtanium and likely support for stuff like batteries is gonna get iffy shortly unless it already is.

There are rf-310m-hh's out in the wild that cover that range

Yeah. I have yet to see any in the wild and I doubt they would be under 3k.

Replied today. No, as you astutely point out, to low band. Oh well lol



I read what he posted about four times. I want to believe it is a snarky response, but he honestly makes a few points. I perpetually, continually am allowing myself to be sucked into arguments with people that do not and will not understand how a radio system works, and simply want to APPEAR VISUALLY to match some person that also probably has no idea how the radio system works past turning it on and selecting a preset net.


You know from the other boards I too have a decent investment in antennas and accessories, so I am unsure where Josh was going there. (Shrugs)



It took me about a year of digging before I started getting on places that they would (and do) pop up. Last two I saw went for $1500 each within a minute of posting. Have no idea where they came from, or if they would work past the mailbox warranty. I am reticent to share any of my fishing holes, for that I apologize. I know of at least two others in this thread that have managed to acquire some working green radios though.

I am keeping my ears open for some of the afg units to start consistently showing up.

Not knowing where the line is in here about this particular topic, I am not wanting to shit up the toy 152 thread. I really don't have much to offer in the way of securing current .mil/.gov radios though, I just am a persistent searcher. For instance, there is a guy on youtube that has a 7800M I wanted to buy, but he would never return my emails. (shrugs)

I have seen these out:

https://www.l3harris.com/all-capabilities/falcon-iii-rf-7850m-hh-multiband-networking-handheld

Don't get me wrong, it's still fun and neat but there's just only so much out there on analog unless you live in NY or LA or something with repeaters all over every frequency.

For sale - sorry, no. Less than 3 grand, maybe if you get lucky.

The "civ 152" RFX8XX series does full 30-512 AM/FM and whatever other waveforms it's provisioned for. I just set up a 6 meter repeater so it's handy to use and test that. I still need to use the full tape whip if I want to hit the repeater from inside the house (it's about 17 miles away).

Guess I'm lookin in the wrong places. I missed a chance at a Civ MBITR a few years back, but there was a shitload of drama with that whole deal.

For those of you with the latest TCA 2023 version with gps (or without). Can anyone confirm that real milsurp H350 6pin handsets (or any handset of that style, but has to be real military ones) work with it?

I'm seeing conflicting information online ...

Hi I was directed here from another TRI owners group

As many of you know and have experienced the TRI PRC-148 has some common issues with the antenna connector coming loose or in some cases breaking off.

After experiencing this and seeing the problem repeated for many other TRI owners, including numerous radios bricked by failed repair attempts, I decided to disassemble one of my own radios and photograph the process in order to walk people through the repair step-by-step

I've also had a lot of people asking about the 10-Pin maritime connectors and converting their 6-Pin to 10-Pin (or vice versa) as well as the layouts for the two headset connectors, so I have included the pin-out for both connectors in the guide as well as a conversion chart between the two of them.

If you've had this problem with your antenna connector coming loose, or if you want to convert your radio to a different headset jack I've included the full instructions with pics of each step in a PDF

You can get it here https://spier.gumroad.com/l/tri-guide

Hope this helps some of you
- Hans

Directed there to spam your guide that you are charging people for you mean.

Conveniently don't mention that its $10 USD until you click through

Ridiculous

How is it spam?

I have performed the repairs & understand how to do it, many do not and have bricked their radios attempting un-guided repairs.

I took on the risk to my own expensive radio to disassemble and reassemble it photographing the process to document it for others.

I spend many hours to write step-by-step instructions, assemble a tutorial, provide details for how to buy replacement 10-pin, 6-pin, and compatible TNC connectors (as the TRI uses a specific size D-hole which is non-standard)

I figured out and provided pin layouts for the 10-pin maritime connector and the conversion from 6-pin which many have asked for and few have been able to find.

This is how I make a living, by solving problems and charging for the service.

I am not a communist, it is only fair that I be paid a small amount (less than a trip to mcdonalds) for my time, work, and effort.

It's $9 to help you safely and properly repair a radio that often costs $500+ after shipping, to ensure you get longevity and value for your expensive purchase where no after care otherwise exists from the manufacturer.

If that is not worth it to you, do not buy.

Just an FYI, you need a paid industry account to advertise a product or business on this forum.

I get what you're saying, but they're right.  You can't advertise here, that's not the purpose of this forum.  It may not be your intention to spam, but you are spamming.  

I suggest everyone let it go and let’s move on.

This thread getting locked would be a travesty.



And to switch the subject, what is the current “top level” version / vendor of this radio?

What do you mean by this?

TCA PRC152, 2023 version with/without GPS is the latest and seems like lots of people are buying from this guy on ig/ebay with nickname. shiqing*

I was going to get this until I realized that the TRI PRC152 does more frequencies ... but whether I would use those frequencies or not i've not actually decided lol.