Batboard

I am working to become a Vol fire fighter in my state and I know that most likely Ill get a radio (probably a portable from the station which will most likely be second hand kinda thing) but I would prefer to have a radio in my vehicle incase I forget to take my portable with, I want one thats gonna work and be able to do the job well but I don't really need something with 100's of "bells and whistles" on it, just need a simple radio that is able to pick up calls and transmit (as needed) and maby display basic info like channel, band or what ever.

I figured I would ask here since you all seem to have more experience in this st=uff (although I am doing what I can to learn).


My main requirements for the radio I am looking for are:

*easy on the wallet
*Small and compact
*comes with a mic
*has a display of some kind (and back lighting either orange or green (or other color that is easy on the eyes at night)
*easy to install


Thanks for the help and knowledge!

What band-
VHF, UHF, 800Mhz???

Trunked?
Analog, digital?
P25?

How many channels?
Watts?

Im still kinda learning all the different types of things out there in relation to radios. But I would say your general "run of the mill" emergency services type of radio with weather abilities (if possible).

most likely VHF/UHF, Trunked (is this required or optionial?), probably with the ability to support both analog and digital, with the ability to mount it in a vehicle.



I am not exactly sure completely what you mean about the P25, Im guessing that's the encryption system the emergency services mainly use? and If thats what you mean then I would say with the ability to support that as well so I don't have to have more then one radio in the vehicle. number of channels, 100 channel, police, fire/ems, air, marine bands type. (sorry I am not a radio junky like some people might be, I am still trying to learn about the different types of radios out there so I can gain the knowledge.


in simple words your typical UHF/VHF analog/digital police, fire/ems radio/scanner that can be mounted in a vehicle.

Simply stated, you can not do all the things you have listed in one radio. No one has need of such a unit and it just does not exist. I would suggest that you get together with your chief or your company's communications technician and find out exactly what kind of radio setup is required. That way you will get what you need in the shortest amount of time, and you won't end up spending any money that you don't have to spend. The radio you end up with will be for one band, and it won't usually be used to scan and it won't do marine channels. There are a lot of other items it will have to do but most if not all of these are things that come programmed into the radio from the factory; all that's needed is to have the radio set up for your exact needs. You need help from your local people on this matter to avoid mistakes and also to get their permission to add a radio to their system.

yea i was gonna do that in the first place, just figured id ask to see if other people might have a suggestion or two, but it seemes there is alot more to it then I thought....uuug...

if you have put the channel in a scanner what is the numbers?

You want to become a volunteer firefighter - that's great. But let me give you a few tips:
Your username sounds like you either drive or would like to drive a Police Interceptor.
Is aforementioned CVPI already equipped with blinky lights?

If you show up at most any volunteer fire department with a rig outfitted with lights and radios, you're going to get labeled a wacker or squirrel and summarily run off. Having lights, extra radios, etc. are things that come with time and trust.

Go join a fire department, get your head in the books, train train train, get your certs... then start looking at all the other "accessories" once you've been accepted into the group.

Right now, you should be more concerned with what you need to do to pass your basic structural firefighter and, if the department first-responds, EMT certifications. There's nothing wrong with learning about it, but things will go much smoother (and you'll save a lot of money and frustration) if you don't push boundaries right off the bat.

Its a 2 year old thread...wow

That'll teach me to post without checking the date first...

Its ok .. You still have very valid points.

Now you have me wondering if he ever became a firefighter or an ambulance chaser ?

or some dept's radio tech!

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