What We Told the FCC

Response to the FCC's Review of the Part 95 Personal Radio Services Rules

My Thoughts On The FCC's Proposed GMRS Changes

A Summary of the FCC's Proposed Changes to GMRS and Other Services

The FCC Wants to Change GMRS Licensing, GMRS Repeater Usage, and More!

Both radios are very compact, easy to use, and high-tech. Motorola has designed two ultra stylish radios that will make your staff look as cutting edge as your business.

The size and ease of use of the radios and the range boosting repeater make them just as ideal for those needing a mobile communications suite. If you are an event planner, go to trade shows, or have a business that travels a lot, the radios combined with the mobile repeater may be exactly what you have been looking for.

In addition to carrying just the radios and the repeater we plan on carrying CLP series accessories, and many of you know we like to have a few two way radio accessories in stock. We are as excited about these radios as many of you are, and want to carry every CLP radio and RPU repeater accessory we are able to.

Give us a call at 1-800-584-1445 or send us an email if you have any questions. The way your employees use radios to communicate on the job has just changed forever.

There are two battery kits, great for powering the repeater for a short term as a remote unit, or as backup during power failures:

Motorola HKHN4004A Lithium Ion Battery Frame Kit: The kit allows you to run the RPU2160 repeater off of lithium-ion battery packs.

Motorola HKHN4003A Battery Frame Kit: The kit allows you to run the RPU2160 repeater off of alkaline batteries.

There are two antennas to further boost range and improve transmission quality:

Motorola HKKN4022A Magnetic Mount Antenna: The long, heavy duty cord allows you to place the antenna away from the RPU2160 repeater. This provides more options on where you can locate the repeater, such as in a desk or cabinet. The antenna can then be placed in a separate location, or even at a higher position, potentially boosting range and providing a clearer signal.

Motorola HKAE4000A Dipole Antenna: The 15" antenna has an adjustable joint at the base allowing it to be repositioned at different angles, potentially boosting range and providing a clearer signal.

There is also a vehicle power adapter:

Motorola HKPN4003A Vehicle Adapter: Turn your RPU2160 repeater into a mobile repeater! Just plug in the power adapter and you will be able to add the convenience and additional range of a repeater anywhere you go. This is perfect for remote job sites, camping, hunting trips, and any other activity where you might need additional communication range.

A radar gun is a simple radio transmitter and receiver. The radio waves sent have a frequency measured in Gigahertz (GHz). When the radio waves reflect and bounce off of an object there is a slight change in frequency. The frequency shift (Doppler effect) is measured by the radar gun and the objects speed is determined.

The frequencies used by the radar guns are called radar bands. X band was once the most common but is becoming rather rare since it is very easily detected by radar detectors. K and Ka bands use frequencies that are much more difficult to detect and are now more common. Ku band is mostly found in Europe.

• X Band is in the 8.0 to 12.0 GHz range (most common is 10.5 in the US / 9.4-10.6 in Europe)


• K Band is in the 18 to 26.5 GHz range (most common is 24.12 - 24.17 in the US / 24.12 - 25.15 in Europe)


• Ka Band is in the 26.5 to 40 GHz range (most common is 33.8, 34.6, 34.7, 35.5, 35.7 GHz in the US / 34.0, 34.3, 35.5 in Europe)


• Ku Band is in the 12 to 18 GHz range (Ku is not used in the US, most common is 13.45 in Europe)

In the US most radar guns used by police are K or Ka band, however some police departments still use X band. We know that a lot of people advocate turning X band off, but before you do we recommend driving around for a while with it on to make certain you do not encounter any police still using the band in your area. In fact, some departments now purposefully use X band because so many people treat it as a false alert and turn it off.

In addition to being used by police, many automatic doors and some car navigation systems emit radar as well. This results in false alerts. The signal from an automatic door, etc... is often rather weak so most radar detectors have a city mode to lessen the detectors sensitivity. A few radar detector models also allow you to manually lock out false signals, or will even block them for you automatically.

How you setup your radar detector can also be a determining factor in how effective it is. First, the detector should be placed so that the forward sensor has an unobstructed "view" ahead. For a windshield mount detector, the best location is in the center, and middle of the windshield. The detector should also be level and not pointing up, or down. You may want to turn off X band depending on where you live. Next, in town set the detector to city mode to lessen the number of false alerts, and switch back to highway when outside of urban areas. There are compromises in setting up your detector related to how tolerant you are of false alerts. Some prefer to use highway mode constantly, others will never turn off X band. As you use your detector you will be able to decide what you want to change from the basic settings.

Certain radar detector models are better for highway use where you want long range, and very quick detection, but they tend to have a lot of false alerts in urban area. There are other models that tend to be much better at filtering out false alerts but may not alert fast enough for someone that travels mostly on the interstate. Because of this, here at Buy Radar Detectors we work with you to find the radar detector that fits your specific needs.

The CXR925 is the "big brother" model to the popular Cobra CXR700. The CXR700 is another GMRS radio that we like a lot. So many radio are copy cat designs of each other, we like the originality in the two Cobra models.

The CXR925 is relatively compact and has all the features you would expect form a top of the line GMRS radio (142 privacy codes, VOX, NOAA channels, silent alerts, and key lock). It also has the Rewind-Say-Again® feature. You can replay calls and record messages for playback.

We have them in stock and ready to go for $74.99. The CXR925 value pack comes with two radios, Li-Ion batteries, desktop charger, and wall adapter.

For 2010, there are a few new models and some that are an "upgraded" design over a previous model.

OK, here is a quick list of the new 2010 models:

• Whistler XTR-145


• Whistler XTR-265


• Whistler XTR-335


• Whistler XTR-420


• Whistler XTR-440


• Whistler XTR-555


• Whistler PRO-68SE

One thing that we are interested in, we consider the Whistler PRO 68 to be one of the best (if not the best) radar detector available for under $100. The new Whistler PRO-68SE might be a very interesting model.

We of course will continue to stock all of the existing models including the popular Whistler XTR-690 SE, Whistler PRO 78SE, and Whistler XTR-540 Radar Detector.

Escort has made some minor changes to the packaging of the Solo 2 model. On the left side of the picture is the old package, and on the right is the new one. The radar detector is staying the same, but it will now come with a soft case and an extra set of suction cups. The price is remaining the same at $339.95. Here at Buy Radar Detectors our opinion on soft cases is split. Many feel that it makes it easier to store, and is more rugged than the hard case. Others feel that the hard case provides better protection and is, well, nicer. We only have a few hard case models left, so if you want one, please call us at 1-800-584-1445 and specify that you want one.

Now and then here at Buy Two Way Radios we find out about a new radio that is truly innovative. The new Motorola CLP1010 and Motorola CLP1040 two way radios may lead to a rethinking about how radios look and function.

The CLP 1010 and CLP 1040 are designed for restaurants, hospitality, and retail businesses. They are 1 watt radios and have 1 and 4 channels respectively. They are designed to be stylish, and easy to use.

They are also rather small. The CLP series uses a compact (3.5 x 2.0 x 0.75 inches) and light (2.38 ounces with battery) design. So, how do they get a business radio that small? They changed around some things, and just made the rest more compact. They have removed the speaker, you will have to use a headset and one comes with each radio standard. They also have an internal antenna and very few exterior buttons. Instead there are just a few side buttons, with many functions using voice driven menus. There is an LED ring indicator around the top logo will glow to indicate the current channel, transmitting and receiving, scan, and battery level. Also gone is the traditional side PTT switch. There is just a single large PTT button.

Oh, and they are also repeater capable. They are specifically designed to work with the new Motorola RPU2160 Portable Repeater. Combined together, the radios and repeaters create a very affordable option. The radios are very easy to use, and the repeaters are simple to setup. This means you can easily transport an entire communication system.

With a very nontraditional look and approach, the CLP radios will be great for businesses that want their staff to carry around something besides traditional walkie talkies. If you want your staff to look as high tech and knowledgeable as the products they sell and company they work for, then you want to give these radio a serious look.

If you want to learn more about these radios, or have any questions, please give us a call at 1-800-584-1445

This is a very interesting development in radar detectors. Most windshield mount detectors can be a bit, er, fiddly when trying to do something as simple as hit the mute button. Trying to actually change settings without yanking down the detectors is nearly impossible most of the time, and a very bad idea to attempt while driving. Cobra might be changing all of that, and we will be doing a detailed test ourselves.

The 9970 will offer all of the features of current top of the line Cobra windshield mount detectors including a GPS based camera warning system (with plug-in GPS locator, itself a very nice feature, and a lifetime subscription to the redlight camera warning service), POP detection, and voice alerts. The 9965 is very similar to the 9970 but does not include the GPS locator/service (though it should be available as an option).

We cannot wait to try out the new interface! It should be a great feature that we feel is rather innovative. Anything that makes detectors even more intuitive to use, and more effective tools as well, is a welcome addition.

Well there are a few easy questions you can ask yourself that may make the process a lot faster, simpler, and also save you a bit of money. In this post, we are going to look at shopping for Icom business radios. Icom has a great line of radios, and they are very rugged and durable. You can use this guide to shop for any business radio though, and we hope it will save you some time and frustration.

Before you start reading all of the features for every Icom business radio, let us first answer some questions.

1. Where are you going to use the radios? Are they for use inside or outside (or both). If you need some radios to use at a golf course, or other open outdoor settings, then you want VHF radios. They will give you the most range and clarity. If you are indoors, or outside around a lot of structures and buildings, then you want UHF since they will work better inside since it is better at transmitting through obstructions. Many of you are in both situations, UHF will be the best solution most of the time. We list if an Icom radio is VHF like the IC-F3011 or UHF like the IC-F24 in several places in the description to help find the right one.

2. Do you need that feature? Today's two way radios have a lot of features. However, which ones do you really need? Are the radios going to be used by just a few people? Then you do not need custom banks and group calling. Are you in an area where only a few radios are used, then 4 channels is probably all you will ever need. So try to narrow down the features to only what you know you need. Icom has radios that go from the basic such as the IC-F4011 to the loaded like the IC-F60V.

3. How many radios? Many times you do not need to get a radio for every single person. If there are multiple shifts, you might want to just get rapid chargers like the Icom BC-119N and have them share radios instead. You can save a lot of your budget by buying just the radios you need, and then getting extra batteries and chargers.

4. Why bother about how tough they are? Some radios are able to take a lot of abuse, others are meant to be treated a bit less rough. If you know that where you work, the radios will be subjected to a lot, then look for tough milspec radios. They will last longer than others, and while you pay a bit more for them, they will not need replacing very often. Every Icom business radio is milspec and tough. They are made to last a long time, even in very hostile environments.

5. What range do you need? Icom radios are mostly 4-5 watts, and have great range. With Icom radios you can change the antenna, so you can use a smaller one for short range use and make it a bit more ergonomic. If you need more than 2-3 miles of range you can set up a repeater system. A repeater system is what is used by law enforcement, emergency services, large construction crews, etc... to get 10-20 miles of range. Every Icom radio we carry is repeater capable, from the IC-F11S to the IC-F60.

6. What accessories will people need? Headsets, spare batteries, and speaker mics are often a necessity. Try to list out what accessories people will need, or may ask for. Many brands such as Icom have a lot of two way radio accessories to fit a lot of job situations (even spare belt clips!).

7. How much do you have budgeted? You notice this is not the first question. Once you have all of the rest figured out, then look to see what model fits the description. Often you will find that the radios you actually need are much more affordable than those you might have fist looked at. One thing we like about Icom, they have a very comprehensive selection at all price levels while still having the same quality. The only difference in how they are constructed is in the features.

We hope this makes looking for new radios a lot easier. If you have any questions about Icom business radios, or well anything at all, please call or email us!

Since we are not some large chain store, or part of a mega-industrial conglomerate, we have a lot of freedom in the products we provide to our friends and customers. The feedback we get from all of you helps us carry the two way radios and accessories all of you like. This in turn keeps our inventory current, full of exciting items, and also helps to keep our prices down since we do not buy things people do not want.

Over on our two way radio forums, we have a great bunch of folks. They let us know real quick about what they think about the radios we carry. Today I am just going to link to you some reviews done by forum member jwilkers:

Midland GXT1000 Review
Motorola MR355R Review
Cobra CXR900 Review

We love unbiased reviews like these. If you have feedback on an item, leave a comment here on our two way radio blog, over on our walkie talkie forums, or just give us a call. Everyone here at Buy Two Way Radios looks forward to hearing from you! You may even be mentioned here on the blog.