Portable Radio

[spreilly]

I know its been covered before, but are there any suggestions as to any portable radio's?

Should I be getting a portable radio for CAP use?

I have ACUT & ROA. MRO Training.

[Eclipse]

Should I be getting a portable radio for CAP use?

My answer to this is generally "no", but I say that now having just personally spent a few bucks on a radio even though
I have plenty issued to me because the one I bought was smaller and had some nice features and 4 batteries.

So the question is not "Should I buy one?", but "Do I need one?"

Has any activity you have recently participated in been negatively impacted by your not owning a radio?  Is there something
you want to do that requires a personally-owned radio?

Have you asked if there are radios to share or be issued to you?  How about your quals?  Are you a GTL who might be able to get
one through the TOA?

[spreilly]

I never thought of it like that. But, just for kicks, do you recommend any radio's? I'm not saying that I'll be getting one, just, if, like you said, not owning a radio negatively impacts the task at hand, what radio should I get for the next mission?

[jks19714]

You can get a used Motorola Astro Saber with P25 for about $300 + shipping on eBay.  Not the smallest radio, but built like a tank.  The only real issue is getting it programmed, but once that's done you're pretty much set.

- john

[spreilly]

That's what Google's for. Thanks!

[Eclipse]

The EFJ HT that I have issued through the GTL TOA retails for about $1800 with one battery and a very kludgy charger.  It's also pretty heavy and has a flaky design for the belt clip (which has resulted in at least one lost one in my wing).  It does, however, have the advantage of being
relatively future proof as it will do digital and encryption (which CAP will likely never use).

Whereas the Motorola Visar I just purchased from the Wing DC (who basically never saw a radio he wouldn't buy), was about $175 (used) including
a full-sized and stubby antenna, 4 batteries, a 2-slot desktop battery charger, and a surveillance earpiece w/ mic.   It's "only" 16 channels, so it isn't
future proof, however it is capable of being programmed for anything officially in use these days.  It is also about 1/2 the size of the EFJ "Mortgage payment".

You should be able to find HT1000s on ebay and other secondary sources fairly easily in the $100 range.

[sneakers]

I know my squadron has a radio that they used to use regularly (like once a week) to chat on. Don't know if that's the norm for other squadrons though.

[Eclipse]

At least as far as the TOA goes, every unit is supposed to be issued at least one mobile (car) radio with a base station for the
discretionary use of the Unit CC.  This would be in addition to radios issued to members for GT use, vehicles, etc.

Unfortunately not all units have someone that can receive an issued radio.

[arajca]

The MTS2000 is compliant and has either 48 or 160 channels. 48 channels works in most wings for all the repeaters in the wing. I've seen them for around $200 in EvilBay. Make sure the radio will go down to 136 MHz. I have one (48 channel) as a spare/loaner unit. They are analog only - no P25 or encryption.

[Spaceman3750]

At least as far as the TOA goes, every unit is supposed to be issued at least one mobile (car) radio with a base station for the
discretionary use of the Unit CC.  This would be in addition to radios issued to members for GT use, vehicles, etc.

Unfortunately not all units have someone that can receive an issued radio.

This might be a bit wing specific, but I'm going to throw it out there anyways. I asked a wing comm staff member informally about being issued comm equipment in accordance with the TOA right around the time I was wrapping up my GTL rating. I basically got told that radios were scarce and unless I had a registered ground team with wing DOS I was out of luck.

Point is that even in our own wing portables aren't that easy to come by. We have a squadron mobile that I've been needing to get set up at HQ but that's another story.

OP - I purchased an XTS3000 awhile back for about $500 and change. I would recommend getting a serious read on your wing's comm program (work through the chain to talk with your wing comm staff) before making any radio purchase.

[EMT-83]

We have six portables for the entire Wing. The DC can't decide who to issue them to, so they sit in a closet at Wing HQ.

[Eclipse]

At least as far as the TOA goes, every unit is supposed to be issued at least one mobile (car) radio with a base station for the
discretionary use of the Unit CC.  This would be in addition to radios issued to members for GT use, vehicles, etc.

Unfortunately not all units have someone that can receive an issued radio.

This might be a bit wing specific, but I'm going to throw it out there anyways. I asked a wing comm staff member informally about being issued comm equipment in accordance with the TOA right around the time I was wrapping up my GTL rating. I basically got told that radios were scarce and unless I had a registered ground team with wing DOS I was out of luck.

Specific to our wing...

There is no such thing as a "registered ground team", however the DOS is in charge of issuing the GTL kits against the TOA, and a number of factors
are considered including experience, proximity to most missions and activities, and the assumption of using the equipment.  There are only so many to go around and you have to at least try to get them in the hands of people who use them, and there will always be a few who need them but don't get them.

We have six portables for the entire Wing. The DC can't decide who to issue them to, so they sit in a closet at Wing HQ.

If they are HT's, his challenge is that it isn't his call, and if you don't have GTL's, there may be literally no one to give them to.  We've had that challenge for years - the wing receives "x" number of radios based on assumptions, and then can't issue them because unit either don't want them, or have no one who can receive it (no ROA, etc.).

With that said, if you have HT's on the shelf, and people to take them, I'm surprised that survives a CI or SAV, since that is specifically the kind of thing
that hacks off the USAF.

[wuzafuzz]

We have six portables for the entire Wing. The DC can't decide who to issue them to, so they sit in a closet at Wing HQ.

Assign them to squadrons with GTL's and let the squadron communications officer assign them as appropriate.  Or cache them for any of the GTL's to use as needed.  Portable radios are allocated based on the number of GTL's but they don't have to be assigned to them directly. 

I am a fan of caching HT's at the squadron level.  That way they are readily available to GTL's (primary purpose) and other members can get some hands-on HT time as well.  Of course this assumes suitable storage facilities that qualified members can access as needed.

[EMT-83]

If it was up to me, they would have been in the field a year ago.

[Eclipse]

We have six portables for the entire Wing. The DC can't decide who to issue them to, so they sit in a closet at Wing HQ.

Assign them to squadrons with GTL's and let the squadron communications officer assign them as appropriate.  Or cache them for any of the GTL's to use as needed.  Portable radios are allocated based on the number of GTL's but they don't have to be assigned to them directly.

Yes, they do.  Equipment issued based on the GTL TOA is issued to the person (as is all equipment), and it goes with them
if they move to another squadron.  If they drop GTL, the equip has to come back to wing unless there is another suitable GTL to transfer it to.

[cap235629]

We have six portables for the entire Wing. The DC can't decide who to issue them to, so they sit in a closet at Wing HQ.

Assign them to squadrons with GTL's and let the squadron communications officer assign them as appropriate.  Or cache them for any of the GTL's to use as needed.  Portable radios are allocated based on the number of GTL's but they don't have to be assigned to them directly.

Yes, they do.  Equipment issued based on the GTL TOA is issued to the person (as is all equipment), and it goes with them
if they move to another squadron.  If they drop GTL, the equip has to come back to wing unless there is another suitable GTL to transfer it to.

Cite?

[RADIOMAN015]

We have six portables for the entire Wing. The DC can't decide who to issue them to, so they sit in a closet at Wing HQ.

Assign them to squadrons with GTL's and let the squadron communications officer assign them as appropriate.  Or cache them for any of the GTL's to use as needed.  Portable radios are allocated based on the number of GTL's but they don't have to be assigned to them directly.

Yes, they do.  Equipment issued based on the GTL TOA is issued to the person (as is all equipment), and it goes with them
if they move to another squadron.  If they drop GTL, the equip has to come back to wing unless there is another suitable GTL to transfer it to.

Equipment is issued to squadrons and the comm officers in the squadrons (or groups) issue the equipment to individuals.  The Wing DC's that have tried to run the program with direct issues to individuals all over the wing have found it very difficult to manages.  Squadron Comm Officers can advise the commander to pull equipment back from individuals IF there's issues.  That's why there's a chain of command.  I would imagine that UDF/Ground Team Comm equipment in wings that have groups likely are handled by the group rather than the squadron
RM 

[Major Lord]

Eclipses' point about "wanting" versus "needing" is a very poignant one, but there is something in the soul of every ham/comm guy that makes us want radios of our very own. ( I write this while sitting in a room with an Icom 706, a half a dozen Icom F30GS's, Vertex VX-150's, etc. all purchased at one point primarily for CAP, and many now officially useless) We don't really "need" to be in CAP at all, but our passion, sense of duty, or some other emotion elevates the desire to ( A Maslow's hierarchy) a level of "Need". Buying a radio for CAP on your own dime is like joining the Comm or ES fraternity. ( Drilling a 3/4 inch hole in your family car for an NMO antenna is the actual baptism!) As long as we have cellphones and the internet to alert us to missions, none of us probably really "need" a radio in the most imperative sense of the term. On the other hand, when the fabric of society is torn, and only the radios connect us, its too late to go check one out at the squadron.

Major Lord

[arajca]

We have six portables for the entire Wing. The DC can't decide who to issue them to, so they sit in a closet at Wing HQ.

Assign them to squadrons with GTL's and let the squadron communications officer assign them as appropriate.  Or cache them for any of the GTL's to use as needed.  Portable radios are allocated based on the number of GTL's but they don't have to be assigned to them directly.

Yes, they do.  Equipment issued based on the GTL TOA is issued to the person (as is all equipment), and it goes with them
if they move to another squadron.  If they drop GTL, the equip has to come back to wing unless there is another suitable GTL to transfer it to.

No. Due to the shortage of equipment, if a GTL moves to another unit, the equipment they were issued stays with the old unit. They then issue it to another GTL in the unit. No wing has a full ToA. My wing has less than half of the ToA handhelds, and not enough to issue one to every GTL. Add to the mix unit funded equipment and you can cause real problems telling a unit the $800 DF unit they raised funds for is being transferred to another unit just because one member left.

[Eclipse]

No. Due to the shortage of equipment, if a GTL moves to another unit, the equipment they were issued stays with the old unit. They then issue it to another GTL in the unit. No wing has a full ToA. My wing has less than half of the ToA handhelds, and not enough to issue one to every GTL. Add to the mix unit funded equipment and you can cause real problems telling a unit the $800 DF unit they raised funds for is being transferred to another unit just because one member left.

Sorry, I continue to disagree.  I haven't cited yet because I am waiting for some confirmation from the Wing DC.  My suspicion is that I am correct on the
policy, but that it is not being implemented correctly in all wings.

If a piece of equipment is issued based on the TOA, it stays with the person, not the unit.  A respective unit CC could deny one of his members from taking the equipment at all, but has no control over it beyond that.

When the person moves, they either take it with them, or return it to wing.  If they lose their quals, their either return it to the wing, or the wing could potentially issue it to someone else in that unit who has the proper quals, but not just "anyone".

Of course wings don't have full TOA's, but that doesn't change the policy for equip issued under it, nor does a perceived shortage of gear.  Unlike days of old, the gear is now (mostly) issued based on need and usage, and the intention is to get it, and keep it, in the hands of people who actually have a use for it.