Walkie Talkie question

[IA76]

Hi

 

We have some Icom F22SR radios but need some more.

 

I've yet to see any come up on Ebay so I was wondering what other radios can I look out for on Ebay that will work on the same frequency as our current ones?

 

Can I buy any PMR446 radio and they will work with ours?

 

The spec for the F22SR is:-

 

GENERAL

• Frequency coverage : 446.00625–446.09375 MHz

• Mode : F3E (FM)

• No. of operating Ch. : 8 (simplex)

• Power supply requirement: 7.2 V or BP-222N

• Current drain : 0.6 A approx.

• Operating temp. range : –25°C to +55°C

• No. of CTCSS freq. : 38

• Dimensions : 54(W) × 128(H) × 37(D) mm

(projections not included)

• Weight (approx.) : 317 g (including BP-222N)

 

[dunk_1984]

Can I buy any PMR446 radio and they will work with ours?

 

Yes. Basically all PMR446 units will work together.

[IA76]

Thanks.

[Chris Beesley]

If you wish to stick with familiar controls etc and use the same headsets you could look at the direct replacement for the IC-F22 which is the IC-F25SR.

[paulears]

Caveat

All PMR446 radios will work on the same channels with no problems, however, keep in mind that some 'proper' manufacturers then include their own systems to make working on a busy channel less troublesome. So they might add CTCSS tones. If these can also be programmed on an alternative make product then this will work too. It's often used to make 6 channels into 36 channels - but not really. Some also add digital addressing and grouping - these features generally only work on matched products. The Icoms have access to the full range of tones, so it should be fairly simple to make matches that work. It is possible that another make may have a lesser set of tones, but as they are pretty standard sets, all should be fine.

 

Be aware that there are some very good far east imports that appear to cover the same frequency range. These are not PMR446 spec, as they have higher power, detachable aerials and most importantly, they cannot be set to the PMR446 channels exactly, as they have a slightly odd offset from conventional channels. Anything that says PMR446 will work, at least in the basic modes. I saw some the other day that had inverted scrambling, but apart from this feature - which could be switched off - they would have been fine.

 

In most cases, even the offset from proper PMR channels isn't a huge problem, as most PMR446 sets don't have very narrow channel filtering, so seem to receive slightly off-channel transmissions with only slight audible artefacts. Not to be recommended, but many users don't even notice.

[Sign Maker]

Cheers people this has helped me out aswell.