Motorola Visar?

[Turk II]

My dept. currently uses Minitor II pagers, but because of the frequency we use (470.xx) we cannot upgrade to Minitor III's. We are considering switching to Motorola Visars and using them as pagers... does anyone have any experience with them or comments about them?

Could anyone offer any comments on other pagers such as the SCA Septar or Key Note?

[FIREFLY2420]

I PERSONALLY THINK IT IS A BAD IDEA AND I'M SURE MANY PEOPLE WILL AGREE. I USED TO WORK FOR A MOTOROLA RADIO SHOP. THE EXPERIENCE I HAVE HAD AND THE FEED BACK FROM LOCAL FIRE DEPTS ARE BAD. ILL LIST A FEW.

1. RADIO IS NOT WATER PROOF OR RESISTANT. (WE WERE GETTING ALOT OF RADIOS BACK FOR SERVICE BECAUSE OF WATER DAMAGE)
2. RADIO TOO SMALL. (COULD NOT FIND PUSH TO TALK OR FUNCTION BUTTONS WITH GLOVES ON)
3. POOR TX AND RX VOLUME ON SCENE. (EVEN WITH MICROPHONE EXTENSION)
4. DURABILITY POOR.

DON'T GET ME WRONG, I THINK ITS A GOOD RADIO, JUST NOT FOR THE FIRE SERVICE. I'M SURE THERE ARE MORE REASONS. IF I REMEMBER THEM I WILL UPDATE MY REPLY.

GOOD LUCK TO YOU.

BE SAFE OUT THERE BROTHERS AND SISTERS.

------------------
ANDREW J. LAPRISE
FF/MFR PAID-ON-CALL
LYON TWP. , MICHIGAN

[fyrftr420]

I would have to agree with Firefly2420 we have used the Visar for the past 5 years. They have been a good radio with the paging installed. But they have not been durable. We have also learned that Motorola is going to quit making the Visar at the end of the year. We have started looking into the 800 mhz system and will be purchasing radios for that in the near future.

Good luck, stay safe.
Mike Schuppe
Sterling Fire Dept.
Sterling Colorado

[Brat]

I agree with Andrew. Our chief begged to get a Visar, now he regrets ever getting one. He has problems with all of the functions. The buttons, knobs, and display are all too small to be used in poor light or with gloves on. He has small hands and still hits the wrong number on the key pad about a third of the time. All of our radios are Motorola and they are great but the Visar is not designed to be used by most firefighters

[RFD220]

As a FD communtications buff I have had the oppritunity to use quite a few radios during my time. Everything from scanners to portables. I currently use a visar but only when I'm on a fire scene and communicating on firegrounds or allcom. I still have a minitor II as my primary alert device.

Some Visar drawbacks are they are bulky to carry as a pager. You also need to purchase a small antenna because the stock ones usually poke you in the side. The alerts on the radios we have are very quiet so you have to crank the volume to hear if you get toned out. Also they are pretty expensive to maintain (repairs,batteries etc).
And finally if your forget to take them off before putting on bunkers you either have to deal with them grinding into your sides (something you don't want to worry about while dragging a 1 3/4 line through a trailer on fire)or as you pull up your bunkers you watch it go sailing off your waist into the puddle or snowbank. Just my $.02 worth!

------------------
Jeffrey D. Grey-Captain
Roosevelt Fire District-Hyde Park,N.Y.