Motorola PR-400 radio?

[bacfire]

My volunteer dept is about to purchase ten new radios. We had planned on Motorola HT-1250s, but the local sales rep is pushing us toward the PR-400, a "business-class" model at a mid-$400 price point. We don't need the features of the 1250, but the PR-400 durability, etc., is an unknown for us.

Any advice? We're pretty much stuck on Motorola. Some of the guys are strongly biased due to bad experiences with some cheap Vertex units.

BTW, my career dept just picked up 50+ new XTS-1500s. Who ever thought that moving the belt clip halfway down the back of the radio was a good idea? Otherwise, they seem to be fine radios, and a good leather case takes care of the clip issue.

[REMSCHIEF]

I personnally like the PR 400. Some will say that it is not "fireman-proof"...well all I can say is that mine has been dropped several times and is none the worse for wear. As an EMS guy, I do not get to go into many fires anymore, but I wouldn't hesitate to take it in with me. As a matter of fact, we were just awarded a FEMA grant for communications, and was looking at PR 400's pretty hard for the entire county...only time will tell.

Andy

[mtnfireguy]

We have a few PR-400's in service on a temporary basis (until we switch to a digital system).

They are OK... we have had some issues with signal quality from the portables (as compared with other portables we use) We also had some programming issues, but that was the fault of the vendor, not the radio.

They seem to be a good personal radio, but dont have the durability of the other radios we use.

Just for the record, they are a Morotorla "branded" radio, not an actual Motorola radio. (if that matters to you)

[Rescue101]

Out of curiousity what were you using from Vertex,and what were the issues? We've had more problems the other way. T.C.

[Just a new name]

Look at the PR860.

[bacfire]

Out of curiousity what were you using from Vertex,and what were the issues? We've had more problems the other way. T.C.

They are Vertex VX-180 models, about three years old. The chief complaint is reduced battery life after a couple months of service. Also, the range is considerably less than our Moto Radius 300s, probably because of the stubby antennae.

I've seen some good reports on Kenwood portables in the archives, but nobody in our area seems to have them. Any comments or specific model recommendations? I might try to bend the boys away from Motorola.

[needlejockey]

I had a VX-180 for the longest time. I loved that radio. I did have an issue with the NiCad battery but I replaced it with a NiMh battery. It seemed to out perform the motorola's we had in the county to me.

[Rescue101]

Bacfire,Needle has it about right.We had a few with Nicads and a stubby.Might as well use a can and string.With the proper(regular)whip for your frequency and Nimh you'll find they work considerably better.And for your existing ones a cheaper solution than replacing them.Charger base is different for the Nimh than the Nicad.Same wall unit.Can't compare them to Moto's we only have two of them.Both seem equivalent here in performance.T.C

[bacfire]

We're actually not replacing any radios, just adding to the inventory. I appreciate the suggestions. It will be great if we can get the Vertex to perform up to snuff.

[HFRH28]

When we were looking at purchasing 24 radios, we considred the HT1250, HT750, and the PR400.... The PR400 was really disliked because of not having a channel stop on the channel selector (on the display model). You could change the channel by the front button, and that would change the order of the knob position. This meant taking the radio out, just to look at the channel.... Hit the button and it changes. We decided to go with the HT1250 due to several other reasons. The HT1250 had a stop on the channel selector, which would let you turn the knob to stop, and count to where you needed to be, never having to look at the radio. The HT1250 also had better programing avaliability, and the ability to act as a pager, and the ability to set off paging tones. We also chose the HT1250 because of the higher channel capacity. HT1250 has quite a few programing options for it's buttons too. the 3 side buttons, and one top button allow you to select from repeater/direct talk, shortcut to "zone" selection, high/low power selection, monitor, and light. About the only time the front buttons are used are for menu, and paging. All the button options can be changed by programing.

[cellblock]

I use PR-400 at the steel mill for our Security/EMS duties. We have the basic model, no keys on the front of the radio, just the channel selector and volume knob on top. Everyone in the plant uses these radios on a daily basis. When you have guys carrying them in the melt shop, in the scrap yard, in the shipping bays, even on the dock crane on the Mississippi River, they have to be durable. It's a tough and reliable portable.
More about the PR-400- http://www.commusa.com/catalog.aspx/Motorola_PR400 .

[Firefighter2160]

My best friend and I each bought one of these about 8 months ago, they have been awesome, We cover a rural area about 260 Square miles and they get out when many of the other Dept radios will not such as the vertex's we have.

we were looking that the HT1250's also, a few things changed our minds,
1. There have been and continue to be a ton of service problems with the HT1250's. This comes from actual HT1250 owners not just what people are saying.
2. For Us the the lapel speaker mic connector was a seller, we carry our radios with us and leave the speaker mic on our gear, when we get a call it is a matter of snapping it in the radio and away we go, The HT1250 requires putting in screw.
3. Battery life- WE have NEVER had a battery go dead and that is after scanning all day then getting a structure fire at 2AM cannot say enough good about the batteries and chargers.




for us they have been winners does this mean they are winners for every one? nope it sure don't but the more opinions you get might help you make a better choice for you


Just my .02 worth