Fun thing about business band is it's pretty underutilized in the era of cell phones, so there's a lot of spectra that's allocated but not in active or frequent use.
Which means no one really notices if you're using it, particularly with simplex digital modes.
Word of warning if you're thinking about buying a Motorola though - it's an arcane platform and you're gonna need specialized equipment and software just to set it up. This stuff is available, but particularly for the software, can be hard to find. The exception is radios that mention "FPP" or "front panel programmable".
This is why I generally don't recommend Motorolas unless you're looking for a whole new hobby.
That’s very good information. I’m a radio idiot, but I don’t want to be. Is there a satisfactory interoperable radio platform that has good range and supports encryption—but isn’t $500?
We need encrypted radio comms as well
Itinerant Business Band freq funded by crypto ideally.
Fun thing about business band is it's pretty underutilized in the era of cell phones, so there's a lot of spectra that's allocated but not in active or frequent use.
Which means no one really notices if you're using it, particularly with simplex digital modes.
And I believe you can use encryption on it as well.
Motorola XTS P25s are shockingly cheap on ebay these days. Not sure how easy it is to enable AES on a basic radio but IIRC they all support it.
Not that I recommend anyone that "just wants a radio" going down the Moto rabbithole...
Which frequency capability should I be looking at?
UHF is probably your best bet.
Word of warning if you're thinking about buying a Motorola though - it's an arcane platform and you're gonna need specialized equipment and software just to set it up. This stuff is available, but particularly for the software, can be hard to find. The exception is radios that mention "FPP" or "front panel programmable".
This is why I generally don't recommend Motorolas unless you're looking for a whole new hobby.
That’s very good information. I’m a radio idiot, but I don’t want to be. Is there a satisfactory interoperable radio platform that has good range and supports encryption—but isn’t $500?