MOTOROLA HT750
THE AMERICAN TOURISTER OF RADIOS?
I recently wrote about my workplace gifting a bunch of these Motorola HT750 radios to me for community support in the post below:
WHATS THE PLAN?
I had planned to only use one channel that was already setup for simplex on them as our “community channel”, but after finding the correct programming cable and free software at https://bluemax49ers.com/product-explorer/motorola-ht750-ftdi-programming-cable-rkn4075/ I decided to go another direction.
The idea is that everyone that is handed a radio set (two handhelds) that stays on the primary channel (CHANNEL #1) unless they need a “clear channel” so they only hear themselves and not the whole group on channel one. Channels 2-4 are common channels that will be monitor only. The idea being that we don’t want to be accidentally talking on common freqs, but do want to monitor them to know if someone around us is using them.
PROGRAMMING
PRIMARY CHANNEL: AUTO-SCAN 5W
FRS CHN3 (monitor only)
GMRS CHN3 (monitor only)
UHF SIMPLEX (monitor only)
CHN 5
CHN 6
CHN 7
CHN 8
CHN 9
CHN 10
(2W) RADIO SET #1
(2W) RADIO SET #2
(2W) RADIO SET #3
(5W) RADIO SET #1
(5W) RADIO SET #2
(5W) RADIO SET #3
When say, Radio Set #3 is needing to do comms without interruption, they use channel #13 which is designated as their channel (low power) and if they need 5 watts to make connection they use CHN#16.
Everyone else in the community, who should be on CHN#1 unless they need a
”clear” channel, is monitoring all traffic and will be able to immediately talk back to anyone keyed up from any other channel in an emergency.
CHANNEL USE EXAMPLE
Bob & Tarra are using Radio Set #3, both talking back and forth on CHN#13 while cutting a tree down, when Bob on the chainsaw cuts into his leg. Tarra immediately starts calling for help on the radio, but forgets to change to CHN#1 (MAG PRIMARY) and her traffic is only going out on CHN#13.
By staying on CHN#1 which auto-scans, everyone still hears the cry for help and can talk back to her immediately.
Anyone receiving a call on scan mode MUST talk back on CHN#1 within 3 seconds of the transmission reception from the calling channel or the radio defaults back to transmitting on CHN#1.
EMERGENCY = SWITCH TO CHANNEL #1
The important part is to remember to go to channel one in an emergency, but if someone panics and forgets, this setup allows you to talk back to them on whatever channel you picked them up on scan and remind them to go to channel #1.
IF THERE IS AN EMERGENCY THAT YOU ANSWER ON CHANNEL #1, REMIND THEM TO GO TO CHANNEL #1 IMMEDIATELY!
They may already be on channel #1 but if not, they can switch over and the < 3 second response will not be an issue.
There is no display so you don’t know what channel is talking to you on scan.
They have to identify themselves via a callsign, likely their first name, so you know where to respond to if needed.
The SOP will be to switch to channel one (CHN#1) ASAP though in an emergency so everyone is on the same channel and using max wattage to talk to each other.
ONE TOUGH RADIO
This old add popped into my mind when I was thinking about how tough these radios are.
I’ve used them day in, day out, for six years at my job as an Electrician in a Paper Mill and have dropped them countless times onto the concrete and had them dangling from the mic cord many times. They have been exposed to Caustics and Acids and pouring rain.
Most of the radios are from 2001-3 according to the firmware and they just keep ticking! The batteries last 10 hours easy with constant use during the day.
An impressive abuse of the same radios in the dunk tank. I would consider them water proof, no need to baby them in the field.
UHF / VHF ONLY
One downfall about these is that they are not dual band. The ones I have are for UHF with the majority being (403-470 mHz) and five of them being (450-527 mHz) nothing wrong with that since they are being used as a “closed system” as my community comms setup.
You will get more interoperability from a standard HAM radio like the Baofeng AR-152 though as they can do both VHF/UHF and are open to use on business freqs (403-527 mHz) as well.
Still, if you wanted a bomb proof radio, this one fits the bill.
They are on eBay for cheap and the availability of a cable and free programming software make buying several and reprogramming a viable option. Just make sure all that you get are VHF or UHF so they can talk to each other.
Phenomenal idea. I use Motorola at my aid gig; we basically only use 2 channels and can call someone to switch channels for side conversations. Managers are only ones in scan. Beware that scan mode will dump a battery in roughly a 12hr day on our models. I’ll have to check which ones we use.