I want to replace our handhold radios at the museum. Any ideas who gives the best service and the best price? We have Maxon radios now, I am leaning towards Motorolas radios.
Thanks

Nevada Northern Railway Museum
nnry1@mwpower.net

I suppose that the service part of your question would depend mainly on who the repair stations and dealers are in your area. TVRM has used Motorolas as base stations since I've been involved in rail operations there. All but one of our company owned hand units are Motorolas. The one Maxon we have is pretty worn, but I've used a member's Maxon before. The dealer/repair station we use seems to deal mainly in Motorola products and I don't think you can go wrong with them.

awalker1829@yahoo.com

We use a company called Railcom. They deal in Motorola Radios.

midh91@hotmail.com

I have used both Motorola and GE's and have to give the edge to Motorola. Maxon and other off-brands have tended to have lighter weight, less abuse-able components that lead to service problems.

All radios need to be treated carefully, tuned up about once a year, and the batteries carefully watched (they don't live forever). Belt holsters and safety vests with a radio pocket also are good investments.

Suggestion: Get out the Yellow Pages and find your local authorized Motorola radio dealer. Get together a purchase list and then meet at their shop with the sales rep. While there, check over the repair facilities. While the local Motorola dealer may be slightly more expensive than web- and mail-order dealers, it is that repair facility and those sometimes geeky looking technicians who will save your chestnuts when you are in a pinch (like the day before Day Out With Thomas starts).

Also keep in mind that base stations and their antenna systems are part of the equation. Many of them are older installations and may not have been "really looked at" for years.

PS: Taking along a half-dozen complimentary family tickets to your attraction could not hurt a thing.

amiller@rtms-movietrains.com

> We use a company called Railcom. They deal
> in Motorola Radios.
We also purchase our radios through Railcom, and they are great to deal with. If you want to deal with a local company or need a radio repaired, check with your local police department to see who does there radio work.When we did this we discovered a repair shop that is two miles from our shop,and can get most repairs done in a day or two.

B. Allan


http://www.cvsr.com
cvsrkahuna@aol.com

Motorolas are by far the best for durability and performance. We have 85 of these radios in service daily with our consturuction company and crane service. We tried the Maxon and it just didnt hold up. I would suggest you go to your local dealer and talke to them about channel options and range. Motorola has some new lower cost models and they are workging well if you dont need long range or over 4 channels.



johndeck@cox.net

You might want to befriend your "local" amateur radio club and solicit their advice. I'm not a ham myself but I work closely with a lot of them, including staffing the annual "hamfest" here in Baltimore. Tapping into the local grapevine will yield you tons of good advice, such as "y'know, this shop could set you up with everything you'd need for half price if you don't mind a slightly used system and you present your nonprofit number" or "Motorolas are good, but they require dealer servicing, and the nearest dealer's in Las Vegas", or whatever the reality is.

However you go, remember that the variety of choices available to you are about the same as the diversity between Fairmount motor cars, SD80MACs, Beyer-Garratts, and Blackpool double-deck trams.

LNER4472-NOSPAM-@bcpl.net

> I want to replace our handhold radios at the
> museum. Any ideas who gives the best service
> and the best price? We have Maxon radios
> now, I am leaning towards Motorolas radios.
> Thanks

We have a ham in our organization who handles all our radio purchases. A couple years ago he bought us four or five Icom handheld units with a clip mike/speaker. These have held up to the rigors of train service quite well. I know I've dropped them, had the mike fall off my collar and hit the ballast, etc. and they all still work fine. John reconditions the batteries about once a year. If you're interested, drop me a line and I'll send you his email.

The South Carolina Railroad Museum
mconrad@msmgmt.com

> I want to replace our handhold radios at the
> museum. Any ideas who gives the best service
> and the best price? We have Maxon radios
> now, I am leaning towards Motorolas radios.
> Thanks

Give the Vertex VX-510 a look. It's a good quality publlic safety type radio that will do well in an industrial environment - but without the cost of Motorola.

les@nessman.net