Business two-way radio systems: three ways to set up your radios

Business two-way radio systems: three ways to set up

There are three ways to set up business radios. License-free radios need no paperwork, and licensed radios give you your own channel and more power. A repeater or trunked system covers a bigger site and more people.

Pick your country to see which radio services need a license there.

License-free business radios

License-free radios are the easiest start. In Europe they are PMR446 radios, with 16 channels and a built-in antenna.1 Business use is allowed, and the Motorola XT420 is sold as a business radio with no subscription or call charges.4

In the US, FRS radios need no license and business use is allowed.5 MURS has five VHF channels, also with no license and business use allowed, but no repeaters.6 Motorola sells the DTR700 as a license-free business radio on 900 MHz.7

The trade-off is sharing. Everyone can use these channels, and France's regulator says such radios get no protection from interference.8 If you need clean channels, go licensed.

Licensed radios on your own frequency

A license gives you a channel for your business and more power. The Motorola R7, for example, is rated at 5 W on VHF and 4 W on UHF, up to ten times the 0.5 W of PMR446.13

Two kinds of channel exist. A shared frequency is cheaper, and other licensed users may be on it too.

An exclusive area frequency costs more. In the Netherlands, for example, a shared-frequency license for VHF and UHF radios costs 271 euros once and 102 euros a year, and an individually planned frequency costs 1,061 euros once, then 507 euros a year per base station and 102 euros a year per license.9

Some countries make it simple. The UK Business Radio Simple UK Light license covers hand-helds and mobiles at 5 W ERP on 19 shared frequencies, with no base stations.10 The US Industrial/Business Pool takes companies, schools, clinics and clergy groups.11

Radios through a repeater or trunked system

A repeater is a box on a roof or a high spot. It hears your call and sends it again, so hand-helds reach much farther. License-free PMR446 does not allow repeaters, so this set-up is always licensed.1

A trunked system goes further. It shares a pool of channels among all users, and the system picks a free channel for each call.

In DMR this is called Tier III.12 Motorola says its Capacity Plus trunking serves up to 1,000 users on one site.13

To join several buildings, Motorola's IP Site Connect links sites over the internet.13 A trunking license costs more. The Dutch regulator charges 1,061 euros once per base station, then 1,238 euros a year per frequency and site, up to 3,712 euros a year per frequency.9

What you need to set up a radio system

You need five things.

Radios. One for each person who talks, plus a few spares. Pick them by the set-up above.

Chargers. A desktop charger, or a multi-unit charger for a group of radios. The Hytera PD405 comes with a desktop charger and lists multi-unit chargers as options.14

Earpieces. Quiet jobs, such as security, often suit a receive-only earpiece. Hytera lists receive-only earpieces, earsets with an in-line microphone and remote speaker microphones for the PD405.14

A license, if you use licensed channels. The license section below lists six countries.

Programming. Business radios are programmed with the maker's software through a cable, which sets channels, groups and preset messages.14 Motorola's XT420 uses an HTML-based programming tool.4

How to size your radio system

Start with the teams. List who needs to talk to whom, such as the front desk, the kitchen and security. Give each busy team its own channel or talk group.

Radios hold plenty. The Motorola R2 holds 64 channels, and the Hytera PD405 holds 48 channels in 3 zones.1514 PMR446 has 16.1

DMR gives two talk paths on one channel, and the DMR vs analog guide explains how.

Then measure the site. Note the longest distance between two people, the number of floors and the thickness of the walls. Use the tool below to see the distance most calls get through.

If a license-free radio covers your longest walk, stay license-free. If not, move to a licensed radio such as the 5 W R7. If you have several buildings or a large yard, add a repeater.

Business two-way radios by set-up

The first table shows radios sold in Europe: two license-free PMR446 radios, then licensed radios that run analog and DMR. The R7 adds trunked DMR for larger systems.3 Prices are dealer prices with the month.

The second table shows radios for the US market. The CLS1410 is an analog business radio, the CP100d runs analog and DMR, the DTR700 is the license-free 900 MHz radio and the R5 runs analog and DMR Tier II.

License for business radios by country

A business license is a license for a company, a site or a number of radios. Here are six countries. The license page covers all the others.

Push-to-talk over cellular for wide areas

If your team works across a whole city or country, push-to-talk over cellular is the other option: a phone or a radio-shaped device talks through the mobile network instead of radio channels, so there is no radio license and the range is wherever the network reaches.

Questions

Sources

1. ECC/DEC/(15)05: 446.0-446.2 MHz, analogue and digital PMR 446 · CEPT ECC
2. 47 CFR 95.567: FRS transmit power · eCFR
3. MOTOTRBO R7 data sheet (EMEA) · Motorola Solutions
4. XT420 business two-way radio · Motorola Solutions
5. 47 CFR Part 95 Subpart B: Family Radio Service · eCFR
6. 47 CFR Part 95 Subpart J: Multi-Use Radio Service · eCFR
7. DTR700 digital two-way radio · Motorola Solutions
8. Utilisation des fréquences sous le régime d'autorisation générale · Arcep
9. Tarieven landmobiele communicatie · Rijksinspectie Digitale Infrastructuur
10. Business Radio licence management · Ofcom