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Conventional Radios Falcon Direct offers radios for every need and every budget with products by HYT, ICOM, Midland, Motorola, Relm/BK, Ritron, and TEKK. Analog 2-way radios are well suited for many uses, and they are VERY affordable!
The needs of law enforcement agencies and private security organizations are quite different. To address these needs, we have divided the radios we offer into two separate categories - analog and digital. Analog radios have been with us for close to a century and continue to serve a variety of needs very well. Within the analog radio family, we group the products offered into categories as follows: Portables (or handhelds if you prefer), Mobiles, Stations (both office and repeater types), and then make an additional distinction between conventional (single channel) and trunked (multiple channels dynamically accessed) operation. In the following section, we'll tell you more about digital radios, but for now, let us tell you more about our analog radios. We've got models available for every need and every budget! Conventional versus analog - what's the difference? An analog radio system generally operates on a single radio channel or multiple channels operating independently as a network. A trunked radio system can be operated on VHF, UHF, or 800 MHz, just like conventional radio system. The difference is that a trunked radio system combines three or more channels that are automatically assigned and connected by an electronic controller. The user does not have to make manual channel changes to find an open channel. This makes the operation easier and efficiency is greatly enhanced. Additional information is available at www.info4u.us/ltr.pdf. If you are operating multiple channels within the same operating area, you would be well advised to consider trunking operation and begin purchasing radios with trunking capability. So why do people choose digital over analog radios, or vice versa? There are several reasons. If the purchase is made with Homeland Security grant money, the conditions of the grant specify that all radio equipment should be P25 digital compliant. From an operational point of view, digital radios have greater clarity (kind of like HDTV versus standard TV), generally longer range since there is no audio "noise", significantly longer battery life, privacy, and enhanced features like private messaging in either voice or digital format. We will discuss this in more detail on the Digital Radios page. For now, suffice it to say that on average, digital radios cost three to four times (or more) than analog radios for similar BASIC performance. There is also the issue of FCC licensing requirements. We won't get into the details at this point, but additional information is available at www.info4u.us/lawfacts.pdf. Some of the manufacturers we represent offer both analog and digital radios. Some offer analog radios only. We have listed the main manufacturers of analog radios below: HYT North America recently merged with Marketronics to become a leading supplier of analog radios in both North and South America. The parent company, HYT in China is the 5th largest manufacturer or 2-way radios in the world and rapidly closing in on number four. HYT offers a full line of analog radios at very affordable prices. Public safety users are qualified in most cases for additional discounts from our published prices. Additional information is available at www.falcondirect.com/hyt. 
ICOM is a very unique company offering very affordable analog radios with state of the art reliability, functionality and reliability. We tend to favor the F33 and F43 or F50V series handhelds as our personal choices for law enforcement use. This is the same radio chosen by the US Military for use in Iraq. The top choice analog mobile radio is the F521 and 621 series. You can learn more about ICOM radios at www.falcondirect.com/icom. Midland offers outstanding value for public safety users. The PL5200 series is our top choice analog portable while the ML3200 and the 75 watt Olympian series mobile as well as the 100 watt TITAN series mobile with built in vehicular repeater are all good choices for law enforcement mobile radios. Additional information is available at www.midlandradios.com. 
Motorola is the standard of comparison for value, worldwide, but in all honesty it appears the major corporate focus is on digital. The best value in analog portables for public safety use is the very affordable BPR40 and the top value EX-560.XLS. The CM300 is our top choice for a mobile radio. Additional information is available at www.motosbest.com. Relm Wireless is the parent company of BK Radio a primary supplier of radios to numerous federal agencies offering the digital P25 technology. We will discuss BK in the digital section. Relm Wireless offers an extensive line of analog products under the Relm brand name. The main analog products that may be of interest to law enforcement and security users is the RP599 series user programmable portable radio. Additional information is available at www.falcondirect.com/RELM. We offer the full line of analog 2-way radios by Ritron (www.usa-radio1.com) and TEKK radios (www.tekkradios.com). We do not recommend the handheld or mobile radios by either Ritron or TEKK for public safety use, not that we have any problems with the products - to the contrary, we have hundreds if not thousands of radios from these manufacturers in use around the world. The issue is the form factor and functionality which is better suited for commercial and fire/rescue use. Law enforcement users seem to prefer the offerings of HYT, ICOM, Midland, Motorola, and Relm/BK. Some of the special products offered by Ritron are used in our surveillance systems and emergency calling devices. They are simply without equal. More information is available at the top of this page in the Special Products section. For additional information on our top choice analog radios please visit www.topchoiceradios.com. For information on our recommended digital radios, please click on the Digital Radios tab at the top of this web page. | This page was last modified on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 | |
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