Wireless Moto Speaker Mic?

[giguchan]

hEY ALL,
The other evening i was in a 711 when one of the local Hiway cops came in for his cup. I could not see what Model of portable, but his Speakermike was on his Epaulet. The strange thing was i did not see a connection to the Portable. I made my way around him just to confirm. Is there a wireless solution? I'm pretty sure the Mic/portable was Moto. I should have just asked him.

[KX5MOT]

Yes, IIRC it is called FreeLinc, I think there are Bluetooth mics as well.

[giguchan]

Thanks for the reply.. i was curious. well i dont see them all the time.. thought i was seeing things..

[bezking]

hEY ALL,
The other evening i was in a 711 when one of the local Hiway cops came in for his cup. I could not see what Model of portable, but his Speakermike was on his Epaulet. The strange thing was i did not see a connection to the Portable. I made my way around him just to confirm. Is there a wireless solution? I'm pretty sure the Mic/portable was Moto. I should have just asked him.

I have one for the Waris series. It's kind of flaky and the battery attachment is obtrusive, so I don't use it much. The one for the XTS series is (apparently) much nicer and more self-contained.

Suffolk county, eh? He was probably carrying the XTS1500 (or XTS2500 1.5)...

[giguchan]

I used to be an Aux Cop here in suffolk. when i had to give it up i kinda got out of touch with what kinda radios they were carrying. They also did some sector re assignments waay back and then i lost interest all together.I could not tell you what kind of portable it was.I know that SCPD did some re banding and that everything is 15Mhz away so i need to be another scanner because my OLD truncking scanner is good for conventional now.

I Have a buddy who works with them and he's a radio guy too.. i'll ask him what they are carrying these days. I wonder if different details will get different radios...?

Thanks for the reply

[grump]

As one who wears a speaker mic every day on the railroad, why bother with a wireless mic? Seems like more potential problems could arise with it than a corded mic. Just my 2 cents.

[jmr061]

Being in the railroad your probably not too concerned with getting involved in a physical fight and having your speaker mic cord wrapped around your neck and being used to strangle you. This is one reason some officers have refused to use speaker mics. I myself feel the chances of that happening are slim and choose to use one but the possibility does exist.

Jason

As one who wears a speaker mic every day on the railroad, why bother with a wireless mic? Seems like more potential problems could arise with it than a corded mic. Just my 2 cents.

[grump]

Yeah, I was thinking of that too or also the possibility of it getting snagged in a struggle. I was thinking more of the negative issues involved with technically working, quality, battery life, interference etc... Maybe they'll become common years from now...

[kotaguchi]

When I worked security years ago for a School District,I had times when I would be attempting to hand cuff a guy and during the take down,the mic would come loose from my lapel and the cord of the mic getting tangled around my leg and having to stop and unwrap the mic cord from my leg.

[giguchan]

All good points!
thanks for the replies. I dont see many guys wearing them.. so when i do i'll ask about it and how well it works.It would seem to me i too would be worried about getting a cord wrapped around my neck too. strangley enough the local RR LIRR ALWAYS has some rowdy snotty nose kids coming out from the city on the weekends... there have been many incidents.. usually involving alcohol...
Something to think about

[WCHija]

The mic is probably a Freelinc. I have one for a while, it was ok. I was more concerned with some crook grabbing the mic and tossing it away in a fight. I have a few co-workers who bought them and love them. They come with a lanyard to put around a shirt button in case they come loose. As for mic cords being used to choke you, I wear mine running up my back, through my epaulet, and across my chest, to a space between the top and second from the top buttons. Its secure, you are talking into the mic instead of across it, and its really tough to wrap it around your neck that way. It also does not come loose there. I have been through many fights wearing it that way, and never a problem.

[giguchan]

Hey,
Well then.. i guess it does not get any better than that.Thanks for the Testimonial. if someone DID grab it and toss it... would the portable still work -providing it was not lost during the scufflel. I dont know if my buddy has one yet or if he does did he purchase it or did his Agency? i dont know.. it's good to know that this gadget works.
Thanks for checking in.

[WCHija]

You can still use the portable, iirc you can key the mic from the radio as well, via a button on the top of the adaptor. You also loose your emergency button on the mic, maybe they can as that in the next gen mics.

[giguchan]

Thanks for the reply... I too thought that you would be able to still use the HT even if the MIC was tossed or other wise not handy.. but lets hope that it never comes to that.

[4n6inv]

I've never been - or - even heard of anyone having their speaker mic cable used to strangle them, although it is a very real and frightening possibility. I've been in my share of fisticuffs where the SM cable got snagged on something - up to, and including arms and legs - but it usually resulted in with the radio and or speker mic being ripped off of me. Not good. I was in a fight to cuff a guy on the third floor of a parking deck several years ago with an EX500 and speaker mic. Both got ripped off and went flying down onto the concrete parking lot below. Incredibly, neither were damaged. In fact; I had to look close to see that the only damage I could possibly find was a small scratch on one of the bottom corners of the battery. Of course; I was in plain clothes, and didn't have the radio in a holster - just the battery clip.

[giguchan]

Ah yes good ol' Moto... wonder if the same can be said for any other brands out there thats would be able to take a gainer like that. EX500 thats that small portable right? little palm sized guy right?

[4n6inv]

Not to get off topic; but the EX500 was one on the most rugged radios Motorola built, (mine was UHF with a stubby antenna) that I have ever used. I actually ran over one with a patrol vehicle once, and only had to replace the housing. It is a small, feature rich radio at a great price, as well. A little larger than a pack of cigarettes with the slim battery. Now; bear in mind; with it's light weight; it could take a nose dive like that and without all of the weight and mass of conventional public safety radios, it's less likely break on a fall or drop. But; I was amazed that the circuitry survived being run over by a Ford Exploder. I actually could have just taped the battery to the radio and not had to replace the case; but, I'm anal. It crushed the bottom where the battery latch was, but if I held the battery to the radio, it still worked.

[giguchan]

I thought that was the radio.. I have a buddy who has one... This Radio is part of the "waris" brand of radios i think.. For some reason Alot of the folks on this board dont have too much love for them.I have much luck with mine and like you said they are feature rich and pretty rugged. I dont think that i will be running mine over with a Auto, but in your line of work i'm sure it happens all the time. I have 3 of them VHF, UHF, UHF hi. I would like to get into the digital aspect of this hobby, but that might have to be down the road some time.