Minitor V discontinued, no low band for the Minitor VI

[38ff 250]

My Motorola dealer just told me the Minitor 5 pager is being discontinued, and the Minitor 6 is coming out soon(in a few weeks) , But Motorola is not making a Low Band version for the 6. I really don't care about all these new features, they do nothing for me. My 5 works well, but they are dropping it.... What will depts. do who are still dispatched on low band? I think Moto is making a mistake not carrying a low band pager.

More info here..

http://www.pwservice.com/pagers/firepagers/motorola_minitor_vi_6_pager.aspx

Thanks Momma Moto for dropping Low Band......

Edited February 7, 2014 by 38ff

[DaRock98 76]

Does this mean that all departments dispatched on 46.26 will no longer be able to with the minitor 6?

[38ff 250]

Correct. The 6 does not come in a low band version.

[87D124 37]

I do not understand why Motorola won't made a lowband 6. Between Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland and Sullivan, there is a high demand.

[Bnechis 3,961]

I do not understand why Motorola won't made a lowband 6. Between Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland and Sullivan, there is a high demand.

LOL.....Motorola is a global company. They measure high demand in millions, not thousands.

Also, how much money can they make selling something that is already out there in "high use". Much more money if everyone has to drop the existing system and start over.

[wiscems 23]

A quick Google search reveals no official confirmation of the V being discontinued. I kind of wonder if that is staying in production after all.

[spin_the_wheel 460]

This is being discussed on the Nassau site as well. There will be other manufacturers to pick up the slack if need be. Here's one.

http://www.monitorlongisland.com/scanners/unication-g1

[38ff 250]

Ulster County is also dispatched on low band, and we are YEARS away from moving to another band. Moto will drop the 5, official announcement or not. They have never produced an "old" pager and a "new" pager at the same time. They make a lot more $ that way. If they did, people would have little reason to buy the new one.

[wiscems 23]

True but if they are not supporting low band on the new one and they already have the infrastructure in place to produce and deliver it there is little reason not to. Look at Microsoft continuing to sell Windows 7 for example.

[38ff 250]

I totally agree, but they have said there will be no more 5's made, and no low band version of the 6. Moto has already stopped making base station low band radios. Bottom line, Moto is getting out of the low band business more and more as time goes by. This is another major step in their process..

It looks like I will be keeping my eyes open for Low band 5's at the PA musters this year.. Lots of counties in PA are dumping low band radio/dispatching systems. Last year I bought 6 each working low band 5's in my frequency range, and they still had 4 years left on the warrantee. I also found a bunch of low band in my freq range CDM 1250's for cheap also. My district doesn't have tons of $ to spend, so we save $ where we can. I brought everything to our Moto radio guy, he bench tested them, programmed them, and we made out like bandits as compared to buying new. Everything worked perfectly.

Edited February 8, 2014 by 38ff

[res6cue 67]

I do not understand why Motorola won't made a lowband 6. Between Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland and Sullivan, there is a high demand.

Rockland is now dispatched on a 10 site simulcast system on 470.800.

While 46.18 will remain active for likely years to come, it will be a legacy/backup/mutual aid system only. The county is issuing 25 Minitor V T-Band pagers each to all 26 fire departments, with many more budgeted by each department to systematically replace all of the low band pagers.

Somewhat on the same topic...on Monday, March 3rd all Rockland fire department will go live on the new 700 MHz P25 system and will no longer operate on low band.

Edited February 8, 2014 by res6cue

[38ff 250]

If any depts in Rockland want to get rid of radios in the 46 MHZ range, Ulster County still uses that range, and there are a lot depts. here that can use them.

[wiscems 23]

A lot in Westchester for sure as well.

[millwood127 0]

Does this mean that all departments dispatched on 46.26 will no longer be able to with the minitor 6?

im assuming its possible to have a minitor 6 uhf programmed to one of the many crossband repeaters in the county

[millwood127 0]

im assuming its possible to have a minitor 6 uhf programmed to one of the many crossband repeaters in the county

here is a list of some of the xband repeaters

peekskill

lake mohegan

brircliff manor ?? (have not been able to pick up anthing on this one)

yorktown

banksville

west harrison

[SteveC7010 58]

As a communications industry pro, I've followed the Minitor thing for quite a while. Here's some good info for all of you:

First, several large dealers have bought up big supplies of Minitor V's and accessories. While you won't be able to get anything but batteries and belt clips direct from Motorola, these dealerships have plenty of inventory available. Wiscom is one of them and there are more. LB V's are still available, just not from Motorola.

Second, it's not just the LB market that is affected. Many departments have large inventories of VHF or UHF V's plus programming capability, including my own and everyone else in my county. We're not buying VI's for the forseeable future. If we need a replacement pager(s), we'll pick up a V or two from one of these dealers. Realistically, none of my squad members can make use of the added features of the VI anyway.

(Minor point here, my squad's pagers are only a couple of years old so replacing them really isn't feasible. If the VI offered vastly improved performance, we'd think about it, I suppose, but it doesn't so it's a non-issue.)

Third, the jury is still out on whether the VI receives better than the V. I get mixed reports, but the general feeling is that the V works just as well as the new VI. Again, no need to step up in my view.

Fourth, Motorola will continue to support the V with depot repair for at least another 4 or 5 years.

In all fairness, those of you who are in LB counties have not really been left dangling. You can still get LB V's, accessories, and repairs. The sources may be different, but the gear is still available. There is no sudden vacuum of LB pagers.

[Fireman488 57]

We have been using Swissphone for the past 6-8 years and are very happy with them.

They are exceptionally reliable with basically no maintenance issues.

Unfortunately they don't make a low band pager.

www.wolfecomm.com

Edited May 11, 2014 by Fireman488

[CleverName 0]

Unication G1 comes low-band.

[38ff 250]

Our county dispatching has gone from 33.48 to 155.220 for fire paging, and will keep 33.48 "alive" for a year and half, then it will be highband paging only. My dept sold off our M5 Lowband pagers, bought used M5 highband pagers for less than we sold the lowband ones for, and by doing so, we have saved the taxpayers a ton of $ in the process. I don't need any of the fancy features of the M6 and G1's. When county pages out, I just need it to go beep and tell me where the call is.

Edited September 2, 2014 by 38ff

[roofsopen19 34]

Easy....Create two new UHF frequencies to dispatch. As for your pagers....sell your old ones, buy new ones. Shortage? Sorry probie...wait for the next batch. If you wanted to be a real firefighter you would know whats going on without the pager anyway.

If your department really cant afford the transition, then purchase and create a private patch/repeater frequency for your "old" pagers.

[RWC130 594]

I think Low Band is on it's way out. (being pushed out by the big M) Everyone seems to be making the switch over to UHF frequencies

which leaves VHF wide open. Something to consider.

[38ff 250]

What freq our county uses to dispatch is out of our control. And UHF freqs are hard to find these days due to the jammed up spectrum in our area. We are good with VHF pagers now. We swapped all pagers out from low band to VHF for basically no financial cost.