Motorola VX-261 5 Watt Portable Analog Radio

The VX-261 is a straightforward 5 watt analog radio, and straightforward is the reason to buy it. Sixteen channels in one group, two programmable buttons, and nothing on it that needs explaining to a new starter.

Key specifications

• Color: Black.
• Use: General commercial analog communication for facilities, operations and field teams.
• Frequency: VHF 136–174 MHz or UHF 403–470 MHz, depending on model.
• Channel capacity: 16 channels.
• Power: Up to 5 watts.
• Coverage: Site-dependent and affected by band, terrain, buildings and antenna selection.

Motorola specifies 5 watts on high power and 1 watt on low, across VHF 136 to 174 MHz or UHF 403 to 470 MHz depending on model, with 25, 20 or 12.5 kHz channel spacing and frequency stability of plus or minus 2.5 ppm. Five watts is double what most small-business radios transmit, which is the specification that matters on a large or obstructed site.

Battery choice changes the radio more than anything else on the sheet. With the FNB-V133LI-UNI Motorola publishes 10.8 hours with the battery saver on and 8.8 without; with the higher-capacity FNB-V134LI-UNI it is 19 hours and 15.5. The weight moves with it, from 281 g (9.9 oz) to 330 g (11.6 oz) including antenna and belt clip. A site running twelve-hour shifts should be looking at the larger pack rather than at a mid-shift swap.

Sealing is IP55, the power supply is 7.4 V DC nominal, and programming is through Motorola's CE150 software.

Also written without hyphens: VX261

Who it is for

The VX-261 is Motorola's basic analog portable for a team that wants push-to-talk and nothing to learn: 16 channels in one group, two programmable buttons, no display. Where it earns its place in a mixed fleet is signalling: MDC-1200 and FleetSync ANI, 2-tone, 5-tone and DTMF, so it can be programmed to live alongside radios from more than one maker. It carries lone worker and emergency alerts, ARTS range transponding and VOX with a VOX accessory. It is sold as a VHF or a UHF model; read UHF vs VHF two-way radios if the band choice is still open.

Size, weight and battery

• Size: 109 x 58 x 32 mm (4.3 x 2.3 x 1.3 in) with the FNB-V133LI-UNI battery.
• Weight: 281 g (9.9 oz) with the FNB-V133LI-UNI 1380 mAh battery, antenna and belt clip; 330 g (11.6 oz) with the FNB-V134LI-UNI 2300 mAh battery.
• Battery life: Motorola rates 10.8 hours (8.8 without the battery saver) on the FNB-V133LI-UNI and 19 hours (15.5 without) on the FNB-V134LI-UNI; a 1200 mAh NiMH FNB-V136-UNI is also listed.
• Power and band: 5 W high and 1 W low on VHF 136 to 174 MHz or UHF 403 to 470 MHz by model, 25, 20 or 12.5 kHz channel spacing, frequency stability plus or minus 2.5 ppm; 16 channels, 1 group, 2 programmable buttons; radio-to-radio cloning; programmed with Motorola's CE150 software.
• Audio: 700 mW into the internal speaker (16 ohms) and 500 mW to an external 4 ohm speaker.
• Protection: IP55; tested to MIL-STD 810 C through G; operating temperature -22 F to 140 F (-30 C to +60 C); 7.4 V DC nominal supply.

Licence

This radio operates on licensed business frequencies. An FCC business radio licence (Part 90) is required to transmit; CMI can point you at the process when you order.

Accessories that fit

CMI connector code: Y3. Motorola's VX-261 sheet names its own accessory range by part number: antennas ATU-6A, ATU-6B and ATU-6C (UHF) and ATV-6XL, ATV-8A, ATV-8B and ATV-8C (VHF); batteries FNB-V133LI-UNI, FNB-V134LI-UNI and FNB-V136-UNI; the CD-58 charger base and VAC-6058 multi-unit charger; the MH-360S and MH-450S speaker microphones, the MH-66A4B submersible speaker microphone, the MH-37A4B-1 earpiece microphone, the VH-150A and VH-150B headsets, and the MH-101A4B and MH-102A4B surveillance kits. CMI lists earpieces, headsets and speaker microphones on connector code Y3; ask CMI by code.

Part number

CMI part number: VX-261. For a compact digital radio from the same family see the Motorola EVX-S24; see CMI's Motorola collection, two-way radio collection and business radio collection.