Help with my MAXON radios

Hello there… First post from me.
Just wanted to see if there are specs for this radio kit I have inherited. Is it so obsolete that I should just sell?

Consists of 4 radios and a 6-way charging station.

Please see pics for more info. Any advice or links to specs appreciated. Thanks.

EDIT - Cannot seem to upload images, so details follow::

4 x SL-1102 vhf Transceivers
With 4 x BTP1501L 7.4v Li-Polymer Batteries
And 1 x 6 way Rack Charger :: serial # 14091

Welcome to the forum!
Well, it depends on where you are and what you want to use them for. First, look up the FCC ID on the FCC web site. I think these are business radios, so that has some significance to it, because the rules have changed somewhat on bandwidth requirements since then. If you are located in the US and you want to use them for business, and they are really old, they are probably not useable, because as of 2013, all business radios must meet narrowband specs.

I found an SP1102 but not an SL1102, so I have no specs on yours. Look up the FCC ID and find out what service it is type accepted for and that will determine a lot.

Just mentioning, but Maxon is not an overly common brand here in the UK, usually found their stuff as cheap OEM kit mostly. Ironically, the almost unheard of PLL synthesized 49mhz handhelds I had as a kid (of which I am incredibly sentimental over) were actually Maxon units (the single channel crystallised examples were better known, even though not easy to find). So despite perceptions of Maxon radios being lower on the food chain than say the most baseline Motorola kit, Maxon kit is simply honest kit cheap enough to sacrifice if necessary but equally solid if looked after.

In fact, the classic 2 pp3’s-stacked size 49mhz crystalled items were around for decades after under many brands, so they can’t have been all bad.

I can safely say I actually owe part of my still being around to having had one in use when keeping in touch with a co-worker (they were my sets, unofficially used) on a site. If he hadn’t thought of giving me a shout, I would have been the victim of a nasty industrial accident where a loose hardened steel object would potentially have impaled me via the head when it fell and dropped.

Cheapo radio it was, the real value of having them was priceless.

That’s why I respect cheap, good worker, radios because I know having them can be the difference at times between all being well and dire consequences.

1 Like