Thanks guys. From your replies it's pretty clear that a) this radio isn't worth the time or money for me, and b) I have much to learn. Thank you for saving me the aggravation.
Probably a very mature assessment of the odds, but see below.
Motorola has stopped selling batteries for them, but plenty of aftermarket batteries are out there.
I'ma go out on a limb and claim that means
Amazon is flush with them.
There is a common issue with the version with the display and keypad on the front where the display segments stop working. It can sometimes be corrected if you do some surgery on the radio (not recommended for most people)
Either your gift radio has the problem or it doesn't.
Don't freak out until/unless you see that it actually does.
Of course, even if it doesn't, either it will develop the problem or it won't.
So don't build your life around the radio and then discover it gets teh disease.
(But you have a mature assessment of the odds, so you won't).
And even if it has non-working display segments,
either it can be fixed (by you, or a fanboy; see below).
Assuming the fix itself is not a folk tale
like
the wart cures in Tom Sawyer.
No disrespect to
@MRE intended.
Sometimes rank speculation gets passed around the Intarwebs as truth,
and people go nuts sprinkling spunk water and swinging dead cats
in hopes that it'll fix their rig,
This Time For Sure.
Programming will require a $20 cable from ebay, a very old computer running windows 9X with DOS in the background and the software (which you can probably find floating around the internet).
Or a
GEMOTO fanboy with the software and cable.
Maybe you'll find someone that loves programming Other Peoples' Radios.
Normal people add extra frequencies to their normal radios'
memories in a continuing process.
But those public service bricks get treated differently -
More than once I've overheard the drama play out
of some starry-eyed newbie who's just bought one dirt cheap at a flea
being told "tell me what you want in the memory and I'll program it".
It happens so often, I literally can't remember who the generous people are.
I'm not saying everyone has Motorola brick cables,
but sometimes it seems like when someone buys one of those H/T's,
people come running, waving cables, as if it's the end of a relay race.
Heck, even if you score the software and cable,
it's probably coming from someone like that,
and any how-to guide will have been written by one.
As drgrant mentioned, these radios come in different bandsplits (the frequency range it functions in). Any one radio will have just a single frequency range it is capable of. Under the battery on the back is a label with a long "model" number. Something like H01SDH9AA7AN. Post that and it can be decoded into the bandsplit and some other features of the radio.
Huh, who knew?
If you have a battery and can turn the radio on, I'll tell you how to get the firmware version to see if your radio can do the splinter frequencies which were created when the FCC narrowbanding happened.
(Most kind).
All of the above may leave you at the same conclusion,
but punt because it's not worth your time and effort -
not because you think you can't succeed with some help.
And if it doesn't dishonor the intent of your benefactor,
you can find someone else to sell the radio to for a little money.
(No, not me).
