GEC Courier Portable Radio
 

The GEC Courier was the first portable radio issued to NZ police for routine beat duty. After initial testing in Wellington during 1967, the courier was finally released for front-line use in May 1972.

Although sufficiently small for beat use, the Courier suffered from poor performance due to its low power, (250 milliwatts) and the lack of a repeater system. Beat officers often found they were out of radio range even though they could actually see the person they were trying to contact.

The radio was equipped with three simplex channels in the 138 MHz range.

In addition to use by beat officers, Search and rescue teams were issued with Couriers operating on frequencies of 119.1 MHz for air to ground communications, and 119.0 MHz for communication with Face Rescue teams in mountainous areas.

The Courier was replaced between 1979 and 1981 by the UHF Tactec radios.

 

 

GEC Courier VHF-AM Portable Radio.

Thanks to the NZ Police Museum, Porirua for the photographs
   

 

20 January 1967

 

Auckland policemen on their beats may be provided with small walkie-talkie sets if tests being carried out in Wellington prove successful. The sets, built in England, have been on trial in Wellington for the past few weeks and have been used by policemen working central city beats from the Taranaki St. station.

The idea is not a new one but previous handsets tested have proved of little value. Radio pack sets used by Auckland policemen have proved quite an asset on occasions such as the New Year's Eve disturbance in front of the Chief post office and on search and rescue jobs.

Chief Superintendent F. O. Scott, of Auckland, said yesterday that the sets being tested in Wellington were advanced models of the pack sets and were about the size of a cigarette tin. The pack sets were not practical for police on their beats because they were too bulky.



Constable P. Fitzharris carrying a test walkie-
talkie which can keep him in constant touch with the Taranaki St.
police station

New Walkie-talkie radios for police. Further negatives of the Evening Post newspaper. Ref: EP/1967/0216-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. http://natlib.govt.nz/records/23123460

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20 May 1972

 

 

Constable M. Cox (above), of the Auckland Central Police Station, tries out one of the new lightweight two-way radios which were used yesterday for the first time by city patrolmen.
The new radios, which cost about $300 each enable patrolmen to keep in constant touch with the operations room in the central station and other police in the vicinity.
The radios were given their first real test during last night's anti-Vietnam war demonstration in Queen St