What sort of radio should you buy: Ham or Commercial?
Several people have noticed and commented upon my use of commercial radios instead of ham rigs, at least in some applications. Why do I do this?
Primarily because my volunteer activities require me to be able to monitor and occasionally transmit on public safety frequencies. These require a radio with specific FCC "type acceptance," which amateur radios lack. It is not legal to modify a ham radio and transmit on their frequencies, even though many have done so (including myself). The usual justification is that in an emergency, the rules take a back seat to lives and property. Of course, in an emergency--in most places--I am better off with a cellphone and the right seven-digit number than a ham radio, though it wasn't always this way.
There is something more fundamental that I like about commercial rigs: They lack the bells-and-whistles that adorn modern ham rigs (and make them difficult to use). In daily operation, I don't use fancy features and rarely need to transmit on a channel that isn't already in the radio's memory. The commercial radios are also generally larger (sometimes much larger) than the ham rigs, which is a blessing in many instances. Also, once you have programming cables and software, a used commercial radio can cost less than a more-or-less equal new ham radio.
Then there is the compatibility issue: At a wildland fire, for example, the most commonly-used radio (at least in California) is a giant BK Radio handie-talkie. The usual practice is upon arriving at base camp is for everyone to get their radios reprogrammed -- cloned -- to include the frequencies being used on that incident. Having a BK means I don't have to carry a computer and cable, get a copy of the radio plan, and do the reprogramming myself. It also means I have a radio that will run on AA-batteries (nine to be exact), never in short supply at a fire. So I don't have to worry about recharging, either. I can also, if need be, swap battery packs and even radios -- but only after making sure my name and "personal radio" are all over the talkie!
If you spend a lot of time in the company of public safety professionals and especially if it's your primary occupation, having a "pro" radio also removes any stigma associated with "amateur" radio. My wife, for example, is an EMT on a 911 ambulance. I purchased a used Kenwood commercial talkie that she uses essentially as a scanner to listen to the local cops. Of course, it is also setup to transmit if necessary (in a different channel bank to avoid accidents) and has a number of UHF ham repeaters programmed as well. Buying this radio (off eBay) was easier because I already had two VHF versions of the same radio, avoiding the need to purchase more programming software and another cable. For her, carrying a scanner wasn't really an option, even if she needed one. A commerical radio was the perfect solution.
Commercial radios make it easy to just pick a channel and transmit, which is good for day-to-day operation. But they are also hard/impossible to program in the field, which is a decided disadvantage that traditional ham rigs avoid. (My giant BK talkie offers the best of both worlds--it's easy to tune the memory channels but also easy to field program, given that wildland firefighters are sometimes called upon to change their frequency line-ups on the fly. Of course, it also cost $900, even at the discounted state contract price).
So, most of the time my carry-around radio of choice is a commercial talkie, a Kenwood TK-280 (which isn't a current model). I use it as a ham radio, public safety radio, and mostly as a scanner replacement, covering both services. I also carry -- usually in a "go kit" -- one or more ham talkies -- in case I need easy frequency agility (or need to loan a radio to someone). Of course, my Yaesu VX-series talkies are so complex that I have to carry a laminated cheat card to remind me how they work. (These are also available for mobile radios and I recommend them highly to anyone who either has more than one radio or has only one radio the don't have to reprogram very often).
I do not recommend a commercial radio as anyone's first or only radio--though I can imagine a circumstance or two involving family-member, radio-phobic hams. I also don't generally recommend any Motorola radios, which are often expensive and always hard to reprogram if you're not a Motorola dealer. Kenwood, Icom, and Vertex (Yaesu) commericial radios do the job and software and programming cables come fairly inexpensively.
Commercial radios, then, are not for every ham, but I certainly love mine.