2-way Radios

[leeawalden]

I need to buy some to hunt with. I know literally nothing about them. I don't get cell service at our farm, its a lot of high ridges so I don't know if you get on one side of one if any radio will work to the other side of it but that would be optimal, as I said I don't know much about them. Rechargeable is a plus. Also price point...under $150?

Thanks for any input, I figure there are about 5 experts on here!

 

[az_max]

The 5 experts here are going to say 2m HAM radio


I say pay The Man $70 and get all proper on GMRS. You can get decent motorola or midland FRS/GMRS radio pair with chargers for less than $150.

 

[leeawalden]

thats what I'm thinking. I just don't know how to interpret the specs.

I've always wanted to go HAM, but honestly right now...its not practical for me, maybe some time down the road. Just need something to get in touch with my buddy I hunt with.

 

[garrett]

I bought 24 ICOM F3011 VHF radios about 3 years ago for work. They get used a good amount and in shitty weather, etc. Not an issue with any one of them - except for the few that we've lost. They hold a charge for a very long time, have good range and the best part is the quality of sound. Very clear.

We stopped messing around with GMRS a while ago as they didn't perform very well for our needs. Though I am sure the quality has gotten better since then.

I don't think we paid more than $150-175 for each one with a charger.

 

[leeawalden]

You're using marine band?

 

[rovercanus]

2 meter HAM radio.

 

[garrett]

You're using marine band?

Whoops. No. UHF. I believe that model was/is available in both. Half the channels are low power and the other are high. Doesn't seem to be much of a difference.

 

[Mike_Rupp]

Garrett, do you need a license for those radios? Not that it really matters. People use GMRS radios all the time without a license. I think the only people who get licenses are hams. It's much easier for someone to go into Wallyworld & spend a few bucks on a bubble pack pair of GMRS radios that advertise a million miles range and then for the owner to completely disregard the little piece of paper in there that talks about the license.

 

[Mongo]

What kind of range are you expecting to get? Most or all commercial/amateur hand helds radio's are limited to 4 or 5 watt's, which is going to limit the range. UHF or VHF will work and shit is available on EBAY all day long. The amateur stuff will have limited freq's you can use and can be programmed without any additional gear. Commercial stuff has more freq options, but most likely you'll need a computer and some other kit to program it. GMRS same thing with power and range, but those come pre-programmed...

I won't comment on the license, not a ham nazi like some and depending on where you are, you'd be hard pressed to piss anyone off who is, or if your polluting their "licensed" frequency

 

[Mike_Rupp]

Let me get this straight, someone who wants people to follow FCC rules is a ham nazi? Let me guess, you don't have any license whatsoever, whether its an amateur radio or GMRS license. I love the entitlement mentality that rationalizes not paying for a license when others do and then calls someone a nazi for expecting everyone to play by the same rules.

I'm also a little confused when you wrote "amateur stuff will have limited freq's you can use". You think that Amateur Radio has limited frequencies? Compared to what? CB, FRS/GMRS, and MURS has a few channels each. In the 2M Amateur Radio band, I can dial to a specific frequency, e.g. 147.555 MHz.

Also, those are some interesting comments on range. Watts don't limit range as much as an antenna does. With my puny little 5 watt handheld, I was able to connect with a repeater about 20 miles away.

 

[Mongo]

Yeah, ham nazi's...KF7EMF so what's your point. The test is fucking joke and I'm sure 80% of the guy's here could pass it after a day of studying. Ok, limited access is better wording. CB is worthless, FRS/GMRS has as many radio's in use as CB. MURS, same thing, short of running a mobile, you in the same boat. Commercial band radio's have access to much more bandwidth. If it's a farm, it's even easier to get a license, no test, clear a freq (which takes 5 minutes to do) do the paperwork, which is done on line now and your legal.

As for range comment, it makes me laugh when guy's say I can hit repeaters 20 miles away, blah,blah,blah. The reality is that a hand held radio, on simplex (which is what he asked about) has limited range, ham or commercial, licensed or not. The terrain will dictate range.

And before you start preaching HAM again, even your if your licensed, there's no guarantee that there will be a repeater you can hit, so there's no easy answer to the question

 

[Mike_Rupp]

Wow, you have a license. Congratulations.

Yes, the technician exam is easy. Most lukewarm IQ folks could pass it after a day of studying, sure. It's not a joke, however. It serves one important function: it requires that the person taking the exam needs to give a slight effort and commitment. It clears out the CB radio dingleberry crowd. 99.5% of hams actually take ownership in the community and act like decent human beings compared to the degenerates on CB / FRS.

Sure, it makes you laugh. "Your" the bad ass. "Your" above it all. I get it. "Your" on 37's in a chopped to shit Disco. Do you drink Red Bull?

The simple fact is that there are no downsides to a handheld radio compared to MURS / FRS / GMRS. None. While I can't always hit a repeater with my handheld, you can't ever hit a repeater with a MURS / FRS / GMRS.

The only reason to not have a ham radio in the OP's situation is if you are truly on a budget. Once you start recommending $150 commercial radios, you might as well get a ham radio.

 

[honda50r]

Sure, it makes you laugh. "You're" the bad ass. "You're" above it all. I get it. "You're" on 37's in a chopped to shit Disco. Do you drink Red Bull?

I gotchu, don't worry. No license and all

 

[Mongo]

yep, tech class, had a asshat at work, like you, who whined like a little schoolgirl about the license bullshit. So bet him I could pass the test without studying...yep 4 out of 5 of us passed it, he had to pay for all the licenses. Look at Ebay, commercial handhelds are there all day long for less than new Ham radio's. You can even get the chinese knock off's for 50 bucks.


So get the fuck off your horse, I'm not claiming to be badass, not posing, not claiming to above anyone or the law and could really careless what you think of my truck.I don't drink Red Bull, avoid Starbucks and it seems your the one with issues...

Back to the OP and reality, even the commercial grade stuff is going to be limited, ridge to ridge maybe ok, if your in a valley and he's on a ridge, you'll hear him, but probably won't be able to talk to him. GMRS is better than FRS,which is light years ahead of a CB...

 

[Mike_Rupp]

Lighten up Francis.

 

[garrett]

Garrett, do you need a license for those radios? Not that it really matters. People use GMRS radios all the time without a license. I think the only people who get licenses are hams. It's much easier for someone to go into Wallyworld & spend a few bucks on a bubble pack pair of GMRS radios that advertise a million miles range and then for the owner to completely disregard the little piece of paper in there that talks about the license.

From what I was told...no. As the channels that they are set up for it is not needed. At least that is what I was told from my friend that sold them to us.

 

[leeawalden]

Thanks for the info guys. Like I said, I do have interest in getting my license and nicer equipment but as the question has been argued, I just don't know if the terrain will give it any benefit over some motorolas on frs.

I do have a set of marine radios from my brother in law. He is an engineer works on locks and dams and they were demob'ing a jobsite and he got me some radios. They are Standard Horizon HX750s with charging bases and handmic. Anyone know about them?

http://www.gandermountain.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?i=420043&pdesc=Standard_Horizon_HX750S_Floating_Handheld_VHF_radio&aID=503O2A&merchID=4006

 

[p m]

BTW, if you expect no line of sight between parts of your property and home, VHF/UHF is largely useless. Not completely, but it'll be in and out, out more than in.
If you get your ham license, you can set yourself up with your own repeater at the highest point; if there are neighboring repeaters, you could use a VHF/UHF handheld in a lot more places than without them.

In a vehicle, CB will be better than VHF/UHF.

 

[leeawalden]

Gotcha. Yeah I'm only wanting it for hunting. It's only 100 acre farm but I have permission to hunt 500 acres of adjoining property so at night tracking a deer you could get confused. I'm more worried abouty friends getting lost while hunting since they are less familiar with the property. Or if I were to get hurt.

Also we run everything at the camp off generator so I'm not sure what type of power supply a repeater would need. Really I've only messed around with the marine radios on the lake here but get cell service so I don't have a reason to use them. I haven't used them when offshore fishing or diving because whoevers boat I'm on usually has a pretty good comm set up.

 

[p m]

The repeater would be overkill for that sort of thing. You could get by with the higher-end FRS/GMRS radios, but they will be more expensive than low-end VHF/UHF handhelds with less output power.