what comm gear do you use?

S

Smiley

New member
When you go hunting or play a friendly game of paintball does anybody here use any 2-ways? I was thinking aobut getting one of those motorla talkabouts for paintballing and any kind of SHTF keep in touch stuff. (If we have blackouts this summer do cell phone sites go down too?)

I want to know if the FRS stuff (like the motorola talkabouts) have decent range and clarity to make it worth while to buy. Or should I go directly to the (GMRS) more powerful radios that you actually need an FCC liscence to use. like the motorola talkabout distance which i suppossed to be good for 5 miles as oppossed to the little guys 2 miles. (Somehow I don't think they have that reach).

I'm not really all that worried about range (inside of 2 miles should do fine) I am worried about power to reach through suburban sprawl and wooded areas and still be able to understand the message.

By the way I am not a salesmen for Motorola. ;)
 
Smiley,

I have a pair of the Cobra "Microtalk" FRS radio's. They work great indoors. I use them at gun shows to stay in touch with friends when we get separated while sniffing out bargains.

We also use some Audiovox models at work. Lots of machinery and loud noises, but they seem to work fine.

The only bad thing I hear about the Motorola's is that the talk button is on the face of the radio. A problem for some, but maybe OK for you.

If you decide on the FRS radio, get a model with the battery saver feature!
It works real nice, and I've left my radio on all day for days at at time before having to replace the batteries.

Hope to have helped some.

*starsfan*
 
I have a pair of talkabouts, and they work great for days out in the woods and such. It would be nicer if the talk button was on the side.

And you don't have to worry about the signal dying off through obstacles, cause the FRS system uses an FM signal instead of an AM signal. That means that you either get the clear signal, or you get nothing at all. Powerlines are the exception to this rule, they'll mess with anything. At least that's how I understand it - I know nothing about radio.
 
Having been a radio tech for over twenty years and having worked all over the world under some very adverse conditions, I have come to the conclusion that Motorola makes the very best comm gear in the world. I have two Maxtrac UHF mobile radios programmed to all 16 of the GMRS channels and 16 other UHF frequencies. They run 36 watts and talk for around five miles on direct (simplex) and whatever the repeater's range is. I used to have two Micor UHF radios that ran at 100 watts and a 125 watt MSF base station/repeater (all turned down to 50 watts to be legal on GMRS).

I found the little FMRS to be too under powered for more than short range - around one half of a mile reliably. They are great for shopping in the super-stores and going to gun/computer shows though. so I can not deny their suitability for some limited uses.

I also have a Realistic CB and a cell phone.
 
I have used CB radios, FRS, GMRS and Ham Radios (Amateur Radio). The GMRS and Ham Radios require licensing from the FCC.
I ama licensed Ham Radio operator, call sign: KC 8 PAT.

CB Radios: are reasonably good, but not in highly wooded or urban areas. They are AM and have a range of upto 8 miles on base/mobile models and upto 2 miles on handhelds. No licensing is involved. Disadvantage is a lot of interferance.

FRS: are FM and work well in buildings and wooded areas but the range is between 1.5 and 2 miles. No licensing required.Output is between .5 watts and 2 watts.

GMRS Radios: are the "industrial-grade" communications, used by construction crews, mall security etc. Good in wooded and urban areas and range is between 2 and 5 miles(hand helds). Output is between 1.5 watts and 5 watts. Licensing is required, but involves nothing more than sending in an application(included in your purchase) and paying a yearly fee to the FCC. No exam is involved. The licensing is mainly for frequency allotment and rule compliance.

Ham Radios: I dont know if going through an exam to get a license from the FCC is appropritae for you, if you just want to use some thing when you go hunting, hiking etc. The frequency range is very wide, and also output can be upto 1500 watts.

Regards,
Anand
 
Libertarian speak truth!

They run 36 watts and talk for around five miles on direct
Click to expand...

Note that. 5 miles, 36 watts. YMMV. Don't expect to get 5 miles from a handheld except under ideal conditions.

And never, NEVER believe a Motorola salesman! A tech, yes, though Moto techs tend to be a bit biased. But a salesman, never. They lie like recruiters! :D "Yeah, this little baby will cover 5 miles. You can figure on a mile of coverage per watt." I heard it myself!
 
captainHoek, if you'd kindly share your credentials on this topic with our TFL friends, your statements might be taken even more seriously. ;)

--Denise
 
Talkabouts are good

I have a pair of Motorola Talkabout 250s that I use all the time. When skiing with the kids, caravaning in 2 cars, at the mall, amusement park, fishing, hunting, etc. Some friends have used other brands and mine have outlasted most (2.5 years and going strong). I dunno if its build quality or shielding or what.

Range is about 1 mile under "most" conditions, and 2 miles under ideal conditions (line of sight). With rechargable batteries I get a full day of reasonably heavy use. Record is a 3-day hike with cautious use. Still had some juice at the end.

If you get the FRS, get the kind that use 3 X AA batteries. AA's are cheaper than AAAs and have more juice. Especially true of rechargeables.

I really like 'em.
 
We take our duty radios with us. They are the Motorola 800 megahertz, and have several channels that we can use when out of repeater range.
 
www.bills2way.com

Good Evening Everyone-

Smiley, I was thinking about getting some communications gear myself earlier this year. If you do a search on "GMRS," you would probably find a thread or two....got sort of frustrated, so I never did acquire any radios!

Anyway, during my search I came across an interesting site Bill's 2-Way Radio that had tons and tons of information, including the FCC procedures. The prices are "all over the ballpark," so detailed research looks mandatory to determine what features would be necessary and which would be categorized under "nice to have" for either GMRS or FRS hardware.

captainHoek & anand, we would be much obliged if there were any other pros & cons you could tell us about in terms of mobile communications.

How about anticipated performance in mountainous terrain like one would encounter while hunting or skiing? Since cellular and PCS networks are getting more robust each day, is it better just to rely on the cellular/PCS telephone, instead?

Radio communications is as complicated a hobby as firearms!

Regards,

Blue Jays
 
Bluejays, As a rule, the higher the frequency, the less forgiving the path is for hard (mountains and buildings) interference. In some cases a CB walkie-talkie will give you better range than a UHF portable. The best performance in mountainous terrain, IMHO, is VHF. Radius (Motorola) makes some very robust 5 watt portables with up to five channels. Icom, Kenwood and Yaesu also have a couple of good portables in VHF but they are not as durable as the Radius.

In very mountainous terrain you wil not be able to use a cell phone at all. Unless you can walk up to the top of one of the mountains, your cell phone will be excess weight.

If you are on water, the frequency will not matter so much so long as the law allows its use under way.

GMRS (UHF) licenses run around $95. VHF licenses vary depending on the service your frequencies fall into. CB is free.
 
Libertarian, thanks!

Good Evening Everyone,

Libertarian, thanks much for the extra tips. Sorry that I missed you as another one of the TFL people with a significant radio technician background. I should have paid closer attention.

I'll have to further explore the Motorola Radius on the WWW to see the other advantages. Any suggested places (either online or catalog) to purchase?

Thanks again,

~ Blue Jays ~
 
In very mountainous terrain you wil not be able to use a cell phone at all. Unless you can walk up to the top of one of the mountains, your cell phone will be excess weight.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I do in one of my favorite spots in Northern Nevada. Cell phone reception is zilch in this very remote area. But you can get to a couple of mountain tops by 4x4 or hiking where the cell phone reception is excellent, and so is the view. You can easily see 20 to 60 miles depending which way you look. It amazes me every time I make a call that far out from in the middle of the desert.
 
Blue Jay, I concur with the Libertarian's remarks. If the need or interest is great enough, explore becoming a ham. There is a variety of equipment available at a variety of frequencies. Beware, though. Most hams talk for the sake of talking. Yakita yak!!!

Motorola is NOT one of my favorite companies, for a variety of reasons. In fact, I have a very nicely done button that has the Moto logo with the red circle ans slash through it. I was wearing it at work one day when our director happened by. As he was just about to go into a meeting with some Moto folks, he asked to borrow it! :D

Now, I said all that to say just this - Moto makes good radios.


As to cellphones in remote areas - I'm not at all surprised. I was involved in investigating a customer complaint in Palos Verdes, CAlifornia back in about 1985, I think. Santa Barbara did not have their cellular system on the air yet, and PacTel Cellular (now Verizon) did not have much coverage on the back side of PV. (NIMBY!!!) It's a bit of a promontory that sticks out of S. Calif and goes up to about 1500 feet, if'n I relember kerreckly. Turned out the customer's problem was not the quality of service. It was the long distance charges he was paying to call Los Angeles and Long Beach, just a few miles away. And what are these "roaming charges", anyway? He was originating his calls on the San Francisco system, some 300 miles up the coast. Yes, Libertarian, I know, that was over the horizon at 800 MHz. Can't be done! But it was. Seems there's a wave guide effect along California's coast when the inversion layer (same one that traps the smog) sets up. THe FCC did extensive testing on it back in the '50s at 450. Between San Diego and Santa Barbara they measured better than free space path loss when the inversion was at 1500 feet or lower.

Back then we had a major problem in San Marino (near Pasadena) during the summer. In a weak area there customers would originate their calls on the Tiajuana system!
 
captainHoek, I have stories about inversion layer propagation that sound like shear fantasy. Also sunspot activity can charge up the ionoshere and cause similar activity. However, unless we are in one of the eleven year cycles of the sun or have some weird weather going on, long-haul comms in UHF+ is not reliable. (Not thinking that you said as much, just making the point clearly.)

There are cases of UHF+ talking through moutain ranges using the bounce effect from cliffs. Again, not something I'd bet my life on in a camping/hunting trip. (Perhaps a yagi array, a linear amp and a well positioned moon?)

I too have serious issues with the bat winged entity known and Motorola. However, they do make some of the toughest, most reliable non-military radios in the world.
 
Thanks for the clarification, Libertarian. You are absoultely right - I hope no-one got the worng idea. It ain't reliable, not where life and limb is concerned.

Unless, of course, you are pretty sophisitcated. The Navy has done a lot of research on inversion layer effects and has mapped it very carefully around the world. There are some places where it's a regular thing, and they can measure it pretty accurately and use it for offensive ops. Spotting BG ships over the horizon, etc.

But that AIN'T the same as tooling around the bush with a two-way radidio! :D
 
I used a pair of Motorola FR-60 radios on several hunts last year and was truely amazed at their performance. These are fairly inexpensive radios that have all the nessessary features without the bells and whistles. Several things that I didn't like about them; there was no vibrate mode so that if you wanted to leave the radio on while you were hunting, there was always the chance that someone would start talking just as you were making a stalk on your prey. Second feature I didn't like was the call button feature. Pressing this button would cause a very loud tone to emit from both radios that was uneffected by the volume control. This botton is on the front of the radio and we both hit it numerous times while it was in our pocket or on our belt. The third thing I didn't like about them is that the earphone jack was a subminiture plug that wasn't stocked at your basic Radio Shack. I didn't think ahead and was unable to find a suitable earphone or plug in time for the hunt. Some positve comments; The range was much better than I thought it would be. There was only one time when we had trouble communicating and we were hunting in some big country, in the mountains on all three hunts last year. The radios are easy to use. They are compact and rugged. One of the hunts I went on had pouring rain continuosly the whole time we were there and the radio did fine. Everywhere we went, there were other people using the family radio service radio frequencies. If I shut of the interference codes, I could have talked to them. This is a nice thing if I became lost or hurt. However, by turning the interference codes on, I could block them out and only hear the other members of my hunting party. I think that this year, I am going to upgrade to one of the newer Motorola radios that do have vibrate, weather alert, scrambling and some other cool features. I am an extra class ham and have been a ham for over 20 years; that said, I was very impressed with these family radio handheld radios and plan on using them again. I even used these radios when I was hunting with another ham.
AB7KT
 
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