Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 2 way radios

Hi, I am doing research on 2-way radios. it is very hard to find the watts when i look on the computer. so far i found a 1/2 watt, 1 1/2 watt and 5 watts. but there are hundreds that don't say! If you have a good recommendation on a radios, please tell me your best recommendation that you've experienced.

It really depends on your needs. The wattage is only one specification.

Generally speaking, the higher the wattage the further the range and the shorter the battery life.

However, decent antennas are far more important.

The frequency band and terrain come into play, too.

Man
Many handheld radios are limited to 5 watts unless you are licensed.

You need to know exactly what you want the radio to do before you pick the right one.

Maybe this site will help:
http://www.arrl.org/

Handheld 2-way radios generally use the same few chip sets for the receiver and the transmitter up to the final power amplifier stage. At that point, you the models diverge into 1/2 watt, 1 1/2 watt, 5 watt, etc. In other words, once you pick a power level, there is not much difference between brands. So don't get a head cramp trying to study differences that aren't there.

FRS/GMRS hand-helds have a captive (crummy) antenna. You can't plug in a better one.

Pay attention to how the radio is powered. I like units that will run on AA size rechargeable batteries. AAA don't have much capacity. I like AA because if you use rechargeable batteries, they will be dead just when you need them most. So I like to be able to pop in some alkalines.

Alkalines have the most capacity, NiCds have the least. Li-ion are the best for capacity, but have compatibility issues with the other types because they are 3.7 volts.

Get the 5 watt version. They pretty much all have a low power setting to conserve battery life.

no matter what the manufacturer says the radio will do, the radio won't.

The models (we use Motorola) that say "up to 36 miles" are typically 5 watt units. Depending on where you buy them they will cost from $65 to $120 for two w/charger, according to the frills, bells and whistles and camo print. We use them at our Texas hill country lease. Work well at the 1 mile and under distances that we employ them. As said before the rechargable/4 AA units seem best.

GWB

Looks like a lot of 2ways are in the UHF range, which is line of sight. We used them plenty aboard ship and boat to boat, but maintaining line of sight on the ocean is pretty easy.

I'd prefer a VHF handheld for outside.

Here you go! A BaoFeng UV-82 Radio costs less than $50, and will range farther than any of us will ever be apart on a hunt.





Ted

But according to the specs, it operates on freqs that require a license. They include business, police, amateur radio, government.

It is marketed primarily for amateur radio operators. The FM portion operates (RX only) from 65 to 106 mhz which is the Canada/US land mobile band. (mixed commercial, govt)

It transmits from 136-174Mhz and 400-520Mhz (amateur, commercial, govt) and produces a max of 5 watts, so it is not particularly powerful either. You could get slightly better coverage because you are not fighting with many other users, but it's doubtful.

cheers de VE3EPA

Baofeng and Wouxun both make very decent handhelds. But, as pointed out, there are some things to think about before you act.

You may be able to get the radio pre-programmed for the FRS/GMRS channels in the US. Those are just north of 460 MHz.

Or you may just get a radio that you need to program.

I bought the Wouxun UV6, and downloaded the software to program it from my computer. Since I'm a ham, I loaded most of the ham repeaters in my region, plus the NOAA weather channels, our local FM stations, and the FRS/GMRS frequencies.

If you are going to operate on the FRS/GMRS frequencies, you must use FCC "type accepted" equipment. FRS frequencies are license-free. If you use the GMRS channels, you are supposed to pay $75 and get a license. Few people actually do that, and the FCC seems to not be overly concerned.

Open up on some commercial operation's assigned channel, or on a ham frequency without a license, and you're likely to find yourself in deep kim-chi. The FCC will not turn a blind eye to that, and the penalties are fairly severe.

If you go for one of the unprogrammed units, and just want FRS/GMRS, then all you need is a UHF unit. But be sure to check to see that it will do 12.5 KHz channel spacing. Many are designed for the European market, and won't do that.

There's no easy solution for this, short of setting up a relay with a more powerful radio at your base camp. I've been on 2 meters via repeaters on hunting trips, but only a handful of my friends have their ticket, so I talk to myself a lot.

..."Yes, indeed you do."

"Shut up!"

As someone said it depends on what you want to do. We use ours to keep up with each other on a single farm of 200 ac or less so I bought a couple of little units for $40 for the pair and we do just fine. If you want to have one for use in the wilderness where you may b out miles then probably not so much. The handiest feature would be a vibrate call mode as ours you have to just push the button and talk. i.e. we keep them turned off and only check in at preset times to avoid spooking game.

The VHF portion, 136-174MHz range, is reserved for LE & Fire for primary and secondary communications. In Alaska, it's not a big deal out in the Bush, but here in the Lower 48, someone could be causing interference in a first responder call if they used those frequencies.
Even LE & Fire, if they operate above 2 Watts in that frequency band, require a license to operate there.

Ed

That's right, so no unauthorized persons should be broadcasting on those freqs.

To the original poster, you have three choices:

GMRS - they are legal to use virtually everywhere
Amateur - with a license and get your friends to join you
cell phone - set to vibrate

This is what I would go with if it was going to be used in a manner other than CB or toy walkey talkies.

If the chance of emergency was there and not to just bullshit, I would not hesitate to use this, FCC and Ham Operators be damned. An emergency is an emergency... I'll pay the price later.

It's completely legal for an unlicensed person to use radio equipment for which he has no ticket...in an emergency. That was not mentioned by the poster however. He was looking for a recommendation for a good radio. One has to assume that he wants to use it legally.

For most areas of the planet, a 5 watt handheld is of limited use unless you can hit a repeater. It is a line of sight device whose tx signal is easily attenuated by trees, rocks and hilly terrain. Because of this, I would operate on a radio band with a device that I am legally allowed to use.

Steve, if this is true, I'll have to remember that. My elk hunting partner is HAM licensed and we use them for "emergencies"...

It is true. Anyone can use an amateur radio, or other types for that matter, if there is an emergency. That said, it does not mean that you carry one with you "just in case".

I've been licensed for twenty odd years. I tell people that the steps to getting your amateur ticket are easier than ever before. There is no longer a requirement for Morse code, necessary when I first was licensed.

For the little that they ask you to do, it's better to obtain the qualification and buy some better equipment than what's available at Walmart.

We bought an ICOM ICV82, IIRC as a fire radio for my nephew. Mine had to have a crystal cut out to transmit, his was 100 bucsk or less shipped from Hong Kong, and was ready to program right away.

VHF. 7 watts handheld.

Only downfall is we've had to buy a better battery and charger for his so far. My original before a motorola, still has its same battery and the wife keeps track of us on fires with it, in case she needs to bring food and drinks.

We do run repeating towers here on our fire frequencies so not sure the 7 watts would help that much anyway....

I agree. Because of this thread, I've been studying the ham flash cards...