2-way radios for hunting wooded areas
- Thread starter vpsalin
- Start date
As said, only use these in the bush and with a printed frequency list. Using radios in town is not a good idea. You can also monitor communications on some channels like Roads if stuck in traffic on the highway, but transmitting on their frequencies is not good at all. My radios are for emergency use and communicating in remote areas. Just be careful and respectful, these are not toys.
If you want to use them as a hobby get your license.
If you want to transmit at all, get a license. The only reason you should be transmitting without one is an emergency.
Yup!
I think it depends on the distances your are trying to cover and the terrain. In my hunt camp over decades we have evolved from the old Radio Shack "line of sight" 1/4 mile walkie-talkies to the FRS, which were a revolution and big step up, then to the current GMRS consumer grade models. They boast 30+ miles but "in your dreams"!!! Nevertheless they are great and have ear buds etc. Personally I prefer the Midland models but it doesn't really matter as they all use the same channels. You can buy them anywhere and no licence is required for GMRS in Canada.
But what many do not realize is that even with these GMRS radios with 42 or so channels you must pick the high power channels. If you pick channels 8-14 they still only pump out the FRS limited wattage of .5 watts. You must use channels 1-7 or 15-42(?) to be able to transmit at the higher GMRS 2 watts power. This link shows some of that.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Mobile_Radio_Service
So if you are on unobstructed terrain I have found the GMRS good for 2-4 km. Over water, or from high hill to radio with no hills in between a bit farther. Valley to valley with a hill in between we only get about 1-2 km. Hope this helps.
Got Juice?
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Peoples Republik of Kanukkistan
Picked up a set of Motorola 2 chan 5 Watt VHF radios, batteries, chargers, ,chest packs, lapel mics for 200.00
Simple and much better than the Baofengs in terms of tx rx in rough terrain. Unbeatable 10 mile LOS range, and in thick bush/mountains no repeater 2.3 miles.
Simple and much better than the Baofengs in terms of tx rx in rough terrain. Unbeatable 10 mile LOS range, and in thick bush/mountains no repeater 2.3 miles.
GMRS only certain frequencies and no more than 2 watts ERP. You'd have to program the radio to only work on a few channels. In the case of those UV5R, they don't have a 2 watt setting.
We use Motorola's at work, what model are you using? We are running ours at 5 watts and using a 25 watt base station. Of course, we are licensed for the frequencies we use. This would be a good solution as I suspect the 2 channels are public channels. No license required.
We use Motorola's at work, what model are you using? We are running ours at 5 watts and using a 25 watt base station. Of course, we are licensed for the frequencies we use. This would be a good solution as I suspect the 2 channels are public channels. No license required.
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Sakoman .308
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Nova Scotia
Interesting thread, I've learned some things.
Thanks!
Thanks!
The Baofengs have adjustable power settings for those scared of tumors. 
4 watts is fine, 8 watts is there if needed. Antennas makes all the difference. Read up on the Ham Forums concerning budget radio comparisons if you want real world information.
4 watts is fine, 8 watts is there if needed. Antennas makes all the difference. Read up on the Ham Forums concerning budget radio comparisons if you want real world information.
These threads pop up ( what radio to use ) a couple or three times a season.
Sometimes at the beginning or at the end.
Anyways, I recall I posted an amateur radio operator set up they used at their deer camp.
Consisted of a portable repeater and the radios they used.
Costs a few dollars to build , but if you are thrifty enough one can source the parts and assemble ones self.
Have fun, be safe and Tight Groups,
Rob
Sometimes at the beginning or at the end.
Anyways, I recall I posted an amateur radio operator set up they used at their deer camp.
Consisted of a portable repeater and the radios they used.
Costs a few dollars to build , but if you are thrifty enough one can source the parts and assemble ones self.
Have fun, be safe and Tight Groups,
Rob
Radiowaves are non ionizing radiation. There is zero scientific evidence that cell phones increase risk of cancer, the radiation emitted isn't energetic enough to do damage on the cellular (as in brain cells ect) level.
There was at least one study that linked cell phones and cancer risk, but scientists have been unable to replicate the results in future studies so it is now assumed the first study was flawed in some way.
My first response on this topic is a link to a 21 page thread on this forum.
and yet, if you take the HAM course, you learn that high enough RF power will cook your eyes and brain.
the power question is how fast?
Got Juice?
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Peoples Republik of Kanukkistan
These are the older 1/2 Channel HT series, the ones where the battery is the complete rear of the radio. Tremendous power, and good clarity (the manual squelch helps here) I also have a 25W base station that has been tweaked a little higher. The units themselves are fairly large, but the chestpack and remote mic/speaker make them quite useful when on an ATV etc.
Here is a pic
Nice. Those old Motorola radios are tanks. I'd bet they last another 20 years. The size of the handhelds is probably the number one complaint I hear. Did you program them yourself?
What are you using as a base radio? We just replaced our Quantars after 20 years in service. I'd love to get my hands on one of those. That would make an awesome camp radio. We run them at 25 watts too.
What are you using as a base radio? We just replaced our Quantars after 20 years in service. I'd love to get my hands on one of those. That would make an awesome camp radio. We run them at 25 watts too.
Got Juice?
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Peoples Republik of Kanukkistan
Using an old school Motorola Radius for a base station. Cranked the finals to 30++
These radios are tanks for sure. Love them, even if they weigh a little more, at least they work. Had an operator program them for frequency, and he fiddled with them. They work exceptionally well in cold and warm conditions.
I would check w your local radio store, they typically have lines on these old tanks. These ones are from BC Hydro and RCMP
I paid 120 for the Radius base station and had it programmed for all the Forest roads, and mine and logging freq. Of course the WX weather is on all of them too.Motorola makes very good hardware. The older stuff seems to be indestrucable. The biggest issues we have are battery contacts wearing and user damage from dropping them.
If you watch crown assets in the coming months you'll probably see some Quantars up there. I did a search today and it looks like Fisheries and Oceans just dumped some XTS-3000's in VHF bands. A person would need access to Motorola's software and programming equipment to set them up.
I did a quick search and it seems the HT600s can be found for great prices on eBay. How do the batteries hold up?
If you watch crown assets in the coming months you'll probably see some Quantars up there. I did a search today and it looks like Fisheries and Oceans just dumped some XTS-3000's in VHF bands. A person would need access to Motorola's software and programming equipment to set them up.
I did a quick search and it seems the HT600s can be found for great prices on eBay. How do the batteries hold up?
Got Juice?
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Peoples Republik of Kanukkistan
Well. The batteries are 7 years old and will only hold charge now for 8 hours. I think a NOS set will do almost 12. To be fair some of the dig NB filters on new sets are pretty trick, but for whatever reason these radios stay at full power longer without throttling power. Not to say the new stuff is bad, but it seems the new priority is lower weight and a bit of a quality sacrifice with the full digital voice plexing circuits. One thing the older sets have over the new ones is clarity at max range. The new ones seem to lose clarity faster in the rough stuff like mountains etc. Probably due to cheaper finals and antennas is my guess.
The newer base stations is another matter entirely. Simply put, they kick some serious ass. Clear, and powerful withought the need for gargantuan power. Real fine gear, like the Kenwoods and Yaesu. A guy can dream
. I usually take the portables when on the quad or while hunting. Kicks butt on the little 2 way multichannels out there. Even boating with the mobiles and base on the boat all is clear and good. The old gear is good for stamina, but less features for sure, and no encryption for security unless you program a skip freq for tx and another for rx. The new stuff has its place. When these poor devils die, I will get rid of these 1980’s sets and upgrade. Maybe by then the 1990 sets will be cheap. But until then, these old war horses do very well.
Btw if you can source the cables, there is free ware on the net to program these yourself
