School me on hand held 2 meter radios (HAM)

I guess I'm a little different, but I wouldn't hesitate suggesting to someone to try out a Chinese radio for a first time rig--That is, if you want a handheld.

The points made about going with a mobile instead for your application are all absolutely valid. It can get frustrating operating a handheld while driving. Low audio, antenna and power cables running everywhere, etc. And that's on a smooth highway.

I have an assortment of Kenwoods, Yaesus, and Icoms, but I find that my Baofeng is the one I take with me the most, probably because I'm not afraid of dropping it, losing it, having it stolen, etc. The last Baofeng dual band radio (UV-5RA) I bought was $28 shipped at Amazon (a replacement for the first one I lost). Add a decent antenna, and you're all set.

Yeah, they're a little strange to program and not built like the Japanese radios but they get the job done, everyone says I sound OK, and I hear plenty of other operators using them.

Just my 2 cents

N7ADV

RLMiller wrote:
First of all I’m going to assume you have an amateur radio license, or will get one soon. The Eastern Sierra area is not as remote as you may think as there are a number of amateur repeaters that cover much of the region. That being said, most off-roaders will use a simplex (non-repeater) channel for communications between vehicles. My son uses such an arrangement to communicate between he and his friends when on snowmobiles. Repeater channels can still be used to talk back to base camp or over longer distances.

I strongly recommend a mobile radio which will have far more effective range, with the use of a better antenna and higher power. Mobile radios at a reason price can be found through the Ebay and other on-line sources.

I will be in the Eastern Sierra area in two weeks to provide a repeater for communications for a bicycle ralley that begins in Badwater, Death Valley and ends at Whitney Portal. To communicate from the check points back to the net control in Lone Pine we use both the portable repeater and simplex when the riders get closer to Lone Pine.

Where will you be off-roading in the Eastern Sierra?

I would tend to agree.

While mobile radios are not as flexible (IE portable) they do make up for that in transmit power which coupled to a high gain longer antenna can net you considerable distance.

You can get single band mobiles starting at $109 and some nice antennas for about $70 or so with a mount.

My FT8800 is a dual band 2mt/440 mhz with a remoteable head, the advantage of that is you place the radio in a separate location and mount the small head to your dash. About $500 for it and it actually has a lot of features which allow it to monitor TWO frequencies at a time which can be 2/2, 2/440, 440/2, 440/440. It also has built in repeater function so you can use it as a mobile repeater.

However if money is a problem HTs often CAN be connected to an external antenna and you can get a separate mic which allows the HT to function a bit like a mobile, just not as much transmit power.

First of all I’m going to assume you have an amateur radio license, or will get one soon. The Eastern Sierra area is not as remote as you may think as there are a number of amateur repeaters that cover much of the region. That being said, most off-roaders will use a simplex (non-repeater) channel for communications between vehicles. My son uses such an arrangement to communicate between he and his friends when on snowmobiles. Repeater channels can still be used to talk back to base camp or over longer distances.

I strongly recommend a mobile radio which will have far more effective range, with the use of a better antenna and higher power. Mobile radios at a reason price can be found through the Ebay and other on-line sources.

I will be in the Eastern Sierra area in two weeks to provide a repeater for communications for a bicycle ralley that begins in Badwater, Death Valley and ends at Whitney Portal. To communicate from the check points back to the net control in Lone Pine we use both the portable repeater and simplex when the riders get closer to Lone Pine.

Where will you be off-roading in the Eastern Sierra?

LittleBill wrote:
these posts are hilarious.


you guys actually think your going to track down a guy (who never said he wasn't getting a license) who is mobile, has a modified vehicle for offroad capability, has a simplex range of 3 miles, and is in the middle of nowhere????

thats hilarious. you actually think the FCC is going to attempt to find them lol.

Flame suit on, i've been where the OP is going. good luck on even seeing people let alone the FCC...

:R

Shows that YOU don't have a clue.

2mtr simplex 150 Milli watts with a decent antenna has NO problem making 10 miles. Heck I have done 440mhz at 125 Milli watts using homemade 13 element dual stacked Yagi 25 miles on simplex.

So, the OP of the thread could very well easily make 10 miles or better with 5W HT using the DUCKY antenna. Connected to a MOBILE antenna well, should be easily make 15 or even 20 miles and perhaps a bit further hill topping. Antenna gain and height makes for a huge difference.

Now if you would have been talking about FRS/GMRS then I would agree that 3 miles is pretty much the limit since those transmitters AND antennas ARE designed to limit your distance SEVERELY and do not make provisions for external antennas.

For the OP, as much as I "like" bargains, I would suggest that you stay away from the bargain basement Chinese import Ham HTs, they will require considerable effort to "program" since they are not strictly designed for USA Ham usage. They are more "commercial" usage and typically will not have proper Ham repeater offsets or even band limits defined.

Yeasu, Icom, Kenwood, Alinco are the main players in the Ham equipment biz. All make fine Ham equipment.

You can get a 2mtr single band 5W Alinco HT from AES for $89 and it has EXTENDED RECEIVE up to 174 mhz. This allows you to listen to NOAA weather broadcasts among other things, very handy!

HERE

The downside of the newer Ham equipment is programming, they have added so many features it is easier to program and set them up by buying the USB programming cable and software and use your computer.

Recently bought a Yeasu FT8800 mobile unit, took me several hrs to finally figure out how to save three of my favorite frequencies into the memory via the front panel...

As others have mentioned, not hard to get Ham ticket, your friends should be able to get you hooked up with a Ham club VE exam. The tests are standardized and you can get a study guide with the current question pool to study.

For more info you can take a look at ARRL website HERE at ARRL.ORG

Good luck and have fun..

LittleBill...I don't remember saying the phrase "more qualified." I think passing the test would show that you're really interested in knowing and following the rules, which would include foul language, etc. I'm not so sure the hobby is dying either. Using your logic, I guess you wouldn't need a license to drive a car? Different strokes for different folks. Have a good one......

lynndiwagon wrote:
It's a great hobby that certainly doesn't need a bunch of "CB" type operators cluttering up the spectrum.

people like you are the reason the hobby is dying, for 15 bucks and 15 minutes to take the test, people are now somehow more qualified????

lol what a joke

these posts are hilarious.


you guys actually think your going to track down a guy (who never said he wasn't getting a license) who is mobile, has a modified vehicle for offroad capability, has a simplex range of 3 miles, and is in the middle of nowhere????

thats hilarious. you actually think the FCC is going to attempt to find them lol.

Flame suit on, i've been where the OP is going. good luck on even seeing people let alone the FCC...

It's a great hobby that certainly doesn't need a bunch of "CB" type operators cluttering up the spectrum. I would never recommend operating on the ham bands without a license. As far as the testing goes, when I got my General ticket the code requirement was 13WPM. Took a lot of practice but I finally got it. Tech license would be the way to go for folks wanting to use a handheld.

If you don't have a license, find another radio service that doesn't require a license. If you operate illegally and your buds are legal they are as guilty as you and will be penalized, most of the time more harshly.
We are self monitoring, the feds are the prosecutors and do a pretty nice job for us.

If you don't have a license, find another radio service that doesn't require a license. If you operate illegally and your buds are legal they are as guilty as you and will be penalized, most of the time more harshly.
We are self monitoring, the feds are the prosecutors and do a pretty nice job for us.