Radio options

J

Joe Talmadge

Joined
Oct 3, 1998
Messages
4,842
In another thread, Josh Feltman mentioned radios. I'm surprised there hasn't been more talk about radios here. Could someone do a quick rundown on what the different types are, what are they advantages and disadvantages versus each other, what kind are the mostly likely to let you call for help in the backcountry? I'm guessing there are certain kinds that are more powerful, and certain systems that have more repeaters.

thanks!

Joe
 
So many choices...
Of course there is FRS. 14 channels, cheap radios, PL tones to reduce interference. But the range just plain sucks!

Then there is GMRS. I don't know much about it, but it's basically a high power FRS radio that costs more($200-300?) and you have access to a few repeaters. You also need to pay for a license from the FCC.

CB is pretty easy. Everyone has one! No repeaters, but it is an HF band and under decent conditions you can talk a long ways(on the 10m ham band which is right next door it's easy to talk to Japan and California with the antenna i had setup, and occasionally I could talk to the midwest. Once heard a station from South Africa!, and sometimes South America came in good). Down side is that there are so many people jammed into 40 channels that the interference blocks out anything very far away.

Amateur radio can seem rather complicated at times, but it's not as bad as you might think. You need a license, and you need to pass a test to get it. Not a difficult test, it just goes over some radio and electric theory and rules and regulations and operation practices. You can go for the Technician class license which doesn't require morse code, but you are not allowed to use the HF bands. However, 2m and 70cm radios are fairly cheap(starting at $200), and there are a LOT of repeaters all over the world. Some of them that are in good locations(like on top of mountains) can extend the range of a small HT by as much as several hundred miles. And in a pinch, you can go buy radios at Radio Shack, although I wouldn't recommend it(the models available right now aren't that good, except for the HTX-10. The rest are over-priced and under-featured). Now, if you go for the next class license(General), you must pass a 5 wpm morse code test. Not too difficult, although it took me a while. There are lots of things(books, CDs/tapes, computer programs) available to help you learn morse code. Now you can get on the shortwave bands. Lots of fun! You can talk all over the world on those bands. Remember the station in South Africa I mentioned earlier? Now, if you study more, you can go for the Extra class license and get complete access to all bands. After the recent changes, you no longer need to worry about the 13 and 20wpm morse code tests, it's all 5 wpm for everything(except Technician). And it's not just boring talking. There are numerous contests all year, emergency services through the ARES and RACES programs, message handling for a variety of reasons(ARES/RACES emergencies, MARS sending messages to and from soldiers overseas, etc...), you can build your own radios(or my favorite, building radio kits), or even design your own radios, and of course quite a few people just talking away the days until their tongue falls off... :eek: There is TONS of info all over the net. Try these sites:
http://www.arrl.net
http://www.hamradio.com
http://www.ac6v.com
http://www.k1dwu.net
And lots of others... There is a good links section at the ARRL site, and a quick search will bring up a mind boggling number of sites...
 
Mr. Talmadge,

It is now easier than ever to obtain your amateur operator's license, and the technology available today is simply astounding. Just about any well made amateur transceiver can offer you reliable communication, but you still need to do a little homework to determine exactly what you need. Cell phones are OK but in backcountry situations or in periods of high demand, they can be unreliable. Radio communication is one of my hobbies, and I have experience with many types of radios. One of my favorites is this little marvel here:


VX5R.jpg


It's a mil-spec, die cast aluminum cased, triple band transmitter/wideband receiver- it receives nearly anything on the air (excepting cell phones)- AM/FM broadcast, air band, military, shortwave, nautical, military, TV, weather, etc. It is unbelievably small as well, measuring 3.5" tall by 2.25" wide. When used to talk over repeaters (the way cell phones transmit to towers) it can be used to talk for many miles. Anyway, I really like mine, it's great to have around during emergencies and severe weather situations, or to just carry around, which I do often.

JK

BTW, if you're interested, more info. is available here http://www.yaesu.com/amateur/vx5r.html.
 
Sorry I opened this thread. I GOTTA have one of those. Can this do away with the need for a shortwave radio, scanner, and ham?

Thanks Jedi, I never even heard of one of these.


Found the unit on the page, where can I get one?
 
I have a VX-5, and use it more for listening than talking. It's a lot of radio in a small package, but there are inevitable compromises in trying to put everything in one box. You will, for instance, get FAR better reception with a dedicated shortave receiver in the $200 range, the Sony 7600G is a good example. The VX5 is an adequate scanner, but lacks features and (importantly) scanning speed when compared to dedicated scanners--also no trunk scanning ability. Compared to other ham portables, the VX5 has one glaring problem that is probably too technical to get into. (Slow CTCSS tone decode.)

Don't think I'm down on the VX5, I've owned one since they came out and I do like it. I live with the compromises. Either that, or I carry a VX-900 HT, a Sony SW-100 shortwave receiver, and either an AR-8200 or pro-92 scanner. (Yes, I have way too many radios.)

Too many people have sky-high expectations about the VX-5 and then end up unhappy. It may not do everything GREAT, but it does a lot of things very well.

Amateur Electronic Supply or Ham Radio Outlet are two good places to buy from. You might beat their pricing by shopping around, but these guys are the big guns in the business.
 
Whoaaaaaaa, at $500 I think I was shooting my mouth off!

If I have a good scanner, CB walkies (2), short wave reciever, digital cell phone, what else does one need?

What advantage does ham give you?
 
I came in on the tail end of a presentation by a Motorola rep to an office supply store--he was talking about a "Spirit" line of sets that were quite a bit better range wise than the FRS stuff,like up to 5 miles versus maybe two, but also more costly--about $180 ea. Any body know about these? Sounds like he was pitching them for sale to people working in the same office building or jobsite.
 
You guys like the VX-5? Just wait for the new Kenwood... Drops 6m for 220, better SW receive coverage, AM loop antenna(internal ferrite bar I'm guessing, although one can never tell), AND it does SSB/CW receive too! As soon as they hit the stores I'm getting one to replace my VX-5. Check out the ads in QST for the last couple of months for a pic.

For JohnG above... Don't the Spirit models operate on business freqs? That would mean you need to pay for a license from the FCC. At least until the new license free radio service shows up that I've heard about, but I think that's just a few of the old VHF channels(could be wrong tho).
 
Never owned a Kenwood HT, but this one will be my first. I hope they get it right the first time--but they had at least one dual-band HT that had major problems till they revised it.

I think 220 will be much more interesting than 6m in an HT, particularly since we have the big Condor repeater system active out here. The VX5 may go, but the VX900 and VX1 will definitely be staying. Hard to beat the VX1 for size, but programming it is a challenge--if you don't use the computer.
 
Whoaaaaaaa, at $500 I think I was shooting my mouth off!
Click to expand...

Actually the VX-5 sells for $339.95 at Lentini Communications, where I purchased mine. This little radio surprises me with how well it receives shortwave broadcasts. It's a tough little radio.

JK
 
CQDX CQDX CQDX de G Land (Well, in fact it's M Land now) I'm an M Zero myself, full Class A licence here in the UK. I run a Kenwood TS850SAT into a full size G5RV or sometimes an R5 vertical. I'm a member of the RSGB and Fists CW club.
Glad to see some other Hams into knives. 73 guys ..

(I don't give my callsign for security reasons)
 
Hi,

In Europe we also have free low power FRS radios operating on 20 milliwatts if I'm correct and having 40 channels between 433-444 MHz.

These are relatively cheap but again range sucks about a mile.

However these radios are often "tuned-down" amature radios and the ones I got and use at scouting where modified in 2 minutes by a simple drop of solder to form a microbridge between 2 contact points to 550-600 milliwatt power and an range of up to 3.5 miles using the little rubber 3" antenna.
Replacing the turnable rubber antenna by a hooked screwdown antanna connector and mounting an about 10" "real" amature antenna on it the range increased to about 6-7 miles.

I forgot to mention that cutting a small bridging cable allowes one to "reset" the full featured microchip controler inside the radio so that it can send/receive between 400 and about 500 MHZ and also allows one to chose low power or high power settings.

This all off course makes the FRS transceiver "illegal" for the law but if you're in a survival situation the extra range can be more important.

Best scouting wishes from Holland,

Bagheera
 
First you need to determine what your needs are. My girlfriend and I have FRS radios and they serve us VERY well. Fun to take to the fair in summer, down in the River bottom, shopping at the mall, etc. The range is 2 miles under ideal conditions, but we have never needed a more powerful radio. If your uses are in line with mine, get a good FRs and go away happy!

By the way, get one with sub channels. ALL FRS radios have the same range and such. The better ones have sub channels wich give you something like 512 channels to talk on, instead of the regular 8 or 14 or whatever they are. Thi sjust means that you have a better opportunity to get privacy.
 
Piet . . . do you have any more info on how/where we can get info to perform this. I would not know where to begin!!??

Also, as to FRS they are great in most situations. We have tested FRS and GMRS side-by-side here in Georgia via four-wheelers. We gave a rider of a four-wheeler a Motorola 250 FRS and a fullsize GMRS talkabout distance and sent them off through the hunting camp. Both radios gave out at about the same distance along wooded roads. However, on a recent trip to the Rockies in open country the GMRS outdid the FRS almost 2:1! I guess it REALLY depends on the application!
 
Hi Jason,

The best way to find "tuning" instructions is to look for companies selling these amature LPD radios.
Not the normal run of the mill company like Cabela's or Brigade Quartermasters but more the amature radio selling small shops.

These often also point on their website to another website that contains information as to how to "tune" the LPD that you just bought.

I use Alinco's model DJ-S41CQ and they are essentially tuned down amature LPD that can be modified quickly to a more powerfull version.
MIND YOU this makes it an illegal transceiver.

Go see this German site: http://home.t-online.de/home/airbase/alinco_e.htm

for Alinco information at: http://home.t-online.de/home/airbase/tuning.htm

Jason, all kinds of modifications can be found when you do searches on the LPD's name and the word "tuning" "power tuning" etc.

Best Scouting wishes from Holland,

Bagheera
 
jrollins, Jedi, sas, etc...

Like many, I been considering getting a pair HTs for my disaster kit for some time. What are your opinions of the following:

Yaesu VX-150
Yaesu VX-1R
Icom IC-Q7A
Icom IC-T2H

As you can probably tell, these are the lower-priced offerings in the handheld arena. Not that I'm a cheap bastid or anything :D , but with all my play money going to other projects, I just can't afford a pair of VX5s!

Thanks!
 
I like the VX1, but it's not the thing I'd want in an emergency. The reason is the lack of a keyboard to enter frequencies with--and I figure in an emergency you would need to be able to easily enter new channels, change tone codes, etc. It's POSSIBLE to do this on a VX1, but it's not very easy.

Also don't forget to consider getting a set of FRS radios--they are incredibly cheap right now, and a separate receiver for am/fm/shortwave. I think Sony makes the best little radios out there, just pick the size you want--they are all excellent performers.
 
The VX-1 and Q7 models won't be useful for anything but short range simplex and a few repeaters when you can find a good line of sight spot to the repeater. The VX-1 tops out at 500mW and the Q7 at 350 IIRC. But they are both dual-band radios with wide receive coverage(the Q7 has better coverage). The VX-150 and IC-T2H(I think replaced with a new model) are 2m single band radios, but put out a full 5W so they are much more useful. If you will be using these radios for short range stuff like an FRS radio the low power radios will be fine and give you the extra receive, but keep in mind you will need something else for long-range communications. Looking at the prices, the VX-1 and Q7 are very attractive at only $130. Prices sure have gone down! Seems like only yesterday they were the newest radios around and $200... So you could get a pair for $260 and be pretty well off, $300 if you go for the full size 2m radios. Don't forget some of the other radios - not everything is expensive. The IC-T7H and FT-50 are pretty good radios and only $200. It's a bit more, but you do get a lot more capability, but you don't get the Q7's receive range until you get to the VX-5 price level. I guess one could argue that if you want to listen to everything you should get a scanner or SW receiver anyway... After all, the small radios don't pick up AM or shortwave stations very well(only really strong ones), and you can't scan through the higher frequencies as fast.
 
Wanted to revive this thread to ask about the practicality of the Motorola Talkabouts. In a 'bug out' situation, what do you think about these things? There are a few different models, ranging all the way up to one with a built-in eletronic compass and barometer/altimiter. Are they worthwhile? I think that dealing with licensing and programming is a real hassle. Just want 2 way communication if I were to be trapped, or later, to keep in touch with family.

TIA!
 
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