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Hook
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Quote: Originally posted by chuckie  | BOW FUNG's is the best ..ICOM is 3rd world these days...For once I agree with JZ...Mulege Al? Who would want to talk to him? |
There are other options to ICOM. Specifically, Yaesu.
Yeah, ICOM's QC seems to have gone downhill in the last few years, from the reviews I have read.
Of course, finding radios, even from Japanese companies, that are Made in Japan can be difficult to find. My Yaesu VX-6 is M in J, but it is about
eight years old. Only the legal 5w, for a hand held. It probably has a lot of parts from China, though.
Bob, the 75w has to be what is usually termed a mobile unit. Mounted, separate power supply, external antenna. A very good option for a standard
vehicle. I really like having a mobile in the truck or house with an external speaker I can put outside and monitor transmissions. Lots of people
still use VHF 2 meter frequencies for house-to-house communications in Mexico. The standard marine band is within the receive-only frequencies of most
2 meter radios but it is a simple modification to free them to transmit on the frequencies, too. Most marine mobile (not HH) radios are 25w max.
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Bob and Susan
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what about the old units that could FIND the other unit...
you would talk and the other boat could find you...
they still make those?
can you buy them
saved me a couple og times before gps
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chuckie
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Well, there was the Model T, and now the Tesla...The older radios, of course still work and are functional...We still have some around that get used
once in a while...
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PaulW
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For those that want a hand held. Search and find a compatible aftermarket antenna for better performance. All my hand helds have a longer whip antenna
for portable use. For use in my various cars I use a 1/4 wave mag mount antenna and it greatly improves performance especially distance. Still no
comparison distance wise to a regular 2 meter installed radio with some good power like 25-50 watts.
Many, many options for radio system choices. Have fun choosing.
And yes do not forget looking for a used radio, either hand held or installed. Lots of guys upgrade or change needs. Ebay has lots to chose from.
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pappy
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Great feedback and info.appreciate it!
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mtgoat666
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A lot of advice here o buy radios that require a license.
We have the Motorola radio from Costco. Work great for the short distances we deal with. They are weather resistant. They are cheap. They don't
require a licennse. They are simple. (The bow Fung ham radios being recommended here are super complicated, too many buttons, to share amongst
wide variety of casual users)
Woke!
“...ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America
will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
Prefered gender pronoun: the royal we
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PaulW
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License - yes - in the states. Of course this is is a Baja forum and it is very rare that the MX authorities are concerned. However when we cross a
military check point we always turn off our radios.
The family radio has freqs and uses the only spectrum other than CB that do not require a license in the states. Marine radios also legal without a
licence, but if you have a real marine radio you will find certain freqs are receive only.
One can go to a race in the states and listen with one of the radios discussed, but one should not transmit. The race organizer takes care of the
waivers for the racers in the states.
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Hook
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| Quote: Originally posted by Bob and Susan | what about the old units that could FIND the other unit...
you would talk and the other boat could find you...
they still make those?
can you buy them
saved me a couple og times before gps |
I think you are talking about RDFs, radio direction finders. Different than a radio. They have an antenna array and can analyze a received radio
signal and tell what DIRECTION it came from, but not necessarily how far away it was. Some boats still have them, but I have to believe the sales of
those has probably dropped off the map, with how cheap and popular GPS units have become. Even inexpensive phones have GPS. People just share their
coordinates now and one boat follows their GPS to the coordinates.
RDFs would still have a purpose on a rescue vessel, if it was receiving a transmission from a vessel in distress that could not relay coordinates. And
they would still have some appeal to fishermen who hear a transmission about fish biting, but the sending vessel doesnt reveal their location. I have
never used one but I believe all you can do is follow the direction path to the source and hope to locate the vessel. It's kind of a big-boat thing;
the arrays were never that small, but maybe they have become smaller, the way GPS antennas have.
There is also something in the ham radio world where two radios set up in the same function (Yaesu calls this ARTS, or Automatic Range Transponder
System) will automatically transmit a coded signal at regular intervals. No voice, just a coded transmission. If the other radio receives this signal,
both radios recognize that they are still in potential verbal communication range. The radio will beep or sound a bell or something. It saves
transmitting "can you still hear me" on something like a search and rescue operation.
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woody with a view
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FINALLY, an interesting thread!
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Hook
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| Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666 | A lot of advice here o buy radios that require a license.
We have the Motorola radio from Costco. Work great for the short distances we deal with. They are weather resistant. They are cheap. They don't
require a licennse. They are simple. (The bow Fung ham radios being recommended here are super complicated, too many buttons, to share amongst
wide variety of casual users)
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Licenses are a snap, these days. And cheap.
FRS radios are like, 1W. Even CBs had more range.
HH ham radios can do things that even cell phones cant, in the back country. And they are 5W. Amateur radio clubs have repeaters in places that cell
towers aren't economically feasible. So does the USFS and BLM. In an emergency, you can break in on their frequencies and call for help. But not in
Mexico.
BTW, in an emergency situation, non-licensees are legal to use ham radios.
There are a lot of really good deals on Baofeng radios through Amazon Prime. Just make sure you get a package with a lithium ion battery and charger,
belt clip, lanyard, etc. A US warranty is not a bad idea, either.
A really sweet setup would be to get a magnet mount antenna, an antenna adaptor and maybe a 12v power plug. Clip the radio to your sun visor in the
car. Your range would be dramatically increased, even line of sight. You would probably still be well under 100.00.
And have a lot more capability and distance than a Motorola FRS radio. Disconnect the external mag mount antenna, slap on the rubber duckie and you
have a walk-about radio.
I have a Yaesu that is a far superior radio. But it is 10x the price of a UV-5R.
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woody with a view
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We use our VHFs for car to car comms while SOB. The only bad part is terrain, interference everywhere and getting south up to and past SQ. We don't
need too much more than that, and then the same handhelds go on the boat.
STILL, a bunch of tried and true info from this thread!
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Barry A.
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| Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666 | A lot of advice here o buy radios that require a license.
We have the Motorola radio from Costco. Work great for the short distances we deal with. They are weather resistant. They are cheap. They don't
require a licennse. They are simple. (The bow Fung ham radios being recommended here are super complicated, too many buttons, to share amongst
wide variety of casual users)
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I have long (15 yrs plus) had Midland & Motorola FRS/GMRS hand-held walky-talkys, and like MtGoat says, they work fine for short distances like
veh. caravans of friends and family, and hikes, and they are REALLY cheap. It just depends on what you think you need. I have at least 10 of them,
and on trips spread them around to those that don't have them. A set of 4 Alkaline AA batteries last up to a week in them, even with lots of short
transmissions, and you can set privacy-codes in the radios to keeps the nuts from interfering with your conversations. No lic. required.
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JZ
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I'm gonna get 3 of the Baofeng. 2 for the bikes, 1 for the truck. Put a roof mount antenna on the truck as Hook suggests.
Will test it out on our next ride. Gonna bring my VHF radios for a comparison.
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willardguy
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Bob Steinberger would attach an antenna to a weather balloon with a length of coax!
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Bob and Susan
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| Quote: Originally posted by JZ | I'm gonna get 3 of the Baofeng. 2 for the bikes, 1 for the truck. Put a roof mount antenna on the truck as Hook suggests.
Will test it out on our next ride. Gonna bring my VHF radios for a comparison.
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no need ...just tie 2 to your drone...one transmitting one receiving
a repeater and long antenna : )
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JZ
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| Quote: Originally posted by Bob and Susan | | Quote: Originally posted by JZ | I'm gonna get 3 of the Baofeng. 2 for the bikes, 1 for the truck. Put a roof mount antenna on the truck as Hook suggests.
Will test it out on our next ride. Gonna bring my VHF radios for a comparison.
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no need ...just tie 2 to your drone...one transmitting one receiving
a repeater and long antenna : ) |
Funny.
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