Anonymous
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Breaker, Breaker....
Does anyone in Baja have their ears on??
Everyone talks about cell phones, but do the locals use CBs? Cops? Gringos?
10-4
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MrBillM
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 21656
Registered: 8-20-2003
Location: Out and About
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Most have moved on from CB to Marine Radios.
Range is greater.
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thebajarunner
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3718
Registered: 9-8-2003
Location: Arizona....."Free at last from crumbling Cali
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Mood: muy amable
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CB's
Our tight little "Baja Boys" caravan uses CB to great success. Last March we had 4 vehicles, two pulling boats, one with a trailer and my Ford F150
out in front.
Makes passing on hills, blind curves and like situations a breeze, but it sure scares the guy you are passing.
In the US we use the cell phone if we get too spread out, otherwise CB is really efficient, also in LA traffic.
This year we will also take the 5 mile range radios but that is just for hiking, etc.
Baja Arriba!!
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Casa P. D. y C.
Junior Nomad
Posts: 33
Registered: 9-18-2003
Location: BCN
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Glenn,
What is a 2 meter radio? I've never heard of that.
Thanks,
P.
P.S. We use VHF in Bahia
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Bob and Susan
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Location: Mulege BCS on the BAY
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We also use a CB when towing the boat. They still work excellent for passing if you have that lead car. We only have a handheld with a car battery
adapter.
We also have used those handheld personal FRS radios that sell for 30 bucks a pair.
These work excellent with kids in a campsite or when on the Kayaks. They have a range of one mile.
We can't wait till Cell/Satelite phones become so popular that every place will be covered....Isn't technology great
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geobas
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@-Meter . . .
Good morning,
I believe you need a Technician Class license. The beauty of this class is that you don't need to know Morse code. It is a pretty simple license
to get. Not simple enough for me to get but none the less still simple.
George
| Quote: | Originally posted by whistler
A lot of people in Baja use 2 meter radios. A lot of the ranchos use them because of the range via repeaters.To use vhf radios you are suppose to be
licensed although I never heard of it being enforced.The panga fisherman in the town where I'm at are all licensed. |
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TURKEYTOO
Newbie
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Location: El Paso, TX
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2 METER NUMBERS FOR TALKING TO REPEATERS
TELL ME ABOUT 2 METER FREQ. IN BAJA I USE THEM IN USA
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Anonymous
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2 meters and repeaters
And would someone please also let us know about repeaters for two meter radios in Baja? Are there any that allow a phone patch, so you could, for
instance, call a tow truck?
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BajaVida
Senior Nomad
Posts: 541
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Location: Motown, Califas
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I have a question---
how would you know who to call for a tow truck?
As the Bajarunner said, CBs are great to use in a caravan. When heading from Ensenada to Tecate the lead vehicle passes and radios to the trailing
vehicles when they can pass slower trucks, etc.
They work wonders.
Unfortunately we get those truckers with single sideband transmitters all the way to BOLA. How annoying they are.
No se apure y dure.
Don\'t hurry and you\'ll last longer.
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ursidae69
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Registered: 2-22-2004
Location: Youngsville, NM
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Anonymous
And would someone please also let us know about repeaters for two meter radios in Baja? Are there any that allow a phone patch, so you could, for
instance, call a tow truck? |
This was a great question. Are there 2-meter repeaters in Baja?
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bajaandy
Senior Nomad
Posts: 769
Registered: 2-7-2004
Location: North County
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CB's... Like most have said, they are fine when you're just trying to stay in touch with your caravan.
This reminds me that at an inspection station I once had an over zealous inspector ask me for my CB license and then try to charge me $20 bucks
because I didn't have one. I got on the radio to my buddy who had just gone through one car ahead of me and proceded to tell him what this guy was
trying to do. Then I said it loud enough so that everyone in the general area could hear me. He suddenly had another task to take care of and waved
me on. Oh well... just trying to make a buck I guess.
subvert the dominant paradigm
"If you travel with a man, you must either fall out with him or make him your good friend."
JBL Noel
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Jack Swords
Super Nomad
Posts: 1095
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: Nipomo, CA/La Paz, BCS
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The sad truth about two meters
The two meter ham band covers 144-148 Mhz. A technician license or better is required to
operate in these frequencies in the US. The same frequencies are allotted to hams in Mexico.
Two meters is a general term that applies to the frequencies around this band. Two meter radios
are manufactured for this use, but can be used on nearby frequencies with modification. Two
meters is strictly line of sight communications, therefore hams have installed repeaters on
mountaintops to retransmit the signal over longer distances. These repeaters are limited to use by
various techniques requiring knowing the exact frequency of the uplink AND the downlink (two
separate frequencies). Then many require a series of ?tones? to be transmitted to access the
repeater. The frequencies of the ham repeaters are listed in a book available from the American
Radio Relay League (ARRL) which is on the Internet. There are a limited number of ham radio 2
mtr repeaters in Baja that follow this protocol. Many ranches in Baja (and SCORE) have their
own frequencies near the ham 2 mtr band and use modified or commercial equipment. They also
may have repeaters on mountaintops to get greater range. In Mexico, a person with a no-code
technician ham license can get from SCT for $90 a Mexican Provisional License that allows full
ability to operate on the world-wide HF bands (80, 40, 20 meters). This license is good for the
duration of your visa. These frequencies are full of opportunities to stay in touch within Baja and
back to the US. Phone patches home are regularly used. Refer to the ARRL site for more info
on getting the ham license. To buy a two meter radio for use in Baja would be a disappointment
and the FRS radios would be about the same. Jack Swords XE2/WA6WTH
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ursidae69
Nomad
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Registered: 2-22-2004
Location: Youngsville, NM
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Jack Swords
The two meter ham band covers 144-148 Mhz. A technician license or better is required to
operate in these frequencies in the US. The same frequencies are allotted to hams in Mexico.
Two meters is a general term that applies to the frequencies around this band. Two meter radios
are manufactured for this use, but can be used on nearby frequencies with modification. Two
meters is strictly line of sight communications, therefore hams have installed repeaters on
mountaintops to retransmit the signal over longer distances. These repeaters are limited to use by
various techniques requiring knowing the exact frequency of the uplink AND the downlink (two
separate frequencies). Then many require a series of ?tones? to be transmitted to access the
repeater. The frequencies of the ham repeaters are listed in a book available from the American
Radio Relay League (ARRL) which is on the Internet. There are a limited number of ham radio 2
mtr repeaters in Baja that follow this protocol. Many ranches in Baja (and SCORE) have their
own frequencies near the ham 2 mtr band and use modified or commercial equipment. They also
may have repeaters on mountaintops to get greater range. In Mexico, a person with a no-code
technician ham license can get from SCT for $90 a Mexican Provisional License that allows full
ability to operate on the world-wide HF bands (80, 40, 20 meters). This license is good for the
duration of your visa. These frequencies are full of opportunities to stay in touch within Baja and
back to the US. Phone patches home are regularly used. Refer to the ARRL site for more info
on getting the ham license. To buy a two meter radio for use in Baja would be a disappointment
and the FRS radios would be about the same. Jack Swords XE2/WA6WTH |
Jack, thanks for the info on the repeaters. I recently obtained my tecnician's license (KE5DNP) and I have a ICOM V8000 2-meter in my truck. I plan
to get into HF later this year or next. For now, I'll be sticking with the 2-meter. I will be in Baja late March. Are the repeaters for 2-meter
that are there have info online somewhere? Still searching and not really found much. Thanks. 
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Jack Swords
Super Nomad
Posts: 1095
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: Nipomo, CA/La Paz, BCS
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repeaters in Baja
The older Repeater Directories from ARRL had the Baja ham repeaters listed, but apparently not the new ones. Check electronic supply houses if they
have one. There are a couple down here in La Paz, one or two at the Cabos. The best thing would be to ask local hams and try to hit them by
kerchunking them. We just use HF down here and marine radio in the boat. Congrats on the tech, get the general now!
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