Radio usage, flexiblity, organization, reference stuff, etc.
- Thread starter CanuckMariner/Nomad
- Start date
Ryan1975
Observer
Yeah...I showed one of my junior soldiers (and fellow HAM) my posting and it sparked a long discussion that roamed into the 20m range. I was educated on a few points and I think your 20m argument is valid...however I'm reminded that there's not very many good mobile units are 20m capable.
My research into the perfect zombie radio setup continues.
1911
Expedition Leader
??? The Yaesu 857 (and even the 897) and the Kenwood TS-480 spring to mind; I'm sure there are quite a few more.
DaveInDenver
Middle Income Semi-Redneck
IC-706, IC-7000, DX-70TH, FT-100, all good and mobile-for-vehicles HF rigs. The station limitation with all these radios mobile is the antenna and even as stationary at home they're not exactly terrible radios.
craig333
Expedition Leader
Thanks for the FRS/GMRS info. I'm new and didn't realize my radio could do those. Probably won't but wth, with over a thousand memories might as well. Never know.
Comment on emergency communications. Just spent the weekend less than 40 miles from Sacramento. Had cell coverage less than 10% of the time. Had 2m coverage 95% of the time (surprised me as I was in some deep canyons on occasion). Most of the time I'd have had a ten mile walk for help. PLB or Spot is great if you're in a life threatening situation but stuck or broke down with ten mile walk doesn't count. The 2m would likely have eliminated that walk or at least let someone know my situation.
Comment on emergency communications. Just spent the weekend less than 40 miles from Sacramento. Had cell coverage less than 10% of the time. Had 2m coverage 95% of the time (surprised me as I was in some deep canyons on occasion). Most of the time I'd have had a ten mile walk for help. PLB or Spot is great if you're in a life threatening situation but stuck or broke down with ten mile walk doesn't count. The 2m would likely have eliminated that walk or at least let someone know my situation.
4x4junkie
Explorer
Not disputing what you said, though I think a better qualifier may be in order here...
27MHz CB radios certainly do need a proper set up (much like HAM does). However having that, it's actually quite normal to see a range of 10-20 miles in clear conditions using legal power levels (no external amplifiers). What tends to reduce a CB's range (besides improperly installed equipment like you mention) is either static radiated from external sources (power lines and/or vehicle equipment such as unshielded fuel pumps or HID lighting), and/or the elevated noise levels from the ionosphere refracting everyone's signals from around the continent (or world, even) into your receive all at once (sometimes occurs during daylight hours). Even at this however 1-2 miles should still be possible except maybe in some cases of severe interference from HID vehicle lights.
FRS/GMRS radios OTOH you would be lucky to get more than a few miles in typical use without the use of a repeater (which is only available on GMRS). Those "20+ mile" claims seen on many FRS unit's packaging is only for perfect ideal line-of-sight conditions (such as you standing on a tall mountain and the person you're talking to is also elevated above the terrain or any other obstructions). The good thing is that unlike a 27MHz CB, their range generally stays consistent at any given time per set of conditions, since their 462MHz band is not affected by (often uncontrollable) external noise sources near as much as 27MHz band is.
It should also be noted the wavelength of 27MHz CB signals is not conducive to it's use by handheld units, it's much too long for a short "rubber duckie" antenna to be even remotely efficient (and is why handheld CB units suck so bad). 10-20 miles is with using a good quality mobile-mounted CB radio & antenna. This certainly makes the smaller FRS units much more attractive for hand-held use.
After reading this thread... Canuck talked about the need to build a spreadsheet with some repeater information specific to geographic regions through the States, Canada, and maybe even for Mexico. I have technician lic and I am newbie. Yes I declare for everyone to read, I am a newb. This thread has some great info that has helped me with navigating around how to properly dial in and use my ham radio, well to some degree. Main uses for me is to be able to travel in my vehicle to remote areas and be connected to resources in case of an emergency. I guess there are directories out there and if anyone has a good direction for me please share a link to a database with repeater and area specific frequencies.
DaveInDenver
Middle Income Semi-Redneck
There's no need to look any further. The website is more powerful than the phone app at narrowing and filtering, so I find it more useful setting up a radio. Also worth noting the phone app needs cell service to access the database, so you shouldn't wait until you're already off grid to check.
dreadlocks
Well-known member
I keep a print version of the repeater book in the rig JIC..
Umnak
Adventurer
You can cache the list of repeaters and it will still monitor your location and give you the basics on the phone. Pretty cool stuff.
DaveInDenver
Middle Income Semi-Redneck
Didn't know it could cache the database, but I may be running an old version of the app. That would be handy indeed. My device is SIM-less and doesn't belong to any Google account so I have to remember to update things manually.
