Try 2 Meters, 146,000 Megahertz, you'll be amazed. 50 miles on talk around is possible depending on terrain.3fj40 said:Thank you, that's right, I didn't remember those freq's.
And e9999, yeah, I need to stay out of this stuff from here-on-out.
JB
sale on 10 mile GMRS radios on Fri a.m. $20 / 2
- Thread starter e9999
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JB
Actually, I'm a Ham so I do get the benefit of more than FRS/CB/MURS
I actually prefer 6m FM simplex for off-road.
I actually prefer 6m FM simplex for off-road.
To much interferance from Florida during good band conditions.3fj40 said:Actually, I'm a Ham so I do get the benefit of more than FRS/CB/MURS
I actually prefer 6m FM simplex for off-road.
Thats why our Sheriff got rid ir 6m and went to 2m. (159 Mhz.)
My .02
you will only get the maximum rage if you are in line of sight. Otherwise they drop off quickly. Try it out on a beach sometime. You will only get a couple of mile before they go out of range because of the curvature of the earth. On a mountain looking at someone on another mountain maybe.
I got an Icom IC-T2H Sport 2meter a month ago to get the feel for Ham. Put a Diamond RH77CA antenna on it to replace the duck it came with. I'm not tranmitting yet 'cause I have to take the test either next month or in February(not too many opportunities to take it around here.FJ40_owner said:
) The T2H is a really nice radio. I'm picking up repeaters about 30 miles away.
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e9999 said:
I did, they work great. Nice to be able to use with multiple frequency bands.
Nice choice of 4 AA batteries or included rechargeable pack.
Range sucks as I expected and for all the above mentioned reasons.
None of these little hand-held radios are going to achieve the "max" range under anything but absolutely perfect conditions; probably mountaintop to mountaintop on a really clear day and line of sight.
.... but that's OK because I wasn't expecting 10 miles. On a single Beo-test, I could communicate about 1/2 mile as the crow-flies while I was inside the house and my son was walking the dogs and conducting the test.
I am 100% certain that eric will conduct some type of quasi-scientific data gathering tests and conduct 2 or 3 polls and confirm that handheld FRS/GMRS radios don't achieve their max range claims.
-B-
None of these little hand-held radios are going to achieve the "max" range under anything but absolutely perfect conditions; probably mountaintop to mountaintop on a really clear day and line of sight.
.... but that's OK because I wasn't expecting 10 miles. On a single Beo-test, I could communicate about 1/2 mile as the crow-flies while I was inside the house and my son was walking the dogs and conducting the test.
I am 100% certain that eric will conduct some type of quasi-scientific data gathering tests and conduct 2 or 3 polls and confirm that handheld FRS/GMRS radios don't achieve their max range claims.
-B-
- Thread starter
- #33
well, guess what?
my RS still hadn't gotten the radios in...
Sooo, now I find myself in possession of the newer 10 mile model at no extra cost. With NiMH batteries (better), and separate bases (better too)...
So maybe there is something about Karma paying you back, eh?
(btw, if you are interested in longer operation, you may want to replace your NiCad batteries with NiMh, the latter are rated by RS for this model at 700mAh vs 300 for the former (i.e. twice as long operation or more) and they don't go bad anywhere as fast, either...)
added: called Uniden about the 1058 model. According to them it puts out 1W w/o boost and 1.6W with boost. This is rather strange because they list some other models at 5 miles with 2W. But when questioned, the guy said it is because of "better" engineering for the latest models. ???. If that is true then the range is a more useful indicator than power, indeed. I looked around quite a bit and there is no obvious connection between Power output and range. Either the range if a marketing gimmick, or the power listed is not a true power out of the antenna... Can't make sense of this...
Also, he did say that the first 7 channels that work both in GMRS and FRS are also at the higher power. So, unless you want to save power, it's better to use those for FRS than the higher numbered ones. (unfortunately, the guy I talked too didn't seem very knowledgeable so not sure about any of this..)
Called Radio Shack also (30 mins wait...!) Guy confirmed 1/2, 1, and 1.6W.
my RS still hadn't gotten the radios in...
Sooo, now I find myself in possession of the newer 10 mile model at no extra cost. With NiMH batteries (better), and separate bases (better too)...
So maybe there is something about Karma paying you back, eh?
(btw, if you are interested in longer operation, you may want to replace your NiCad batteries with NiMh, the latter are rated by RS for this model at 700mAh vs 300 for the former (i.e. twice as long operation or more) and they don't go bad anywhere as fast, either...)
added: called Uniden about the 1058 model. According to them it puts out 1W w/o boost and 1.6W with boost. This is rather strange because they list some other models at 5 miles with 2W. But when questioned, the guy said it is because of "better" engineering for the latest models. ???. If that is true then the range is a more useful indicator than power, indeed. I looked around quite a bit and there is no obvious connection between Power output and range. Either the range if a marketing gimmick, or the power listed is not a true power out of the antenna... Can't make sense of this...
Also, he did say that the first 7 channels that work both in GMRS and FRS are also at the higher power. So, unless you want to save power, it's better to use those for FRS than the higher numbered ones. (unfortunately, the guy I talked too didn't seem very knowledgeable so not sure about any of this..)
Called Radio Shack also (30 mins wait...!) Guy confirmed 1/2, 1, and 1.6W.
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- Thread starter
- #34
OK, first test.
From a location fairly high up on a hill to an area lower but yet in "town" with buildings, trees etc. Not in direct line of sight but not too far from that either, I was able to hear perfecty clearly the other radio at
3.6 miles
with both of us outside. Not too bad.
For some weird reason, though, the other person couldn't hear me very well. Maybe I was not speaking close enough to the mike, or mumbling.
Notably, and unsurprisingly, on the way there, my wife couldn't hear me after about a mile or so -guessing- when she was in the car and going up and down some hills...
From a location fairly high up on a hill to an area lower but yet in "town" with buildings, trees etc. Not in direct line of sight but not too far from that either, I was able to hear perfecty clearly the other radio at
3.6 miles
with both of us outside. Not too bad.
For some weird reason, though, the other person couldn't hear me very well. Maybe I was not speaking close enough to the mike, or mumbling.
Notably, and unsurprisingly, on the way there, my wife couldn't hear me after about a mile or so -guessing- when she was in the car and going up and down some hills...
- Thread starter
- #35
more tests.
One useful finding. If I stick my mouth just about touching the mic, the transmission is quite a bit louder and still very clear. That's good.
Oddly, though, my little old Motorola FRS is received much louder than the RS on the other RS at least at short distance. Probably better mic?
Distance of trans / reception is limited to much less than 3.5 miles is one is in the car. I'm sure it's fine for wheeling convoys, but no great shake for long-distance. No surprise there...
One useful finding. If I stick my mouth just about touching the mic, the transmission is quite a bit louder and still very clear. That's good.
Oddly, though, my little old Motorola FRS is received much louder than the RS on the other RS at least at short distance. Probably better mic?
Distance of trans / reception is limited to much less than 3.5 miles is one is in the car. I'm sure it's fine for wheeling convoys, but no great shake for long-distance. No surprise there...
Cruiserdrew
On the way there
e9999 said:
Eric-as has been stated before it sucks for this purpose. Those Frs/GMRS radios just are not powerful enough, or well made enough to be useful for much. I did think they were great skiing with the family spread over several slopes. For vehicle to vehicle, use a CB.
Just because they were cheap, does not mean they are good.