Thought you guys might like this. It's a list of the VHF channels for many of the popular FSR's in the southern island. 
South Island Forest District Road Radio Frequency List
- Thread starter asutherland
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Thanks a lot for that Andrew! That is very useful especially for areas with active logging. I suppose you have access to these sorts of documents now in your new job?
Do people here run handheld VHFs radios, or vehicle installed units? I don't own a VHF radio yet, but would like to buy one at some point. And no transmitting without a license right?
Up to 75W transmit power! http://www.usedvictoria.com/classified-ad/icom-ic-v8000_19271313 Seems like a good price for a nice unit.
Do people here run handheld VHFs radios, or vehicle installed units? I don't own a VHF radio yet, but would like to buy one at some point. And no transmitting without a license right?
Up to 75W transmit power! http://www.usedvictoria.com/classified-ad/icom-ic-v8000_19271313 Seems like a good price for a nice unit.
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I purchased some off of aliexpress (all of the guys here in ottawa did) They're programable to do all sorts of things these are the ones we got:
https://cas-hq.rim.net/owa/redir.as...th-Free-Handsfree-the-Cheapest/659706954.html
Build quality seems good and I also ordered a handheld mike/speaker. They're rechargeable and so far I'm pretty happy with mine. Don't forget to purchase a programming cable too so you can program them to do all kinds of great stuff!
https://cas-hq.rim.net/owa/redir.as...th-Free-Handsfree-the-Cheapest/659706954.html
Build quality seems good and I also ordered a handheld mike/speaker. They're rechargeable and so far I'm pretty happy with mine. Don't forget to purchase a programming cable too so you can program them to do all kinds of great stuff!
Hey Toshi, thanks for the recommendation. I can't get your link to work though... Can you post another?
_http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-Shipping-Baofeng-UV-5R-Dual-band-two-way-radio-with-Free-Handsfree-the-Cheapest/659706954.html
delete the _ at the beginning
Thanks Toshi! That is a serious bang for the buck unit. I didn't know they made 'em that cheap!
For how much I'll be using one, that might work fine for me, thanks.
Ya ... one of our local guys is a HAM guy and recommended the units for us. If you get them I can share our programming file then you can add your own channels as well so they're named/have the settings you want.
In our programming we have a all of the FRS channels plus GMRS, weather, and a few industry bands that we like to monitor. Keep in mind that you require a ham radio license for these. (Although not to buy them from this site). You'll also want to look into the repeater backbone that exists on van island as you can even patch into north island college and make phone calls from these units. I've seen this demo'd buy a ham guy I knew on the island but I've never actually used it myself.
There's also a newer version of the same radio a couple of guys bought. It seems rather nice as well.
In our programming we have a all of the FRS channels plus GMRS, weather, and a few industry bands that we like to monitor. Keep in mind that you require a ham radio license for these. (Although not to buy them from this site). You'll also want to look into the repeater backbone that exists on van island as you can even patch into north island college and make phone calls from these units. I've seen this demo'd buy a ham guy I knew on the island but I've never actually used it myself.
There's also a newer version of the same radio a couple of guys bought. It seems rather nice as well.
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- #8
Most excellent. Does it come with the charger and battery etc?
How is the reception/transmission? As good as an in-car unit, with antenna on the roof or hood?
Are you able to monitor a couple channels at the same time? (ie. a VHF channel and a FRS channel) Do you have a similar, recommended in-car unit like this?
How is the reception/transmission? As good as an in-car unit, with antenna on the roof or hood?
Are you able to monitor a couple channels at the same time? (ie. a VHF channel and a FRS channel) Do you have a similar, recommended in-car unit like this?
Its decent reception... if you want better the antenna's removable and uses a std antenna (same as many higher end radios) You could just put an antenna on the roof and then put it in your car with a handheld speaker/mike and it'd be identical to an in car radio... you could also get something more powerful if you wanted to have incar.
I haven't tried most of the features yet so I still need to see about monitoring multiple channels. FYI FRS is VHF channels ... same thing just with pretty names like 1, 2, 3 ect ...
If you browse through that same site theres tons of radios but I only have these ones. I ordered some handheld mikes/speakers to make it easier to hear things in my truck.
I haven't tried most of the features yet so I still need to see about monitoring multiple channels. FYI FRS is VHF channels ... same thing just with pretty names like 1, 2, 3 ect ...
If you browse through that same site theres tons of radios but I only have these ones. I ordered some handheld mikes/speakers to make it easier to hear things in my truck.
- Thread starter
- #10
Yea, I've been looking at the various channels... it's quite handy to have FRS/GMRS on the same device.
What would you recommend for a in-vehicle installation model?
I'm looking at getting my HAM as well...
What would you recommend for a in-vehicle installation model?
I'm looking at getting my HAM as well...
I don't have any in vehicle radio... so I can't really recomend one.. I'm just going to use one of these handhelds as my internal and I strap it on the roll bar next to my head... if I find the reception too poor I'm going to add an antenna to the truck for this radio and then just hook it up to that and use the same unit...
They came with re-chargeable batteries and a little base station charger. I guess you could also look at a higher wattage base station if you wanted.
I'd suggest getting one of these to start and then deciding if you need an upgrade?
They came with re-chargeable batteries and a little base station charger. I guess you could also look at a higher wattage base station if you wanted.
I'd suggest getting one of these to start and then deciding if you need an upgrade?
Oh Right...
my bad...
I would say you need one of these:
http://www.icomamerica.com/en/products/amateur/hf/9100/default.aspx
And one of these:
http://www.icomamerica.com/en/products/amateur/hf/7000/default.aspx
The reason for both is in case you spill your latte on one of them.
my bad...
I would say you need one of these:
http://www.icomamerica.com/en/products/amateur/hf/9100/default.aspx
And one of these:
http://www.icomamerica.com/en/products/amateur/hf/7000/default.aspx
The reason for both is in case you spill your latte on one of them.
- Thread starter
- #14
I don't spill my latte, my coil springs all around help with that.
I bought a Mobile for my truck (Kenwood TM281 - 60 Watt Max) and a few weeks later bought one of the UV5R's... How could I not at $42.
I'd highly recommend starting with a UV5R. They have way more features then the entry level mobiles and most handhelds from the big 3 brands. I love the duel monitor feature... It lets me listen to a FSR frequency while I'm chatting with other people in my group on another frequency. I don't believe any of the entry level mobiles from Kenwood, Icom or Yeasu have that kind of feature.
I haven't experimented with any other antennas yet, but keep in mind that even with the best antenna, you are still only transmitting 4 watts, which in coastal mountains, really doesn't let you reach out very far. So far, my experience has been that I get 1-3 km on typical forested logging roads... which means you and the Logging truck you don't want to hit better be calling out EVERY km. To compare, my mobile has typically always reached out 15kms minimum. Of course these numbers vary greatly, depending on terrain.
But for 42$, its a great place to start. I'm thinking of buying another for when I'm traveling with another vehicle with no radio, or hiking in separate groups.
I'd highly recommend starting with a UV5R. They have way more features then the entry level mobiles and most handhelds from the big 3 brands. I love the duel monitor feature... It lets me listen to a FSR frequency while I'm chatting with other people in my group on another frequency. I don't believe any of the entry level mobiles from Kenwood, Icom or Yeasu have that kind of feature.
I haven't experimented with any other antennas yet, but keep in mind that even with the best antenna, you are still only transmitting 4 watts, which in coastal mountains, really doesn't let you reach out very far. So far, my experience has been that I get 1-3 km on typical forested logging roads... which means you and the Logging truck you don't want to hit better be calling out EVERY km. To compare, my mobile has typically always reached out 15kms minimum. Of course these numbers vary greatly, depending on terrain.
But for 42$, its a great place to start. I'm thinking of buying another for when I'm traveling with another vehicle with no radio, or hiking in separate groups.
I have a VHF radio will it pick up calls from the logging trucks?
Depends on a couple things...
Is it a commercial radio. ie. has to pre-programmed, no ability to input specific frequencies from the radio itself?... If so, it can listen and talk on the frequency ranges used by the forestry industry but must have those frequencies programmed in via computer or another radio before hand. Most radio shops could program the relevant FSR frequencies for our area.
If it's an amateur radio, by default, they usually can receive on frequencies from 136-174, but only transmit on frequencies from 144-148mhz. Commercial/Forestry frequencies are usually above 150. Many radios can be easily modified so that they can receive and transmit the full bandwidth, 136-174. Although, keep in mind amateur radios can burn out very quickly if used at the top end of the bandwidth.
UV5R's come capable of transmitting on the whole bandwidth... Technically not legal in Canada. It's illegal for equipment designated as "Amateur" to be capable of transmitting on non-amateur frequencies (anything other then 144-148). Listening outside of the Amateur frequencies is fine though.
Thanks for all your knowledge and advice Dangil. That is good stuff to know.
So can a person safely get away with just receiving on the forestry frequency for a given FSR? Basically if you hear a truck is coming you find a pull off asap and get out of the way? Or do you need to be able to call out your location as well? If so, if I understand correctly you need to have a license to transmit on the forestry frequencies?
All that said, does your Kenwood receive from a far greater range then the UV5R? In that case, would the Kenwood be safer as it allows you more time to find a pull off area?
Reason I ask is that I may spend some time on active FSRs this summer, and want to make sure I don't get run over by a logging truck.
So can a person safely get away with just receiving on the forestry frequency for a given FSR? Basically if you hear a truck is coming you find a pull off asap and get out of the way? Or do you need to be able to call out your location as well? If so, if I understand correctly you need to have a license to transmit on the forestry frequencies?
All that said, does your Kenwood receive from a far greater range then the UV5R? In that case, would the Kenwood be safer as it allows you more time to find a pull off area?
Reason I ask is that I may spend some time on active FSRs this summer, and want to make sure I don't get run over by a logging truck.
Monitoring a FSR frequency definitely increases safety, and being able to transmit your location increases safety that much more. I don't know to what level truck drivers follow the rules/guidelines for calling out their KM's when on FSRs so I feel safer being able to call out my KM's every couple KMs, so if they are not calling out regularly, hopefully they'll hear me, and start calling out.
The legalities of calling out your KM's are dumb. Technially you are supposed to have:
As far as I know, it is legal to monitor the commercial frequencies with a HAM radio as long as your radio isn't capable of transmitting on those frequencies.
In terms of receiving capabilities of a Mobile vs a Handheld, I don't entirely know. I think you could significantly increase receiving range of a handheld by connecting it to a full size vehicle mounted antenna. I just bought a 1/4 wave antenna for my UV5R... Haven't tried it out yet... but it will be interesting to see what kind of difference it makes, compared to the stock 6" rubber duck antenna.
I know that I would rather not rely on the receiving capabilities with the stock antenna on the UV5R. The increased range is key in the winter on snowy roads because there are fewer places to pull over and the work trucks are moving fast to maintain speed on hills, but can't slow down as quick because of the snow.
About a month ago, I was coming down a snowy FSR (8km mark) and a dump truck asked me to pull over on the left side of the road near a specific bridge at 7k (He was coming up at 2km mark). He had 2 dump trucks right behind him and they were going to be cooking it up the hill, and he knew how they would take the corner going onto the bridge,and that we would be out of the way on the wrong side of the road. That was a situation where a bit of extra range and the ability to transmit back was key. It would have been hairy to meet those 3 trucks on a steep, narrow section of snowy road.
Sorry for the rambling response. Hope it helps.
The legalities of calling out your KM's are dumb. Technially you are supposed to have:
- Commercial license from Industry Canada... No test, I think the fee is $25 or something.
- Commercial Radio - cannot be programmable on the fly, needs to be pre-programmed
- Written permission to use that frequency from whoever is leasing the specific frequency from Industry Canada
As far as I know, it is legal to monitor the commercial frequencies with a HAM radio as long as your radio isn't capable of transmitting on those frequencies.
In terms of receiving capabilities of a Mobile vs a Handheld, I don't entirely know. I think you could significantly increase receiving range of a handheld by connecting it to a full size vehicle mounted antenna. I just bought a 1/4 wave antenna for my UV5R... Haven't tried it out yet... but it will be interesting to see what kind of difference it makes, compared to the stock 6" rubber duck antenna.
I know that I would rather not rely on the receiving capabilities with the stock antenna on the UV5R. The increased range is key in the winter on snowy roads because there are fewer places to pull over and the work trucks are moving fast to maintain speed on hills, but can't slow down as quick because of the snow.
About a month ago, I was coming down a snowy FSR (8km mark) and a dump truck asked me to pull over on the left side of the road near a specific bridge at 7k (He was coming up at 2km mark). He had 2 dump trucks right behind him and they were going to be cooking it up the hill, and he knew how they would take the corner going onto the bridge,and that we would be out of the way on the wrong side of the road. That was a situation where a bit of extra range and the ability to transmit back was key. It would have been hairy to meet those 3 trucks on a steep, narrow section of snowy road.
Sorry for the rambling response. Hope it helps.
Thanks a lot Dangil!! Not a rambling response at all, but a lot of good info! I couldn't not have asked for a better response.