Radio’s

[azbg12]

I want to buy some radios if there isn’t cell service. What handheld and truck radios are you using or think work best? Thanks for any info.

[trphyhntr]

Motorola cp200d if you can 

[Big Tub]

For the money, Baofeng are quite the deal.

 

[Evan]

Baofeng, a little programing. With a little internet search you'll have a great radio

[zslayer]

1 hour ago, Evan said:

Baofeng, a little programing. With a little internet search you'll have a great radio

I have the Baofeng uv82 HP.  Love them! But would like to hear about your programming you have found?   I know they have a knock off too, the ones on Amazon for like $30 do not work as well.  The originals are like $70ea on Amazon.

[TOBY]

FCC license? Or treat  them like closed forest roads I guess?

[n2horns]

If you buy all the radios yourself, great, but remember people in your hunting party may not want to buy them or cant figure out how to push a button or turn a dial.  Programming these are not hard, software is a little cluncky on free ones, but RT Systems has tons of radio support and good tools, CHIRP isnt supported by many radios.

The antennas that come with the radios or ok, but worth an upgrade to a better antenna.  You can also get ear piece so the radio isnt blaring.

HAM is great if all are licensed, and usually can get to a repeater if needed.

Legit GMRS like KG-905G / KG-935G (about $150.00) simple to use and can hit GMRS repeaters as well.  License is you pay your $20 bucks to FCC or whatever the cost is and you can talk/family share license. (https://mygmrs.com/)

MURS not as popular, so your conversation may be a tad more private, remember no conversation is private, someone is always listening.  I had Border Patrol reach me on my MURS freq one hunt near the border.

[azbg12]

Thank you all for the info, I appreciate it. 

[Evan]

On 3/21/2023 at 7:38 AM, TOBY said:

FCC license? Or treat  them like closed forest roads I guess?

FCC Licenses for GMRS are cheap and easy to obtain.  WRUW382

[Evan]

On 3/20/2023 at 9:26 PM, zslayer said:

I have the Baofeng uv82 HP.  Love them! But would like to hear about your programming you have found?   I know they have a knock off too, the ones on Amazon for like $30 do not work as well.  The originals are like $70ea on Amazon.

YouTube GMRS you can find tons of info.  Also look up az GMRS repeater clubs. With an annual membership or donation you can gain access to repeaters. 

[1uofacat]

What are you trying to do?  Range?  Hilly area?  Line of sight is necessary for basic radios, but if you want to bypass all that, get an InReach satellite communicator.  All you need is to see the sky/satellites etc.

I have Motorola FM radios, they're ok, but limited range (1/2 mile realistically).  I also have Yaesu FT23R (HAM radios) that I've used to communicate up to 30+ miles, but had basically line-of-sight.  The "2 meter" handheld radios will out-perform the other handheld types, but does require a license (that's not that hard to get).

My InReach tops them all, & it's not really that expensive, just use it wisely!

[1uofacat]

btw, the Motorola radios say they work up to 24 miles, but that's largely not true.  Count on 1/2 mile in the woods through trees etc, but not through or over hills.  They are great for talking on road trips between vehicles, within a mile though, or while fishing on a lake & calling from shore.