cb'd for years, but dont know much about hams. so plain and simple, if you were lost in the woods hopeing someone may hear you which radio would you carry? and why?
1618031
Without a license and a call, I would never take a distress call seriously unless you could properly identify. Second, with VHF/UHF on a handheld, the range is going to be very limited and there probably would not be anyone within range to hear you anyway.
1618032
If your interested in Low end Ham Radio look @ the Baofeng UV-5R or Lattes Upgraded Model for Ease of Programming & Use!
1618033
Well, it wouldn't be a Baofeng that's for sure. If you could get it programmed it would be fine...but they are notoriously hard to program and their tech support is almost non-existant. The other thing about ham radio is there's no real "emergency frequency" so to speak. There are literally thousands or hundreds of thousands of "channels" to use and no guarantee that anyone is listening on one of them. If your requirements are for lost 'n' found I'd consider one of the aviation bands and put in 121.5 (vhf) and 243.0 (uhf) most commercial aircraft monitor those freqs. I have two of the ham rigs (diff brand) and they'll talk anywhere from 5 to 100 miles depending on getting on a repeater.... but, you have to know the repeater freq and some other info to use one. They are almost ALL different in freq and location, and type. Do your homework if you plan to use the ham bqnd.
2172293
This is a two way radio operating on CB frequency range. If you're talking about a walkie talkie it would have to be on the same frequency. Some of those newer two way hand held radios don't operate on the CB radio frequencies. It's just like you can't hear FM radio stations on a AM radio. They don't operate on the same type of frequency. You can get handheld radios at radio shack that will operate on the CB frequencies.
1005475
Moon Cyn. Helpful as I need something like this along a river and within the coastal range of Oregon. I cannot see spending hundreds of dollars for a system. Can you make a recommendation on the antenna and amp that is reasonably priced and powerful. I am with Sprint on a smartphone. Thanks for any suggestions. Gary
1404257
No fm radio. I Load a music on a player . I carry a back up battery. Ride for 4 hours listen to music I like. Not people talking on the radio .
1073895
Hi Connie. That's not going to happenBaofengs only put out about 4 1/2 wattsThe only way your going to talk to your friends is thru a repeater. Simplex is onlyGood for about 5 to 6 miles. Hope this helped you. I have four of them and been a ham for 27 yrsHave fun
1125288
I have XM radio. However we used to it in some pretty remote areas of the Northwoods. The weather band was already used. There were a couple that came in pretty clear the rest were pretty staticky but I could still hear the forecast and I could still prepare for any income at weather. They work great for 18 bucks.
1266116
I wish I knew. I would also like to find out how to easily amplify it. As-is running off my CB radio it works pretty good. Definitely not as loud as the police PAs.
1501228
In my opinion I'd try and find a smaller radio since it's a motorcycle trip. Because one the antenna is pretty long and two it's the size of an answering machine. But if size is not an issue I'd say sure why not. Just make sure you program all the places you're going to pass through. Good luck and have a safe trip!
885298
Yes if you do the mod that is easily found on the net. I did it and from experience I would not repeat the process. I permits marginal CB reception but of course you can't transmit. You won't pick up any of the long range skip like you could with a dedicated CB such as the Galaxy 979 which has upper and lower sideband. Frankly the IQ level of CB transmissions is rarely higher than the channel number you happen to be on. Get your ham technician license I finally took my exam last week and that's the way to go, you'll be glad you did.
2108193
If you can hit a repeater pretty far. Personally, I hated this radio. The programming is very difficult with no help from the manufacturer. I'd get a Kenwood (as I have) 2 meter radio. Superior service, and trusted. I'd honestly "Stay away" from this radio..Best wishes,WS6GTO
2071507
I don't understand your question.What are your radio needs? Depends on that.
2115776
Rob.. Send it back for replacement. These radios have a few manufacturing issues but once you get a good one there are no issues. The volume on mine is strong and loud.. It's not to be compared with a boom box volume but plenty loud for a single speaker radio as it should be. Only other issue that they all suffer from is that the smaller controls have a slightly loose feel. For the price the 450 is a much better radio than the newer Field branded radio from Eton. But really...send yours back and get a replacement
1926178
If you can't see the person, expect limited propagation/reception with these radios. People have higher expectations for these radios than is reality. At .5w and with the dopey stub antenna on these radios, don't rely on them as your lifeline in forested, mountainous terrain. It's a great radio for what it is.
1638131
The first thing to know is that GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service) and CB (Citizen's Band radio) are not the same thing. GMRS is FM at 462 MHz and it's in most handheld radios now sold (usually 14 or 22 channels). CB, usually used in vehicles by truckers and others, is on 27 MHz AM and has 40 channels. SO you need to know which you really want. If you really want GMRS because you have other GMRS radios, the answer to the question is yes, it has 15 of the GMRS channels, BUT! it's not the best radio if you don't have a boat because it's so easy to transmit on the marine band by mistake during rugged outdoor use. That's illegal on land and can be very dangerous to boaters. GMRS-only radios are a better choice for that and most have 22 channels. And, frankly, this radio is a bit big and clunky on land and I have other GMRS radios I like better. Sadly, I can't recommend those because the ones I have are old and discontinued and hard they're hard to find used. If it's really CB you want, the answer is no, you have to buy a separate CB walkie-talkie. CB isn't often considered anymore for portable outdoor use but cell phones and cheap GMRS radios have emptied it out and the lower frequency can work better in forests than GMRS, and you don't need a license to transmit above 0.5 watts. For CB, I have a 4-watt Midland 75-822 and I like it.
1062814
The antenna is very good . It does best at 150- 460 mhz . You will do well for 800 mhz digital. But a yaji directioal antenna is better. I have transmitted over 100 miles on 2 letter ham . This is a real plus for a scanner antenna. Good antenna. Overall gain is good. I would buy it again.. good luck Edward James.Pop
1821838
Grab one of these and enjoy....The TERK XM6 outdoor antenna. You can also get extra cable if you need it. Awesome radio inside the home or in the car!
1084563
Not that great I'm afraid: line of sight is fine, but unless you can get up on a pretty high perch, don't expect much. However, this is true with all handheld VHFs. What I'd love to see is a way to connect the antenna port to a mast-top antenna. Maybe such a thing already exists?