Posted: 9/10/2009 7:15:16 AM EDT
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I plan on getting my ham license, But I have friends that dont. They are thinking of getting these and I might get onboard. do you know anything about these?
http://www.opsgear.com/Blackbox-UHF-2-Way-Radio-p/ke-blackbox-u.htm |
| Those Opsgear radios are way too expensive for what they are. In the absence of a HAM license I would strongly suggest this radio, rather than the one you are considering Icom IC-F40GS |
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You might want to check these guys out... MURS RADIO
I have some of these radios and they are manufactured by Kenwood. I think depending on your location/surroundings you might be good for 2 miles. They do really pretty well and seem to be rugged, we use them at our BOL and are satisfied. They can also be paired up with the "Dakota Alert" system for early warning perimiter protection... I haven't actually pulled the trigger and purchased the Dakota Alert equipment yet but its on my wish list. I'll do a product review over at my site - Prepper Nation sometime next week, so check it out! Prepper |
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I do not know about those specific portables. But I do have and use icom IC-43G's without problems. With a pocket j-pole I can have my son from his school talk to me up to 11 miles away (him outside his school in the parking lot and myself in a vehicle on the freeway). The mobile unit in the vehicle is an icom ic-f6061. If my son replaces the pocket j-pole with the rubber ducky the range goes down to 6-7 miles. Hope this helps. oops almost forgot. From portable to portable with the rubber ducky the range is 6-7 miles also. you dont need a license for these? and are the handsets the 5-6 mile range or is it the handset and the car model that makes 5-6 miles. |
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urban/ so skyscrapers just family homes and a few condo buildings along with some 3-6 flats. The reason I ask is because those frequencies are "line of sight" and will be affected by large buildings, woods, hills, etc. Do you have any friends that are hams? If so, you could ask them to try some 70cm simplex testing around the area. That would give you a decent idea of what you might expect. |
| I know you said your friend doesn't want to "get involved with ham." That being said, I think it's worth mentioning that a Technician class amateur radio license costs less than $20, is very easy to obtain, there's no fee to renew, you don't have to take any more tests if you don't want, requires no CW (Morse code), and opens up far more in the way of communications options than GMRS / MURS / CB / etc. |
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I know you said your friend doesn't want to "get involved with ham." That being said, I think it's worth mentioning that a Technician class amateur radio license costs less than $20, is very easy to obtain, there's no fee to renew, you don't have to take any more tests if you don't want, requires no CW (Morse code), and opens up far more in the way of communications options than GMRS / MURS / CB / etc. Legal power restrictions: MURS: 4 2 watts. Ham radio: 1500 watts. You decide. (Tech licencees are restricted to 200 watts–– plenty for your needs.) Be aware that there ARE legal restrictions on using "coded" transmissions. IIRC if you publish your "codes" publicly you are GTG. |
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I thought some of these radios had good range. I am looking for something thats secure with some distance. got any ideas? My friend does not want to get involved with HAM. Legally, you are forbidden to change the antenna on one of these. You have no such restrictions on ham gear. And as a general rule, a better antenna is the way to go before you try to get more power output. One example: My dad and I used to use some low-powered Icom radios (1.5 watts or so). With the rubber duck antennas, we could get some 'fair' distance (a couple of miles if line-of-sight). But he put a high-performing J pole antenna on his roof, and regularly chatted with hams on a mountain some 15-20 miles away (again, line-of-sight). The antenna made a HUGE difference. The 'rubber duckie' antennas sold with consumer radios are, quite frankly, shit. Another example: There are several SATELLITES in orbit, which hams have designed and built. I made contacts with one of these satellites using a home-made antenna and 5 watts output power. As for what you talk about: Whatever floats your boat. You do NOT have "free speech" protections on the ham bands; you can get busted for using some of the more "colorful" language used on this board, for example. Go to Outdoors: Ham Radio: Ham Radio 101. Member Ar-Jedi has created a Ham 101 text file that is simply incredible. By this I mean that it is a damned shame that he didn't publish it and make some bucks off of it! IM me (or AR-Jedi) if you have more questions. |
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After looking at the radio a bit closer, I'm even more convinced that this is not a good buy. You can't use it for MURS (the radio is UHF, not VHF), you can't use it for FRS (too much power), I'm not sure about GMRS (even if you can you still have to buy a GMRS license), and (if I understand correctly) other than that you have to buy a business license.
Again, I think your best bet is a Technician class license. YMMV, actual value of 2¢ varies with inflation rate, void where prohibited, blah blah blah. |
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I plan on getting my ham license, But I have friends that dont. for you, real communications capability –– ham. http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=10&f=22&t=604477 for your friends too lazy to get a ham license –– MURS. http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=10&f=17&t=626386 <–– read this entire thread http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=10&f=17&t=626824 <–– then read this http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=10&f=22&t=604623 <–– then buy this. link <–– review of above radio. ar-jedi |