Hunting Washington Forum
Equipment & Gear => Power Equipment & RV => Topic started by: STIKNSTRINGBOW on August 05, 2009, 03:14:58 PM
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I was looking for input from you guys that use radios to stay in touch. I am taking a rookie out with me this year and am thinking of getting a radio to stay in touch. My only experience is with some handheld CB's that I own, but once you get off the road into the woods you might as well be carrying a rock. What kind of input/advice do you have?
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:dunno:
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These are what we use in our party. http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat602025-cat130007&id=0069202229812a&navCount=3&podId=0069202&parentId=cat130007&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=QZ&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat601233&hasJS=true (http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat602025-cat130007&id=0069202229812a&navCount=3&podId=0069202&parentId=cat130007&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=QZ&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat601233&hasJS=true)
Works great in timber but if your trying to reach over a mountain not so good.
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You had to get a license from the FCC to use that radio? Wow.
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The GMRS high power channels are regulated, the license can be a family license, easy to get hard to enforce.
http://wireless.fcc.gov/services/index.htm?job=service_home&id=general_mobile
Dave
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Garmin Rino!!!
http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?search_constraint=3944&ic=48_0&search_query=rino&Find.x=22&Find.y=7
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License was a piece of cake. My dad took care of it and it covers all his radios.
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Garmin Rino!!!
http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?search_constraint=3944&ic=48_0&search_query=rino&Find.x=22&Find.y=7
+1 Thats what I use, love them
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Here is what I have discovered on the radios.
A majority of them work pretty well UNLESS you put a ridgeline or mountain top in between you and the person you are trying to talk to. Then they are all pretty much worthless.
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I just got the Rhino 530. Love it. And what i understand is that you can still use the GMRS channels with out the FCC lisence, your just suppose to get one. Is this true?
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I have two different sets of Motorola the 5 series and the 6200s. Both work alright for normal use. The 6200s have double the range of the others. It is a good bet if you cut the advertised range in half, you will be closer to the "actual" real world range.
As Haugenna said, once you get a ridgeline between them they become pretty much useless.
One word of advise, which ever you do get ensure you have private channel cabability and use it. If you do not, every Tom, Dick, and Harry that did not take time to lock theirs will be broadcasting on the same Frequency as you are.
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A quick lesson in radio wave propagation for those interested:
Radios that advertise up to x miles get that number by transmitting over flat featureless ground. This is called "line of sight". Start putting stuff in the way, and this number drops fast. The more power a radio transmits, the easier it will go through brush. Rocks, on the other hand, forget it. If you want to get really technical, look at the reciever's sensitivity, usually called the signal plus noise to noise ratio (S+N to N). The more sensitive the receiver, the better it will pick up a weaker signal and not just be static. Hope this helps in choosing what radio you get.
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Miles... My buddy has the same Rhino i do and we did a test one day. I live down in Des Moines and he was coming my way from Federal way. We both had our radios on and we picked each other up when he was at the intersection of Pac HWY and 272nd. As the bird flys thats around 3 miles. For the GMRS channels the Rhino says it can go up to 14 miles, but like many have said start to put things in the way and it goes way down. Now there are a few little hills and plenty of other stuff inbetween Des moines and 272nd. So 3 miles is not that bad. Just my :twocents:
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530HCX. If you want a really good deal on one go to www.pcnation.com
I got mine there for $368 out the door, no tax or shipping! They retail at stores around here between $450-500.
Great deal and they are brand new just like you would get in a store.
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Thank you for input, I wish I would have gotten the Rhino when I got my 60CSx, but finding a partner to shell out $400 +/- at the same time wasn'i going to happen. so those Midland ones dont look so bad, if he goes over ridge I guess he is on his own... :yike:
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When my Dad and I go hunting he uses a Garmin Rino and I use a 12 mile range motorola radio they seem to work pretty good together. From camp he could pick up another hunting party several miles away on his rino but i couldn't hear them on my motorola.
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I think the best we got with the Rino 530 HCX is 5 miles but my partner was on a peak and I in the timber. Normal range for the deep timber is about 1.5 miles or so. I love the Rino's and cant see changing to anything else. :twocents:
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I have a Garmin rino 530 Hcx & have tried many others I would rate the Rino #1 but they aren't cheap. The nice thing about the Rino is the ability to see where your hunting partner is on your screen (as long as he buys one too), if someone gets hurt you can go right to them. Not to mention you can tell when they head back to the track or camp.The radio portion was the best I have tried compared to Cobra or Motorola's. They work great for tracking friends on Quads or Snowmobiles too......
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i am a ham radio operator and the difference between ham radio and cb is really substantial. The 2 meter band has repeater stations all over that pick up your signal and retransmits the signal so you can get around a lot of obstacles. It is not fool proof and there still will be deadspots but i usually can reach about 75 miles with line of site and have gone 150 miles with the repeaters. Many of the repeaters are hooked together so the signal is being broadcast from different angles. To operate on the 2 meter band it takes a FCC licence and a bit of studying. The test is not that hard and you no longer are required to know Morse code. My call sign is KE7SMC and i have a general licence. The Technician licence is what you will want and if you would like give me a call and i will help you get into it. 509-435-1831. :)
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Finally spent the money on a Garmin rino. Better to spend the right money in the first place, rather than buy inferior products, then buy quality gear later. I only learned that after spending money on inferior gear. :bash: Even if your partners don't have rino's, seeing yours might convince them to upgrade. The GPS features and the ability to locate partners is great for hunting new areas when none of us know the area. This past winter that allowed some new friends to effectively hunt my area, even though they had never been there.
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id get the water proof midlands radio, there great. the nice thing about midlands is there quite, you can take out all the sounds and beeps. i have the 18mile range, ive had them cut out when guys are 7-8 miles away in some terrian. but thats gonna happen with any radio, over all i think there the best out there for hunting
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Any updates?
