oldies1955 Posted January 14, 2020 Report Posted January 14, 2020 Hey all: Looking for some advice on walkie talkies. Was out hunting this weekend with Luke and we were suppose to meet at a certain spot at 1. Well 1 came and went and about 1:30 we found each other. My fault. The spot we were suppose to meet at was on the other side of the big hill! Needless to say, all sorts of things start going through your head....both our heads! Broken leg, broken hip, heart attack....... So, we are looking at getting some walkie talkies. What I would like to know is........... Do all of them not work (like the ones we have) when your down in washes and such? Are the longer range ones more powerful and will over come the hills and valleys? Do any of you use one that works good out in the hills that you could recommend? Thanks Tom H. Quote
IMPDLN Posted January 18, 2020 Report Posted January 18, 2020 We use Midland units. They work pretty good. All walkie talkies are basically cb radios. Back in the 70's they had more wattage. These units are pretty low powered and pretty much work by line of sight for the best range. They seem to work well when we are in the same gully just around a few corners from each other, or if one of us is up higher than the other. Being on the other side of a hill from somebody in separate gullies probably won't work with any of them. FCC cut the wattage on all cb radios many years ago so they really don't have much range these days. 1 1 Quote
DOC Posted January 29, 2020 Report Posted January 29, 2020 According to my sons, who know all about this stuff, these are the best you can get. They are over powered and supposedly the FCC is looking to ban them.https://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-BF-F8HP-Two-Way-136-174Mhz-400-520Mhz/dp/B00MAULSOK/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=walkie+talkies+short+wave&qid=1580293273&sr=8-6They use all different kinds of channels, like the family channels, but they broadcast at a wattage far above what is legal. My thinking is if I am in trouble and I need help I really don't care if someone is going to hassle me over an over powered walkie talkie. BaoFeng Doc 1 Quote
IMPDLN Posted January 30, 2020 Report Posted January 30, 2020 Well Doc, there is a reason for that. Those are operating at HAM radio frequencies. A person is supposed to be licensed by FCC to use HAM radios. The 2-way radios anybody can use only put out something like 1/2 watt per FCC regulations. Technically we are supposed to be licensed to use the GMRS functions on the standard 2-way radios like the GXT. I'm sure most people failed to read that part of the manual. Not that FCC is running around in black-ops vans covered in antennas like they did back in the 70's, but I would not want to get caught transmitting on HAM radios illegally. That would likely be similar to getting caught hunting illegally on an indian reservation. In other words confiscated radios and huge fines, not to mention possible jail time. With all the legitimate HAM operators monitoring the radios these days, a person could easily be heard and tracked even out in the middle of nowhere desert areas we prospect in. Just my two cents worth of what I know about that. Dennis 2 1 Quote
DOC Posted February 9, 2020 Report Posted February 9, 2020 Yes but these walkie talkies have the ability to transmit at legal wattage. However, if I fell and broke a leg, or got snake bit, and it was a life threatening situation and I could not reach anyone, I'm sorry but I would bump the wattage up in an attempt to get help. I would have to suffer the consequences of using the illegal wattage, as I think life and limb are more important. I did not mean to imply that people should use the device illegally, only that it had that capability in an emergency situation. Doc 2 Quote
Grubstake1 Posted February 10, 2020 Report Posted February 10, 2020 Doc, when I was driving longhaul truck, I had a CB radio, that had sidebands, and a 100 watt kicker on it, Never worried about getting hasseled, except in VIRGINA. it was a gennral Grant radio, had some extra channels put in that only company drivers working for the company I worked for could hear and talk on. Grubstake Quote
IMPDLN Posted February 13, 2020 Report Posted February 13, 2020 Back in the good old days we used a Midland base station, 5/8 wave ground plain antenna and a D104 mic and talked skip on SSB half the night all over the world. We never had a linear amp, but knew plenty that did. Nice thing about SSB is frequency shift allowed unlimited use of frequencies. When using SSB the frequencies are bendable so to speak. Very similar to the modern multi frequency walkie talkies these days. Back in those days you had to tune it manually where as the new stuff you just set to a number. Linear amps allowed you to "blow their doors off" so to speak, lol. Good times back then as you could communicate for the price of a good radio setup. No fees like modern cell phone crap. We used to exchange post cards, called QSO cards with people all over the world. Never could stay connected for long because of the way radio waves move around the planet, but it was fun and you never knew where your signal would land talking skip. Still have the whole setup in storage. Haven't even thought of setting it up in well over 30 years. I agree Doc. I wouldn't be too worried about breaking the law if it came down to my ass being in a life or death situation. However there are better and more reliable ways today to get help like search and rescue. A SPOT or any other GPS locator emergency beacon would likely get you help quicker. Dennis Quote
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