walkie talkies

[OpusX]

So, how hard is it to get a license to use a Boafeng radio? A little Googling seems to indicate that it's not expensive, but I would need to take an exam. Has anyone here done this? Is the exam actually hard, or is it more of a make-sure-you-know-the-basics kind of thing like a driver's license exam?

I am also a VE (volunteer examiner), and can say the ham Technician license is quite easy. You can traditionally study (so you have good functional knowledge of things) or...the exam question and answer pools are public knowledge and can easily be studied online (https://www.qrz.com/hamtest/)

Once you are ready to test, find a local ham club or online test and there you go.

[Seajay]

Radios that use the FRS/GMRS frequency and are under 2 watts of power do not need a license. The main reason people use other radios is to find a frequency others are not using, and to use 5W power because they think it let's them transmit better.

All these radios operate by line of sight. Some do it better than others. If you just need a coms station on either side of the field go grab a GMRS radio 2 pack and a high gain whip antennae, then stick it up as high as you can and still use it. It'll do what you want.

The signal reach can be significantly improved on any radio just by elevating the antennae.

My team uses DMR radios and we've got a somewhat sophisticated setup, and the biggest factor in having the team be able to talk to command is the base station has a super tall mast antennae that let's the signal bend over hills.

If you are interested in radios go for the Tech license the radio cult accepts all willing subjects.

[BrickHaus]

Okay. Here me out qs this just *hit* me. Aside from the boefengs that may get you in hot water.

Hows your cell service at the field?

Look into aftershox aeropex headphones. They are a bone conduction open ear headphone. I have successfully worn mine in a paintball game under hard eared flexes. I honestly forgot they were on my head.

Now I bring this up because you qnd your buddies could get these headphones. Then you could simply all jump in q discord server. and chat if you have enough cell service.

It could work as comms if you can get the programmable button to mute you on the fly.

[rawbutter]

This is a great idea, but unfortunately our field is in a dead zone. It's very odd. I can get service where we park but not in the woods. They are not that far apart.

[Toestr]

For the sake of cost/simplicity, I'd say just go with whistles/air horns. Have a sign/counter sign for start.

You can get pump up air horns or ASA threaded ones.

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[flyweightnate]

For 100 yards, FRS had always worked for me. I don't understand why everyone is defaulting to big, licensed units.

[rawbutter]

Update:

As much as I was intrigued by the higher powered radios mentioned here, I decided to give the simpler ones a try first. I ended up buying some cheap-ish models with a charging base and a bright yellow color so hopefully we don't lost them if they get dropped on the ground.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

For my situation, these work great. I tested them by walking a quarter mile to the other side of my neighborhood and talking to my wife who was still in the house. We had no direct line of sight. There were about 20 houses between us. But we were still able to talk clearly to each other. So I'm confident they will work on my local field, which is much smaller and doesn't have nearly as many line-of-sight obstacles.

Still, I really appreciate all the other suggestions. And I love how a simple question morphed into a comprehensive more-than-I-really-need-to-know guide to all things radio. This is why I love MCB.

[OpusX]

Seems like a fine choice. Easy FRS radios, that won't get you in trouble.

[Seajay]

For 100 yards, FRS had always worked for me. I don't understand why everyone is defaulting to big, licensed units.

It's not that people understand they are buying a big licensed radio, it's just that Baofeng has made a capable cheap radio that is highly popular. So people want a cool radio that can use the also cheap "tacticool" headsets.

At one point you could buy a 5 pack of Baofeng radio's for cheaper than a 2 pack of FRS radios.

[flyweightnate]

That certainly adds some context... I'm all in favor of cheap

[Cunha]

What are some walkie talkies that are similar to the Baofeng's but known to be higher quality?

[OpusX]

Commercial Motorola handhelds are surplussed and of high quality. Now the software and cables are a pain in the booty

[Seajay]

What are some walkie talkies that are similar to the Baofeng's but known to be higher quality?

I think this is actually a somewhat challenging question to answer. The reason is the Baofeng radio is fairly robust, in features and is durable. If you look past any marketing which easily will put a simple family radio well above the cost of a UV-5r, there really isn't a market. What you find is specialization. If you want a specific type of radio that will be different from the Baofeng, and have a different cost.

Then you have radios outside of the consumer lineup, base station radios, fleet radios... again specialization where you pay for a specific feature, but the "radio" itself is hard to justify as better.
In the HAM space you are not buying a radio because of a brand, but because it meets specific goals in power, clarity, features... You can spend a lot or a little, and do similar things. Is the more expensive radio better? That depends on what you are doing. You can reach contacts all over the world with as little as 5W if you understand how radios work.

I went on a tangent... because I find the disparity interesting, but to get back to your question... higher quality? No... different feature set, like actually water proof, warranty, light weight? Yes.

When it comes to handheld line of sight radios, you just pick what meets your price and feature wish list... they all are basically the same.

[Cunha]

When I think of higher quality I imagine one that is less likely to simply fail, have a screen stop working, have battery connectors get sketchy and other things like that.

But water proof is a very simple one, what would you recommend for a unit that is waterproof and otherwise comparable to the UV-5r

Also, what about the UV-S9, I see it is supposed to be waterproof but mostly is considered to be not really very waterproof.



Whenever I see Motorola handhelds I am interested, but I am concerned about finding batteries, cables, and similar things to have them be easy to use without finding 3rd party replacements for obsolete stuff.