Two way radios for bc riding

**Altaholic** · 09-28-2014, 05:45 PM

Looking for some two way radios for when I'm riding with buddies & don't have yell when they take a wrong turn & we lose each other. Anyone have products they like?

**rod9301** · 09-28-2014, 05:52 PM

yaesu makes the smallest ones I've seen .

I dont know the current models.

I use them for climbing and they are great.

**1000-oaks** · 09-28-2014, 06:33 PM

You'll need Ham radios (& a license) for anything powerful enough to go more than a mile or so in a wooded alpine area. All of the GMRS & FRS radios crap out beyond 2 miles (even if they're "rated to 40 miles") unless you're going from clear mountain top to clear mountain top.

**Shredhead** · 09-28-2014, 08:13 PM

Originally Posted by 1000-oaks

You'll need Ham radios (& a license) for anything powerful enough to go more than a mile or so in a wooded alpine area. All of the GMRS & FRS radios crap out beyond 2 miles (even if they're "rated to 40 miles") unless you're going from clear mountain top to clear mountain top.

Sure, the high powers work better, but I've used Motorola's for 25 years.
They work most of the time and they're cheap. I have three in my pack all the time.

You going to buy all your buds a license and Yasu's?

**rod9301** · 09-28-2014, 08:19 PM

who's going to check that you have a license, surely not the online store that sells it to you

**HHTELE** · 09-28-2014, 09:11 PM

I have these.

A little bulky but waterproof. I also use sea kayaking. They probably work as well as any, better than most.

Even with these bubble pack handhelds, technically you need a license to use them on the more powerful settings. FRS is low power, and GMRS is higher power. I would guess fewer than 1% of casual users bother with the license. Most people don't even know it exists.

**OldMil** · 09-29-2014, 02:11 PM

I've been researching radios recently as well and the general consensus on the interwebs is that these are by far the best radios available for the price:

http://www.amazon.com/Baofeng-UV5R-1.../dp/B007H4VT7A

I haven't tried them yet but plan to pick up a pair soon.

**SDW** · 09-29-2014, 03:09 PM

Originally Posted by OldMil

I've been researching radios recently as well and the general consensus on the interwebs is that these are by far the best radios available for the price:

http://www.amazon.com/Baofeng-UV5R-1.../dp/B007H4VT7A

I haven't tried them yet but plan to pick up a pair soon.

I've been using the Baofeng with a speaker mic and slightly better antennae. Cheap enough to buy extras for partners, and can be programmed to work with FRS/GMRS or any other frequency one could want.

Another great choice is the BCA radio - putting all the the controls on the speaker mic is a nice touch and puts these radios above and beyond standard FRS/GMRS

**TahoeJ** · 09-29-2014, 03:10 PM

Originally Posted by hhtele

I have these.

A little bulky but waterproof. I also use sea kayaking. They probably work as well as any, better than most.

How do those batteries hold up in the cold? Re-chargable or not?

**Mex** · 09-29-2014, 10:59 PM

Originally Posted by OldMil

I've been researching radios recently as well and the general consensus on the interwebs is that these are by far the best radios available for the price:

http://www.amazon.com/Baofeng-UV5R-1.../dp/B007H4VT7A

I haven't tried them yet but plan to pick up a pair soon.

I ski with a couple Mags that have these and like them. They bought them for the same reason. I'm thinking of getting one or a Yaesu

**skysos** · 09-30-2014, 12:11 AM

Originally Posted by travis

I've been using the Baofeng with a speaker mic and slightly better antennae. Cheap enough to buy extras for partners, and can be programmed to work with FRS/GMRS or any other frequency one could want.

Me and my friends use these. No difference I can tell between them and the more expensive name-brand handhelds I've had in the past other than the difficulty of setting up more complex settings like tone and offset for repeater use. If you are just doing simplex these are completely adequate and remarkably well made for the price.

**HHTELE** · 09-30-2014, 02:44 PM

Originally Posted by TahoeJ

How do those batteries hold up in the cold? Re-chargable or not?

Re chargeable. Also, can get AA adapters.
As far as cold- Definitely hold up to a day of minimal use in very cold.
The only multi day use I have done has had access to charging.

I also have one of these.

About the same size as the Motorola, but a hell of a lot more versatile. I suspect that the really cheap Chinese handhelds some folks in this thread mention are functionally similar. A bit of learning curve to program. And, if you go really cheap, probably not much in the way of warranty or customer support. OTOH, pretty versatile. You can program in all sorts of channels, including marine, weather, etc. Or set it up like a scanner, if you like that sort of thing.

**skiburgher** · 10-01-2014, 07:22 AM

I haven't asked a truly jongish question in a while so here goes. Am I to understand that these Baofeng radios will work between two valleys?
All the 2 ways I've use are completely worthless if there is a mountain in the way.

**angrysasquatch** · 10-01-2014, 11:43 PM

Originally Posted by OldMil

I've been researching radios recently as well and the general consensus on the interwebs is that these are by far the best radios available for the price:

http://www.amazon.com/Baofeng-UV5R-1.../dp/B007H4VT7A

I haven't tried them yet but plan to pick up a pair soon.

Similar to this, I've used the Baofeng GT-3, which has a much more rugged and water resistant case. I dropped it in a fast river and it's gone, got a GT-3 mk2 now which is a bit improved. Better antennae, a few quirks ironed out. Monitor two frequencies at the same time, probably the UV-5R is the same, can certainly see the use in emergency situations (which is the biggest reason I have mine).

**rod9301** · 10-02-2014, 12:37 PM

how heavy is it?

**swissiphic** · 10-09-2014, 09:49 AM

Good results with the UV5R. light, cheap, feature laden, good battery life and practically, good range for a cheap hand held. use it for driving logging roads with lots of curves and features and generally get a range of 5-10kms of transmission, more for reception. adequate for avoiding loaded logging trucks hurtling down the road. 25 kms range for line of site from mtn top to town was crystal clear 5x5 reception and transmission. no word on durability or real world performance when cold..only used in summer temps this pas summer. can be a challenge to program but with patience, no biggie. there are some tutorials on youtube.

**bfly** · 10-09-2014, 11:16 AM

Originally Posted by swissiphic

can be a challenge to program but with patience, no biggie. there are some tutorials on youtube.

If you pick up a UV5R, do yourself a favor and buy the coding cable and download CHIRP. It makes coding the radio a lot easier.

**TexasGortex** · 10-12-2014, 12:08 PM

I just ordered a pair of UV5s for my wife and myself. Are there specific channels for backcountry use? IE, informally 1 (general chat) and 20 (emergency) on the Talkabout style models (I think anyway, it's been a long time).

How do you guys handle the legal mess/licenses? I was super surprised to find out you technically need a license for some of the channels on the "bubble pack" models. Seems both enforcement and users ignore the licensing. Is that the same for ham? Are you guys using the radios on bubble pack frequencies even though it's technically illegal? Do you bother getting licensed?

**LightRanger** · 10-12-2014, 12:42 PM

I probably wouldn't bother.

That said, they've dropped the Morse code requirement from novice ham licensing. So it's at least less of a hassle than it used to be.

**Bobcat Sig** · 10-12-2014, 12:53 PM

Originally Posted by TexasGortex

I just ordered a pair of UV5s for my wife and myself. Are there specific channels for backcountry use? IE, informally 1 (general chat) and 20 (emergency) on the Talkabout style models (I think anyway, it's been a long time).

How do you guys handle the legal mess/licenses? I was super surprised to find out you technically need a license for some of the channels on the "bubble pack" models. Seems both enforcement and users ignore the licensing. Is that the same for ham? Are you guys using the radios on bubble pack frequencies even though it's technically illegal? Do you bother getting licensed?

I'm curious about this as well.

Timely thread, too. Just thinking about something like this for this year's BC missions.

**TexasGortex** · 10-12-2014, 06:16 PM

Originally Posted by LightRanger

I probably wouldn't bother.

That said, they've dropped the Morse code requirement from novice ham licensing. So it's at least less of a hassle than it used to be.

Maybe I'll take the test and ask her to if I find it valuable. I have a lot more time on my hands that she does. She might as well be a dentist.

Any tips on channels/frequencies? Most emergency services seem to have gone digital so I'm not too worried about accidentally interfering there, but it would be good to not piss off other ham operators. Judging by their forums many of them are... Uptight? Humorless? Noob haters?

**LightRanger** · 10-12-2014, 07:22 PM

I'm not up on current stuff otherwise. My dad and grandpa were into it when I was a kid. Been thinking about doing the same thing you did though. Report back. This thread could be a nice resource.

**DasBlunt** · 10-12-2014, 07:55 PM

Originally Posted by skiburgher

I haven't asked a truly jongish question in a while so here goes. Am I to understand that these Baofeng radios will work between two valleys?
All the 2 ways I've use are completely worthless if there is a mountain in the way.

Line of sight, maybe 2-3 miles. Over a "valley".....spotty at best depending on size. Better antennas help line of sight.