Walkie-Talkie Suggestions

[SwampDonkey]

Yes, I agree, the antenna makes a difference in a CB range. I got a longer one with my handheld than the one that came with it. With a CB  you don't have to have a "air plan" with some company and you can be about anywhere and be able to call a trucker at least to get help in this part of the world.

[doctorb]

I think that the CB suggestions are winning out.  I have further researched them.  As SD says, you can purchase extended antennae for the handhelds if needed.  I have found that most have more features than I need for my purposes, but they appear more reliable over the 1-4 mile range than the standard two-way FRS/GMRS radios that are more common today.  Has anyone had any experience with VHS marine radios?

[SwampDonkey]

I've used marine radios working in the bush along the coast line. We had to get the frequencies programmed we wanted. I knew one fellow that programmed his own. I'm pretty sure that the programming was regulated somehow, had to be licensed. I may be wrong, but it seems so. This was few years back. I don't think you'll get any further range unless you can use a repeater to call like a phone. That's if there is one up at your lake, which is doubtful unless your on the Great Lakes. We used them to call chopper for pickup or even to help a chopper pilot locate us on a bush heli landing pad. Sometimes we had a new pilot at days end. They could get in the area, but sometimes it's hard to see someone from the air and we would flare or radio directions.

[Reddog]

CB or marine band radios should fix the problem. With marine band there are quite a few waterproof options to.

[log cutter]

Another option is a hand held FM unit. We use Motorola P50's. They have a range of 15 to 20 miles. They are fairly cheap on ebay.

[scsmith42]

Another option is a hand held FM unit. We use Motorola P50's. They have a range of 15 to 20 miles. They are fairly cheap on ebay.

+1, these have more power and use a lower frequency - hence more distance.

Re the CB - as I recall the maximum wattage on them is 4 watts.  If you reserarch various units, compare their power and antenna gain, and buy the ones that have the most power and gain.

[Reddog]

Here is some interesting reading on the subject of the two.
http://ezinearticles.com/?UHF-Versus-VHF---Which-Two-Way-Radio-Frequency-is-Better?&id=1328253

[Chris Burchfield]

Talk to someone in a CB radio shop that caters to truckers.  They beef CB's up for pretty good transmit/receive coverage.  I had to have a CB in my car when I first started driving, it was a cool thing to have in your car.  Back then you were suppose to have a CB radio license.  I did the paperwork and received mine.  KROO815.  This was about a year before Smoky and the Bandit came out at the movies.  Shortly after getting my license, the FCC quit requiring them for CB's.  Go figure.  :-\

[Jeff]

From my understanding, its getting so many truckers do not have cb's any longer due to cellphones.

[Reddog]

Yea in Mi it looks like the largest user's of cb's are hound hunters, based on seeing antennas on rigs.

[log cutter]

Yea in Mi it looks like the largest user's of cb's are hound hunters, based on seeing antennas on rigs.

Most antennas on a hound hunters rig are for tracking their hounds. Saves a lot of hound hunting.

[Reddog]

Yup but there is a difference between the directional antenna for tracking and the CB one.

[SwampDonkey]

According to some reports, recreational use in Alberta is being banned, truckers still can use it. It is going hands free in Ontario because of distracted driving legislation.

Channel 1 is used in the Maritimes (East of Quebec). I notice Channel 6 has a lot of air traffic in Maine. West coast is 1 to the interior and in between is 19 to east side of Quebec. Northern Alberta and westward do use VHS radios a lot. So basically there are still radios in trucks, may not all use CB's and different channels are used in different regions. I'm just going by forum chatter on the net.

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum

I hear some idiot on the CB a lot that sounds like he's advertising something, which is illegal on CB, or stoned, which speaks for itself. :D

[Randy88]

I use two way radios and have done so for years, not that my memory is any good but I have mobiles and either UHF or VHF and one requires a repeater tower and one doesn't, I use the one that doesn't require a repeater tower, the longest I've ever gotten reception was 75 miles and my pickup was on a  hill and I reached the base in my house.   

We used it for farming I even had a magnetic antenna and mounts in most tractors and vehicles and even one in my boat so when I went fishing I could let them know when I'd be home and how things were going and that was 35 miles away on the river.   The handheld didn't have a good enough antenna or enough power to do anything so we just used mobiles and moved it from vehicle to vehicle.   That was before cell phones and free mobile to mobile calling and now we just use the two ways when combining, its easier to pick up the mic and talk rather than dig the phone out of your pocket all the time.   

I believe the marine radios are basically the same thing and I liked them because they had the weather channel programed into them and I could keep updated on the weather, until the local tv dedicated a channel strictly to the weather I always had one unit plugged into the house and listened to the noaa weather on it.     

As for cb's we gave up on those years ago and only have the ones in the semi's now because we have to, some places we drive require them for doing business with, and then we shut them off after we leave their business, they are about worthless in my opinion.     

As for truckers, they are now using laptops and cell phones and the cb is a dying thing.   

I'm all up for the next big thing to come, instead of these cell towers its satalite based communications and texting via satalite and that will put an end to all the dead spots with cell coverage.

Not to be nosey but isn't a cabin for seclusion and peace and quiet and to get away from civilazation for a while and to go back to a simplier way of life for a while and enjoy the lack of technology?    I guess if it were me I'd go there to get away and want to leave those things at home and the whole idea is to have others worry about you for a change or thats what we did when we went to places like that, gave the kids something to worry about for a while, its not llike if I fell and hit my head and fell into the lake they'd get a call and come save my anyhow before I drowned or they would bring me any necessities like tp paper or boat gas or more food or money so I could stay longer anyhow.   

[SwampDonkey]

There's already been sat. phone for years. In the remote lumber camps with no way in except by float plane on the lake we had one set up. It was $0.75 a minute to use, the telephone company set it up.

[Magicman]

Since you will be talking from a boat to the home base, a marine 5 watt radio is your best choice.  You can even set up a base station with mast mounted antenna at the cabin.  The base unit will be 5/25 watt.

Using handhelds go with the Midland 1050 GMRS.  That is also a 5 watt unit.  The antenna on CB walkie talkies are too cumbersome.

Side note:  The Magicwoman and I also met on the CB's.  I heard her talking to someone that I knew.  They decided to meet, and guess what, I was there.  I was driving this.



A 1959 Light Pink Edsel Convertable.

[beenthere]

And.......she still would talk to you?   : :    ;D ;D

[logwalker]

And.......she still would talk to you?   : :    ;D ;D

Good Point beenthere.

[logwalker]

Dr.B,

Make sure your radio has a 5 watt rating. That would be in GMRS only. I am really surprised that you get such lousy service.

They aren't FRS only radios, are they?

Joe

[Magicman]

Yup, two months later we eloped in it, and that was almost 48 years ago.  And she is a good cook.  There, we finally got this thread around to food.  

[doctorb]

I must confess that I have no specifics about the units up in the Great White North.  I'll be up there in May, to open the cabin, and I'll look at them.

The abilities of these radios to communicate was poor enough that I would gladly put up with a longer and more cumbersome antenna.

Most of the radios I have looked at are both FRS and GMRS.  I don't recall them being separate units for these different frequencies.  Maybe I have had the radio on FRS when it should be tuned to GMRS?  If so, I am an idiot.  The puzzle will not be solved 'til spring.

Jeff, once you get your new CB units unpackaged and charged up, I'd like to hear your comparsion between them and your previously inadequate models.

[SwampDonkey]

My Cobra hand held CB is rated for 1/2 - 4 mile range, depending on terrain, 4 watts. I can use a microphone in a side jack, it is rechargeable on AC and has a DC adapter for the car for power.

[John Mc]

Dr. B -

GMRS are higher power than FRS radios. I believe the higher power GMRS radios are restricted to a subset of the FRS channels (maybe channels 1-7, but I may be remembering incorrectly). I think some radios that say FRS/GMRS can use all channels, but only transmit at the lower FRS power level. The better ones will automatically transmit at the higher power on the GMRS frequencies, or have separate transmit buttons for high and low power (high power being disabled on FRS frequencies).

So first recommendation is to use a GMRS radio on a GMRS frequency and be sure it's one that transmits at the higher power.

Second recommendation is to put a better antenna on your cabin radio. It would be best to mount an antenna up on your roof. This needs to be an antenna designed to transmit at the frequencies you are using (don't try to use a CB antenna, designed for 27 mHz, on a GMRS radio - 900 mHz?? Receiving might be OK, but you could burn out your transmitter from the mismatch.) This doesn't have to be a huge antenna. Almost anything works better than the little rubber whips on the walkie-talkies. Best to use one designed for base station use, rather than trying to use one designed to mount on a car roof (car antennas tend to use the car roof as the base plane, base station ones have a couple of "spokes" to serve as the ground plane a car antenna may help, but not as much as a base station antenna).

If the above doesn't quite do it, you could also look at upgrading the antenna on the walkie-talkie you use in the boat. I'm not sure what the options are here, but a larger rubber whip might help, or maybe try mounting a car antenna somewhere on the boat?

I was a Ham operator 30+ years ago... some bits and pieces are still floating around in my memory

[SwampDonkey]

On my radio, channels:
1-7 are GMRS/FRS frequencies
8-14 are FRS
15-22 are GMRS

We always use channel 4.

Mine has a hands free feature for talking without any accessories. Has hands free for use with accessories as well like a headset mic.