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Ordered a "Ride208" radio system

christopher

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For many years now I have been riding with a BCA Link radio, and for the most part they have served me very well over the years.

This year I wanted to try out something new in my never ending quest for a better over-all solution to back country communications.

Today I placed an order for a pair of the "Ride208" Neverlost Backcountry Radios.

(Yes, I know, I could absolutely just go out and buy one of the little 10 watt Baofeng radios and all the accessories and built my own kit. And as a HAM radio operator with an Extra Class certification that would certainly be the cheapest route, but my goal here was to evaluation what the average SnoWest Mountain sledder could EASILY get his hands on.)

I asked Jason to include a couple specific upgrades I wanted that were not listed on his website but that I felt would be important to making this work as well as possible.

#1. I wanted an external high gain whip antenna.
Most guys just don't understand HOW IMPORTANT the antenna on your radio really is to good signal propagation.
Both to be able to transmit AND to be able to pull in that weak obstructed signal from your buddy stuck down in the gully.
You want an EXTERNAL antenna that gets out of your backpack or Avy pack and has no obstructions around it.

#2. I wanted an IN-HELMET speaker and Microphone.
By far and away the best comms systems I have used over the last 11 years were ones that were fully integrated into my Helmet.
They simply made all conversations SO MUCH CLEARER and Faster.


Otherwise this is the base Unit I have on order
1602632181492.png

I expect it will be a week or two before it shows up and I don't think he stocks those accessories.
and then it will be another month or so before I can get it up into the mountains and begin real world testing.
But I will post up a full honest review over the course of this season on how "His" particular kit works.
 

KTMDigger

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Glad to see this post. Comms is always a miracle and a menace in the back country. When they fail or are limited they can be a menace because you just need to make sure your buddy is OK and if you cannot reach him you start to worry. When they are working flawlessly everyone has a better day. Please keep us updated and thanks
 

SoDakCat

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I purchased one of these last past year from him. Setup was pretty nice. I ride with a bunch of guys that have the BCA setup and was able to program the right channel pretty easy. He has a step by step instructions how to do it.
I have the Kenwood mic with the frogzskin and the regular antenna. Make sure that of the frogzskin isn't put on by him that you put that thing on perfect so no snow gets in there. You can't hear anything when it plugs up. Had a friend make his own setup and never put one on. One stuck and it was plugged and couldn't hear a thing he said. Range was very good even with the antenna that came with it. Picked up other people that the BCA guys weren't hearing. My pack has a water bottle compartment on the outside and I put it in there and clip it in and lock the screen and haven't had an issue with it yet.
One other plus with it is if your in range you can turn in a radio station and listen to music as you get unstuck.
One word of advice. Charge it every day. It said 2/3 batter starting out one cold day and it died before we got back to the lodge.

What in helmet mic and antenna are you going to use Christopher?
 

tomx

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Anyone tested these to see if they interfere with Avalanche Beacons? I know when I talked to Mike Duffy about BCA they said they'd done testing and confirmed no interference.
 

christopher

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Anyone tested these to see if they interfere with Avalanche Beacons? I know when I talked to Mike Duffy about BCA they said they'd done testing and confirmed no interference.
RF emissions on a legitimately FCC Certified HAM Radio "SHOULD" be pretty darn tight.
BUT....
 

Scott

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I did this last year.
8w.
Really happy with the radio range.
I wasn't familiar with HAM radios, so it took some playing, but I'm good now.
Riding with dudes with BC Link radios was a pain until I got it the channel changing figured out.
 
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christopher

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I did this last year.
8w.
Really happy with the radio range.
I wasn't familiar with HAM radios, do it took some playing, but I'm good now.
Riding with dudes with BC Link radios was a pain until I got it the channel changing figured out.
One of the reasons I chose to try the "Ride208" package is because they come fully preprogramed for the BCA LInk channels, which are pretty much the sledding "Default" now.
 

Pickin’ Boogers

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Anyone tested these to see if they interfere with Avalanche Beacons? I know when I talked to Mike Duffy about BCA they said they'd done testing and confirmed no interference.
Any electronic device can interfere with an avalanche transceiver. It's most common when the transceiver is in search mode, and another electronic device is close to it. BCA hasn't done anything to shield their radios. I doubt any radio manufacturer has.
 
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christopher

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any updates? have you had a chance to try them out?
Been waiting on parts for me sleds for a while now.
Just got the call today that my long awaited parts had shown up.
Hope to have the sleds back together again by the end of the week and ready to ride.,
 
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