You can electronically lock the the channel. But it is the Mike knobs that get changed
I just set all mine to the same channel, so the only thing I need to check is the on/off volume
BCA Link Radios
- Thread starter Shermanator
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You can electronically lock the the channel. But it is the Mike knobs that get changed
I just set all mine to the same channel, so the only thing I need to check is the on/off volume
Can anyone comment on the range of these radios in the timbered slopes?
I have five Retevis R888s radios, with the mics shown here:
http://www.amazon.com/Retevis-R888s...&qid=1452546379&sr=8-1&keywords=retevis+r888s
I pass them out to my buddies before every ride. I bought a 5 pack on Ebay for about $109 shipped. They work awesome, loud and clear. We've tested to at least 2 miles in treed mountains without issue. No programming necessary and have never had an issue with accidentally bumping to a different channel. I throw them on the charger after every ride, but I bet they would last for a couple days on a single charge. Can't see why anyone would buy the expensive BCA radios...
http://www.amazon.com/Retevis-R888s...&qid=1452546379&sr=8-1&keywords=retevis+r888s
I pass them out to my buddies before every ride. I bought a 5 pack on Ebay for about $109 shipped. They work awesome, loud and clear. We've tested to at least 2 miles in treed mountains without issue. No programming necessary and have never had an issue with accidentally bumping to a different channel. I throw them on the charger after every ride, but I bet they would last for a couple days on a single charge. Can't see why anyone would buy the expensive BCA radios...
T
Half of our group uses these, the other half use Rhino's. They work well together.
Those have some seriously LONG antennas! Do you strap them to your body? or how do you carry them? They sure wouldn't fit into a pocket. Great features though!
S
Last year I broke a shock and was limping in. 6-8 miles away and I could still here the group.
BCA
Ya, lots of radios out there for sure. I rely more on reviews from experts/professionals, such as guides, avalanche personnel and such to make such purchases. While they all say you can't replace their high priced and complicated to use VHF radio's, the BCA have proven their reliability and ease of use in the field, a 140hr battery life on the 1/2 watt settings and weather/waterproof ratings higher than the "other" radios, I'll pay the extra. Kinda like using a Mustang inflatable life jacket rather than a BCA avalanche bag, they both work but each designed for a specific use!
Ya, lots of radios out there for sure. I rely more on reviews from experts/professionals, such as guides, avalanche personnel and such to make such purchases. While they all say you can't replace their high priced and complicated to use VHF radio's, the BCA have proven their reliability and ease of use in the field, a 140hr battery life on the 1/2 watt settings and weather/waterproof ratings higher than the "other" radios, I'll pay the extra. Kinda like using a Mustang inflatable life jacket rather than a BCA avalanche bag, they both work but each designed for a specific use!
They fit in a pocket. They're fairly small. They say you can actually replace the antenna with a 15" whip and the range will double. I put mine in my backpack and clip the mike to my strap. Other friends just put them in a pocket and have the mike stick out the top of their coat. These are UHF too, same as the BCA radios.
They just work and work well.
Here's a pic of my radios on the day they came in the mail:
The one thing that makes the BCA Link a little nicer then a standard radio is the smart mic. It's nice to have pre-set channels at the flip of a dial right on the mic vs. stopping, digging in your bag and changing the channel.
Irregardless, a radio is better then no radio!!! Great piece of equipment for backcountry riding!!
Irregardless, a radio is better then no radio!!! Great piece of equipment for backcountry riding!!
We use 2 ways and don't get the changing the channel deal, we all agree on a channel when we leave the trucks and stay on it the entire day.
That works fine if no one else is using the channel or you don't need to change to a higher or lower wattage channel. Plus the volume control and battery indicator is on the smart mic as well. Again, not stuff that is a necessity, but a nice feature.
My concern with the "off brand" radios is how they affect beacon transmit/receive. At least with BCA, the testing has been done. Maybe I'm over-analyzing things, but it's important to me.
Yes yes indeed!!! I cannot believe how much a cell phone in Airplane Mode effects your transceiver range! :face-icon-small-sho:shocked:
K
I bought a shoulder mic for my Rino, I keep the rino in my vest pocket.
I think i got it on amazon ( from china ). it works though.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009KY1SEO?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage
I think i got it on amazon ( from china ). it works though.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009KY1SEO?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage
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KTM, what Rino do you have? I am looking for a mic to fit my Rino 650, it has a smaller hole than my 530hcx, the mic from the 530 will not fit.
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K
I have the Rino 650
COMPATIBLE:
Garmin Radio (1-pin)
Rino 110, Rino 120, Rino 130, Rino 520, Rino 530HCx, Rino 530, Rino 530HCx, Rino 610, Rino, 650, Rino 655t
Real pros use VHF. A guide would use something like the BCA to keep a group of newbies together. A BCA radio is useless on resource roads and other well used VHF facilities. Range is very subjective. Terrain feature is what limits range in the mountains, seldom the radio. Just not sure why u would pay 199 bucks for something u can get for 40 bucks that does the same thing LOL. Id buy a Baofang before a BCA, much better bang for your buck.
I bought a set of Baofang VHF radios for a dirt moving operation I was running. Battery life on the rechargables was less than 8hrs. Super pain in the *** to program unless you did it on the computer. Two died from vibration in the cabs. We also use UHF ones at our lumber yard. These have faired better, but none have a decent battery life and the only reason we use them is that they are cheap and my guys like to run them over.
I run 3800 mah batteries which easily last more then 2 days. I do not find them hard to program. They are pretty straight forward to program . I also use them on my farm and have never had one fail yet.
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