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Guys who put together their own radio setups

Blk88GT

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Nov 26, 2007
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Winnipeg, Manitoba
I just spent a week in Revy with a group of guys who all used shoulder mic/speaker radios and it was awesome. I now want to get a set of these for my own use.

I see a lot of recommendations for the Baofeng radios, but what shoulder mics is everyone using? I don't want helmet stuff, shoulder is perfect.

Going riding with my kids soon and would love to be able to talk to them during the ride to warn them of obstacles or tell them to put a move on it ;)

Thanks!
 
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inspector01

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Mar 21, 2013
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I've got about 6-8 days on each type they make, the other one doesn't clip as well, and the PTT button is a little finicky, but the one I posted works like new still.
 

Blk88GT

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Thanks. Any issues with the newer radios and keypads being hit while riding? That's one of my concerns when trying to decide which radio to buy....

Which radio do you recommend? I was looking at the UV82 and UV5F and even considered the 888s due to their price point.
 
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inspector01

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Mar 21, 2013
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So I started with 2 888s to try since they were super cheap and they work fine, very simple (on/off/volume knob, and 16 channels to choose from), good backups/spares for buddies, but you'll need to order the programming cable if you want to change the default frequencies (which you'll need to do to connect to other brand radios) but they're cheap and it's easy to do.

Since they worked so well, I ordered a UV82 for my main radio cuz it's programmable by itself, and has 128 channels. It is very nice and uses the same progrming cable so it's easy to set up. I have all the frs/gmrs channels, murs channels, NOAA weather, SAR, and the default baofeng frequencies (in case someone has a non-programmed radio) in the radio now. It also has a keypad lock you can turn on, or set to turn on automatically so that shouldn't be an issue.

Overall I'm very happy with them, I have 3 radios with mics, and the programming cable for under $100.
 

Publiconion

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Jul 24, 2014
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Squamish, BC.
Baofeng UV5R

I picked up a couple of the UV5Rs last year and I'm very happy with them. I picked up a better antenna and a shoulder mic. The first mics I got one went bad (probly due to getting wet). So I've just picked up a bit better set that seemed to have good reviews.
I'm sold on the Baofeng radios. U gotta put a little effort into setting them up but tons of good peepl willing to share their info. Once they are programmed, super nice.
 

mx100

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What kind of range can a guy get with the 888s or the uv5r? Is there an antenna that will help the range? Also what other kind of shoulder mic's work well and are waterproof? I would think that would be a concern.
 

christopher

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Just a friendly reminder.
Those radios are HAM bands, and do require a Federal License to use.

Don't know if there is any real world chance of you getting caught transmitting on them in the backcountry or not, but if you do, just be prepared to pay the price.

That said.
There is NO BETTER RADIO for use in the back-country than a 5 or 10 watt.

FRSS is limited to 0.5 watts
GMRS is limited to 2.0 watts

HAM 2 meter is limited to 1,500 Watts !!

On small hand held radios, a HIGH POWER unit would put out 10 watts.
And it would be a POWERHOUSE in the mountains on Simplex transmitting 5 to 10x the power of regular 2 way radios.


Such radios can be purchased for as little as $65
http://www.ebay.com/p/tyt-th-uv8000...84668474&ul_noapp=true,true&chn=ps&lpid=82,82


Baofgng offers an 8 watt version
https://baofengtech.com/bf-f8hp
 

blastco2

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Dec 27, 2012
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What kind of range can a guy get with the 888s or the uv5r? Is there an antenna that will help the range? Also what other kind of shoulder mic's work well and are waterproof? I would think that would be a concern.

The 888 is a uhf radio which is probably the best choice for snowmobiler comms. "How far will it talk" is a tough question to answer. The best way I have found to explain it is this. If the world were completely dark, and the antenna on your radio was a light bulb, seeing the light woould be the same as hearing/recieving the radio signal. In other words, these radios are line of sight. If you can see it you can hear it. Hills will block the signal but, uhf will transmit through the trees quite nicely. The antenna that is supplied with the bf888 is a good enough antenna. There might be a better one but, imho, not worth the cost or inconvenience of dealing with the extra length. Output power is another thing that is very misunderstood. Example... the blister pack frs radios are limited to .5 watts, most of the baofengs are 5 watts. That is 10x more power, not 10x more range. Actual range increase, maybe 2x. There is an easy trick to improve the antenna. Connect a short piece of wire to the frame of the radio and let it hang. It will act as a ground plane. If you are interested, I will look up the specific length for the wire....something in the relm of 6-9 inches. Miklor.com is the source for all baofeng information. Now, if you were really serious about having the best comms possible on a beer budget. We would all be using the tyt md 390g in dmr mode. Thats pure digital. Generally transmits a tad bit further and crystal clear, does text and has gps.

Almost forgot to answer your mic question. The pofung mic from btech is about $15 and is the best bet for a good mic. There are some on amazon and ebay in the $5-7 range. The quality is generally poor. They look the same as the btech/pofung mic but, have different internals. I have found the cheaper mics to be deaf....you have to yell at the mic to get a decent tx audio level.
 
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blastco2

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If you are thinking of using a baofeng or really, any other radio for sledding, you need to know what ctcss is. Please google it.
 
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blastco2

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They have 2 different styles that I've tried, both work fine but I prefer the one with the plastic clip on the back and the LED in bottom right corner of speaker.

This should be it:

http://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/331695122117

I've had good luck with this mic in the past, not so much now. The quality has dropped right off a cliff. Recent purchases have different internals and dont work near as well as they were selling a year ago. Choose the mic that has more of a square shape, like the btech water proof speaker mic.
 

Seabass152

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Jun 3, 2009
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Truckee, Ca
I've had good luck with this mic in the past, not so much now. The quality has dropped right off a cliff. Recent purchases have different internals and dont work near as well as they were selling a year ago. Choose the mic that has more of a square shape, like the btech water proof speaker mic.

Been using this one on two SAR radio rigs for a few years now with no issues. Run transducer earplugs from the jack to hear perfectly over engine noise. Price went up a little.
https://www.amazon.com/QHM22-Platinum-Rainproof-Shoulder-AnyTone/dp/B00Z4X3MM6
 

whitefish

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Does a radio like TYT TH-UV8000D still communicate with a regular two way like a rino 530?
 
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