Best way to communicate

[WeRJuliian]

Originally Posted by jasum

Cell phones........

Coverage.......

Or not.
I can point you to a number of otherwise very well appointed CG's that don't have any cellphone coverage at all... that is, in fact, one of the reasons we go there!

[Screwby]

Originally Posted by jasum

Cell phones........

Read the above posts, cell phones don’t always work or aren’t the most convenient. There’s a reason professionals and adventurers use 2-way radios. Cell phones aren’t the end all be all of communication.

[CAG]

I do a lot, and I mean a lot of back country hunting, fishing, hiking and trailing. There is a place for both the cell phone and for radios. Most Interstate highways have cell towers located so that you are seldom out of service. Once you are off of those it becomes more problematic. Even HAM with repeater service does not work in those places.

In mountainous country such as Arizona you can quickly lose cell service and if you are back roading, hunting, or fishing deep canyons neither a radio or cell will work well. I carry both but there are times where you are just going to be without some sort of communication. If you are where you may need help and neither will work all of the time carry a SPOT or similar device.

[Johnynorthland]

We have cobra brand rechargeable walkie-talkies. They work unbelievable! Were not cheap but you get what you pay for.

We once used them on a cruise ship along time ago, they worked on every single level!

[Bill Johnson]

I agree but like the one person said the Baofeng radios for Ham some put out 25 watts which is illegal without a license.

[RetiredOne]

Originally Posted by Bill Johnson

I agree but like the one person said the Baofeng radios for Ham some put out 25 watts which is illegal without a license.

Only if you get caught....

[CAG]

Originally Posted by Bill Johnson

I agree but like the one person said the Baofeng radios for Ham some put out 25 watts which is illegal without a license.

The handhelds say they put out 8 watts. Tests prove otherwise. Somewhat less. The mobile radios put out 25 or better. If you are using HAM frequencies without a license, you stand a chance of getting caught by legal operators who do "fox hunts" for illegal users. Using more power than allowed is probably not going to get you caught but it is irresponsible to suggest you should break the law.

Sorry I hit the send before I finished.

[Bill Johnson]

Originally Posted by CAG

The handhelds say they put out 8 watts. Tests prove otherwise. Somewhat less. The mobile radios put out 25 or better. If you are using HAM frequencies without a license, you stand a chance of getting caught by legal operators who do "fox hunts" for illegal users. Using more power than allowed is probably not going to get you caught but it is irresponsible to suggest you should break the law.

Sorry I hit the send before I finished.

I think I was looking at mobil but I found this--- LEIXEN NOTE 25W 10Km UHF 400-480MHz Handheld Two-Way Radios Military 4000mAh
$78.99
Free Shipping

[CAG]

Originally Posted by Bill Johnson

I think I was looking at mobil but I found this--- LEIXEN NOTE 25W 10Km UHF 400-480MHz Handheld Two-Way Radios Military 4000mAh
$78.99
Free Shipping

There are a bunch of cheap Chinese radios out there but I don't know much about that one and I would be suspicious of a claim of 25 watts out of a handheld. That is difficult to get out of probably around 9 watts in from the battery.

[viking42]

I have 2 VHF handheld radios that I carry for the weather reports. They are very detailed reports. I don’t communicate with them but could in an emergency. They have a good line of sight range.

[Bill Johnson]

Isn't that kind of expensive to have two vhf radios when you could just use an app on yor phone?

[CAG]

Originally Posted by Bill Johnson

Isn't that kind of expensive to have two vhf radios when you could just use an app on yor phone?

As mentioned earlier, sometime phones don't work and at the price of some of these Chinese radios, it's not much of an expense as a backup.

[RetiredOne]

Originally Posted by Bill Johnson

Isn't that kind of expensive to have two vhf radios when you could just use an app on yor phone?

You can buy a set of radios for $50, that will give you instant communication between rigs, without having to fuss around with delay of the phones. And the radios don't require being near a cell tower.

[viking42]

Bill, I’ve had these VHF radios since the days when I lived abroad my sailboat. I’ve been in plenty of places where phones don’t work.