Loud Chinese handheld recommendations?

[okmjui2000]

The BF 888, BF UV 5R, and the Retevis rt1 all work well in office applications, but what do you recommend for loud environments? Kenwood radios like the TK2360 have a speaker output of at least 0.5 Watts, and that's necessary to be heard in a noisy environment, but all the Chinese radios seem to have very quite speakers and can only be used in noise with the (delicate) in ear microphone.

Can anyone recommend a sub $100 radio with at least 0.5 watts of audio speaker (not transmit) output power?

 

[mmckenna]

A used radio would be a better bet, in most cases.

You didn't provide any specifics about what you are looking for exactly, other than something "louder".

Motorola HT-1000's are loud and durable, also cheap on the used market.
Used Kenwood's, even some that can be set up for front panel programming would be a good option.

 

[nd5y]

Audio output power specs are meaningless unless you are comparing two devices with the exact same speaker.

You could feed 1 W of audio into a small, inefficent or cheap crappy speaker and have less sound than 100 mW into a good speaker.

I can tell you that the Baofeng UV-82 has a bigger speaker, more and better audio than a UV-5R (at least comparing my UV-82 and UV-5R).

 

[okmjui2000]

Thank you : )

I'm trying to select the right radio to replace an aging fleet of Kenwoods, and the prototypes from BF and Retevis have blown away expectations on everything but volume level. I'm trying to get something that works everywhere, and the volume issue is the last problem I know about to solve...

 

[scanmanmi]

I can't compare much but my UV82 is loud. I'm not sure "fleet" Kenwood radios should be replace with CCRs.

 

[lmrtek]

Commercial radios are MUCH louder than any chinese import.
Since size matters when it comes to speaker output, the smaller the radio the smaller the sound.
Quarter sized speakers don't cut it in a noisy area

 

[okmjui2000]

Price matters

Thanks again for the replies!
It's all well and good to say 'we've always done it this way so we have to keep buying Kenwood/Motorola/etc radios, but when the cost difference is $30 vs $350 per...
Well, lets just say the boss is going to want some very good reasons for why they have to spend hours filling out a capital request form and asking two and three bosses above them for a $3500 ten pack of radios instead of just spending $300 out of pocket and being done with it.

 

[mmckenna]

Thanks again for the replies!
It's all well and good to say 'we've always done it this way so we have to keep buying Kenwood/Motorola/etc radios, but when the cost difference is $30 vs $350 per...
Well, lets just say the boss is going to want some very good reasons for why they have to spend hours filling out a capital request form and asking two and three bosses above them for a $3500 ten pack of radios instead of just spending $300 out of pocket and being done with it.

Careful with that thinking.

It might work for a few weeks or months, but you need to consider the long term.
The low buck Chinese radios are not built anywhere near as well as the Kenwood, Motorola, etc. radios. The lower tier Chinese radios will not take the abuse the others will.

A short term financial benefit today may not pay off in the long run. Getting more money now will likely go over better than getting nickel, dime'd and 20-spotted to death with the cheaper radios.

A new TK-2360 package (radio, antenna, belt clip, battery and charger) is listing at $318. It shouldn't be difficult to find someone willing to sell them below list. If it's just the radios getting worn out, you can purchase the radio only (no battery/charger/antenna) for $195.

Also, make sure you are actually comparing compatible radios. You need to make 100% sure the low tier Chinese radios you are planning to buy actually have a valid FCC Part 90 certification. Some of them do not, and would not be legal for transmitting anywhere else than the amateur radio bands.

 

[chief21]

And, believe me, your bosses will not be happy with you when the cheap radios start failing. Then it will be ALL your fault. Been there - Done that!


"The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness low price is forgotten!"

"No good deed goes unpunished."
- Anonymous

 

[chief21]

Back to the original question... One way to help circumvent loud environments is to use speaker/mics with noise-canceling microphones. When mounted near the shoulder, this allows the radio audio to be much closer to the ear (rather than at the beltline) and also reduces ambient noise when transmitting.

-John

 

[okmjui2000]

Headphones?

Normally you'd be right, and that's how the BF and Retevis are supposed to work with the in ear microphones, but we're really hard on our equipment. Those that use in ear mics report snagging them on things and ripping them off/apart. All that have used them liked them even with this drawback, but I'm running out of mics, and we can't keep ordering one per radio per month indefinitely. The aftermarket clip on external mics are limited by the radio's own volume limitations and aren't loud enough in 90 Db. : (

 

[AlterTeam]

Normally you'd be right, and that's how the BF and Retevis are supposed to work with the in ear microphones, but we're really hard on our equipment. Those that use in ear mics report snagging them on things and ripping them off/apart. All that have used them liked them even with this drawback, but I'm running out of mics, and we can't keep ordering one per radio per month indefinitely. The aftermarket clip on external mics are limited by the radio's own volume limitations and aren't loud enough in 90 Db. : (

Two wire surveillance with an in ear tube? When it got too loud around even CP200s needed them.

 

[mikerod67]

Thanks again for the replies!
It's all well and good to say 'we've always done it this way so we have to keep buying Kenwood/Motorola/etc radios, but when the cost difference is $30 vs $350 per...
Well, lets just say the boss is going to want some very good reasons for why they have to spend hours filling out a capital request form and asking two and three bosses above them for a $3500 ten pack of radios instead of just spending $300 out of pocket and being done with it.

baofengs are come with ear pieces

 

[wwhitby]

Two wire surveillance with an in ear tube? When it got too loud around even CP200s needed them.

FWIW, I tested out several Baofeng radios with the coiled tube earpieces (not the ones that come with the Baofengs.) The audio was very low on them. Even at full volume, it was still lower than the audio coming out of the ICOM F4001s or the Kenwood TK-380 that I use even when those radios are at half volume.

IMHO, I'd skip the Baofengs and get commercial Part 90 radios. You can get used ones off eBay very cheaply, or a new ICOM F4001 is around $150.