Better wear your tin-foil hat when you key up 25 watts with the antenna in close proximity to your head!
Best Portable Radio for Backpacking
- Thread starter Rlahey
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Better wear your tin-foil hat when you key up 25 watts with the antenna in close proximity to your head!
Stargater53
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- Sep 6, 2021
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I live in the Washington, D.C., area and we have one of the finest (Ham) repeaters in the country, but here's the thing: we have almost no traffic. It’s great having both UHF/VHF frequencies; but I've given up scanning them. I may as well be living in Podunk, Mississippi. 😗 I have found one paramedic frequency, but mostly the repeater traffic is dismal, though the conversations on them are interesting when people are on them.
Mostly, though, it's dead air.
I've yet to get any FCC license, and though I started off wanting a GMRS license, I now have changed my mind, and I want to get a Ham. I've amassed an enviable collection of HTs, though my neighborhood isn't conducive to long-range communications. For those who say there's not much difference between 5W and 8W, I did some tests with my wife and she immediately noticed the difference with the 8W (UV-82/8W). And when I went to the Baofeng 10W (BF-H6/H7), she also heard the improvement. I tested the outputs on two Surecom meters and my most consistent high marks came from the BF-H6, though the H7 was very close.
The UV-82/8W, according to my meters, had the greatest delineation between LOW/MEDIUM/HIGH. On MEDIUM, the outputs were very close to 4.6 watts, and HIGH outputs very close to 6.8 watts. Thus, one could keep their 82/8W on MEDIUM pretty much all of the time, as it was dead on what most 5W radios came in at. And if you needed a bit more ooomph, you could bump it up from 4.6W (5W) to 6.8W/7.4W (8W). That's why I think the UV-82/8W is the real sleeper of the Baofeng line.
On the BF-H6, the MEDIUM output was just over 3.6W; nowhere near 5W. So keeping it on HIGH (8.7-9W) was tempting in most respects. I love these Baofeng models (H6/H7) and was impressed with their outputs. I don't want anything over 10W getting anywhere near my head! I've seen the 25W transceivers advertised online and have no doubt but that they deliver. But as others have said, I’m far from convinced that they're safe.
Mostly, though, it's dead air.
I've yet to get any FCC license, and though I started off wanting a GMRS license, I now have changed my mind, and I want to get a Ham. I've amassed an enviable collection of HTs, though my neighborhood isn't conducive to long-range communications. For those who say there's not much difference between 5W and 8W, I did some tests with my wife and she immediately noticed the difference with the 8W (UV-82/8W). And when I went to the Baofeng 10W (BF-H6/H7), she also heard the improvement. I tested the outputs on two Surecom meters and my most consistent high marks came from the BF-H6, though the H7 was very close.
The UV-82/8W, according to my meters, had the greatest delineation between LOW/MEDIUM/HIGH. On MEDIUM, the outputs were very close to 4.6 watts, and HIGH outputs very close to 6.8 watts. Thus, one could keep their 82/8W on MEDIUM pretty much all of the time, as it was dead on what most 5W radios came in at. And if you needed a bit more ooomph, you could bump it up from 4.6W (5W) to 6.8W/7.4W (8W). That's why I think the UV-82/8W is the real sleeper of the Baofeng line.
On the BF-H6, the MEDIUM output was just over 3.6W; nowhere near 5W. So keeping it on HIGH (8.7-9W) was tempting in most respects. I love these Baofeng models (H6/H7) and was impressed with their outputs. I don't want anything over 10W getting anywhere near my head! I've seen the 25W transceivers advertised online and have no doubt but that they deliver. But as others have said, I’m far from convinced that they're safe.
Since you have no FCC license, what frequency were you transmitting on when you conducted these tests?
I've also got a Yaesu VX-3R and hiked to the top of Mt Whitney with it at 14,505ft. At the time there was no other radio on the market that I would have considered due to weight restrictions and the radio with spare battery went unnoticed in the minimal pack I used for the final ascent. Its a lot better performing radio than most of the cheap Chinese radios out there.
BMDaug
I am licensed…
You know… all the ones you can use an enviable collection of 8-10W CCRs on without a license…
For 1.5W on VHF the VX-3R is not too bad. Even the stock antenna is not that bad and an improved antenna does not add much to the weight. I often use it to monitor a freq, or listen to broadcast radio. Additionally, I recently purchased two Li aftermarket batteries and an external USB charger. It is a favorite radio for many reasons.
I wish I had it when I hiked Nelson Mt. at just over 10k’. Still, I was younger (foolish) and stronger back then. The beers, handheld CB and full sized VHF camcorder with an extra battery I carried were heavy enough. Smoking cigarettes back then did not do me any favors either.
I wish I had it when I hiked Nelson Mt. at just over 10k’. Still, I was younger (foolish) and stronger back then. The beers, handheld CB and full sized VHF camcorder with an extra battery I carried were heavy enough. Smoking cigarettes back then did not do me any favors either.
K6GBW
Member
Before even thinking about equipment you need to come up with a communications plan. Without a plan you're really just spinning your wheels. I'm an avid hiker and do several multi-day backpacking trips each year. I use GMRS radios for my group because we don't stay together in a tight pack while on the trail. We stretch out, sometimes as much as a mile. I'm using the GMRS radios just in case someone turns an ankle or has some other problem. The radios I use can be charged with an external cellphone battery and a short six inch cable. This lets me go on a 3-4 day trip and charge up the whole time. I then place the charger on the top of my rucksack because it has a tiny solar panel to recharge. We also carry a Garmin In-Reach in our group. On the registration page we put that if we need rescue we will be on 462.550 with no PL tones, that way, if anyone comes looking for us they can tune us up.
The truth is, we stick to established trails and honestly, if I broke an ankle or something like that I'd just sit down and wait for someone to come along. I'd ask them to just call a Ranger when they could and I'd just wait. The only thing that really sticks in my mind is rattlesnakes. I've been hiking the southwestern United States for over forty years and I've had my fair share of encounters. If one of the little buggers does get me then time becomes an issue and waiting a day or two to get out might not be so great. But then, part of the reason I go into the wilderness is to use my common sense and training to stay out of trouble. I think outfits like REI have convinced too many people that the wilderness is just a big playground and they go running off willy nilly without proper training and end up in serious trouble, then they expect others to get them out of it.
If I were hiking alone I would probably just pony up for a PLB and call it good, because the only way I'm using it is if the situation is so dire I literally have no other option.
The truth is, we stick to established trails and honestly, if I broke an ankle or something like that I'd just sit down and wait for someone to come along. I'd ask them to just call a Ranger when they could and I'd just wait. The only thing that really sticks in my mind is rattlesnakes. I've been hiking the southwestern United States for over forty years and I've had my fair share of encounters. If one of the little buggers does get me then time becomes an issue and waiting a day or two to get out might not be so great. But then, part of the reason I go into the wilderness is to use my common sense and training to stay out of trouble. I think outfits like REI have convinced too many people that the wilderness is just a big playground and they go running off willy nilly without proper training and end up in serious trouble, then they expect others to get them out of it.
If I were hiking alone I would probably just pony up for a PLB and call it good, because the only way I'm using it is if the situation is so dire I literally have no other option.
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