Dual Band Handheld

[levworks]

I am new and looking for some guidance...

Currently I work in motorsports and we use Kenwood handhelds. I am looking for clarity and knowledge regarding dual band handheld radios and their limits. The current setup is as follows:

NX-200 VHF(analog) with peltor noise canceling headset, 3 button ptt, and intercom module.

As someone who works in racing and has to help different teams that use different bands/frequencies I am trying to find the best solution for my personal radio setup.

What I am looking for:

A dual band handheld radio that can both receive and transmit on UHF and VHF frequencies. I am a huge fan of the Kenwood products but am open to others. Would like the radio to be able to have multi button PTT capability like the nx-200, scan list, and a decent range for a road racing track.

I found the Baofeng UV-5R but it seems too cheap to perform to the standard i am used to of a nx-200...
Motorolas APX 7000 seems like what I am looking for but does anyone have any other recommendations from either the Kenwood side or other brands?

Does something of quality like this exist?
Where can I find out more information regarding this type of radio?
If it doesn't exist what parts in the radio hinder this from being possible?

If this is the wrong section for this question feel free to tell me where it should be posted.

 

[teufler]

I have used the "inexpensive radios", in off road rally racing for the last three years. I have used Baofengs, Anytone, Wouxun, and Juentai. Dual bands for all these brands run from 1$150 to $45. Usually I am not close to other cars that have radios so intermod is not a problem. I have used Yaesu vx10's and vx7's, Both fine radios but they have started to show wear and tear. The vx10's were not dual band but they have voice scramble, a nice feature if you are among other radio operators or listeners. This brings me to the Juentai uv8dr, its dual band, plenty of channel capacity, radio specs match all the other radios, but this one has 8 scramble settings, while the vx10 had only one. The Juentai has a good battery life, and headphone accessories are available from many sources, not specific to the brand of radio which is nice. The big thing about the inexpensive radios, they cost 25% or less than a Kenwood or a Motorola. The Motorola APX 7000 woule be nice but if it breaks, you are stuck looking for Motorola specific hardware, they are heavier, and not field programmable. Three things in off road racing I have found troublesome. The Baofeng uv5r and the others have held up good, even though they are"cheap" as compared to a Kenwood, they have operated ok. All the units will operate in a cross band setting, which is nice when you are away from the car, like at Parc Exposee, or during breaks, or around hotels. I usually have a 50 watts dual band in the car to operate as the cross band radio. The Wouxun uv8 and the Anytone Temn8r have cross band built into the radios, which I have operated in hotels to some success. The Juentai, with its scrambling feature, has been the most popular radio lately.

 

[levworks]

Can the less expensive radios do multi-button ptt if you wire them into a headset?

 

[Project25_MASTR]

I have used the "inexpensive radios", in off road rally racing for the last three years. I have used Baofengs, Anytone, Wouxun, and Juentai. Dual bands for all these brands run from 1$150 to $45. Usually I am not close to other cars that have radios so intermod is not a problem. I have used Yaesu vx10's and vx7's, Both fine radios but they have started to show wear and tear. The vx10's were not dual band but they have voice scramble, a nice feature if you are among other radio operators or listeners. This brings me to the Juentai uv8dr, its dual band, plenty of channel capacity, radio specs match all the other radios, but this one has 8 scramble settings, while the vx10 had only one. The Juentai has a good battery life, and headphone accessories are available from many sources, not specific to the brand of radio which is nice. The big thing about the inexpensive radios, they cost 25% or less than a Kenwood or a Motorola. The Motorola APX 7000 woule be nice but if it breaks, you are stuck looking for Motorola specific hardware, they are heavier, and not field programmable. Three things in off road racing I have found troublesome. The Baofeng uv5r and the others have held up good, even though they are"cheap" as compared to a Kenwood, they have operated ok. All the units will operate in a cross band setting, which is nice when you are away from the car, like at Parc Exposee, or during breaks, or around hotels. I usually have a 50 watts dual band in the car to operate as the cross band radio. The Wouxun uv8 and the Anytone Temn8r have cross band built into the radios, which I have operated in hotels to some success. The Juentai, with its scrambling feature, has been the most popular radio lately.

The expansive memory in some of the more expensive options (like the Motorola's and Apx radios) often makes up for the lack of field programmability. It's a case of 128 channels versus 2000 plus (not to mention zones to help manage channels).

The more expensive radios are also more ruggedized so chance of breaking them goes down (but doesn't go away).

 

[teufler]

tHE radios I was talking about, if I plug a ear piece mic into them, I can key from the ear phone mic of off the radio. What W5PKY is saying, the Motorolas and the expensive radios, they can hold more channels, and they are more rugged. On rugged, once had a Memphis officer throw his ht1000 and an escaping runner. He hit him in the head, and knocked him out. The radios I have used in Rally off road, no ht's have been knocked out. None have broken, they are smaller in size, but power output is 5-8 watts depending on the model. Mobile radios, I have two radios that have expired to the radio waves of memories. A Kenwood d700 and a Yaseu 1500. Both just shaken to pieces. For the price, to investigate the function, try a couple of Juentai UV8DR radios. $110 should buy two, with chargers, ear phone mics, good pit stop ear phones will cost more than the radios. They are 128 channels on side A and 128 channels on side B. The two sides are completely separate. The Juentai radios, you can hold private conversations through their scramble settings. 8 different settings will make them hard for anyone else to monitor. Dedicated monitors will be able to listen in, but they are not usually around the pits. Anyhow the cost to check them out, its not much as compared to other choices you have .