Vhf Road Radio For Northwestern Canada

[ruffy]

I work in the oil and gas industry through out Alberta and Northern B.C. Many of the jobs I get called out to require the use of road radio's. Some roads it is required by law to have a radio or else you un-able to travel these roads. I have had a few radios that come pre programmed, but it seems I always end up on a job going into an area with a frequency that I don't have.

My question is this, what radio would be best suited for me?

It would have to have a minimum of 100 channels.

I need to be able to program a few channels if need be.

The best range possible 120 - 180 mhz?????

And please spare me the legalities of programming bla bla bla. I'm familiar with the laws, though I may not agree with them.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks very much

 

[BC_Scan]

define best , I don't even know you , having a field programmable radio in Canada (for business band) is a no no, If you get caught , and you could , IC does road blocks with ICBC & MOH and I have seen the list of confiscated radio's , mainly ham radio's modded to go out of band,
100 channels will likely add a premium to the mix, however TAD raidos are a good one to check out, I believe Canadian made (not 100% sure)
the range you would want is 150-174 that is where that spectrum falls into your need
check this out
www.petron.ca/m10.html

 

[Jay911]

You're looking for a VHF radio, which will do 136-174 MHz. Any number of devices can do 100 channels or more, most likely in banks of channels at a time (my Motorola radio supports 10 banks of 16 channels = 160 total channels).

Any half-decent radio shop should be able to set you up with a good radio. Kenwood and Motorola, IMO, are the two primary models to go for. If money is no object, you can get some pretty decently bomb-proof Motorola devices.

You may also want to check eBay, if you're willing to use a radio of unknown ancestry (i.e. you don't know where it's come from or how it's been treated). A lot of refurbished or retired radios go through the eBay route.

 

[ruffy]

Can you suggest any models in particular that I can add a frequency in the field with out having to go to a shop to do it. I know the guys that sell them have told me some are possible to do and others aren't.

Yup, and the 136 - 174 is perfect. I have an old Tad right now... It's a loaner, as my other one got ripped off. But this thing is a dinosaur with 4 buttons and only 40 channels.

I figured the no no's would come.. But as it states in my post, some of these roads require you to have a radio by law. No radio, no road. Doesn't matter if your delivering a pizza or work there every day. You need a radio.

Thanks again for your help.

 

[robertmac]

To quote: "And please spare me the legalities of programming bla bla bla. I'm familiar with the laws, though I may not agree with them". Well tough, rules are made to protect things, in this case it could very well be a person's life. This post is very similar to one on another web site about some rich oil worker that thinks he is above other people and the law. Well, not on radios.

I suggest you check with the compaines that you have to travel over their roads. A much more legal and easier alternative would be to contact them by cell phone or sat phone [which I am sure an oil field work or the oil company] can easily afford. Another alternative is to check with Industry Canada, obtain the appropiate licence for the frequencies you need, have someone program these into a Tad, Motorola, Kenwood, Icom, Yaesu commercial radio and away you go. Just follow the ristrictions on the area a frequency can be used as in other areas it may interfere with EMS/FIRE/RCMP frequencies.

 

[Jay911]

It's very rare to find a "front panel programmable" handheld with your specifications. The only one I know of is the long-discontinued Motorola JT1000, which IIRC only has 16 channels.

If you're working well sites, logging roads, etc., there are only about ten frequencies you actually need, anyway; the Logging Common (aka LAD) and roads common channels are pretty much universally used.

I, too, won't support illegally operating on unlicensed bands. If you're working for a company, or in conjunction with them, their telecoms manager can provide you with a letter granting permission to use the appropriate frequencies, and odds are he can get your radio programmed, or get you a line to someone who can do it.

 

[ruffy]

Thanks Jay... I appreciate your feedback.

 

[ruffy]

Here's the beast right here.. Jay, your key words " Field Programmable " brought this spendy little unit up. They don't give them away, $900.00 but it will serve my purpose and more.

Thanks again for the input

http://www.vmr.bc.ca/PageFiles/tad.html