Ham radio in Jeep??
Hey all,
Anyone have first-hand recommendation for a budget Ham radio to put into a Jeep? Some of then ones out there are $700+ and I don't want to spend that much my first time out (yeah I'm cheap)./ Thanks! Mike |
The guy you want to ask about that is on another forum, XJTalk. He runs hams and knows about them. Contact Mudderoy on that forum
|
I run a BTECH UV50X2 in mine. Works fine and runs about 160. It replaced a Yeasu FT90R that now lives on my bench as a base radio. The UV25X2 is a bit cheaper just under 120 dollar I think but a bit less power. I wouldn't go any lower than that for a decent mobile radio. I could set you up with a little 24 dollar Handheld that will get the job done when you add in an external antenna but IMO it's not very convenient and kind of bulky compared to a dedicated mobile unit, you'd also be giving up a 5-10x power increase by going with the handheld over the two radios listed above.
If you got the coin the "big three" make some great stuff but I'm on a budget and they are well outside of it. Baofeng/BTECH gets the job done for me for trail comms without breaking my wallet in half. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...1b039d08d1.jpg |
Mike, what is your budget?
|
Originally Posted by prerunner1982
(Post 3561284)
Mike, what is your budget?
|
Originally Posted by ProfessorJedi
(Post 3561321)
Hey I was thinking in the $100 to $200 range.... what sort of range do these radios have?
Highly dependant on terrain amd antenna setup as far as range. Ive gotten a 98 mile simplex contact on a 5 watt HT from a 8000 foot ridge line out across the califonia desert. And had around a couple of miles in the Arroyos in that same desert and very rough mountains with a stretched put convoy of Jeeps using a mobile radio. Figure 12 to 30 miles depending on antenna and terrain. I can hit the repeaters close to my work from my house on both VHF anr UHF about 40 miles straight line. Repeaters can alwo greatly extend your range. |
My brother has a handheld Kenwood which ran about $500, but that was 10 yrs ago. Seems like a nice unit tho.
|
The cheapest non chinese dual band Handheld you are going to find out there right now is the Yeasu FT60R. It runs about 150-160 dollars. It is a nice unit for sure, and tough but you can buy 7 UV5Rs for the same cost, a 25 watt UV25X2 mobile from BaofengTech with money left over for your antenna and mount or the 50 watt UV50X2.
With your 100-200 dollar budget assuming you want something actually mounted in the Jeep and not just a handheld I would go with the UV25X2 or UV50X2 (the 25x2 is a lot smaller and may work better for you for packaging reasons) then spend the rest of the money on a good antenna, coax and mount. The antenna is the heart of your system. The best radio in the world will fall flat on it's face if you can't get a signal out, I really like my Comet antennas. I have a SSB5NMO and a SS680NMO that I switch out depending on situation (the 680 is shorter than the ssb5 so I use it in wooded areas more often). I run them on a fender NMO mount. |
Midland just recently got into the amateur radio market with their copy of a Chinese radio. https://midlandusa.com/product/dbr25...two-way-radio/
Regular price is $149.99 however using the overlandusa promo code you can get it for $119.99 Whatever radio you go with get the antenna up high. For VHF/UHF antenna height is king. The best place to mount the antenna is on a NMO mount through the roof. |
Originally Posted by prerunner1982
(Post 3561398)
Midland just recently got into the amateur radio market with their copy of a Chinese radio. https://midlandusa.com/product/dbr25...two-way-radio/
Regular price is $149.99 however using the overlandusa promo code you can get it for $119.99 Whatever radio you go with get the antenna up high. For VHF/UHF antenna height is king. The best place to mount the antenna is on a NMO mount through the roof. |
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 03:48 AM. |
© 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands