Walkie-Talkie

I suspect that most folks on the forum ditched their walkie-talkies when cell service covered their hunting areas.

Unfortunately cell coverage in NW Ontario is severely lacking once you wander off the trans-Canada highway. In fact there’s still a lot of dead areas along the TC highway. Clearly there is still a role for walkie-talkies out in the woods, especially if you want to comply with the communication component of the party-hunting regs.

Anyway I picked up a 8 watt Baofeng programable radio from Amazon for $70. It’s a cool gadget and it will hold 128 channels including FRS/GMRS, marine, weather, and lots more.

For the record, these are HAM radios and are subject to licensing, and some channels (e.g.FRS/GMRS) have power output restrictions so you need to act according to your conscience.

If you are looking for a good set of radios, the Dewalt radios work very well. Make sure you get the 2watt model . We use them coyote hunting all winter and have had very good luck with them.

I used to hunt the loring area. Definitely no cell coverage there. I always carried a FRS radio with me even though I was hunting by myself. There were others in the bush with them so if got in trouble there was a chance you might reach on of them.

The nice thing with those Baofeng radios you can also get FM if there's a station in range. Add the weather channels too. I added the marine channels, (I have my licence)).

Our moose group picked up the 8 watt Baofeng, hopefully they work for us.

Many commercial FRS radios today already are at the maximum allowed wattage and have fairly decent receivers to process faint signals which beat any of the Beofangs in signal quality.

Amateur radios require licensing (which isn't hard) but the reality is UHF/VHF out of a handheld will be more limited due to terrain and absorption of the signal by the surroundings more then any wattage the radio might have.

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Originally Posted by Found

Our moose group picked up the 8 watt Baofeng, hopefully they work for us.

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I was watching a couple of YouTube videos and some of those 8 watt
Radios only put out less power. Mine is supposed to be 8 watts but I can’t verify it.

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Originally Posted by Sam Menard

I was watching a couple of YouTube videos and some of those 8 watt
Radios only put out less power. Mine is supposed to be 8 watts but I can’t verify it.

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Kindly let us know on field testing results [emoji846]

We have using high-wattage walkie talkies in northern woods.
Get a decent range along (the rivers or roads, however, as soon as old growth is in the way, the range goes out of the window.

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Originally Posted by newbiehunter

Kindly let us know on field testing results [emoji846]

We have using high-wattage walkie talkies in northern woods.
Get a decent range along (the rivers or roads, however, as soon as old growth is in the way, the range goes out of the window.

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The draw back to vhf/uhf radios is that they rely on line of sight.

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Originally Posted by Sam Menard

The draw back to vhf/uhf radios is that they rely on line of sight.

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Does FRS/GMRS remove line of sight limitations?

No, How do VHF/UHF radio waves travel? VHF radio waves operate in a band between 30-300 megahertz, while UHF radio signals are propagated within 300 megahertz and 3 gigahertz. These radio waves travel over line of sight, making them ideal for local communications over a few kilometres.

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Originally Posted by Fisherman

No, How do VHF/UHF radio waves travel? VHF radio waves operate in a band between 30-300 megahertz, while UHF radio signals are propagated within 300 megahertz and 3 gigahertz. These radio waves travel over line of sight, making them ideal for local communications over a few kilometres.

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So if I understand correctly, basically the longer the wave length, the better it comes over obstacles?

Yes, that's the way the spectrum works.

It’s my understanding that the wavelength of VHF frequencies is 2 metres and you get better distance than UHF frequencies which are 70cms. FRS/GMRS frequencies are in the UHF band.

How did these walkies work out in the field for you guys ?

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Originally Posted by newbiehunter

How did these walkies work out in the field for you guys ?

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The performance of these radios is directly linked to topography. We were never without radio contact. The worst we got was static conversation at 2kms and the best “in bush” was just over 6 kms.

If you’re thinking about buying, do your research as most Baofeng radios don’t live up to their advertised wattage… some are close though. Generally, if the radio has 3 power settings, you should exceed 5 watts which is pretty good. A GMRS radio will pump out 2 watts.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sam Menard

The performance of these radios is directly linked to topography. We were never without radio contact. The worst we got was static conversation at 2kms and the best “in bush” was just over 6 kms.

If you’re thinking about buying, do your research as most Baofeng radios don’t live up to their advertised wattage… some are close though. Generally, if the radio has 3 power settings, you should exceed 5 watts which is pretty good. A GMRS radio will pump out 2 watts.

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Awesome. Thanks for review

Did those walkies had stub antennas (short ones) ?

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Originally Posted by newbiehunter

Awesome. Thanks for review

Did those walkies had stub antennas (short ones) ?

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Our radios came with a 6” stock antenna and we purchased optional 12” whip antennas (Nogoya) for extended range. If you opt for the longer antennas, you have to get the proper ones for the frequencies that you expect to use e.g. VHF or UHF.

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Originally Posted by Sam Menard

Our radios came with a 6” stock antenna and we purchased optional 12” whip antennas (Nogoya) for extended range. If you opt for the longer antennas, you have to get the proper ones for the frequencies that you expect to use e.g. VHF or UHF.

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Awesome, thanks.

Just picked up a high power UV-5R from Amazon. Due to Federal regulations, there’s a range of VHF frequencies that you can monitor but not transmit on… a simple factory reset fixed that.:cool:

Walkie-talkies are handy