GMRS/FRS radios

[Tuckahoe]

I was shopping at K-mart today and saw a pair of Cobra pr3800dx FRS/GMRS on sale from $49.99 to $25.00 I had been wanting a pair of these radios for a couple of years (I just didn't have the spare money or was too tight to buy them when I did have the money.) Anyway the lady came over to ring them up and she said they were on sale today and they came up to seventeen dollars and some change. They claim to have a 12 mile range but I will be happy with two or three. I see so many uses for these around the farm and when camping and hunting. I have them on charge now and will post a report on them this week. I had a pair of FRS radios from RS a few years ago but the range was only about 1/4 mile. I hope these will do better.

[Koolibri_Rantso]

I have NO idea how they arrive at the "range" figures for those little FRS portable radios! A pair of quality ones might do three miles (5 km) under optimum conditions.

This is not to say they don't have any utility value. They should work pretty well in your immediate neighborhood.

At the price you paid, you should easily get value received for your purchase.

And, they don't require a license like the General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) or the Amateur (Ham) Service.

[Tuckahoe]

We tested them and found that they will do a very reliable 2 miles from inside a car to a person on ground. This is through heavy wooded flat land. I figure this is more than enough range to work around many small towns or vehicles traveling in a convoy.

[DaNgEr_KiTtY]

a good quality hand held radio is nice to have. yeah they always exaggerate the range....maybe they did that test on a lake or something :) for my cb radio i get maybe 10 miles at best for good reception under optimum conditions but i saw a post about the antenna that i have saying it worked for 300 miles! in the end these types of radios are great for close communication but just dont have the wattage for long ranges.

[12vman]

There's a little "Trick" that can be done to increase range without altering the hand held unit.. (Staying within the f.c.c. regs..)

This will require someone with experience in radio to adjust the external antenna. (Possibly a ham radio guy if you know one)

Using one from inside of a car will knock the crap out of the range for obvious reasons. The idea is to get some of the signal to the outside with a little gain, Which always helps..

This will include a 1/4 wave antenna, (Walkie-Talkie antenna) A magnet mount, And a gain antenna designed for the frequency range.. (460 mhz.)

http://www.f-r-s.org/frequencies.htm

You will need to pick a frequency "Range" that you will be working from. (either 1-7 or 8-14) This matters for the gain antenna that will be on the outside of the vehicle.They are pretty narrow band by nature and usually you can't get a good match within a 5 mhz. spread..

Now it's time to choose a frequency to work with. I would suggest one of the channels between 8-14 so you're not to be trying to compete with the higher powered licensed units. Channels 8-14 is strictly 1/2 watt..

This is where the radio experience comes in. A ham operator can "Tune" the outside gain antenna to the desired frequency. (Channel) This is where it will work the best but would cover the channels 8-14 region ok. Choose a channel towards the center of the list..

This is mounted with a magnet mount so it can be removed with ease. If you are going to be using this system frequently, You might consider a glass mount but believe me, They don't work as well..

The coax from the magnet mounted antenna is then ran to an area inside of the vehicle. If your driving and using it, The best place is around the sun visor. The coax is terminated with a male BNC connector which will make it possible to connect a portable (Handheld) walkie-talkie antenna to it using a double female BNC connector. This antenna should be under 5-6" in length at these frequencies. Just let it hang down near your rear view mirror from the visor..

This set up will help in both directions.. Tx and Rx. It will increase range a percentage but you're still at the mercy of the surrounding terrain. In open terrain, This set up could give you an extra mile or more! I know.. I've done it..