Buying radios ????

bk1991

Hi ,

I am looking for information on two way radios VHF for use with my local volunteer ambulance as communications when we are out on duty at local festivals and events. We would require quiet good distance and good battery life and easy supply of ear pieces, mics etc . What are the Best low cost radios that will work for our uses . And will we need a licence to work ?

martinsvi

yes, you will need a licence.

Quite a lot of amateur operators use Baofengs, their batteries are good, they are supplied with earpieces and cover a good distance if there's not much in your way.

If you don't want to get a licence, perhaps you can try midland CB radios

watty

I don't think the Baofeng can be used on a Commercial licence.

bk1991

watty wrote: »

I don't think the Baofeng can be used on a Commercial licence.

What would yer views on wouxun radios be ??

PauloMN

If you want cheap and license free, PMR 446 is what you are looking for. Handheld CB is an option but these tend to be bulkier and more prone to skip interference.

Commercial licenses would start getting into big money and probably not suitable for a volunteer setup. Talk to Comreg about it though for the most accurate information.

It's an awful shame they won't loosen the rules for PMR 446 and allow mobile/base setups with external antennas. Would make it a much more useful system, even if the allowed RF power was to remain the same.

martinedwards

depends on distance.

half a watt of PMR 446 will get a couple of miles.

we use them camping and can unleash the kids into a thousand acre forest and still keep in touch.

they're dirt cheap and use regular rechargeable AA batteries depending on the brand, earpieces etc readily available.

watty

PauloMN wrote: »

It's an awful shame they won't loosen the rules for PMR 446 and allow mobile/base setups with external antennas. Would make it a much more useful system, even if the allowed RF power was to remain the same.

But then people would put directional aerials. High ERP. It's simply not feasible to share the channels with Licence free repeaters.

If you want a Base station or Repeater then you are looking at licensed systems.

CB can have "home base" but not repeater, and may not have a directional aerial. A CB Directional aerial is obvious (26.5MHz) and enormous and illegal. A PMR446 base directional aerial looks like a Group A TV aerial. Also at 44MHz simply moving from ground level to chimney gives nearly 18dB equivalent more ERP. The feasible "gain" on a yagi would be massive compared to hand held whip.

What makes PMR446 usable with only 8 real channels *IS* the fixed standardised Whip and max output power to limit range.

High band VHF is probably the best compromise for long range and usable size car whip.

UHF allows easier hand helds but shorter range.

Any radio used with a Commercial licence must be "real" ETSI /CE approved. The only people that can use unapproved radios are Amateur Licence. (Full Licence in UK, beginner's have to use approved kit in UK). Even Broadcasters, Services, Military etc can't use unapproved radio sets.

bk1991

have ye any links to theese radios yer talking about ?

watty

They can ONLY be used by Amateur Radio Licence holders. Most of the ones I have seen are not very robust for non-technical people. Too small and fiddly.

...__...

Who got all the old radios from the guards wouldnt they be happy to offer them for an ambulance service I know mountain rescue got some???

watty

You'd need a Commercial Licence though.

PauloMN

watty wrote: »

But then people would put directional aerials. High ERP. It's simply not feasible to share the channels with Licence free repeaters.

If you want a Base station or Repeater then you are looking at licensed systems.

CB can have "home base" but not repeater, and may not have a directional aerial. A CB Directional aerial is obvious (26.5MHz) and enormous and illegal. A PMR446 base directional aerial looks like a Group A TV aerial. Also at 44MHz simply moving from ground level to chimney gives nearly 18dB equivalent more ERP. The feasible "gain" on a yagi would be massive compared to hand held whip.

What makes PMR446 usable with only 8 real channels *IS* the fixed standardised Whip and max output power to limit range.

High band VHF is probably the best compromise for long range and usable size car whip.

UHF allows easier hand helds but shorter range.

Any radio used with a Commercial licence must be "real" ETSI /CE approved. The only people that can use unapproved radios are Amateur Licence. (Full Licence in UK, beginner's have to use approved kit in UK). Even Broadcasters, Services, Military etc can't use unapproved radio sets.

Maybe 20 years ago, but these days with internet, WiFi everywhere, mobile phones etc., there's nowhere near the same demand for two-way radio as there was in the "old days" of CB. PMR 446 is hardly bursting at the seams with activity.

I'm thinking of how much more useful it would be especially for voluntary organisations such as the OP is referring to. Even something as simple as being able to use an externally mounted whip with a bit of gain on the ambulance would greatly increase the usefulness of PMR 446 in that situation.

Actually, I remember reading on a PMR 446 specialist forum about a chap who had mounted a complete PMR 446 handheld on his chimney and was using it remotely from down in the house. Maybe not technically legal - not sure if there'd be specific requirements about operating these radios remotely, but he was getting great results with it - 10 to 20 miles from what I can remember, simply from the height advantage.

bk1991

...__... wrote: »

Who got all the old radios from the guards wouldnt they be happy to offer them for an ambulance service I know mountain rescue got some???

Where would i find out about this ? And when did the guards change radios?

watty

They changed to Tetra a while ago. They won't have any of the old analogue radios now. They'd need reprogrammed and you'd need licences anyway.

bk1991

watty wrote: »

They changed to Tetra a while ago. They won't have any of the old analogue radios now. They'd need reprogrammed and you'd need licences anyway.

Ye hse changed to tetra too . Where wud all the Garda and hse radios have went ? And how much would license be ?

watty

Re: Licence.
Ask Comreg.

Glencree

Part of tetra deal was that govt couldn't sell on old radios.

Plenty of radios on adverts.ie