Thread: Walkie talkies/comms

What's a good setup for a split hunting party? I've got a couple of cheap jaycar specials I've had for years which are nice and light, but only get about 150-200m under ideal conditions, more like 50 in dense bush and forget about if they're on the other side of a ridge. Something with an audio jack output to connect to my earmuffs would be a bonus

Gme, not cheap. I got a set for Christmas and they are really good.

Bought Baofeng UV-81C 5W from techoman a few years back,
handsets are OK and does the job but they are NOT water proof at all,
They were ok for the value, paid about $450 for set of 6x.

Ear pieces that I bought off him are not compatible with his handsets
I tried to explain this to techoman but he wasn't interest at all.

I would get GME from local store if I ever upgrade mine.

GME: ok they are more expensive but worth it

Uniden uh 820s, only 2 watt units but we've had over 5 k line of sight and most surprisingly 1 k straight line when we were separated by a ridge with both of us near the bottom in our respective sides.

I use Baofeng 5W + 8W
Cheap & cheerful & really easy to use, although programming can be a bit of a pain, i got a pair for $130 on Amazon & then bought a 3rd one for $70 i think.
(You are meant to be licensed to have anything over 5W but you can bring in whatever you want no issues)

Range is great especially line of sight, have had about 4kms on the tops & further on the beach.

A lot of the Baofeng models are on the shitlist now and can't be legally imported by people without ham radio licences - apparently they have the ability to be reprogrammed to transmit on controlled frequencies without swapping out internal components and that's a no no. Basically a lot of care is required if private importing them even if they appear cheap as compared to local, as you won't get them out of Custom's claws if they aren't kosher.

GME you can't really go wrong with, there are a few other brands that a good as well. Ideally you want something moisture resistant with an accessory outlet ability to plug into earmuffs or earpieces.

Originally Posted by Sika 8

I use Baofeng 5W + 8W
Cheap & cheerful & really easy to use, although programming can be a bit of a pain, i got a pair for $130 on Amazon & then bought a 3rd one for $70 i think.
(You are meant to be licensed to have anything over 5W but you can bring in whatever you want no issues)

Range is great especially line of sight, have had about 4kms on the tops & further on the beach.

Not so anymore. In Aug last year the NZ Govt put the stops on any programable walkie talkies (Baofeng, Wouxun, etc etc) being privately imported.

Go onto Aliexpress and search for Baofeng. You won't get any hits for radios. Change your country to the UK or the USA and they are all there.

Buy once cry once. Get a pair of high quality hand helds (GME, Uniden etc) and spend some money on better antennaes if you are searching for better comms distance.

Using these UHF units you will still not match the tx/rx distance of VHF hand helds, but thats the way it is now.

Techy internet types may be able to circumvent things by using Ushop or some such

Originally Posted by XR500

Not so anymore. In Aug last year the NZ Govt put the stops on any programable walkie talkies (Baofeng, Wouxun, etc etc) being privately imported.

I just jumped onto Amazon to see if it would let me buy again & you're right it wont!

Gme tx6160 , coke in orange yellow, blue black or camo. I have just sold my set of tx6160 as upgrading to uniden with digital replay

GME for the win. Mine spent a year in a creek and still work.

It doesn't matter which brand you buy, they will all be limited to line of site using a simplex channel. I have high powered setup in my truck (licensed) and it doesn't do well with a hill or mountain in the way.
Could talk 100k+ if I'm on the summit of a mountain.
I have replaced more GME units than any other brand recently (not handhelds, but truck mounted units) and leads me to believe that they have a few bad models or batches out there!
There are a lot of hunters who hire radios in Christchurch. Will have a chat to them, but I'm wondering if they're using a repeater channels.

Find out what SAR units use they often can get heavily tested.

Originally Posted by Happy Jack

Find out what SAR units use they often can get heavily tested.

I believe it is AREC (amatuer radio emergency communication) who manage SAR comms. They most likely are using Tait radios.

Originally Posted by BushChook

I believe it is AREC (amatuer radio emergency communication) who manage SAR comms. They most likely are using Tait radios.

We do up here