VHF radio

[buford]

Anybody use a VHF radio when hunting? im going to be hunting a little different this year, going to be hunting with a group of guys in separate trucks running hounds, so radio is nessacry. I've never used a VHF radio or a regular CB for that matter,  and trying to learn. My buddy's are going to teach me a little more and fill me in a little more tomorrow , but I was just web surfing trying to find out as much as can tonight. anything anybody wants to share with me bring it on. example: brands that are good, types, amateur or ham radios, how to hook them up, antennas that are good, antennas that match up with which radio,  how much power I need, watts, all of the above. or if anyone knows any good web sites, sites that sale them, talk about them, all of the above. thanks for the help in advance guys

[Shotgun wg]

Stay away from ham it requires a license. If using hand held 2way u will probly only have about a watt and half. Higher wattage the better. If u go cb 102" steel whip mounted to bed and a radio that has been thru a cb shop and is pushing every watt u can get with max modulation. I prefer the 10 meter cb radios due to them putting out around 40 to 60 watts naked radio after conversion. They will give u a wide range of channel options and if installed with a 102" whip 18' of coax and a good ground for the antenna they will talk a long ways. Those Lil handhelds are cheap but range is not far on most. The radios like I'm talking about will run over $400 for just the radio plus $50 for a good clear mic. A man can have $600 in one easy. Short of a private licensed 2way radio with a repeater nothing will match the range other than HAM.

[rdjustham]

VHF radios are monitored and recorded by te coast guard, and you have to apply for a license to operate it.  Like shotgun said a good CB radio doesnt require a license because its only a low band 40 channel.  however they are not hard to "tune".  When i had one years ago and was really into it, i had mine pushin max wattage with 80 channels.  Any good CB shop should be able to do it for ya.  Get a meter for it when you install your antenna.  Too long of an antenna wire can be just as bad as too short.  Best advice i can give ya is go down to a truck stop and talk to some of the long haul guys and see where they get theirs done.  Not many people run amps anymore since tuning and amps are illegal per the FCC and amps are easier to spot than tearing the thing apart to see if its tuned.

[Shotgun wg]

Amps may be illegal but there are still plenty of them being sold. I have a 1k watt linear my self. Lol. There are cb shops in most major city's near the truck stops. Some cb places even have online service that will tune radio before sending it to u. 18' of coax with a 102" steel whip and a solid ground will give u a SWR of 1.5 using shorter antenna u will need a SWR meter to tune to 1.5 if the reading is to high cut the antenna a 1/4" at a time until it gets this reading. If to low u need to make it longer by using stingers or longer coax.

A couple good cb shops are Calhoun cb shop in Calhoun LA and clays cb shop out west of weatherford TX. There are lots of shops just do a Lil looking.

[firemedic]

We've used VHF radios for years,.....don't see how you can hunt with several people without them. Saves time, gas and makes it easier to keep track of your dogs. You can use some of the 'colored' channels if you wish, there's blue and red and another one or two. Most of us use Midland radios, they're not too expensive and seem to be pretty tough and you can get one for under $100. I strongly recommend that you get a 5 watt, which is the most you can get in a handheld. These claims they make about getting 5 miles out of a 1 watt radio are just that.....claims, it ain't gonna happen in real life. We used CB radios years ago, but by mid morning they were useless the 'skip' from wherever was so bad. If you do get radios and use them a bit, you'll wonder how you ever made it without them.......good luck.

[halfbreed]

we use to use them daily and was a must when hunting .  the cb's are the best way to go in my opinion easy to find and you can get a great deal on them at your local pawn shops and flea mkt's . I had mine hopped up so much it was dangerous lol.  we'd be in town and key the mike and start lighting up neon light bulbs in town   lol  . I have been pulled out of many a mud hole by folks I didn't even know , that was our cell phones back in the day  .

[halfbreed]

  heck just talking about it , I think I will go out and dig up all my old stuff and get back on the air . I used to love it when the skip was strong . you could talk to folks all the way on the east coast from texas  .

[charles]

I dont hav a license and i operate a vhf radio anytime i fly. According to the far/aim, as long as the operator does not operate outside the US, they do not need a license. That reg may only pertain to flying and not ground to ground ops. If u want to use a vhf, contact the fcc and find out for sure first, bc yaw could accidently get on a avn flt freq and start yappin and that poor ole guy in the plane cant do nothin but listen bc he cant change his freq until he clears that paticular airspace.
It happened to me on a flt once n for 20min, nothin but yak yak yak.

[Shotgun wg]

It's kinda like using marine radios. As long as u don't get caught its fine but it can be expensive when the find u. All aviation frequency are set aside for that purpose. Same as marine. Handheld 2way radios like the little hunting and hiking radios have a set of frequencies assigned for this purpose. These radios operate with a cpl code as well which is what basically keeps the other Lil radios from picking u up. Due to limited frequency and cpl they will pick up other handhelds sometimes.

Halfbreed. The radio I ran in a big truck put out 1000 watts. I could come over stereos and tv's any where around me. I have sat in CA many times talking to FL. Had a friend call me one day and tell me to turn my radio down. He was in FT Smith AR and I was in the west side of ABQ New Mexico.

[halfbreed]

   lol  yeah I know shotgun . I use to order a drink at the bar when I pulled into the parking lot . my cb would bleed through the juke box wether it was playing a song or sitting quite   lol  . I went up to the first Monday trade days today and picked up a top of the line cobra [ that looks like new ] for twenty dollars earier today . I should have bought the old 23 channel that he had also but didn't . the old 23's could be juiced up to really get out there without a linear  .

 and on another note I got into some serious dog house time when I was talking to a cb honey too close to home and it bled over the cordless telephone while the wife was talking to her mother   lol  .

[Shotgun wg]

Rotflmao gotta watch what ya say when u modulating about oscillating.

[tusky1970]

You don't have to have a license for vhf I'm a boat captain use one every day