Long range, handheld radio question
How do I set-up a long range, portable (handheld) VHF radio system?
I have several questions on how am I going to set-up a portable vhf radio system. I am really not that into amateur radio.
1. I’m planning to buy a 2.5w Kenwood TK-1118 portable VHF radio
- what is the coverage of this radio if id like to communicate with another portable radio of the same unit?
- is there a way for me to extend the coverage by changing the antenna or something?
2. How do repeaters work?
- I have read somewhere on the net that if you are on an area that has a repeater on it, the transmit/receive coverage of your handheld will be wider. In that case, should I also be on the same frequency as the repeater for this to work?
3. Communicating with the a base unit
- I have a base unit at home, 80w VHF. I seldom use this but it has a really long antenna. let say if im 20km away from that station, will I be able to contact that if I am using the Kenwood 2.5w portable VHF radio?
I will appreciate all of your answers. Ill be glad to talk to someone over the yahoo messenger to make each detail clear. Here’s my id. rnld(underscore)1 .. again, Thank you very much!
additional question:
How far can I communicate with a 75w VHF mobile base (installed on a car) if I’m using a 2.5w portable handheld? (note: point to point connection, no repeaters or something, straight handheld to mobile base with 5 feet antenna.)
David replies:
A 2½ watt vhf handheld radio won’t have much range on its own, especially since the rubber ducky antenna supplied with the transceiver is far from optimal. It is not an efficient radiator. A quarter-wave antenna or half wave antenna on the walkie talkie would be more efficient, but is less convenient because of its longer size. The distance you’ll get depends on the terrain around you and the obstacles between you and the other guy you want to talk to. Think line of sight, maybe a little bit more. I reckon handheld to handheld you may get a few hundred yards (meters). But guessimating the distance is kind of like asking how long is a piece of string.
Taking from a 2½ watt walkie talkie to a 75 watt mobile in a car may give a bit more range, but not much more. Why? Because it is no use if the posrtable station can hear the car if he can’t reply back. That’s only a one-way radio link, not two way radio. Right?
Repeaters cost a lot of money and are owned by someone. In most cases you need to have a license for each two way radio, and you usually need the permission of the repeater owner in many cases as well. In Amateur Radio, where the operator, not the radio, is licensed, the repeaters are normally run by ham radio clubs. The repeaters are there for the use of other licensed amateurs. If it is a commercial repeater, then you have to have a commercial license to be on the same net as the repeater. (Like if you don’t work for the company who owns it, you can’t use it.)
In Australia, we have UHF CB and there are public repeaters in some places that people can use, and without licenses too. But that doesn’t help you in the USA, does it?
Hams (amateur radio operators) normally join a radio club, study, take an FCC exam and pay for a radio license.
In many cases you are going to be far better off just using a cellphone. Especially when you don’t have any expertise with radio communications.
If you couldn't you find what you were looking for, search here to find it using Google!
Incoming search terms:
- vhf base to mobile talk distances
- does longer vhf ant for walkie talkie
- how to talk long distance with ham radios
- Walkie Talkie really work over distance
- 80w vhf radio
- setting up a 3 state radio repeaters system and radios
- Long range portable handheld weather radios
- long range handheld radios
- kenwood handheld ham radio long distance
- amateur radio base repeater radio
No related posts.
That radio needs a license of some sort. I cannot find real data on it to know what license you need.
That is a UHF radio, and you may get maybe 3-5 miles under ideal conditions. You might be able to get better hand held antenna.
Repeaters work by receiving on one frequency and transmitting on another. Some require a CTCSS tone to "open". Practically, a repeater doesn’t extend the range of the hand held, you would instead be communicating in the range of the repeater, as long as you are in its range.
If you have an 80W transmitter of some sort, you must have a license for it, and it needs to be the same sort of license for the Transceiver you get. You probably don’t need 80W to communicate 20KM away, under 5 will do, especially to a repeater.
And BTW, an Amateur radio license is for the person, not the station. Your spouse/children/family cannot operate your hand held or base set unless they have an Amateur Radio license.
Other licenses may vary.
First of all, you say you are buying a Kenwood handheld VHF radio. But when I look up the model number, I discover it is a UHF radio transceiver.
You say you’re “not into Amateur Radio” – but your questions show you want more than an FRS or a CB radio, both of which are license-free in the USA nowadays.
If you want more, you will have to get a license to be legal, and if you want to use a repeater, then you will have to negotiate with the repeater owner to get permission to use it. And you will need to be licensed.
The whole idea of requiring Amateur operators to have licenses they must study for, is so that people who play around with 2-way radios have some kind of a clue as to what they are doing … SO THEY DON’T CAUSE INTERFERENCE TO OTHER RADIO USERS.
You obviously don’t have a license and you don’t know what you are doing. That’s okay, there was a time when none of us knew much about radio either!
So before you get busted by the FCC for operating without a license on bands and frequencies that you are not authorized to use, I suggest you find a Ham Radio club in your area and join them, so you can learn how it all works.
I also suggest you go to the ARRL website (they are listed bottom-left on this site) and read up on getting an Amateur Radio license. Don’t muck with unlicensed equipment!
me and my mates are looking at getting a long distance handheld radio
That looks to me like a statement, Andrew, and not a question. Were you trying to make a point or something?