Comms

[herman]

For a trip in the planning stages this. We will need comms between a back up van which could be a fixed radio? and at least one hand held unit with the bikes. Terrain will be at worst mountainous but distances could be 30/40kms at least. I have zilch knowledge of such stuff. Cost is a consideration as it will be for hobby use not tours or racing. Any info would be good.

[Peirre]

In the PMR dept I have Puxing 888 handheld's which don't exactly meet the strict uk spec as they're slightly higher wattage than allowed, they are programmable (programmed with All PMR frequencies) and have a detachable antenna, which means on a good day they have a greater range than the likes of midland/kenwood, and with the ability to use an external antenna, which on a van could be a mag mount, or as I do a (non ground) Ranair antenna mounted on the pannier of the bike. The external antenna also adds to the range. But is unlikely 30-40kms Accessories could Inc handheld mics and dummy batteries to run via the cig socket. But pricewise 2 radios + antennas = £100-£150

A little light reading:
http://www.ukgser.com/forums/archive/in ... 70523.html

[Andi_Archer]

Similar to above the BaoFeng UV-5R can be programmed with PMR 446 [free to air] channels.This said range you get will depend very much on line of sight so around 1Km is the best you can expect from hand held radios of any make on such channels other channels [even the ones you can program on this model i.e. 2mtr] require a ham license to use.

At distances of 30 to 40Km your not going to get on standard consumer radios without great expense.Is the use of mobiles not possible in the areas your using?

Comms on Ewan McGregor and Charley Boormans trips over such distances was sat phone.

[micksea]

Beaten to it and I know budget was mentioned but it sounds like a couple of second hand satellite phones would work best.no disrespect to previous posts but all the radio options sound like one kind of lash up or other

[Peirre]

Judging by what I've read on the HUBB forum, satphones appear to be bloody expensive to run and have their own limitations to boot. CB or HAM radios also have their limitations Inc the size of the sets (especially on the bike) and also licensing not to mention if you are considering using them outside 3rd world country areas. Which makes me think Herman may have to compromise on the idea of such a huge range or up the budget considerably

[Tramp]

For where I think your going maybe a spot on one bike so it can be tracked and a few prerecord messages and a cheap tab with 3 mobile dongle for Europe to track position

Mobiles in Pyrenees are crap so maybe internet coverage is too....what do the army us ? Maybe tea has something from his mess tin lol.

[Peirre]

Slightly off topic, but does anyone have the PMR VHF frequency programming file for the Puxing radios ?
I have the UHF file and the means to program the radios, but due to a bad eBay purchase I ended up with a 2nd hand VHF radio and I'd like program up and sell on, and the file with the frequencies saves time manually inputting the list

[Andi_Archer]

If its the same as the Baofeng you might try thier yahoo group https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/bao ... gzMTIzMg--

Just a query arent the PMR 446 UHF only?

[Peirre]

iirc The VHF are marine frequencies, the UHF is predominantly used by the likes of us.
Without the VHF list this spare radio is as much use as a wet fart

[Andi_Archer]

This looks promising https://radiofreeq.wordpress.com/2016/0 ... ogramming/