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Post by panzer0170 on May 13, 2014 11:32:21 GMT -5
That's all I have on this HT anyway, just means more options available, esp as I can monitor one and monitor/tx on the other.
As far as field antennae go, for more static locations but with a very temporary use, the slim jim from N9TAX (http://www.n9tax.com/Slim%20Jim%20Info.html) are excellent for a rollup, easy to carry field expedient antennae for 2m & 70cm. Not so good whilst mobile, but if you go static, throw some rope over a tree branch, pull this bad boy up nice and high and you can hit repeaters a damned distance away (height AGL and terrain will affect this, obv, but 40-100 miles has been reported on VHF.)
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Post by USMC0331 on May 13, 2014 12:08:09 GMT -5
I have that antenna for MURS and tested it with my buddy who has the same. We were 2miles apart in large city with rubber duckies only and got no comm. put up slimjim and loud and clear. Spell checked by iPhone
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Post by panzer0170 on May 13, 2014 14:21:58 GMT -5
Another good review then! The more I hear about it the more I like it. Especially the collapsible-ness (totally not a word...) of it!
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Post by omnivorous on May 13, 2014 21:03:06 GMT -5
Collapsability.
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Post by eddiewouldclearhot on Jul 6, 2014 17:14:47 GMT -5
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Post by USMC0331 on Jul 6, 2014 21:07:36 GMT -5
Very nice kit, but they are 900mhz only correct?
My problem with sudo encryption is that I would think there will be a tendency to talk in the "open" more than if you KNOW you are in the open. Anything worth hiding on a net like position/size/capability is best left off the air IMO. If you are serious about a motor round then these are not going to stop the .gov OPFOR at all, assuming that's who you envision as the OPFOR capable of dropping motors?
If it had encoded digital hoping AND was a standard dual band so you can comm with someone else, I would be all over it, but one radio is enough to manage for me.
Does it have a battery replacer option?
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Post by panzer0170 on Jul 7, 2014 15:47:07 GMT -5
For UHF any real time intelligence is only going to be of use to people who are damned close by, and realistically they're used in that short a range because shouting over gunfire is a pain in the ar*e. It's only in the last couple of years that the British Army has bothered upgrading their UHF gear to secure comms, and only because they've spent so long doing persistent operations in the same place that if you know what you're looking for you can listen in. But it IS purely TACTICAL level (And, pre encryption, was used as a pretty effective counter intelligence tool, in combination with 'terps and ICOM scanners...)
Anyone capable of dropping mortars on you with any degree of accuracy probably works for a professional governmental agency. And their DF kit will find you whether you are frequency hopping or not. They don't need to hear what you're saying to throw mortars/arty at you, just that you're there, and that you're encrypted. Encrypted comms? Why do they feel the need to encrypt? Must be important and secret. Go look, see guys with guns, drop ordnance. Hell, our aircraft can drop guided bombs AT RF, if you give it a good 30 second burst (Not UHF, though. Not enough range.)
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Post by eddiewouldclearhot on Jul 7, 2014 18:48:46 GMT -5
All, thanks for the feedback. In my opinion, for a tactical level radio (intersquad comm) fh and encryption, however basic, will work fine. of course code words/pro words are important any time you key the mike. You have to always assume someone is listening, these only make it harder, not impossible. Harder means more time, and time means a bunch of other things. the 1w power help mitigate DF with distance. Again, you arent DF/intercept proof, but you are a harder target, thats all I mean. anyway, I know some will offer other opinions, and thats ok, I'll learn from anyone. For now, until I see something better, these work for me. I agree dual band and digital would be an awesome radio. Till they make one, I'll take this one. here is an intercept: here is another article, be sure to read the 3rd comment: danmorgan76.wordpress.com/2013/11/05/the-motorola-dtr/
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Post by panzer0170 on Jul 7, 2014 19:03:23 GMT -5
Excellent article, articulates my point a little better than I did, but you've clearly done your reading and you know what you're using it for, so good luck! Seems to be perfect for the role described there.
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Post by cipherdude on Jan 25, 2015 22:41:43 GMT -5
Hey guys,
New to the forum... When it comes down to "Communications" as this thread implies the one thing I cannot stress enough is this.
1. If you are running low end equipment. say a radio under $100.00 you should expect what you pay for. Good comm equipment is expensive for a reason!
2. Don't go around showing off your comms gear. The more somebody knows about what your working with, the more the possibility of your comms being compromised when you need it the most.
3. In my opinion, don't operate on the same channels all the time.. mix it up a bit. change the PL, DPL codes up every once in a while. Use random channels, and switch channels throughout the day.
4. If you can afford it, purchase, or try working on purchasing radios that offer freq hopping, encryption, etc. in my opinion, a good choice would be the PRC-343. they go fairly cheap on ebay and offer more flexibility out in the field. 5. Buy something thats adaptable. When your out in the field and your baofeng radio dies what are you going to do? carry and bunch of battery packs with you? How are you going to charge your batteries? etc.
6. Test your Comms gear on a regular basis. see how rugged it really is. Do what you can to protect it from the environment. We were intercepting some poachers/trespassers one night when I took a nasty spill in a shallow river and smoked my XTS3000 radio. I was the team medic, if something would have happened to one of our guys no one would have been able to get in contact with me.
7. Improve on your comms whenever you can. at first we were just using portable radios, we wanted a little more coverage than what we wanted from our current radios so I built a small suitcase repeater. Our range area consist of 130 acres of heavily wooded areas, open fields and steep drop offs and differences in elevation. The repeater worked as expected. basically we toss it under a tree, run some coax and place an antenna. for power we use batteries and a commercial grade solar panel. its transportable as well so when its time to move on we take our comms system with us.
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Post by omnivorous on Jan 26, 2015 1:10:18 GMT -5
I certainly wasn't impressed by how HossUSMC's baofeng took a dump during that training class he videoed.
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Post by whitebear620 on Nov 22, 2016 21:06:29 GMT -5
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