Riding with Radios for Dummies

[X-country-Rider 0]

I purchased a radio that had been modified legally with a broader range for SR. Just because the channels are there, it is still illegal for me to use without the right license, correct?

It is my understanding it is illegal to transmit on those frequencies, but not illegal to posses a device capable of receiving them.

Just like a Yaseu with a MARS/CAP mod, the radio will transmit on freqs that are not available to licensed ham radio operators- fire/police bands etc. If one is not an idiot, that's great.

To expand the conversation a little, I'd like the radios to easily interface with my GPS. Some will- the Yaesus can be connected in some crazy complicated way, to some GPS. That would allow groups riding together to locate members from their signal. Yes, the Garmin Rino can do this, but the radio is not robust.

Yes the The UV5R is FCC certified to use, and capable of transmitting on 136-174/400-479.995 MHz but that still requires the user get a ham licence to transmit on the Ham portion and a GMRS licence for the GMRS portion. Although i think the ham part is a more "hard" requirement. Millions of GMRS radios are sold with only thousands of licenses ever requested. So if you transmit on GMRS and don't pay the 75 bucks to the FCC i'm sure men in black won't hunt you down. However i would not go around on ham freqs without a licence.

Second part about using a radio with GPS. You probably want to read this blog about just that. The rider is useing a Wouxun KG-UV3D which is another popular Chinese radio that goes for about a 100 bucks.

[X-country-Rider 0]

Nice write up. I ordered the radio, programming cable, and headset off of Amazon today with comparable prices and free 2-day shipping if you have their Prime service.

Anything from 136-174 MHz is VHF. The commercial range and what is considered the 2-meter band is from 144-148 and should be usable. Fequencies in the 420-450 are UHF and considered to be the 70-centimeter band. FRS and GMRS channels all share the same small spectrum on 462 and 467 MHz. 2m and 70cm are simple references to the wavelength of the signal.

While the FRS/GMRS radios are nice around the campsite, the propogation of VHF signals will be better than UHF due to the longer wavelength. The VHF signal will carry over mountains and other obstacles better than UHF signals. Additionally as you pointed out, the commercial FRS radios are restricted in power output as well as antenna choice. In my experience, even at 4 or 5 watts on VHF comms, it will be tough to talk outside of 1.5-2 miles.

Terrain and distance are key factors. When in doubt, climb a hill.

Two factors i think wiegh in on freq choice. The technical consideration and the user feasibility and ease of entry. You laid out the technical argument well. The lower ham freqs are a technically better choice as they also have repeater access. However on the recent camping ride we rode over Otay mountain and heard two ham ops on GMRS check in with each other one from North County and another from east county. They chatted for a minute exchanged call signs and talked about "it working". I'm assuming the its working comments were referring to the repeater that obviously they were connecting to. GMRS repeaters do exist and i think we must have something up in San Diego but probably not as good and with access like the ham repeaters. You'd obviously need to be in RF range of the repeater to use it and that's probably unlikely in the vast majority of San Diego.

On the second part in large groups chances are we won't have enough people with ham licences to move to those freqs. So in larger groups i think using the GMRS freqs is the best choice. In smaller groups with more core riders the ham freqs are the best choice. Other wise we'd be encouraging people to use the set illegally on ham freqs. Useing ham freeqs without a licence is a lot more serious than using a GMRS freqs which no one really cares about. Thats why the baofeng uv-5r radio is so cool because of that versatility of use. You can program it with the GMRS freqs and the ham freqs and just change the channel depending on the ride and who's in the group. '

Also i can't remember if Arnie covered this but don't use the battery eliminator and plug directly to your bike. You'll probably fry something or pop fuses. Just use the battery and on long trips bring the charger and get an extra battery and swap them out aver few days.

[Afry 1]

I bought the battery eliminator and used it for 4 days before it died. It was $20 and not made by Baofeng. I have heard of others with the same problem. The original battery and an additional extended battery should last a week.

[paulmbowers 236]

To expand the conversation a little, I'd like the radios to easily interface with my GPS. Some will- the Yaesus can be connected in some crazy complicated way, to some GPS.

Exactly what I DIDN'T have in mind. My brian works this way, but I suspect this won't after the first roost from MadDog.

[X-country-Rider 0]

Another popular radio that is very affordable is the Wouxun KG-UVD1P. Its dual banded and has a freq range of range: 136-174, 420-470 MHz. Which means you have the Ham and GMRS comms capabilities. You can find it for about 120 and on ebay for $115. Its also FCC approved (CE & FCC Part 90 certified, FCC ID: WVTWOUXUN04). You can also receive on the FM radio band so you can use it to just listen to the radio while riding. It transmits 5 watt on the VHF freqs and 4 watt on the UHF freqs.

[X-country-Rider 0]

To expand the conversation a little, I'd like the radios to easily interface with my GPS. Some will- the Yaesus can be connected in some crazy complicated way, to some GPS.

Exactly what I DIDN'T have in mind. My brian works this way, but I suspect this won't after the first roost from MadDog.

If you can find enough buddys that don't mind forking over 350 bucks for a radio GPS combo you can track you buddies locations and chat on GMRS.

Walmart

[paulmbowers 236]

If you can find enough buddys that don't mind forking over 350 bucks for a radio GPS combo you can track you buddies locations and chat on GMRS.

Walmart

Yes, the previously mentioned Rino.

[X-country-Rider 0]

Just noticed that that Baofeng has a new version the BAOFENG UV-5RE. Its also 50 bucks on Ebay.

[tlking6 0]

If you can find enough buddys that don't mind forking over 350 bucks for a radio GPS combo you can track you buddies locations and chat on GMRS.

Walmart

Yes, the previously mentioned Rino.

Had 3 of these back in the day when my boys were younger. We mounted them up on some quads and invented some pretty fun hide and seek night games out in desert with them. Like Paul mentioned earlier, the radio part of the device is pretty weak. Pretty much line of sight. The tracking feature works great however.

[paulmbowers 236]

And the tracking is dependent on a radio connection. Since te radio is weak, the tracking is weak.

It's a great theory, and I like to see a more robust solution with a larger display, better tracking and XM.

Pandora, too.

[X-country-Rider 0]

And the tracking is dependent on a radio connection. Since te radio is weak, the tracking is weak.

It's a great theory, and I like to see a more robust solution with a larger display, better tracking and XM.

Pandora, too.

This looks interesting. Connect it to GPS receivers and sents GPS data over a ham link. Its doesn't have a map to display the GPS data unless connected to a PC. Wonder if that could be connected to a small tablet?

IC-E80D

[paulmbowers 236]

Yeah, the Yaseu will provide some sort of interface with some GPS, but I want an integrated system- and since you mentioned a tablet:

I want a bluetooth dongle that plugs into my FI and allows all the information to be displayed graphicially on a bar-mounted tablet. Completely configurable screen, with all the data I choose- RPM, fuel useage, speed, gear, coolant temp, miles to empty etc. Also on the tablet is GPS and tracking data, Pandora, iPod and XM. And phone, of course.

Comms, with position of buddies (as if I have any), and multiple frequency monitoring (a simplex and a repeater would suffice) as well as ID of the last messages received.

All displayed graphically or numerically, however I configure it. Pages set up to swipe between via hand or voice activation.

I'd happily tear out all the instrumentation to do this.

[FuzzyNugs 0]

Paul, that is a tall order and exactly where the technology needs to go. Everything is out there, it just needs to be co-located into one program. Hopefully, devices will start offering an "app" output to dump the raw data and then someone can configure a configurable app for said purposes to display it all in a nice interface. How cool would it be to simply have a tablet to look down at with everything you need?

[X-country-Rider 0]

Paul, that is a tall order and exactly where the technology needs to go. Everything is out there, it just needs to be co-located into one program. Hopefully, devices will start offering an "app" output to dump the raw data and then someone can configure a configurable app for said purposes to display it all in a nice interface. How cool would it be to simply have a tablet to look down at with everything you need?

This is interesting but uses cell connection.

http://aprsdroid.org/

[X-country-Rider 0]

Paul, that is a tall order and exactly where the technology needs to go. Everything is out there, it just needs to be co-located into one program. Hopefully, devices will start offering an "app" output to dump the raw data and then someone can configure a configurable app for said purposes to display it all in a nice interface. How cool would it be to simply have a tablet to look down at with everything you need?

This is interesting but uses cell connection.

http://aprsdroid.org/

This looks for for broadcasting positions. Home Page its 260

[Afry 1]

Seems like the DSC system I use on my boat VHF radio could be adapted to do what you guys are looking for.

[X-country-Rider 0]

Seems like the DSC system I use on my boat VHF radio could be adapted to do what you guys are looking for.

Thats an international standard for Maritime use. I think the FCC would frown on motorcyclist using it

[X-country-Rider 0]

Yeah, the Yaseu will provide some sort of interface with some GPS, but I want an integrated system- and since you mentioned a tablet:

I want a bluetooth dongle that plugs into my FI and allows all the information to be displayed graphicially on a bar-mounted tablet. Completely configurable screen, with all the data I choose- RPM, fuel useage, speed, gear, coolant temp, miles to empty etc. Also on the tablet is GPS and tracking data, Pandora, iPod and XM. And phone, of course.

Comms, with position of buddies (as if I have any), and multiple frequency monitoring (a simplex and a repeater would suffice) as well as ID of the last messages received.

All displayed graphically or numerically, however I configure it. Pages set up to swipe between via hand or voice activation.

I'd happily tear out all the instrumentation to do this.

Looks like what you want can be done but with some radio modifications. The Kenwood TH-D7E 2.0 has built in GPS with ARPS for auto sending of positions over Ham bands. Smart phones have apps to display ARPS data so you need to connect the radio to the droid phone. The mod is adapting the radio to Bluetooth with the android app for display of the ARPS received positional data. Seems complicated which means even if you did it and got it working who else would do it to to make it worth the effort? Probably not many.

[Steve_k 0]

If anyone is looking to get a HAM license, there is a test on the 24th up in Escondido by the Escondido Amatuer Radio Society.

http://earsclub.org/ears_ve_sessions.html. Send them an email for reservations and read the info they send back..... And if you don't read the info be sure to do these few things:

Bring $5.00, a calculator, have an FRN from the FCC, and DON'T bring coffee or smokes since they hold the test at an LDS church.

See you there, I signed up for this one.

[Steve_k 0]

Passed!

[bikeslut 1]

Passed!

Now you can legally listen to bowers singing...good for you? I think?

Haters gonna hate

[tsr 0]

Passed!

Now you can legally listen to bowers singing...good for you? I think?

Haters gonna hate

One could legally listen without a license (scanners don't require a license and are listen only), but now we can join in :heh:/>

I passed, too :king:/>

[Steve_k 0]

It's ok to hate, anger is a gift!

Passed!

Now you can legally listen to bowers singing...good for you? I think?

Haters gonna hate

[paulmbowers 236]

Just got an email- ruggedradios.com is 15% orr storewide.

Bob.

Ruggedradios, 15% off.

That's you BikeSlut. 15%. Storewide.