I've got a Micro talk. Runs on four AAA cells. Do you use nicads, or just
put in new batteries every morning?

My Motorolas run on three AA cells, I think they last a bit longer.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

"The Daring Dufas" wrote in message
...

I have a pair of nice little 22 channel Cobra Micro Talk GMRS/FRS radios
that work very well. Me and JH do a lot of telecom and data
wiring and the radios come in handy when you're 300' away from your
co-conspirator trying to sort out or find cables. We've been trying
to find a young guy maybe 50 years old or so to help us pull wire
up in ceilings where it's difficult for us to climb around. ^_^

TDD

I have a pair of nice little 22 channel Cobra Micro Talk GMRS/FRS radios
that work very well.

I also have some Cobras. They run for nearly a week on 'listen', and with
intermittant talking (say 10 minutes a day) keep up on regular alkalines
for about three days.

LLoyd

On Aug 6, 10:03*am, "Lloyd E. Sponenburgh"
lloydspinsidemindspring.com wrote:
I have a pair of nice little 22 channel Cobra Micro Talk GMRS/FRS radios
that work very well.

I also have some Cobras. *They run for nearly a week on 'listen', and with
intermittant talking (say 10 minutes a day) keep up on regular alkalines
for about three days.

LLoyd

use rechargable batterys, and consider just using cell phones with
unlimited talk package.

less stuff to carry, and cell phones tend to be smaller and weigh less
than FRS

Are those the ones with four AAA cells?

The one time I was doing wire pulling and other work at a volunteer job, set
of AAA made it through one shift, and only part way through the next day. Of
course, I was on third floor of VERY tall floors, and my batteries were in
the van. Now, I always carry the second set with me.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

"Lloyd E. Sponenburgh" lloydspinsidemindspring.com wrote in message
. 3.70...

I have a pair of nice little 22 channel Cobra Micro Talk GMRS/FRS radios
that work very well.

I also have some Cobras. They run for nearly a week on 'listen', and with
intermittant talking (say 10 minutes a day) keep up on regular alkalines
for about three days.

LLoyd

On Mon, 6 Aug 2012 09:05:33 -0400, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:

I've got a Micro talk. Runs on four AAA cells. Do you use nicads, or just
put in new batteries every morning?

My Motorolas run on three AA cells, I think they last a bit longer.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org

The AA cells have much higher capacity than the AAA cells. See the
Duracell spec sheets he
http://www.duracell.com/en-US/Global...ets&cc=Primary

You'll also get much longer battery life from a radio that uses a
physical click-on/off switch than one that uses a touch-on/off switch.
The touch switch typically draws a small but continuous crrent from
the batteries

I like the Uniden EcoTrek FRS420 and FRS440 radios that have a
click-on/off switch on the volume control, use three AA cells, and
have a clip that hangs well from a belt loop. After a number of
years, on of the FRS420's has a problem with low audio output, but
I've had them so long I no longer remember when I bought them.

Along the way, I've used Cobra and Midland FRS radios that were
smalller and lighter, but used AAA cells so required more frequent
battery changes. One of them came with rechargeable batteries, but
only their rechargeable batteries could be used with the stad charger
- their batteries were large enough to trip the internal charging
switch, but normal size rechargeables didn't because they are the same
size as standard batteries.

I was just reading article on batteries, Dad tore the article out of a
magazine for me. For digital cameras, NiMH last a lot longer than alkalines.
That might be the case with FRS walkies, I'm not sure.

On my old job when my boss kept turning off the FRS, I finally gave up and
used cell phone for all my cellar to attic comms.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

"bob haller" wrote in message
...

use rechargable batterys, and consider just using cell phones with
unlimited talk package.

less stuff to carry, and cell phones tend to be smaller and weigh less
than FRS

"bob haller" wrote in message
...
On Aug 6, 10:03 am, "Lloyd E. Sponenburgh"
lloydspinsidemindspring.com wrote:
I have a pair of nice little 22 channel Cobra Micro Talk GMRS/FRS
radios
that work very well.

I also have some Cobras. They run for nearly a week on 'listen', and
with
intermittant talking (say 10 minutes a day) keep up on regular alkalines
for about three days.

LLoyd

use rechargable batterys, and consider just using cell phones with
unlimited talk package.

less stuff to carry, and cell phones tend to be smaller and weigh less
than FRS

I've been using radios for wire pulling and jobsite coordination for about
20 years. I have had two sets of Cobra radios and I was not impressed with
the quality of either set. My current set are FRS with GMRS from Midland
and they are pretty tough. Have been using them long enough I don't recall
when I bought them exactly. I just am not impressed with Cobra, from CB
days to current they were always after the "cheap" market niche.

The toughest set of radios I had were Motorola 800mhz trunk radios, but I
sold them when cellular became so affordable. On jobsites now we usually
just use our cell phones unless we know we will ahead of time we will be on
them constantly.

In my opinion the only reason I would buy Cobra anything is if I knew for a
fact my guys would lose them down the sewer.

On 8/6/2012 1:11 PM, Bob La Londe wrote:
"bob haller" wrote in message

In my opinion the only reason I would buy Cobra anything is if I knew
for a fact my guys would lose them down the sewer.


I have several sets of hand held radios.

The littlest marine VHF are Cobras. The batteries have been upgraded to
NiMH, and they run a lot longer. They are mainly used by "crew" to talk
to the "ship". That way I can monitor the on-board VHF (loud enough for
me to hear easily. If they go overboard it's not big loss.

They were cheap, true. But they've rune for 4 years now. Except the one
that jumped ship one day. Haven't heard from it in a while now...

MY personal VHF is also a cheapie , rebranded by West Marine. I have it
because it's waterproof (10 10 feet) and floats. So I take it with me
when I'm sailing on other boats.

The rest are FRS, which we use now and then around the house, or between
cars when traveling. I consider them to be disposable so no big deal if
something happens to them.

All except the Coleman. It's pretty cool, so I keep it for me.

"Lloyd E. Sponenburgh" lloydspinsidemindspring.com wrote:
I have a pair of nice little 22 channel Cobra Micro Talk GMRS/FRS radios
that work very well.

I also have some Cobras. They run for nearly a week on 'listen', and with
intermittant talking (say 10 minutes a day) keep up on regular alkalines
for about three days.

LLoyd

If you run FRS channels they will last longer. Licensed high power GMRS
channels use more power, and of course requires license.

Greg

On 8/6/2012 1:11 PM, Bob La Londe wrote:
"bob haller" wrote in message
...
On Aug 6, 10:03 am, "Lloyd E. Sponenburgh"
lloydspinsidemindspring.com wrote:
I have a pair of nice little 22 channel Cobra Micro Talk GMRS/FRS
radios
that work very well.

I also have some Cobras. They run for nearly a week on 'listen', and
with
intermittant talking (say 10 minutes a day) keep up on regular alkalines
for about three days.

LLoyd

use rechargable batterys, and consider just using cell phones with
unlimited talk package.

less stuff to carry, and cell phones tend to be smaller and weigh less
than FRS

I've been using radios for wire pulling and jobsite coordination for
about 20 years. I have had two sets of Cobra radios and I was not
impressed with the quality of either set. My current set are FRS with
GMRS from Midland and they are pretty tough. Have been using them long
enough I don't recall when I bought them exactly. I just am not
impressed with Cobra, from CB days to current they were always after the
"cheap" market niche.

The toughest set of radios I had were Motorola 800mhz trunk radios, but
I sold them when cellular became so affordable. On jobsites now we
usually just use our cell phones unless we know we will ahead of time we
will be on them constantly.

In my opinion the only reason I would buy Cobra anything is if I knew
for a fact my guys would lose them down the sewer.

The Motorola and GE commercial hand-helds were designed so cops could
club you over the head with them then call for the ambulance. ^_^

TDD

The Daring Dufas wrote:

The Motorola and GE commercial hand-helds were designed so cops could
club you over the head with them then call for the ambulance. ^_^


I had a small police department ask me to fix a GE (PE66?) handheld
that fell off the top of a cruiser during a hot pursuit. The potmetal
case was so full of cracks that the entire radio could be twisted.
There was no way that piece of junk could be fixed. There were no new
cases, and no spare space inside to repair the thing. Most of the
antennas had lost the rubber covers from their being used as handles.

On 8/7/2012 4:02 PM, Michael A. Terrell wrote:

The Daring Dufas wrote:

The Motorola and GE commercial hand-helds were designed so cops could
club you over the head with them then call for the ambulance. ^_^


I had a small police department ask me to fix a GE (PE66?) handheld
that fell off the top of a cruiser during a hot pursuit. The potmetal
case was so full of cracks that the entire radio could be twisted.
There was no way that piece of junk could be fixed. There were no new
cases, and no spare space inside to repair the thing. Most of the
antennas had lost the rubber covers from their being used as handles.


I was working on a lot of commercial and police radios back in the 70's
and the damn things were Steam Punk in nature, big and clunky compared
to what we have today but they were fairly tough like the old Western
Electric telephones that you could beat down a burglar with then call
the cops. ^_^

TDD

I've noticed that the nicad packs tend to have contacts on the side of the
pack, for the drop in charger. Loose nicads or NiMH work, but need a
separate charger.

Yes, AA have two or three times the capacity as AAA cells.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

wrote in message
...

The AA cells have much higher capacity than the AAA cells. See the
Duracell spec sheets he
http://www.duracell.com/en-US/Global...ets&cc=Primary

You'll also get much longer battery life from a radio that uses a
physical click-on/off switch than one that uses a touch-on/off switch.
The touch switch typically draws a small but continuous crrent from
the batteries

I like the Uniden EcoTrek FRS420 and FRS440 radios that have a
click-on/off switch on the volume control, use three AA cells, and
have a clip that hangs well from a belt loop. After a number of
years, on of the FRS420's has a problem with low audio output, but
I've had them so long I no longer remember when I bought them.

Along the way, I've used Cobra and Midland FRS radios that were
smalller and lighter, but used AAA cells so required more frequent
battery changes. One of them came with rechargeable batteries, but
only their rechargeable batteries could be used with the stad charger
- their batteries were large enough to trip the internal charging
switch, but normal size rechargeables didn't because they are the same
size as standard batteries.

Thanks for the real world report. I'd been using Motorola FR-50, and had
good results with them. They don't have the squelch codes, so once in a
while I get some cross talk from some other units.

The one time they failed me, I was on a roof, and leaning into a HVAC unit
to check things. My man on the ground tried to reach me. He was maybe 100
yards or more away. The squelch opened, but I didn't get any voice. Figured
it was some other unit at a distance. I finally got back to the roof edge,
and he radioed to ask why I didn't reply. Oops. I should have leaned out of
the unit and radioed "was that you?"

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...

I've been using radios for wire pulling and jobsite coordination for about
20 years. I have had two sets of Cobra radios and I was not impressed with
the quality of either set. My current set are FRS with GMRS from Midland
and they are pretty tough. Have been using them long enough I don't recall
when I bought them exactly. I just am not impressed with Cobra, from CB
days to current they were always after the "cheap" market niche.

The toughest set of radios I had were Motorola 800mhz trunk radios, but I
sold them when cellular became so affordable. On jobsites now we usually
just use our cell phones unless we know we will ahead of time we will be on
them constantly.

In my opinion the only reason I would buy Cobra anything is if I knew for a
fact my guys would lose them down the sewer.

Keep in mind that NiCd and NiMH cells have a lower voltage than alkaline
cells even when they are fully charged, so you start out at a
disadvantage. They will likely need to be recharged far more often than
alkalines would need to be replaced -- and there is a limit to the
number of times they can be recharged.

Perce


On 08/08/12 03:55 am, Stormin Mormon wrote:
I've noticed that the nicad packs tend to have contacts on the side of the
pack, for the drop in charger. Loose nicads or NiMH work, but need a
separate charger.

Yes, AA have two or three times the capacity as AAA cells.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

wrote in message
...

The AA cells have much higher capacity than the AAA cells. See the
Duracell spec sheets he
http://www.duracell.com/en-US/Global...ets&cc=Primary

You'll also get much longer battery life from a radio that uses a
physical click-on/off switch than one that uses a touch-on/off switch.
The touch switch typically draws a small but continuous crrent from
the batteries

I like the Uniden EcoTrek FRS420 and FRS440 radios that have a
click-on/off switch on the volume control, use three AA cells, and
have a clip that hangs well from a belt loop. After a number of
years, on of the FRS420's has a problem with low audio output, but
I've had them so long I no longer remember when I bought them.

Along the way, I've used Cobra and Midland FRS radios that were
smalller and lighter, but used AAA cells so required more frequent
battery changes. One of them came with rechargeable batteries, but
only their rechargeable batteries could be used with the stad charger
- their batteries were large enough to trip the internal charging
switch, but normal size rechargeables didn't because they are the same
size as standard batteries.

Oddly enough, NiMH last longer than alkalines in digital cameras. Charging
flash is a high demand application. Transmitting on FRS is also a high
current draw. I'm not sure, but NiMH might last longer in walkie talkies.

In any case, a night in the charge stand is cheaper than a set of
replacement alkalines.

Rechargables self discharge, so a walkie kept in the back pack for
occasional camping trips needs alkalines, cause NiMH would be dead by then.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

"Percival P. Cassidy" wrote in message
...
Keep in mind that NiCd and NiMH cells have a lower voltage than alkaline
cells even when they are fully charged, so you start out at a
disadvantage. They will likely need to be recharged far more often than
alkalines would need to be replaced -- and there is a limit to the
number of times they can be recharged.

Perce

Stormin Mormon wrote:

Thanks for the real world report. I'd been using Motorola FR-50, and had
good results with them. They don't have the squelch codes, so once in a
while I get some cross talk from some other units.

The one time they failed me, I was on a roof, and leaning into a HVAC unit
to check things. My man on the ground tried to reach me. He was maybe 100
yards or more away. The squelch opened, but I didn't get any voice. Figured
it was some other unit at a distance. I finally got back to the roof edge,
and he radioed to ask why I didn't reply. Oops. I should have leaned out of
the unit and radioed "was that you?"


All that steel blocks the signal, and causes dead spots wherever the
signal is close to 180° out of phase.

I used to use RCA tac 100s for jobsite work. they were made near me in
medowlands pa.....

not as durable as older models but lighter.....

the RCAs were commercial receivers, took them once with some friends
to the henry ford museum and greenfield village. this before cell
phones......

people gave us wierd looks and a couple asked if we were security.....

now the odd person not carrying a cell phone is a rarity.........

"Percival P. Cassidy" wrote in message
...
Keep in mind that NiCd and NiMH cells have a lower voltage than
alkaline cells even when they are fully charged, so you start out at
a disadvantage. They will likely need to be recharged far more often
than alkalines would need to be replaced -- and there is a limit to
the number of times they can be recharged.

Perce

Rechargeables start at a lower voltage but hold it longer.
http://www.stefanv.com/electronics/u...s_alkaline.gif

jsw

"Stormin Mormon" wrote

Rechargables self discharge, so a walkie kept in the back pack for
occasional camping trips needs alkalines, cause NiMH would be dead
by then.

Christopher A. Young

I recharge the 2500 mAH NiMH AAs for my camera every 1st of the month,
and they need a couple of hours to complete.

Actually, "all that steel" was between me, and the man on the ground. I
guess I could have took the walkie, and put it on top of the RTU, it would
have been much better signal up there.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message
news

All that steel blocks the signal, and causes dead spots wherever the
signal is close to 180° out of phase.

"Are you security?"
"I'm not at liberty to say".

Ah, well. I bet they worked, and did a good job?

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

"bob haller" wrote in message
...
I used to use RCA tac 100s for jobsite work. they were made near me in
medowlands pa.....

not as durable as older models but lighter.....

the RCAs were commercial receivers, took them once with some friends
to the henry ford museum and greenfield village. this before cell
phones......

people gave us wierd looks and a couple asked if we were security.....

now the odd person not carrying a cell phone is a rarity.........

That's not totally useful graph. Need to know what size batteries.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

"Jim Wilkins" wrote in message
...

Rechargeables start at a lower voltage but hold it longer.
http://www.stefanv.com/electronics/u...s_alkaline.gif

jsw

The new "precharged", "stay charged" or "eneloop" ones are supposed to be
good. I bought some Raoyvac precharged at Walmart, and have been pleased
with them.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

"Jim Wilkins" wrote in message
...

I recharge the 2500 mAH NiMH AAs for my camera every 1st of the month,
and they need a couple of hours to complete.

Stormin Mormon wrote:

Actually, "all that steel" was between me, and the man on the ground. I
guess I could have took the walkie, and put it on top of the RTU, it would
have been much better signal up there.



Not unless you were line of sight with no steel in between, nothing
to cause multipath (As in TV ghosting) and at least a full wavelength
from the nearest large piece of steel. the signal quality & levels are
affected by all those factors. On top of that the antennas aren't very
good on a handheld, since there isn't a good counterpoise.

Well, walkie laying on top of the RTU can't be much worse than being in a
heavy metal box.

And, the quarter wave for FRS is about six inches, the TX antennas are
limited to four inches, which is totally not resonant.

With all these problems, I'm amazed how well FRS works.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message
m...

Not unless you were line of sight with no steel in between, nothing
to cause multipath (As in TV ghosting) and at least a full wavelength
from the nearest large piece of steel. the signal quality & levels are
affected by all those factors. On top of that the antennas aren't very
good on a handheld, since there isn't a good counterpoise.

Stormin Mormon wrote:

Well, walkie laying on top of the RTU can't be much worse than being in a
heavy metal box.

And, the quarter wave for FRS is about six inches, the TX antennas are
limited to four inches, which is totally not resonant.

With all these problems, I'm amazed how well FRS works.


It would work a lot better with a simple ground plane antenna or
dipole antenna, but FRS radios aren't allowed in fixed service
applications. Those are supposed to be licensed.

Years ago, I read the FCC web site on FRS. Back then, they were non
commercial, only. A lot of stores use FRS at the store. I went back and read
the web page, the non commercial bit had disappeared.

I'd like to see base stations sold. For example, farm house, to contact the
guys in the farm field. Midland has a "base station" with hand held
microphone. I'd make one of those on four D cells, so it would last a while.
They used three AA cells. What advantage is that? Antenna not removable,
either.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message
m...

It would work a lot better with a simple ground plane antenna or
dipole antenna, but FRS radios aren't allowed in fixed service
applications. Those are supposed to be licensed.

Stormin Mormon wrote:

Years ago, I read the FCC web site on FRS. Back then, they were non
commercial, only. A lot of stores use FRS at the store. I went back and read
the web page, the non commercial bit had disappeared.

I'd like to see base stations sold. For example, farm house, to contact the
guys in the farm field. Midland has a "base station" with hand held
microphone. I'd make one of those on four D cells, so it would last a while.
They used three AA cells. What advantage is that? Antenna not removable,
either.


There are other systems intended for that application. These days,
cell phones are cheaper to use than a long range radio system.

"Jim Wilkins" wrote in message
Rechargeables start at a lower voltage but hold it longer.
http://www.stefanv.com/electronics/u...s_alkaline.gif

jsw


"Stormin Mormon" wrote
That's not totally useful graph. Need to know what size batteries.
Christopher A. Young

Both are 2000 mA-H.

On Wed, 8 Aug 2012 07:37:25 -0400, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:

Oddly enough, NiMH last longer than alkalines in digital cameras. Charging
flash is a high demand application. Transmitting on FRS is also a high
current draw. I'm not sure, but NiMH might last longer in walkie talkies.

In any case, a night in the charge stand is cheaper than a set of
replacement alkalines.

Rechargables self discharge, so a walkie kept in the back pack for
occasional camping trips needs alkalines, cause NiMH would be dead by then.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

"Percival P. Cassidy" wrote in message
...
Keep in mind that NiCd and NiMH cells have a lower voltage than alkaline
cells even when they are fully charged, so you start out at a
disadvantage. They will likely need to be recharged far more often than
alkalines would need to be replaced -- and there is a limit to the
number of times they can be recharged.

Perce




They do start at a somewhat lower voltage..but they outlast alkalines
by about 3 to one in the field. Ive got Enerloops that have already
been charged 500 times..and still go full charge and last for 6 months
without losing more than 10%

Gunner

So, what size batteries are they?

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

"Jim Wilkins" wrote in message
...
"Jim Wilkins" wrote in message
Rechargeables start at a lower voltage but hold it longer.
http://www.stefanv.com/electronics/u...s_alkaline.gif

jsw


"Stormin Mormon" wrote
That's not totally useful graph. Need to know what size batteries.
Christopher A. Young

Both are 2000 mA-H.

One is red, the other is blue. How long are your shoelaces?


"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
. ..
So, what size batteries are they?

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

"Jim Wilkins" wrote in message
...
"Jim Wilkins" wrote in message
Rechargeables start at a lower voltage but hold it longer.
http://www.stefanv.com/electronics/u...s_alkaline.gif

jsw


"Stormin Mormon" wrote
That's not totally useful graph. Need to know what size batteries.
Christopher A. Young

Both are 2000 mA-H.

So, what size are the batteries that go wtih the chart?

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

"Jim Wilkins" wrote in message
...
One is red, the other is blue. How long are your shoelaces?


"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
. ..
So, what size batteries are they?

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

"Jim Wilkins" wrote in message
...
"Jim Wilkins" wrote in message
Rechargeables start at a lower voltage but hold it longer.
http://www.stefanv.com/electronics/u...s_alkaline.gif

jsw


"Stormin Mormon" wrote
That's not totally useful graph. Need to know what size batteries.
Christopher A. Young

Both are 2000 mA-H.

"Stormin Mormon" wrote:
Years ago, I read the FCC web site on FRS. Back then, they were non
commercial, only. A lot of stores use FRS at the store. I went back and read
the web page, the non commercial bit had disappeared.

I'd like to see base stations sold. For example, farm house, to contact the
guys in the farm field. Midland has a "base station" with hand held
microphone. I'd make one of those on four D cells, so it would last a while.
They used three AA cells. What advantage is that? Antenna not removable,
either.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message
m...

It would work a lot better with a simple ground plane antenna or
dipole antenna, but FRS radios aren't allowed in fixed service
applications. Those are supposed to be licensed.

I collected quite a few frs units, one set of midland gmrs/frs. I icom frs.
Two base stations. One radio shack, one off brand. One radio shack mobile
unit magnetic ground plane remote antenna. Several cheap frs units, some
broke. When I first started using them, most people did not use cell
phones, at least the younger persons could not afford them. They still
can't afford them.

One base unit has all the bells and whistles. My radio shack is built well
but simple, toggle switch to set channel, act as frs intercom.

I measured my midlands, gmrs having at least 2 watts.

Greg

gregz wrote:
"Stormin Mormon" wrote:
Years ago, I read the FCC web site on FRS. Back then, they were non
commercial, only. A lot of stores use FRS at the store. I went back and read
the web page, the non commercial bit had disappeared.

I'd like to see base stations sold. For example, farm house, to contact the
guys in the farm field. Midland has a "base station" with hand held
microphone. I'd make one of those on four D cells, so it would last a while.
They used three AA cells. What advantage is that? Antenna not removable,
either.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

"Michael A. Terrell" wrote in message
m...

It would work a lot better with a simple ground plane antenna or
dipole antenna, but FRS radios aren't allowed in fixed service
applications. Those are supposed to be licensed.

I collected quite a few frs units, one set of midland gmrs/frs. I icom frs.
Two base stations. One radio shack, one off brand. One radio shack mobile
unit magnetic ground plane remote antenna. Several cheap frs units, some
broke. When I first started using them, most people did not use cell
phones, at least the younger persons could not afford them. They still
can't afford them.

One base unit has all the bells and whistles. My radio shack is built well
but simple, toggle switch to set channel, act as frs intercom.

I measured my midlands, gmrs having at least 2 watts.

Greg

The farthest I transmitted was at least 8 miles on hilltops using my best
frs, icom and radio hack mobile unit. Easy to talk to planes. The longest
frs contact reported in nuts and volts, was something like 130 miles or
more on some kind of atmospheric deal.

I know at one time on lake Erie I connected through a Canadian cell site
using AT&T system, 50 miles away. Never got billed, back in mid 90's. I
think I may have got billed another time, that's how I found where I
connected through. The reception was real weak on near shore stations, but
10 miles into the water, reception was great with stronger towers visible.
Why am I talking about cell phones.

Greg

Michael A. Terrell wrote:
Stormin Mormon wrote:
Years ago, I read the FCC web site on FRS. Back then, they were non
commercial, only. A lot of stores use FRS at the store. I went back and read
the web page, the non commercial bit had disappeared.

I'd like to see base stations sold. For example, farm house, to contact the
guys in the farm field. Midland has a "base station" with hand held
microphone. I'd make one of those on four D cells, so it would last a while.
They used three AA cells. What advantage is that? Antenna not removable,
either.


There are other systems intended for that application. These days,
cell phones are cheaper to use than a long range radio system.


IF you have cell coverage. There are quite a few places that don't.
The current narrow banding BS is causing a lot of problems in the fire
service. Now they are saying that we should all go digital, even though
it has been proven to be even worse than the NB junk.

--
Steve W.

"Steve W." wrote:

Michael A. Terrell wrote:
Stormin Mormon wrote:
Years ago, I read the FCC web site on FRS. Back then, they were non
commercial, only. A lot of stores use FRS at the store. I went back and read
the web page, the non commercial bit had disappeared.

I'd like to see base stations sold. For example, farm house, to contact the
guys in the farm field. Midland has a "base station" with hand held
microphone. I'd make one of those on four D cells, so it would last a while.
They used three AA cells. What advantage is that? Antenna not removable,
either.


There are other systems intended for that application. These days,
cell phones are cheaper to use than a long range radio system.

IF you have cell coverage. There are quite a few places that don't.
The current narrow banding BS is causing a lot of problems in the fire
service. Now they are saying that we should all go digital, even though
it has been proven to be even worse than the NB junk.


Yes, digital radio systems are as bad as digital TV. Great, where it
works, and absolutely useless in fringe areas that old analog equipment
is still usable. The earliest FM two way radio systems used 30 KHz
channel width, and it's gone down hill since then. Narrower channels,
lower power & lower towers. I installed a low band 250W base for a guy
about 30 years ago. He could talk to Middletown, Ohio from his semi on
hilltops in the middle of Kentucky as he drove loads of cardboard boxes
down I-75. A county near here spent well north of a million dollars to
replace their analog system with digital. They had four remote towers &
voting hardware to give 100% coverage for the county. Motorola
convinced them that wasn't needed, and they ended up with less that 35%
reliable coverage. That they could fix for a few more million.

Back when there was Frontier Tel, and Genesee Tel, in the Rochester NY area.
I had a mobile cell phone in the van. I was near edge of Lake Ontario, and
the pager went off. I called the answering people, on roam. And then the
customer. Turns out my cell was working towers in Toronto, Canada, and it
was costing me two bucks a minute for roam.

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

"gregz" wrote in message
...

I know at one time on lake Erie I connected through a Canadian cell site
using AT&T system, 50 miles away. Never got billed, back in mid 90's. I
think I may have got billed another time, that's how I found where I
connected through. The reception was real weak on near shore stations, but
10 miles into the water, reception was great with stronger towers visible.
Why am I talking about cell phones.

Greg

Michael A. Terrell wrote:
"Steve W." wrote:
There are other systems intended for that application. These days,
cell phones are cheaper to use than a long range radio system.
IF you have cell coverage. There are quite a few places that don't.
The current narrow banding BS is causing a lot of problems in the fire
service. Now they are saying that we should all go digital, even though
it has been proven to be even worse than the NB junk.


Yes, digital radio systems are as bad as digital TV. Great, where it
works, and absolutely useless in fringe areas that old analog equipment
is still usable. The earliest FM two way radio systems used 30 KHz
channel width, and it's gone down hill since then. Narrower channels,
lower power & lower towers. I installed a low band 250W base for a guy
about 30 years ago. He could talk to Middletown, Ohio from his semi on
hilltops in the middle of Kentucky as he drove loads of cardboard boxes
down I-75. A county near here spent well north of a million dollars to
replace their analog system with digital. They had four remote towers &
voting hardware to give 100% coverage for the county. Motorola
convinced them that wasn't needed, and they ended up with less that 35%
reliable coverage. That they could fix for a few more million.


Sounds like most of P.A. They had big M come in and install all new gear
across the state all of it P25 crap. The coverage area went from
something like 85% in the worst spots to less than 60% now in the best
locations. There were a couple videos out that showed them testing the
system and two people were less than a mile apart and could see each
other but the radios wouldn't work. Then there are the guys in NYFD who
can stand on opposite sides of a brick wall and cannot talk. Just what
you want for crews who will be risking it all entering a building on
fire and they can't talk to the crew outside!!!

--
Steve W.