Advice needed on PMR radios.

[BigMonster]

Hi guys.
One of my friends had a pair of walkie talkies last time I wen't to Snowdonia and they really made a difference. So I'm thinking about buying a pair for myself but I have no experience with stuff available on the market.

1. I am a big CB enthusiast and have all the toys for that so I really only need a pair of basic, bomb proof and light radios for ocasional walk.
2. Like above, less "features" the better. I have no need for VOX, baby watch etc and I'm perfectly aware of the limitations of this kind of equipment like the range. So I just need something that won't die on me (waterproofnes would be nice).
3. Cheaper the better (but without sacrificing the performance).
4. I have a good battery charger and plenty of AA batteries...

These look nice: http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/search/go?view=grid&w=radio as I can do a price match and have them under £30. Any experience with any of them?

So throw a few brands and models at me

 

[subzeer0]

i may be be able to get you 2 pair of Cobra MT245 PMR 5km range sealed £20 posted per pair...unless me mate has sold them...and they are triple aaa nimh batteries

they work fine for when we are out ratting

 

[Pterodaktyl]

You should be able to get something around the £30 mark that meets all those requirements except waterproofing. The cheapest weatherproof PMR radio I know of is the Motorola Tlkr T80 Extreme (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Motorola-Ta...F8&qid=1423649430&sr=1-5&keywords=t80+extreme) which retails for about £80 for a pair.

Another option would be to get second-hand Motorola XTNi radios off eBay, you can pick these up for about £45 per radio. These are basically commercial-grade radios with their power reduced and locked to the PMR446 frequencies, and are extremely rugged.

Going back to the cheaper (and non-weatherproof) end of the scale the Binatone Action 1100 (about £35 per pair) is well regarded in terms of its performance at slightly longer ranges.

 

[techguyone]

Anyone pick out anything that runs on AA (as opposed to AAA) batteries

 

[BigMonster]

Apart from the batteries used the Binatone look fery compact and ergonomic. I have my plan B
Waterproofnes is not a major issue as it ads size and weight.

 

[The Lord Poncho]

This radio pushes out a little more power than the standard PMR (2w instead of 0.5w), and has a more efficient antenna than most off the shelf PMR handhelds. It is available for £13 new, and can be easily programmed using freely available software to the standard PMR446 channels (including the CTCSS 'subchannels') - you are limited to 16 channels though, but this should be more than enough!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/BAOFENG-BF-888S-Transceiver-Illumination-Flashlight/dp/B00760RP5A

It takes lithium rechargeables (charger included), so doesn't fit that requirement of yours, however as a trade off, the battery is much lighter than a couple of AAs, and from experience will last a solid two days of very heavy use. Spare batteries are available two for £8 (if you are prepared to wait for them to be sent over from hong kong) or about £10 in the Uk, and car chargers are available for a few quid:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-x-Origi...996?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2c7ca8008c

You can also get a cheap (few quid) speaker mic for the radio, so the main radio can be tucked away safely within your pack, and the speaker mic is the bit exposed to the elements.


The catch is that this radio, when programmed to the PMR446 channels will not be 100% legal as it pushes out too much power, and has a detachable antenna (as well as a few other technical aspects). That said, thousands use these or similar in the UK without any real trouble - so the decision is yours....

 

[BigMonster]

Marry me

Battery type is actually a bonus as I was trying to avoid AAAs as they have such poor capacity to weight ratio.
My only concern is the programming bit. Apparently you need a cable, any chance for some help with that?

 

[The Lord Poncho]

Sorry, I had intended to mention you needed a cable, but forgot to add it into my post. USB cable available here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Programming-Cable-Baofeng-UV-5R-Radio/dp/B0083H56MY

Programming can sometimes be very easy, sometimes be a bit of a faff- it depends how lucky you are! You need to download the cable drivers from here: http://www.baofengradio.com/UploadFiles/20121004112659853.rar

And the programmeing software from here: http://chirp.danplanet.com/projects/chirp/wiki/Home which is software developed to programme a number of different radios (supposed to be the easiest option, but I haven't personally used it myself).

Plenty of programming info online, i use the transmission one forum for a bit of info too.

A bit of a slippery slope, as you will start to realise there are other more complicated radios out there for a little more money but with a full 5w of power such as Puxing 777, or Baofeng UV5R.

 

[rik_uk3]

+ for the baofeng's, great little radio's.

 

[santaman2000]

I'll add another +1 for Baofeng.

 

[rorymax]

And another for the Baofeng UV5R

 

[santaman2000]

And another for the Baofeng UV5R

Mind that the UV5R isn't PMR. It's a VHF/UHF radio on the ham bands.

 

[BigMonster]

The last one would be very nice for m but definitelly too much for intended purpose. I want to be able to give the other one to someone in my group if we decide to split a little. So simpler the better.

 

[BigMonster]

Would you recommend replacing the antenna with something like this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/VicTsing-Antenna-KG-UVD1P-WEIERWEI-Handheld/dp/B00JTURQW2/ref=pd_sim_ce_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=0DEE4PTVSC1JB15D1X5R

 

[santaman2000]

Would you recommend replacing the antenna with something like this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/VicTsing-An..._sim_ce_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=0DEE4PTVSC1JB15D1X5R

I did. It helps quite a bit but it does affect the portability a bit (when using as a mobile in the car/truck the longer antennae gets in the way just a bit) Other than that very minor irritation the longer antennae's just the ticket.

 

[bikething]

This radio pushes out a little more power than the standard PMR (2w instead of 0.5w), and has a more efficient antenna than most off the shelf PMR handhelds..

But not legal to use without a licence as it doesn't comply with PMR rules:

3. LICENCE EXEMPT
The PMR 446 service is licence exempt; users do not require a licence to use PMR 446 radios, provided the equipment complies with the requirements in section 5 below.4. FREQUENCIES
There are eight 12.5 kHz simplex frequencies which can be used anywhere in the United Kingdom. The frequencies have been harmonised (but not necessarily authorised) for use across Europe. The channel centre frequencies are as follows:

446.00625 MHz 446.03125 MHz 446.05625 MHz 446.08125 MHz

446.01875 MHz 446.04375 MHz 446.06875 MHz 446.09375 MHz

The frequencies are shared and users may, under local heavy use conditions, experience interference and channel sharing problems. These may be reduced by changing frequency and/or CTCSS tone and/or DCS code. PMR 446 is not suitable for safety of life use or for users who need to have access to frequencies at particular locations and times.
As a licence exempt service, PMR 446 is unprotected and the Agency will not become involved in interference or channel sharing disputes between users.
5. RADIO EQUIPMENT
PMR 446 radio equipment must be handportable, have an integral antenna, have a maximum ERP of 500 mW and be compliant with ETS 300 296.
PMR 446 radio equipment must use the above frequencies only. Radio equipment which can operate on any other frequency, including Short Range Business Radio (SRBR) equipment capable of using frequencies in the 461 MHz band, must not be used for the PMR 446 service.

Taken from the OFCOM website here

 

[Quixoticgeek]

A few years back I bought a couple of Kenwood PMR's off ebay. They worked well, and I was pleased with them, until I tried to use them with other PMR radios...

Turns out they didn't have the right coding or some such, and while I could hear PMR radios, they couldn't hear me. Don't think it's something you are going to come across, but thought I'd mention it incase you get tempted by something on ebay...

J

 

[BigMonster]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2x-Black-...829?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3394247ed5

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Programming-Cable-Baofeng-UV-5R-Radio/dp/B0083H56MY

Any advice on antenas to upgrade?

 

[BigMonster]

Guys I messed up a little. The radios are coming from UK supplier so should be here next week, but the programming cable comes from overseas so will be here probably next month. And I need them for a trip next weekend. Any of you would be willing to take the hassle and lendmi his cable? I will gladly PayPal you the postage.
It's going to ba a torture to have them in my hand and not be able to use them for two-three weeks.....

 

[The Lord Poncho]

Hello, sorry, I've only ever borrowed the cables myself! You may find that the radios come already pre-tuned to channels that work with each other, but quite what these channels are is anybodies guess - probably not the 446 channels, which means you could be interfering with someone else's legit (licenced) frequencies.

The longer antenna do help a little, but it is rather marginal to be honest. You can even get external mag mount antenna that come with a few meters of (cheap) coax cable already attached, but the power loss through the cable often seems to offset any gain you get from the antenna.