HANDHELD Communication

[Rickoz]

Ok i've gone down the 1st "250 threads" then done a Search on "Handheld" & not much pops up from what i can see.

Not sure if you Land Rover:pFanBoys are Pro Fixed Mounted Units or not:confused:just finding it hard to get info here, so gotta ask (You Guys That Use Both).

Lets compare Apples with Apples, even if one is Red & the other is Green;)

Q:What is the Difference between using a 5W HandHeld Vs a 5W FixedMounted unit?(i'm gonna guess & say due to Antenna the distance)

Q:What are the Pro & Cons of a 5W"HandHeld":unsure: (talk me out of them)

I quite like the idea of a portable unit but know nothing about these things, it would only be used while in convoy with others on the same journey:burnrubber:& not as a chitchat to unknowns:alien:

[d@rk51d3]

A good handheld will give you more versatility.

Check the threads with the Wouxun radios.
You'll get about 140 programmable channels, UHF and VHF, FM radio, LED torch, you can connect the vehicles UHF antenna and a PTT handset for use in vehicle, then attach the "rubber ducky" for handheld use.

240v / 12v charging cradle.

Spares are/were cheap. a few bucks gets you a spare antenna, battery, dual charging dock, hand mic.............

Only real drawback is it's not waterproof......... but hasn't been a problem for me....... yet.:angel:

[Xtreme]

One of the shortcomings with a handheld when used in a convoy situation is finding the darn thing when someone calls you.
I'd suggest that if you go with a handheld, get or make some sort of mount for it to use when in the vehicle.

[Rickoz]

A good handheld will give you more versatility.
Check the threads with the Wouxun radios.
You'll get about 140 programmable channels, UHF and VHF, FM radio, LED torch, you can connect the vehicles UHF antenna and a PTT handset for use in vehicle, then attach the "rubber ducky" for handheld use.
240v / 12v charging cradle.
Spares are/were cheap. a few bucks gets you a spare antenna, battery, dual charging dock, hand mic.............
Only real drawback is it's not waterproof…...... but hasn't been a problem for me....... yet.:angel:
Had a quick read & it looks like you have to downLoad stuff to get it to work well that counts me out, That's too hard for this NFI internet type.
+ i'd like to support one of our last Aussie made Products like GME

[Crimdog]

Mate I have been looking at the exact same dilemma. What do you mainly want it for? Distance seems to be the only main difference and as you said that is down to the antenna. If you want to use it in a group or convoy sitch then I wold go handheld, you can get out and use it to guide ya mates through. If your going solo out whoop whoop I would go fixed.

That said I would love to here from others as my mind is not made up yet.

[weeds]

Fixed with a cheap .5 or 1watt handheld for guiding/winching

[Rickoz]

Fixed with a cheap .5 or 1watt handheld for guiding/winching
Thanks for replying but you haven't explained why or answered these two
Q:What is the Difference between using a 5W HandHeld Vs a 5W FixedMounted unit?(i'm gonna guess & say due to Antenna the distance)
Q:What are the Pro & Cons of a 5W"HandHeld" (talk me out of them)

[Geedublya]

Hand held cons: Less range due to antenna, batteries (you have to keep them charged), best with a remote mic in the car.

Pros: portable, cheap, installation not required

I have both. That way I have the convenience of fixed unit when travelling, I can lend the hand held to people I'm travelling with if they don't have a radio, I can use the handheld to talk to the fixed unit when in a recovery situation.

I'm tempted to buy another portable so when everyone is away from the car comms can still occur.

The Wouxon is great value, once it is set-up you will never need to fiddle with it again. Set-up is easy once you download the frequency chart.

[101RRS]

I have had a $80 FDC 5 watt handheld for 5 years and it matches and surpasses most brand names. Also has the advantage the aerial can be unscrewed and an external aerial connected where performance to a similar normal 5w radios. External speaker mics are available (quality not so good) and the battery can be replaced with a plug in power supply. With the standard battery, standby time is about 3 days.

I have an Icom fixed radio in on vehicle but use the handheld with the basic aerial in my other vehicles.

Loved the radio so much I bought a second 80 channel version a few months back and reprogrammed the old one to 80 channel.

Garry

[mzs]

The handheld / mobile difference is the real communication performance
due to a different circuit and antenna design.
The handheld usually has a basic rubber antenna with limited performance, the mobile radio has tuned mobile / car antenna with much better gain.

But I think you need both.

I have a Yaesu FT-817ND in the car as mobile unit.
This is an HF/VHF/UHF self-contained battery-powered Multi-mode Portable Transceiver, up to five watts of power output.
I have a 100 watt HF amplifier and a tuned antenna for the 12m CB band, and a dual band antenna for the VHF/UHF bands.

The FT-817ND is very small (almost a handheld), and allows to take out from the car in difficult situation (e.g. the car breaks down in the valley and you have to go up the ridge to get better signal).

As handheld I have cheap dual band Wouxoun and Baofeng 5R, both are good for short range communication.

[Rickoz]

Well I punched a HandHeld unit if i find i need a Car mounted unit well i'll get one but time will tell if i need it, Thanks all for your info/advice http://www.aulro.com/afvb/showthread.php?p=2090661#post2090661

[Rickoz]

Well I punched a HandHeld unit if i find i need a Car mounted unit well i'll get one but time will tell if i need it, Thanks all for your info/advice:BigThumb: http://www.aulro.com/afvb/showthread.php?p=2090661#post2090661

[Crimdog]

Would be great of you could post your thoughts on the unit after using for a couple of weeks or whatever. I still haven't got one and am about a month off pulling the trigger.

[Rickoz]

Would be great of you could post your thoughts on the unit after using for a couple of weeks or whatever. I still haven't got one and am about a month off pulling the trigger.
I'm not sure my thoughts on it would be of much value due to a number of reasons ->
->(Don't have any other unit to compare against + have't used a CB in many many years so lack of experience, i'm sure it'll take time to know what or if there is things I might be missing out on)
I'm sure others here with the experience in using both HandHelds & Fixed Mounted units & comparing theres to there mates units will offer there views soon i'm sure.
I'll be watching, reading & learning too.

[Keithy P38]

I got in too late I see!

I have two different hand-held 5w two ways and a fixed Uniden.

The hand-held two ways have 18km of range on open country touring and my fixed has 14km (with a standard gain antenna).

I used the hand-held units prior to getting a fixed one and found them to be perfect, but as mentioned above, you need a good spot to mount it while driving as they can be hard to find at times!

One was an Icom and the other was a tait. The Icom had about 48hrs battery life if left on overnight as well as being used in convoy, the Tait was about 30hrs.

Cheers
Keithy

[PhilipA]

As we found out on the Range Rover Club trip to Geehi over Christmas, you need 2 handhelds.
Someone who shall remain nameless forgot to turn his 5W off and the battery was flat the next day. AFAIR it would not work while charging or maybe the charger location was poor. In any case the person had to use a 0.5 watt one as the 5W one charged which took several hours.
I prefer a disposable battery operated 0.5 w like my old Uniden along with a vehicle based one.
So the message is that with a handheld you have to remember to turn it off, which is harder than you may think when you get older.LOL

All I can say is that the poster who had better range with a handhled than a vehicle mount with a any gain antenna is that there must have been something wrong. At the very least the elevation of the antenna would give better performance. Although I just thought that if it was mounted on the bullbar , most of the signal goes to the back. If he was testing to the front maybe.
I expect my new Uniden to work superbly with a 2Db shorty or 6Db stainless on a ground plane independent base mounted in the gutter just above the B pillar.
Regards Philip A

[phl]

Use to run a fixed 5W GME with remote head in the previous vehicle. Am now using a 80 Ch 5W Icom, in a charging Brodit/Clicon mount, with remote mic.

On the last AULRO Disco trip, performed flawlessly, uses car battery when available, but has its own backup when not.

I actually bought an adapter to connect an external antenna, but reception etc has been fine, so haven't put in an external.