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Offroading radios

W

walker77

Member
Dec 31, 2009
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I have posted this question on this forum before, but really havent got anywhere with it. So here goes. My family rides atvs in the national forest, we have 3 atvs and we need to keep in touch with the riders from a base station in case of an emergency or break down. I need a radio that will cover a 20 mile radius in very dense mountainous( deep valleys and high hills) terrain. We currently have motorola maxtracs programed for the murrs frequency that run 45 watts( i know that is a little high ) But those radios just arnt cutting it. I dont know if the old radios are junk or what. Anyway i need help with this. I think i might have to resort to getting cbs with amps. Like i said, these are only used for emergencies. I am only looking to talk to the base station, not the next county. And i need it as cheap as possible because there is a good chance the radio will get wet. And ham radio is out of the question when there is 15 riders. Thanks for the help!
 

This may be a way for you but would require some thinking....

How about a repeater that can be set up as a temporary relay, it could "hear" your signals and relay them to a base.... would not have to be HAM.
Position it at a high point above where you would be and able to reach the base. :sneaky2:

Build it in a box, powered by a battery that you could leave in place and pick up later. Radio Shack had a portable repeater that would record a reception and play it back on transmit. A simplex repeater.

mechanic
 
Not sure if a repeater would be worth while since i just need a base station on the ridge and the bikes are down in the valley. What would you suggest for radios? Im thinking running hot cb's
 
those maxtracs are decent radios, what kind of antennas are you using?
 
B1442?

not a bad antenna either for what you are doing, what kind of range are you actually getting? and yes I understand you are in mountainous hell, I just don't think anything is going to work better without being licensed
 
With that terrain, CBs aren't going to work any better. You could trying pumping up the power more with the band you're on - it would take installing amplifiers though. You would also have to figure out a way to power the amp, but it shouldn't be too difficult. Give it a couple hundred watts and see if it makes the trip. You'll have to make sure those antennas can handle the power first.
 
I was thinking about running 100 watts on cbs. Like i said, im not looking to talk to the next state, but i want just enough to reach the base station. I found some affordable RM amps, what is your thoughts on those? I need something that will hold up to vibrations on the 4-wheelers. They will be sealed in an ammo can, so moisture shouldnt be a problem. But im worried about vibration. As far as power, i can run two motorcycle batteries together to get more amps.
 
moleculo said:
With that terrain, CBs aren't going to work any better. You could trying pumping up the power more with the band you're on - it would take installing amplifiers though. You would also have to figure out a way to power the amp, but it shouldn't be too difficult. Give it a couple hundred watts and see if it makes the trip. You'll have to make sure those antennas can handle the power first.
Click to expand...
They could just mount a nice battery box on the front rack and maybe even charge it from the atv's alternator but I would check the atv alternators output before trying to draw too much from it during tx if an amp is used but I suppose they could just charge the batteries and use them only when needed without the worry of the alternator thing.
 
why what? lol

I think your "why" is in reference to the alternator or battery response? If so, that's because an amplifier is going to draw a lot more current than your barefoot radio. You need to be able to power it. If your current battery and charging system can do that, then great. If not, you'll have to figure something out.
 
I don't think 100 watts on CB frequencies is going to cut it to do what you need to do. Just the short-comings of the 11 meter antenna on such a small vehicle is going to be limiting enough.
 

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