Forums46
Topics538,031
Posts9,732,153
Members87,055
|
Most Online25,604 Feb 12th, 2024
|
|
|
Cobra 2 Way Radios/Walkie Talkie
#7456587
03/12/19 03:13 PM
|
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 1,539
fishdfly
OP
Pro Tracker
|
OP
Pro Tracker
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 1,539 |
At the ranch cell phone reception is about non-existent.
Have been considering getting a set of Cobra radios and see they come in various mileage ratings and have NOAA radio weather on them. Kind of like the weather option idea.
Getting tired of walking back to the house when a vehicle or tractor gets stuck.
Thoughts, likes and dis-likes.
|
|
|
Re: Cobra 2 Way Radios/Walkie Talkie
[Re: fishdfly]
#7456616
03/12/19 03:45 PM
|
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 22,630
Cast
THF Celebrity
|
THF Celebrity
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 22,630 |
I don’t know if community repeaters are available in your area but that’s what you need. Check with the local radio shops for availability.
Cast I have a short attention spa
|
|
|
Re: Cobra 2 Way Radios/Walkie Talkie
[Re: fishdfly]
#7456625
03/12/19 03:52 PM
|
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 2,078
TKandMike
Veteran Tracker
|
Veteran Tracker
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 2,078 |
How big of an area are you hunting on? Are you planning only to use the radios there? Do you want vehicle mounted or handheld?
|
|
|
Re: Cobra 2 Way Radios/Walkie Talkie
[Re: fishdfly]
#7456634
03/12/19 04:00 PM
|
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 25,289
Creekrunner
THF Celebrity
|
THF Celebrity
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 25,289 |
If it's just your family, I'd try it. But if it's a bunch of different guys, you'll never keep them charged, someone will leave one in a blind or in their truck and head home, etc.
...and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Gen. 1:28
|
|
|
Re: Cobra 2 Way Radios/Walkie Talkie
[Re: fishdfly]
#7456936
03/12/19 10:40 PM
|
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 10,496
Halfadozen
THF Celebrity
|
THF Celebrity
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 10,496 |
They will work best with line of sight. Spotty if there are large hills. Cobra is a good brand. I'd just get a couple and test them out. Good luck!
Freedom is a fragile thing ...Those who have known freedom, and then lost it, have never known it again. -- Ronald Reagan
|
|
|
Re: Cobra 2 Way Radios/Walkie Talkie
[Re: fishdfly]
#7456974
03/12/19 11:27 PM
|
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 110,797
dogcatcher
THF Celebrity
|
THF Celebrity
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 110,797 |
I go to our place for the peace and quiet and no cell service, no way I would carry a walkie talkie.
Combat Infantryman, the ultimate hunter where the prey shoots back. _____________"Illegitimus non carborundum est"_______________
|
|
|
Re: Cobra 2 Way Radios/Walkie Talkie
[Re: fishdfly]
#7456993
03/13/19 12:05 AM
|
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 6,287
scalebuster
THF Trophy Hunter
|
THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 6,287 |
We had CB’s in our jeeps back in the day before cell phones. They came in handy all the time. But we were hunting some giant property. You don’t have much to loose by buying them if you don’t get cell phone reception.
|
|
|
Re: Cobra 2 Way Radios/Walkie Talkie
[Re: scalebuster]
#7457229
03/13/19 11:21 AM
|
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 29,034
Western
THF Celebrity
|
THF Celebrity
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 29,034 |
We had CB’s in our jeeps back in the day before cell phones. They came in handy all the time. But we were hunting some giant property. You don’t have much to loose by buying them if you don’t get cell phone reception. Same when we had the farm, small base in the house and CB's in the trucks and tractors, far outworks a average walkie talkie but not as portable unless you get a Hand held CB as well. They also have a weather channel if you look for that.
If at first you dont succeed, then skydiving is not for you..
"Don't trust everything you read on the Internet"- Abraham Lincoln Dennis
|
|
|
Re: Cobra 2 Way Radios/Walkie Talkie
[Re: fishdfly]
#7457254
03/13/19 12:07 PM
|
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 2,078
TKandMike
Veteran Tracker
|
Veteran Tracker
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 2,078 |
Some of the newer handheld radios allow you to text on them too, which can be handy if you're in the blind.
|
|
|
Re: Cobra 2 Way Radios/Walkie Talkie
[Re: fishdfly]
#7457562
03/13/19 06:20 PM
|
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 12,866
PMK
THF Celebrity
|
THF Celebrity
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 12,866 |
we have tried a number of different brands, makes, models, ranges, etc. and haven't found any that work very well, especially in hilly terrain, mostly line of sight. Additionally, most of the batteries are garbage and only last about a year or less on holding a charge between uses.
"everyone that lives dies but not everyone who dies lived..."
~PMK~
|
|
|
Re: Cobra 2 Way Radios/Walkie Talkie
[Re: fishdfly]
#7457641
03/13/19 07:50 PM
|
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 5,271
Palehorse
THF Trophy Hunter
|
THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 5,271 |
I'm a licenced Extra class ham radio operator. If I were you and you didn't want to go the whole 9 yards and get your amateur radio licence, I'd look into a set of GMRS radios. The whole family can operate with one licence and there is no test to take. You can use higher wattage radios including base stations and mobile radios to increase your range. A lot of areas have GMRS repeaters as well. The licence is $70 and is good for 10 years. With a mobile radio in your vehicle and a decent mag mount antenna, you can communicate for many miles, particularly to another mobile or home base. If you tap into a repeater, you can communicate over most of your county. https://midlandusa.com/why-do-i-need-a-gmrs-license-how-do-i-get-it/
Last edited by Palehorse; 03/13/19 07:56 PM.
|
|
|
Re: Cobra 2 Way Radios/Walkie Talkie
[Re: fishdfly]
#7457645
03/13/19 07:56 PM
|
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 5,067
titan2232
THF Trophy Hunter
|
THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 5,067 |
We use them often on our 4000+ acre place in Val Verde and they work great. Not sure what brand we have, but I'll find out
|
|
|
Re: Cobra 2 Way Radios/Walkie Talkie
[Re: fishdfly]
#7457711
03/13/19 09:17 PM
|
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 20,952
Sniper John
gumshoe
|
gumshoe
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 20,952 |
Cell service is not good at my lease. We did use walkie talkies years ago. As someone else posted. It always seemed like one would get left in a stand or be run down and left behind. I had one tripod on a high point for the entire area. Flipping across channels I was surprised to find that a lot of hunters around us where also using radios. Some interesting conversations interrupted. We decided it was more trouble than it was worth when they needed to be replaced. The technology has gotten much better over the years so I have considered it again. The only one that really interested me is the Dakota Murs so I could put a sensor on a feeder or two that would signal on our 2 way hand helds. I have not pulled the trigger yet, so can't help on distance and quality. But might be worth looking into. https://www.dakotaalert.com/store/murs-alert-products/
|
|
|
Re: Cobra 2 Way Radios/Walkie Talkie
[Re: fishdfly]
#7457738
03/13/19 09:47 PM
|
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 1,539
fishdfly
OP
Pro Tracker
|
OP
Pro Tracker
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 1,539 |
Thanks to all.
The wife gets uneasy knowing the cell phones do not work, especially when working with the tractor..
Will let her read these comments and then do some research.
|
|
|
Re: Cobra 2 Way Radios/Walkie Talkie
[Re: Palehorse]
#7457742
03/13/19 09:54 PM
|
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 22,260
Texas Dan
THF Celebrity
|
THF Celebrity
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 22,260 |
I'm a licenced Extra class ham radio operator. If I were you and you didn't want to go the whole 9 yards and get your amateur radio licence, I'd look into a set of GMRS radios. The whole family can operate with one licence and there is no test to take. You can use higher wattage radios including base stations and mobile radios to increase your range. A lot of areas have GMRS repeaters as well. The licence is $70 and is good for 10 years. With a mobile radio in your vehicle and a decent mag mount antenna, you can communicate for many miles, particularly to another mobile or home base. If you tap into a repeater, you can communicate over most of your county. https://midlandusa.com/why-do-i-need-a-gmrs-license-how-do-i-get-it/I've seen the makers of some of these units touting ranges of 20 miles or more, which I suspect could only be achieved over open water at best. What could someone expect when using them on land without a lot of hills?
"Some people will never like you because your spirit irritates their demons."
|
|
|
Re: Cobra 2 Way Radios/Walkie Talkie
[Re: Texas Dan]
#7457760
03/13/19 10:21 PM
|
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 5,067
titan2232
THF Trophy Hunter
|
THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 5,067 |
I'm a licenced Extra class ham radio operator. If I were you and you didn't want to go the whole 9 yards and get your amateur radio licence, I'd look into a set of GMRS radios. The whole family can operate with one licence and there is no test to take. You can use higher wattage radios including base stations and mobile radios to increase your range. A lot of areas have GMRS repeaters as well. The licence is $70 and is good for 10 years. With a mobile radio in your vehicle and a decent mag mount antenna, you can communicate for many miles, particularly to another mobile or home base. If you tap into a repeater, you can communicate over most of your county. https://midlandusa.com/why-do-i-need-a-gmrs-license-how-do-i-get-it/I've seen the makers of some of these units touting ranges of 20 miles or more, which I suspect could only be achieved over open water at best. What could someone expect when using them on land without a lot of hills? Not sure on flat land, but ours work in clear fashion around the 5 mile mark with various 300 foot elevation changes
|
|
|
Re: Cobra 2 Way Radios/Walkie Talkie
[Re: titan2232]
#7458018
03/14/19 03:06 AM
|
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 5,271
Palehorse
THF Trophy Hunter
|
THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 5,271 |
I'm a licenced Extra class ham radio operator. If I were you and you didn't want to go the whole 9 yards and get your amateur radio licence, I'd look into a set of GMRS radios. The whole family can operate with one licence and there is no test to take. You can use higher wattage radios including base stations and mobile radios to increase your range. A lot of areas have GMRS repeaters as well. The licence is $70 and is good for 10 years. With a mobile radio in your vehicle and a decent mag mount antenna, you can communicate for many miles, particularly to another mobile or home base. If you tap into a repeater, you can communicate over most of your county. https://midlandusa.com/why-do-i-need-a-gmrs-license-how-do-i-get-it/I've seen the makers of some of these units touting ranges of 20 miles or more, which I suspect could only be achieved over open water at best. What could someone expect when using them on land without a lot of hills? Not sure on flat land, but ours work in clear fashion around the 5 mile mark with various 300 foot elevation changes That's about right. Trees, buildings, hills, can all reduce your range. You can extend your range by getting up high. If you can hit a repeater, your range can be greatly increased.
Last edited by Palehorse; 03/14/19 03:08 AM.
|
|
|
Re: Cobra 2 Way Radios/Walkie Talkie
[Re: fishdfly]
#7458027
03/14/19 03:16 AM
|
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 5,271
Palehorse
THF Trophy Hunter
|
THF Trophy Hunter
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 5,271 |
Thanks to all.
The wife gets uneasy knowing the cell phones do not work, especially when working with the tractor..
Will let her read these comments and then do some research.
If you're calling from your tractor to your house, you could also set up a mobile CB in the tractor and a home base CB at the house. That will give you some pretty good range if your home base antenna is high enough. Hand held CBs are only good for very short distance communication.
Last edited by Palehorse; 03/14/19 03:17 AM.
|
|
|
Re: Cobra 2 Way Radios/Walkie Talkie
[Re: fishdfly]
#7458040
03/14/19 03:46 AM
|
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 1,358
Hirogen
Pro Tracker
|
Pro Tracker
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 1,358 |
If there is no cell signal at all ever than this will not work but if there is even the weakest most useless signal than a cell signal amplifier for the tractor will work. It can take the weakest useless signal and clean it up and amplify it to a completely usable signal.
Never violate a woman, nor harm a child. Do not lie, cheat or steal. These things are for lesser men. Protect the weak against the evil strong. And never allow thoughts of gain to lead you into the pursuit of evil.
-The Iron Code of Druss the Legend
|
|
|
Re: Cobra 2 Way Radios/Walkie Talkie
[Re: fishdfly]
#7461275
03/18/19 06:29 AM
|
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 2,708
pigplinker
Veteran Tracker
|
Veteran Tracker
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 2,708 |
I'm a learnin sumtum today.
|
|
|
Moderated by bigbob_ftw, CCBIRDDOGMAN, Chickenman, Derek, DeRico, Duck_Hunter, hetman, jeh7mmmag, JustWingem, kmon11, kry226, kwrhuntinglab, Payne, pertnear, rifleman, sig226fan (Rguns.com), Superduty, TreeBass, txcornhusker
|