VHF Radio

[aglinks]

Hey all,

I am going on a jeep trip that requires a VHF radio. Most of the radios on Amazon are Marine VHF. Will that communicate with all VHF radios? I havent been able to find a clear answer online. Also, I believe I will have to obtain some sort of license. Thanks in advance for any info!

 

[jp360cj]

My guess is a marine radio will NOT be the correct one. Marine VHF radios are illegal for land to land communications. That's not to say some folks don't illegally use them on land, but it's not a great habit to get in.


You're best bet is going to be to contact the organizer and find out what frequencies they run. Then you'll be able to pick a radio that will do that frequency. Most likely, you'll need a HAM radio or similar. And unless the group has a licensed frequency, you'll probably need a license to operate on whatever channel they are using.

 

[Super8mm]

Hey all,

I am going on a jeep trip that requires a VHF radio. Most of the radios on Amazon are Marine VHF. Will that communicate with all VHF radios? I havent been able to find a clear answer online. Also, I believe I will have to obtain some sort of license. Thanks in advance for any info!

Probably a Ham Radio, they do require a license to use.

BaoFeng are pretty cheap hand held, a lot of folks in the Ham world have them for backup radios.

 

[aglinks]

This is for the JP Magazine Dirt 'N Drive and the requirements specifically state VHF. I am tempted to email them but I know so little about radios that I dont want to ask stupid questions. I will keep reading about the differences.

 

[jp360cj]

I'm not a HAM guy, but I run VHF (with a licensed frequency) in my truck. A strictly ham 2m radio will be Limited to the 144-148 MHz and won't really do you any good if you don't have a ham license.

If you just want the bare minimum to meet the requirements, then a Baofeng handheld (like the UV5-R) will be a safe bet. It will transmit and receive a wide range of VHF frequencies (something like 135-175MHz). If the event uses a licensed VHF frequency to cover those who participate, then this radio will work on that frequency. It also covers the ham frequencies (although you need a license to operate on them). These run ~$25 on Amazon and are basically the same radio as Rugged Radio sells.

 

[DaveMueller]

"VHF" goes from about 50 to 400 MHz. That's a lot of territory. They need to be more specific, as in exactly what frequency.
All VHF services require a license.

 

[Bill D]

I’m reasonably certain they will be using one of the channels/frequencies in the FRS bands. At low power (under four watts) no license is required.

 

[jp360cj]

If they stated VHF then i doubt they'll be using FRS, as that would be UHF.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DaveMueller]

If they stated VHF then i doubt they'll be using FRS, as that would be UHF.

Unless they're clueless.