Single unified communication system for Overland Bound members

[Caleb.Thomas]

So new member here, never been on a ride with anyone else and would love to group up and do some more adventurous trails. I know we'll need to communicate during those trips and am keenly interested in the decisions being driven here. Outside of cell phones I don't own any radios at at right now.

My only experience with radio is in the army as an FM operator (31K). I have no fear of radios or learning and was even proficient in morse back in the day. I have learned and forgotten the details of radio wave prolongation, why matching units are required and taking licensing tests.That being said I have zero interest in learning virtually anything about radios and the whys and wherefores of them.

For safety you can't beat the simplicity and reliability of devices like the Garmin in reach communication systems. The can also be used in and out of the vehicle and have that SOS function for the real SHTF moments when you're driving or hiking. I hate the idea of things going bad and my wife or I needing to remember how to actually use the radio for anything more than conversation.

My fear is this turns into something that gets in the way of people participating in the hobby. I am am member of a hiking group that has a small group of folks who can post activities. When they started the leader was a novice hiker and there were a lot of low level hikes. 10 years on and there are very few easy walks to bring people into the group. All the hikes are 6 mile round trips with 3K elevation changes. While most folks can do them, they can't maintain the club pace and they get dispirited and left behind.

I'm hoping that whatever system is decided as a core system is easy to use, learn and obtain. I'm a novice who doesn't even know what pressure I should have in my tires. I'd like to spend time fitting myself out rather than fretting over radio licenses.

While HAM radios are exceptionally useful as a new member I wouldn't suggest getting one. I've been camping and offroading for 14 years and I've maybe used it twice. I would suggest a simple walkie talkie for communication. Cheap, simple, and they work great.

 

[RyanC]

While HAM radios are exceptionally useful as a new member I wouldn't suggest getting one. I've been camping and offroading for 14 years and I've maybe used it twice. I would suggest a simple walkie talkie for communication. Cheap, simple, and they work great.

For a tight convoy that's great advice and from my experience it has been that and/or CB radio. When you are more dispersed the greater power and higher efficiency antenna of a vehicle mounted radio let's you communicate over much greater distances, miles and miles even if a repeater is involved.

 

[Caleb.Thomas]

For a tight convoy that's great advice and from my experience it has been that and/or CB radio. When you are more dispersed the greater power and higher efficiency antenna of a vehicle mounted radio let's you communicate over much greater distances, miles and miles even if a repeater is involved.

Ahhhh. Ok, then in that case yes its probably the best thing.

 

[Gryf]

For a tight convoy that's great advice and from my experience it has been that and/or CB radio. When you are more dispersed the greater power and higher efficiency antenna of a vehicle mounted radio let's you communicate over much greater distances, miles and miles even if a repeater is involved.

CB has what, like a 3-5 miles range? I guess I'm not familiar with the ranges we're talking in comms. I'm thinking element maneuver I suppose, not meetup and such.

When in a group how often does comm range need to be greater than 5 miles?

 

[RyanC]

CB has what, like a 3-5 miles range? I guess I'm not familiar with the ranges we're talking in comms. I'm thinking element maneuver I suppose, not meetup and such.

When in a group how often does comm range need to be greater than 5 miles?

CB is mostly line of sight. I've only used HAM in a situation where no other radio service would have worked in two instances. One was finding base camp hours after the rest of the group convoyed there. The other was just to keep chatting as the group split up. HAM is also line of sight like CB, it just has far greater power available to the user, though I use only 5 watts for most communications. HAM on 2m is my preference because it seems to penetrate foliage pretty well and the code quality is very good compared to CB, also the antenna can be smaller for the same gain. With my base camp radio I've made contacts half way across the United States, but that's a whole other subject.

Short answer, I've almost never needed long range comms, though my experience is admittedly limited. The exception I can think of is if your group is split up on purpose or accident. Or if you just like it as a hobby. I do carry several extra FRS walkie talkies for people who need them and the OB GMRS channel was specifically chosen because it allows cross-communication with normal walkie talkies.

 

[Ditcherman]

I think we've grown a LOT in the last year.

I’m 3743 and joined April of 17, so 12k members in a year and a half. Just saw 15003 posted above^.

 

[brien]

My fear is this turns into something that gets in the way of people participating in the hobby.

Think of comms as a necessity if you plan on going out with one or more other vehicles at any point. You want to be able to reliable and efficiently communicate with others in the group while in-vehicle. Note that this is different than having emergency communications devices like an in-reach. With a radio in the rig, it's primary use will be to communicate with other people in your group while on a trip. This can be conversation, turn notifications, or things like "are you hungry? should we stop for lunch soon?" "How are you doing on gas?"

The end-goal should be to eventually have all three radio types, but by no means should you get them all right away, unless you like spending lots of money in large chunks! If i were to suggest a priority for going from no comms to full comms, i would say:

1) Get a GMRS radio/license first, as the license is easy to get (no test, just pay the FCC) and the sound quality and range are great. The reason i suggest this as the first, is that you can also pick up some FRS radios to hand out. If you are on a group run, and people don't have a GMRS radio, or even comms of any kind, just hand out some FRS to people who need them and you're off! Often times, GMRS handhelds are sold in packs of two, so right out the gate you'll have one extra radio (set it on low power if you give it to an unlicensed person to borrow)

2) CB. The sound quality is crap, and the range is typically terrible (in canyons/valleys especially), but unfortunately, CB radio is king of the trail in most areas. Chances are most of the people you will go out with will at least have a CB radio. Don't spend a lot of money on a CB, because you may hardly use it. I have one in my rig, but i probably only use it once or twice a year tops.

3) Finally, after you have the other two, strongly consider spending a week or so studying for the amateur radio Technician license, and go take the test. It's quite easy especially if you just focus on memorizing the question pool. I know of 9 year olds who have their Extra class license (the third and most difficult of the exams), so don't listen to anybody who tells you it's too hard to pass Technician. Once you have your ham license, this is where you'll wanna eventually drop some money down on a nice radio for your rig. The sound quality, range, and feature set really cannot be beat.

In my case, the order of how often each gets used is: Ham (by far the most used for me), GMRS, and CB (rarely ever gets used)

Long story short: Don't worry about diving super deep into the radio stuff right now, just pick one and go with it, but consider planning on eventually having all three if you plan on joining group trips at any point. Also talk to people in your area, the radio of choice is usually a regional preference, so some areas may be almost exclusively CB, and other areas may be almost exclusively ham. If you talk to people in your area and they all use CB, then get a CB first and ignore my priority suggestion above

If your plan is to continue only doing solo trips, skip GMRS and CB, but still consider ham, as it's the best option for emergency communication should you find yourself in a bind. If you are solo, you are probably primarily interested in comms for some sort of mishap or breakdown, so strongly STRONGLY consider getting a SPOT or In-Reach, or even a sat phone.

 

[Gryf]

I think it's great we support all the formats with a standard. However I need help deciding on what format is best for us to expect.

I'm sorry for bludgeoning y'all with my ignorance especially since y'all were having a great technical discussion and set frequencies for us to use. Making standards for the use of equipment is great but knowing what is most used and how people use it is my primary goal.

If all of OB were to get together what is the most likely piece of kit we'd all have to communicate with?

 

[Gryf]

Think of comms as a necessity if you plan on going out with one or more other vehicles at any point. You want to be able to reliable and efficiently communicate with others in the group while in-vehicle.

That's actually my point in this discussion. We will need it to participate with others and safely go on those longer or more, ummm, exciting, rides. I'm looking for the format that will give me the best bang for my limited buck and doesn't require my studying to utilize. I will say I'm happy to get a HAM license if we can get a walkthrough study group for the test.

I appreciate your insight and will consider all this. Thank you for taking the time to lay that all out for me.

 

[brien]

I think it's great we support all the formats with a standard. However I need help deciding on what format is best for us to expect.

I'm sorry for bludgeoning y'all with my ignorance especially since y'all were having a great technical discussion and set frequencies for us to use. Making standards for the use of equipment is great but knowing what is most used and how people use it is my primary goal.

If all of OB were to get together what is the most likely piece of kit we'd all have to communicate with?

Yep, this is the crux of the problem with selecting a "most likely" communication type: It's a highly regional thing.
For OB, I think the official recommendation would probably be "get all three", hah. But the practical recommendation would be: Talk to other people in your area and just ask what people tend to use while out on the trail, and then get that radio type first. I could recommend you go get your ham license and a 2m radio, but you may go out on a group run and find that everybody in the LV area only uses CB.

 

[RyanC]

I think it's great we support all the formats with a standard. However I need help deciding on what format is best for us to expect.

I'm sorry for bludgeoning y'all with my ignorance especially since y'all were having a great technical discussion and set frequencies for us to use. Making standards for the use of equipment is great but knowing what is most used and how people use it is my primary goal.

If all of OB were to get together what is the most likely piece of kit we'd all have to communicate with?

I think we are still working that one out. Having the standards and guidelines will help to homogenize our future communications device selections. It's definitely still a mixed bag and I think Brien's suggestions are the way to determine how to prioritize. Definitely see what's in your area first, check your regional section of the forums and don't be afraid to start a thread asking that question. In Michigan, CB and FRS/GMRS is where I started, then got into HAM a few years later.

 

[RyanC]

That's actually my point in this discussion. We will need it to participate with others and safely go on those longer or more, ummm, exciting, rides. I'm looking for the format that will give me the best bang for my limited buck and doesn't require my studying to utilize. I will say I'm happy to get a HAM license if we can get a walkthrough study group for the test.

I appreciate your insight and will consider all this. Thank you for taking the time to lay that all out for me.

KB6NU has a great free "No-Nonsense" study guide that goes over all of the questions on the test and it's free on his website. I aced my test with his guide. www.KB6NU.com

 

[brien]

I'm looking for the format that will give me the best bang for my limited buck and doesn't require my studying to utilize.

in that case, drop a few bucks right away on a cheap CB radio, as well as a decent GMRS radio, like a Midland MXT275 or MXT 115. With those two you will be fully ready for any group. you can likely pick up both a cheap CB and a decent GMRS for less than $200 combined

When you are ready and have sufficient time and interest in getting your Technician license, do that third.

I will say I'm happy to get a HAM license if we can get a walkthrough study group for the test.

Stay tuned! (pun intended) We're in the beginning stages of organizing some programs to help get more people in the community licensed!