TWO WAY RADIOS

**Dirk777** · 02-01-2012, 16:44

Please guys, your advice is needed,
I want to get a couple of two way radios, I am new to this and saw an add in a hunting mag. for a radio called "Vratvark @ R795" and a "Krimpvark @ R499", does anybody have personal experience with these models?

We would use it for hunting, and comms between the vehicles on the way there and back (Namibia) and then in a +- 4km radius at home.

Thanx.

**driepootx** · 02-01-2012, 16:50

Most of the newer two way radios are very effective with low battery consumption and plenty of features. They also dont need to be licensed.

**Adoons** · 02-01-2012, 17:28

Just make sure about the licensing requirements for Namibia. It is anyway a cheap and painless procedure so rather safe than sorry. Travelling through Botswana? For that you also need a license, but is not so easy and painless.

**Andrew Leigh** · 02-01-2012, 23:51

Would also like to know the answers.

From what I have seen the smaller R 1 000 radios seldom can transmit over 1km in favourable conditions. If you have line of sight you can get much further. Also at fill power the consumption is 1.7A with a 1.2Ah battery you will be lucky to get a full 6 hours, which may or may not be fine.

It would appear as if 4W is the legal limit. Ask them what the range is, it is not stated on their sire.

**Scuba Steve** · 03-01-2012, 06:59

For vehicle use I suppose a pair of cb's would be best. Google zartek (I think that's the name), they also have good handheld devices with good range. Some a bit pricey but I believe good stuff.

**Spike Pretorius** · 03-01-2012, 08:05

The cheap licence-free radios are rubbish and a waste of money.
CB (27mhz) went out in the 70's
29mhz is economical for mobile units (fitted in the vehicle) but handheld units are expensive, not very good, and difficult to source

VHF is the way to go for this application
You can get vhf handhelds for around R1.5k each, possibly even cheaper if you shop around or go Chinese.
If you really want a nice set up then fit mobiles in your vehicles as well. Then if somebody goes for a walk or the wife goes for a piss perade then they have comms with base.
They would need licences for each radio. R80-R100 is the ballpark depending on what route you take for your licence.

**Paul** · 03-01-2012, 08:35

Contact ORRA (the Off-Road Radio Association) or 4WDC SA or LROC or someone. One of the benefits to membership is that they have their own dedicated VHF frequencies and you can fall under their license.

VHF is the ONLY route to follow. UHF is great for contacting the orbiting Telstar, but pretty useless otherwise.

You can get nice 25W handhelds from Motorola at about R2500ea.

**MyLani** · 03-01-2012, 08:57

Do yourself a favour and get a Ham Radio Licence. It's a nasty exam to pass, but leaves you open to any radio.
You can get handheld transceivers for R1200 that has excellent range and open to all frequencies

**Spike Pretorius** · 03-01-2012, 09:00

4x4community.co.za is considered a 4x4 club in the eyes of ORRA and you can get your licence through that route. Probably the easiest and cheapest option.
Take a peep at the stickies on this page
http://www.4x4community.co.za/forum/...play.php?f=147

You can get nice 25W handhelds from Motorola at about R2500ea.

Commercially you may only use up to 5w with a handheld. Higher power is restricted to licensed radio amateurs (HAM) which is a mission and not necessary for casual comms.

Check out the classifieds on that site listed above. There are some Kirisun units listed for under a grand.
The oke selling them is quite paraat about licensing though (he's the radio "officer" on the site) so be prepared to toe the line with licensing before being able to get the radios
http://www.4x4community.co.za/classi...t/5727/cat/all

Moderators please excuse the links to another site. It seems necessary under the circumstances

**Dirk777** · 03-01-2012, 09:25

Wow, thank you Spike, MyLani, Paul, Scuba Steve, Andrew.

I remember many years back, my grandfather had a CB radio in his "man-cave" garage. But it was a serious contraption, with massive antennas and amplifiers and... stuff. He spoke to people form other countries IIRC.