PMR446 v Walkie Talkies

[NorthernRaider]

We only covered this a short while back in depth didnt we??

Walking talkies according to our sage LS are of .5 watt power and have fixed rubber duck antenna, the lesson he taught me was its not more power that is needed, though it does not go amiss, but the best possible antenna is the way to get the best performance. In the UK Walkie Talkies are normally tuned to PMR 446 channels 1 to 8 @.5 watt

Walkie Talkies come with comprimise rubber duck antenna and this according to LS is what limits its capabilities, plus the limited channels could be an issue.

UV5Rs have 70cm and 11 Meg frequencies PLUS the PMR 446 channels, you can SELECT .5 of a watt output OR 5 watt output to suit your needs, BUT more importantly the antennas can be quickly swapped out from the little rubber duck antenna and a much better antenna fitted for under £12 thus can greatly boost your range.

Its also easily reprogrammable using CHIRP if you want different frequencies, I for example do not have a ham licence nor do I want one so I deleted the ham frequencies from the UV5 and just put in the 16 PMR & DPMR channels This for me gives me almost private radio use as I have not heard anyone else around here in over a year except on Ch1 and thats the Quarry truck drivers.

I think you can also add MARINE channels among others to UV5R.

So if you just want simple room to room CQ comms get a pair of cheap walkie talkies, but if you want or have a ham licence or want to reach out to others AFTER TSHTF you may find the multi talented UV5Rs are best suited to your needs.

FYI UV5Rs also have an FM radio receiver built in 88 to 108FM and a torch and can be fitted with various accessories like expended battery packs, better antenna, speaker microphones etc