Another top test. I have used Smiley Antennas, tuned for a specific frequency e.g. an antenna tuned for VHF Hi 155mhz is good from 150-160 & a UHF antenna tuned for 465mhz is good from 460-470. They manufacture a wide variety of portable radio antennas and have interchangeable bases for just about any HT made... Motorola, Kenwood, Icom, SMA-F, SMA-M, BNC, TNC ... As I mentioned before, I don't know much about Motorolas. We had some in the 1990s Coast Guard, and they were boat anchors. We spent our own $ on VHF Marine Icoms. So I don't know if your Motorola antennas cover the entire frequency spectrum (136-174 & 400-480/520) or if they are "tuned" a bit more narrower... A little trivia... large, ocean freightliners often have UHF radios for comms within the vessel, shipboard firefighting, and for port ops in the 452/462mhz with repeater splits of 10.10, per the ITU. But a lot of them operate on GMRS without a license. It's cheaper. The FCC will send them a warning if they are caught. The UHF penetrates the bulkheads. VHF just bounces around inside the vessel. From your tests, it looks like P25 gives a clearer signal than analog in general.
@@baronedipiemonte3990 hey Baron, appreciate the comment! I have ZERO experience with smiley antennas but have seen a bunch of good reviews about them and would not mind comparing them to a moto antenna to see how they hold up (hello future video idea). You are also spot on about the UHF radios on ships for the crews….. I am intimately familiar with this form an enforcement perspective and everything you see are saying is accurate. I am very curious to see what happens once I push this out to the 2 mile mark. 🍻
@RANTStrategies Having seen this, and your previous tests, I'm thinking that UHF will edge out. "Theory" is fine. It's a foundation. But real world tests in a variety of environments show what works and what doesn't at the end of the day. It's good that you are testing under simplex because you aren't always going to have the convenience of repeaters - for a variety of reasons... And most of those are 10 watts or more, high gain antennas, 50 ft or higher. I saw first hand what happened to the "fancy" comms in the New Orleans areas after Hurricane Katrina. As well as areas much further north along Lakes Superior & Erie during some hard winter conditions. A lot of agencies get bit by the newest technology bugs, when often the simple solutions are the best.
AM CB has characteristics just like HF and is unreliable. That's why the Coast Guard & FCC strongly discourages CB as a sole means of waterborne comms. Many of the wires you see on ocean going vessels are HF SSB dipole antennas and use "skip" to cover distance.
@@jplacido9999 hey j, Baron beat me to it,…… in theory you are correct, but in reality what baron is saying is accurate. This is why I’m a bit of a fanatic on gear testing, especially when it comes to comms
Great video, like to see a video on your thoughts and ideas about radio prepping for natural catastrophes
I will absolutely get into that! Just may take a little bit of time. Thanks for the comment
Another top test. I have used Smiley Antennas, tuned for a specific frequency e.g. an antenna tuned for VHF Hi 155mhz is good from 150-160 & a UHF antenna tuned for 465mhz is good from 460-470. They manufacture a wide variety of portable radio antennas and have interchangeable bases for just about any HT made... Motorola, Kenwood, Icom, SMA-F, SMA-M, BNC, TNC ... As I mentioned before, I don't know much about Motorolas. We had some in the 1990s Coast Guard, and they were boat anchors. We spent our own $ on VHF Marine Icoms. So I don't know if your Motorola antennas cover the entire frequency spectrum (136-174 & 400-480/520) or if they are "tuned" a bit more narrower... A little trivia... large, ocean freightliners often have UHF radios for comms within the vessel, shipboard firefighting, and for port ops in the 452/462mhz with repeater splits of 10.10, per the ITU. But a lot of them operate on GMRS without a license. It's cheaper. The FCC will send them a warning if they are caught. The UHF penetrates the bulkheads. VHF just bounces around inside the vessel. From your tests, it looks like P25 gives a clearer signal than analog in general.
@@baronedipiemonte3990 hey Baron, appreciate the comment! I have ZERO experience with smiley antennas but have seen a bunch of good reviews about them and would not mind comparing them to a moto antenna to see how they hold up (hello future video idea). You are also spot on about the UHF radios on ships for the crews….. I am intimately familiar with this form an enforcement perspective and everything you see are saying is accurate. I am very curious to see what happens once I push this out to the 2 mile mark. 🍻
@RANTStrategies Having seen this, and your previous tests, I'm thinking that UHF will edge out. "Theory" is fine. It's a foundation. But real world tests in a variety of environments show what works and what doesn't at the end of the day. It's good that you are testing under simplex because you aren't always going to have the convenience of repeaters - for a variety of reasons... And most of those are 10 watts or more, high gain antennas, 50 ft or higher. I saw first hand what happened to the "fancy" comms in the New Orleans areas after Hurricane Katrina. As well as areas much further north along Lakes Superior & Erie during some hard winter conditions. A lot of agencies get bit by the newest technology bugs, when often the simple solutions are the best.
@@baronedipiemonte3990you are on the EXACT same wavelength with us for what we are going for here by doing these.
Apx might need a tune
Yessir… that’s been taken care of! Stay safe
In the water, CB would be the best for range , then VHF and last UHF
AM CB has characteristics just like HF and is unreliable. That's why the Coast Guard & FCC strongly discourages CB as a sole means of waterborne comms. Many of the wires you see on ocean going vessels are HF SSB dipole antennas and use "skip" to cover distance.
@@jplacido9999 hey j, Baron beat me to it,…… in theory you are correct, but in reality what baron is saying is accurate. This is why I’m a bit of a fanatic on gear testing, especially when it comes to comms
@@RANTStrategies
And you are absolutely right 👍👍👍🙏
@@baronedipiemonte3990
Yes. Never as a sole radio.
But even between 5W CB portables you can do 50 km over water.
FM is nice to avoid QRN.