I know they are not the best radios in the world, but they usually work well enough for our group when we travel to Colorado every year. We usually get a decent signal and can at least check in with each other a couple times a day. Well, this year I had serious issues and really opened my eyes to how serious not having communication could be.
To make a long story short, my dad who is 75 had his horse fall while crossing a creek and pinned him under it. Luckily, he came away only with a pretty bruised up shin and sore ribs. My brother was with him at the time and had to cut the saddle off the horse in order for the horse to get up. It was a warm, sunny day and that probably saved him because we got his wet clothes off and had him sit in the sun with our dry clothes on. The bigger issue here was that I was only about 200 yards away from them down the creek and could not reach them and they couldn't reach me on the radio. The only way I knew something was up was that my brother's horse came running down the trail past me because he jumped off and let it go. If I hadn't seen his horse, I would have been off hunting all day and never knew that a potentially deadly event was happening.
So.....no longer am I going to trust mine or anyone else's life to those crappy radios. What I want to ask of you all is what other radios have you used that #1 work and #2 don't weigh a ton, and #3 dont require recharging every day. Or, am I asking too much with those requirements?
I know that more powerful UHF radios are available but I don't want to throw down alot of money and not get what will work. Anyone use shortwave?
To make a long story short, my dad who is 75 had his horse fall while crossing a creek and pinned him under it. Luckily, he came away only with a pretty bruised up shin and sore ribs. My brother was with him at the time and had to cut the saddle off the horse in order for the horse to get up. It was a warm, sunny day and that probably saved him because we got his wet clothes off and had him sit in the sun with our dry clothes on. The bigger issue here was that I was only about 200 yards away from them down the creek and could not reach them and they couldn't reach me on the radio. The only way I knew something was up was that my brother's horse came running down the trail past me because he jumped off and let it go. If I hadn't seen his horse, I would have been off hunting all day and never knew that a potentially deadly event was happening.
So.....no longer am I going to trust mine or anyone else's life to those crappy radios. What I want to ask of you all is what other radios have you used that #1 work and #2 don't weigh a ton, and #3 dont require recharging every day. Or, am I asking too much with those requirements?
I know that more powerful UHF radios are available but I don't want to throw down alot of money and not get what will work. Anyone use shortwave?
