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Old 20th Sep 2018, 11:57 am   #190
SiriusHardware
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Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, UK.
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Default Re: Users of 2 metre Amateur Band?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Scimitar View Post
Surely that is what PMR446 was designed for?
Although 0.5W on UHF might just about cover the width and breadth of the Orkney mainland given optimal and ideally mounted aerials, PMR446 is strictly limited to integral, non-removable aerials which in most cases means the little nubbin on the top of the set. Base / Mobile stations with remote, ideally mounted aerials are not allowed on PMR446, although there have been rare models which attempted to circumvent this by having a hard wired (therefore 'integral') cable connected remote mountable aerial.

A more ideal crossover between PMR446 and amateur radio would be something along the lines of the Australian UHF CB system, for which there is no exact equivalent in the UK. The closest we had was 934MHz CB, which, if still in existence, might have been ideal for CrestaVega's purpose. Unfortunately equipment was very costly at the time, and the take-up was very poor and the system was eventually discontinued.

27MHz, 4W CB has better range over an obstructed path than PMR446 but decent aerials for the band are impractically long and unwieldy, and as an HF band (albeit at the high end) it is prone to interference from man-made sources such as SMPSUs and all manner of digital devices, and these tend to burst the squelch at random intervals, creating an annoying racket from time to time. Some of the most modern CB sets may offer CTCSS as a feature or option, that would go some way to keeping the sets a little quieter while in receive standby. Certain historic CB brands, notably Ham International, offered selcall as an optional extra but I don't know if any such option exists on any CB radio produced today.

Really, the simplest option is just to go down the foundation licence route for legitimate access to 2 metres, and the Orkney 2m repeater.
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