Fieldcraft Hey radio guys; step on in

[TheGerman]

Was looking at a vehicle/ruck comms transciever with a few specific features. I know enough to be dangerous, but at this point its all noise to me and all kind of looks the same and I'm not 100% sure if certain units have exactly what I'm after.

Intention was to be able to have this in a vehicle and plug it into a 'static' antenna on the vehicle while we're all out in the desert as well as be able to toss it in a ruck with its own folding whip. I know a ton of this is LoS so I've been upping my antenna game as well.

Things I was wanting it to do (and forgive how I explain this/feel free to ask questions if shit sounds retarded):

- Rx/Tx on MURS/GMRS (which all the units do)

- Be able to be programmed either directly on the unit or via a cable and something like CHIIRP

- Be able to monitor multiple channels at a time (minimum of 2; but more is better as well as an easy way to Tx on one channel and switch to Tx on another without having to fuck with menus and 14 buttons)

- Be set up as a 'mobile repeater' in that, lets say the guy next to me has a squad level radio on him which I can obviously Rx since I'm 15 feet from him, but the other squad over the hill can't. Assuming the mobile repeater I have in the ruck + antenna can reach the other squad, I am under the impression these radios can 'grab' the Tx from the guy next to me and send it to the other squad? Am I understanding this right?

The TH-8600 says 'Repeater Capable' and the KT7900 says 'Repeater Function'. Is this what I'm looking for and if so, will it work like I am describing above?

- I want the unit to also be able to actively scan channels quickly. For example, when you scan channels on a cheap Baofeng, it hits one frequency channel and sits on it for a second and then goes to the next; unless someone is Tx during that second on that specific channel it never picks up anything. I want a unit that is able to scan quickly to see if anything is Txing even for a few seconds while its looking. The only features I can see are 'channel scan' and 'priority scan' but am not sure what those actually are.

Here are the 2 units I'm looking at but leaning towards the TYT TH8600. I'm also open to suggestions as I'm not set on anything.

TYT TH-8600 Dual Band Mini Mobile Two Way Radio - TYT electronics

TYT TH-8600 dual band 25 watts in VHF, 20W in UHF, inside photos, tytera TH-8600 software, user manual download, tyt electronics

radioaficion.com

QYT KT-7900D - Quad band 144/220/350/440MHZ Mobile radio 25Watts

QYT KT-7900D Quad band 144/220/350/440MHZ Mobile radio 25Watts Large LCD Repeater Function, Remote Stun, Remote Activate, Download KT-7900D Software

radioaficion.com

 

[W54/XM-388]

Have you thought about getting your Ham license?

 

[TheGerman]

Have you thought about getting your Ham license?

Yeah, but the use of what I'm setting up for can't be used on repeaters or on frequencies where you have to use HAM callsigns. Outside of personal use, it will be for a business where the clients will constantly be different people and obviously won't know how/won't want to be inundated with HAM callsigns and regulations.

It would be like inviting over a different group of friends who don't have HAM licenses every night to get on your radio.

I have the GMRS/MURS FCC license.

 

[Alpine 338]

Both radios you have linked don't go into detail on the specs. If you're going to carry it in a ruck, I would make sure the power can be set down to one or two watts, as you will be limited on battery capacity, and obviously, the more power you TX at, the more it taxes the battery. Only use the amount of power you need to have clear comms, is a good rule of thumb, when working off of a battery. The other thing the specs don't show is the channel scan rate. Some radios are faster than others. Many higher end commercial or military type, and even some amateur radio equipment do offer a calling or priority channel that can be continuously monitored, while also scanning other channels. Maybe call the vendor for the radio, and ask these questions, if they don't list them in the specs.