7W radio on DX

[MultipleParadox]

Might be of interest if it's any good:

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/yst-t-3...e-black-102671

[coach]

good way to blow your team mates receivers!

[EagleDriver]

Originally Posted by coachster

good way to blow your team mates receivers!

7 watts won't do anything to your team mates receivers other than let them hear you better of a slightly longer distance.

[FOX_111]

I'm pretty sure it won't improve the range that much.

You'd need another kind of antena and maybe change the frequency to get better range.

[EagleDriver]

More watts=better range. 7 watts on VHF is better than 5 but it won't increase the range dramatically but it will do so with the same antenna on the same frequency. If you note the radio pics the UHF version shows 6 watts under the battery (versus 4 for the normal UHF HT.)

[FOX_111]

It's not a direct relationship between range and wattage.
It also has to do with antena type and frequency.

[Aedan798]

well actually Fox Watt is a major factor for range but yes you also have a point antenna type also determine which range is going to work but there is little difference between them other than if you want a range of 40 km you will need a certain type of antenna (dont remember which one though) No it's never going to blow you receiver if you get 7W of power over you radio because the 7W is at the base of the transmister only as you farther from the start point the energy carried with the wave is decresing with time and range

(don't argue someone who is working with that everyday)

[surebet]

If someone gets one in, review please?

[Deadpool]

Originally Posted by coachster

good way to blow your team mates receivers!

No, but it's a good way to let the other team know what you're doing, beacuse that cheap high power thing will probably spill it's transmission all over the other freqs.

[EagleDriver]

You know what - I can't find anything on that brand but I believe that Yaesu or Icom also has a 6w/7w HT. If memory serves correctly it was only a wideband radio. This one looks like it has either a 2 pin Kenwood or Motorola headset jack. But the Chinese manufacturers seem to prefer the Kenwood jack. I might just get one of these to see what it is about - if it works I could pair two of them as a 6 watt UHF repeater. Would be great to put it on top of the Hotel at Pine Plains.

[Drake]

Wow, some heavy misunderstanding happening on this thread.

Lets clear a few things up:

More power = more range? A bit, but not much. In simplified terms, doubling your output power will roughly increase your range by 1/2 (the actual amount is something like 1.4xx times, so just under 1/2). And by range we're talking about clear, line-of-sight range (like on open water or mountaintop to mountaintop): people, trees, buildings and terrain will diminish that range, usually quite considerably.

In this case, going from 5W to 7W is less than HALF double, so the actual increase in range would be under 1/4.

Watts play only a very small role in broadcast range. What it WILL do, as Deadpool pointed out, is it will spill over on adjacent frequencies. We're usually broadcasting on FRS frequencies which are spaced with 0.5W power in mind (2W or upto 5W for GMRS channels). Broadcasting with more power just means people on other channels will hear the transmission too and you might end up drowning out transmissions from people elsewhere (which you may not hear because they arent broadcasting with as much power) -- in effect you'll be inadvertently "jamming" your team's comms.

Your antenna plays a much more significant role in increasing your range: an antenna with increased gain for example. 3dB gain will increase your range by 1/2 (1.5x) -- doubling your output power is also a 3dB increase. Think of an antenna with no gain (called a Unity antenna) as broadcasting a signal you can visualize as a sphere: it broadcasts as far "up" vertically as it does horizontally (distance). Antenna gain "squashes" the sphere, at 3dB the sphere will be half as high but twice as wide (diameter, therefor the radius is 50% longer thus 1.5x range increase). At 6dB the sphere is squashed even thinner but is four times as wide (so radius is doubled).

The problem is with enough gain the "sphere" becomes almost flat and the radio antenna becomes directional. This is fine if you have two aligned antennas, on a building for example such as high gain wifi relay antennas, but in practice it means you'd have to tilt your antenna up towards someone who was above you (on a hill for example) even if they were close by (think of a narrow beam flashlight).

The second factor to increasing range is getting the antenna away from the ground. People shove their radios in their vest pouches or on their belt, etc where their body soaks up a portion of the signal. Trees and vegetation, other people, the terrain, etc all contribute to lowering signal strength. Getting a longer antenna (higher gain antenna usually are) will also help with improving comms.

Point in case, $50 is a good deal for a radio. But don't get it just because its 7W, because the increased power by itself won't help you much.

[FOX_111]

Thanks for putting it in so many clearer words!

[m102404]

At pretty much every game we've played around here...we've got our 5-4W radios set to Low power.
- too close to someone...all they get is static
- spillage over into other channels

The stock short antenna has been fine for 95% of any usage...the longer antennas do fill the gap for the longest range/worst conditions. The odd time we'll switch to High (reg) power with the short antenna (usually far distance and/or sh*tty weather)

Don't sweat the numbers....get something better than the talkabouts and you're already better off...and the guys running better than the common 4-5W radios are usually running them from a C&C station.

[SuperHog]

Most dual band VHF/UHF have higher output for the VHF and lower for the UHF.

The 7W may be for the VHF band on this radio.

[coach]

Originally Posted by EagleDriver

7 watts won't do anything to your team mates receivers other than let them hear you better of a slightly longer distance.

Didn't mean literally, but when they are closer, your transmission can come through as very loud.