Mitex radio

[kwallace21]

Hello all. looking for bike to bike radios to plug in to my Autocom.
Was looking at Kenwood UBZ .5 watt but was worried that if I mounted it under the seat with the antenna horizontal it would have a crap range.
Just seen in Maplin a pair of Mitex 5 watt radios with removable antennas and think this might be the answer. Simple. powerful and have optional remote antennas. Does anyone use one of these? They would appear to use the Kenwood cables for Autocom connection. Not sure if Autocom does a bike power cable though.
Any thoughts folks on using this with an Autocom?
cheers
Kev

 

[Black Rooster]

5 watt PMR446 are not legal in UK so take care or OFCOM might batter ur door in

Intek MT5050 are are 1/2 watt and snip a few wires and they are 5 watts
i think the kenwood TK range can be programed via proggy lead

most PMRs have fixed antena
if u get one that has a removable antena the wavelenght is about 70 cm

so 1/2 dipoles 35 cm
1/4 17 cm

not bought mine yet was looking at MT5050s for ease of "upgrading to 5 W" also can solder in a SMC conector for external antena

 

[Schtum]

You might find this thread interesting - http://www.bikersoracle.com/central/forum/showthread.php?t=4861

 

[Boon]

Fink the mitex are set to uk general uhf 449 mHz but can be reprogrammed.

DONT pay £75 for an antenna ( calling an antenna a 5/8 wave professional antenna is like calling a matt black spoon a 'tactical spoon' .......its still a spoon)..........if you want to make one and dont have a UHF antenna analyser or decent VSWR meter ........go to the likes of moonraker and buy a tuneable whip for not allot of money and just use the cutting chart to cut it to the right size for the frequency you are using.I make tuned whips for about £2 each by buying bases and tapered full length s/s whips,dont think mucho gain is good,if the antenna leans off the vertical it will attenuate like buggery.

I got a couple of 16 ch uhf 5 watt chinese radios........programming info on here somewhere........they may now inhabit the pmr 446 band and may be put on the FRS american channels when I go to Florida later this year.

£40 a pair off fleabay with charging pods and Li Ion batts,detatchable antenna and voice confirmation of channel selection..........

some eaven come with 'scrambling' which is just fixed point audio frequency inversion..........

 

[Black Rooster]

you can get a 1/4 wave (approx 15 cm) length UHF 400-470 MHz Length with a smc or bnc conector for less than 20 quid just has to be Ground plane indepentant one dont think bikes have a large enough metal mass for a ground plane

these are just my thoughts on what i would be looking at i might of course be completly off the track

note ( a VSWR meter up to 500 MHz is anywhere fron 50 to 100 quid)

nope this helps

just might not get a 1/4 wave that can be used without a ground plane
so 1/2 wave 30 odd cm may have to be used just a bugger on a bike or 5/8 wavelengh

 

[Black Rooster]

you can get a 1/4 wave (approx 15 cm) length UHF 400-470 MHz Length with a smc or bnc conector for less than 20 quid just has to be Ground plane indepentant one dont think bikes have a large enough metal mass for a ground plane

these are just my thoughts on what i would be looking at i might of course be completly off the track

note ( a VSWR meter up to 500 MHz is anywhere fron 50 to 100 quid

nope this helps

 

[roddy]

I'd double check that when you buy them that Maplin don't pass your details onto Ofcom to see if you register for a radio license, they do this with TV at present so the license board can get you if you don't apply for a TV license.

Worth noting a 0.5watt PMR radio with the aerial in the vertical position gives a good range, 5watts sounds good but is a bit excessive and truly not needed, you'll end up swamping every PMR in the immediate area with your chatter.

 

[AberdeenAngus]

I'd double check that when you buy them that Maplin don't pass your details onto Ofcom to see if you register for a radio license, they do this with TV at present so the license board can get you if you don't apply for a TV license.

Worth noting a 0.5watt PMR radio with the aerial in the vertical position gives a good range, 5watts sounds good but is a bit excessive and truly not needed, you'll end up swamping every PMR in the immediate area with your chatter.

I have a pmr set on my bike and sometimes ride with it on scan, just out of nosieness. Hardly ever hear anyone except very rarely in a town. Don't think you'll be swamping anyone using 5 watts and even if you do, you are moving so you'll be gone in a sec. I've done some range tests with mine and, in open country, even on 5 watts you only get a couple of miles. 0.5 watts is useless.
No chance you'll get rumbled using 5 watts. How could they know ?

 

[Black Rooster]

te intek mt5050 is a pmr446 so licence free


a few snips ( ob it then is not a licence free)
with the side snips and its 5 watts only draw back is you have to desolder the old antenna and put in a PCB SMC or BNC and there are tuned anetennas from intek for it



http://www.delboyenterprises.co.uk/CB/UHF_CB.htm

about 1/2 down the page righthand side under the security sticker in the batt compartment

 

[Boon]

Intek is also seriously overpriced....................

 

[Tinytim]

I'd double check that when you buy them that Maplin don't pass your details onto Ofcom to see if you register for a radio license, they do this with TV at present so the license board can get you if you don't apply for a TV license.

Worth noting a 0.5watt PMR radio with the aerial in the vertical position gives a good range, 5watts sounds good but is a bit excessive and truly not needed, you'll end up swamping every PMR in the immediate area with your chatter.

Pay cash and where one of these

 

[roddy]

I have a pmr set on my bike and sometimes ride with it on scan, just out of nosieness. Hardly ever hear anyone except very rarely in a town. Don't think you'll be swamping anyone using 5 watts and even if you do,

Stay somewhere busier
and you'll not be out of range in a sec if you have a 2 mile range, unless your doing 120+

I've done some range tests with mine and, in open country, even on 5 watts you only get a couple of miles. 0.5 watts is useless.
No chance you'll get rumbled using 5 watts. How could they know ?

how your radio is setup makes a huge difference to range, aerial position, squelch to name a couple. I used to get about 0.5 miles in open flatland and about on average in lumpier bits 0.25 mile ?

How could they know- as I pointed out earlier Maplins may (they may not just pointing out a possibility) ask for an address as they do for TV's, you could of course say you stay on the moon for all they'll care, regardless of how you pay

 

[Kritou]

.............how your radio is setup makes a huge difference to range, aerial position, squelch to name a couple. I used to get about 0.5 miles in open flatland and about on average in lumpier bits 0.25 mile ?..........

I'll second that - from my in-town walled backyard with an A80 on .5 watts and dipole taped to the windsceen I can work a friend nine miles away (OK, he has a multi watt base station and 5/8 antenna high on the wall) but put the rubber ducky on and ............ zilch

 

[Boon]

As for grounplane. A small tin lid is useable at uhf so a bike is way big enough. You are only counterpoising a tiny area of metal.

 

[AberdeenAngus]

Stay somewhere busier
and you'll not be out of range in a sec if you have a 2 mile range, unless your doing 120+

"In a sec" was not meant literally.

how your radio is setup makes a huge difference to range, aerial position, squelch to name a couple. I used to get about 0.5 miles in open flatland and about on average in lumpier bits 0.25 mile ?

I am talking practical experience on a bike to bike set-up. 0.5w was crap.....5watts was not crap.
0.25 mile = 400 yds = crap.
2 miles = ten times that = not crap.

How could they know- as I pointed out earlier Maplins may (they may not just pointing out a possibility) ask for an address as they do for TV's, you could of course say you stay on the moon for all they'll care, regardless of how you pay

Giving your name and address is a legal requirement for buying a TV. Not the case with a walkie. If you are the worrying sort - dont tell them. But is you're that sort then best to comply with the letter of the law and sleep better.

I also have some VHF sets if you're really looking for range

 

[AberdeenAngus]

I'll second that - from my in-town walled backyard with an A80 on .5 watts and dipole taped to the windsceen I can work a friend nine miles away (OK, he has a multi watt base station and 5/8 antenna high on the wall) but put the rubber ducky on and ............ zilch

Regulations on the harmonised frequency band to be designated for PMR 446
(ERC/DEC/(98)25)

"......that the equipment shall use only integral antenna and an effective radiated power not exceeding 500 mW"

You've done it now....you're an outlaw

 

[Bumpkin]

Regulations on the harmonised frequency band to be designated for PMR 446
(ERC/DEC/(98)25)

"......that the equipment shall use only integral antenna and an effective radiated power not exceeding 500 mW"

You've done it now....you're an outlaw

If modifications are made to the equipment, such as adding an antenna connector, the overall maximum ERP or other technical parameters must not exceed the permitted levels set out in the Interface Requirement.

From OFCOM Analogue and Digital PMR446 Information Sheet - 5 Oct 2009

Seems to infer that an external antenna is OK so long as ERP remains no more that 0.5W.

 

[AberdeenAngus]

From OFCOM Analogue and Digital PMR446 Information Sheet - 5 Oct 2009

Seems to infer that an external antenna is OK so long as ERP remains no more that 0.5W.

I did not know that.....well pointed out that man

 

[trebor]

As for groundplane. A small tin lid is usable at UHF so a bike is way big enough. You are only counterpoising a tiny area of metal.

Granted, the metal in the whole bike is greater than a tin lid, however for a ground plane to be effective it needs to be a flat area of metal (or metal foil) at the base of the antenna, the minimum size of which must be a radius (around the centre of the antenna) of a 1/4 wavelength of the frequency in use.

When I first fitted my PMR446 radio to the bike I laid it flat, under the seat. Coverage wasn't great, but adequate as long as the other rider(s) was with a few hundred yards. I later modified the radio to take an external, GPI, 1/2 wavelength antenna and compared the two back to back. I had a mate wait with a handheld radio in a lay-by whilst I shot off up the road testing it every few hundred yards. The road was twisty, a few dips and hills and plenty of trees between the lay-by and the route.

With the radio laid flat, with its fixed antenna, I got a good range of about 0.6 miles, but it started breaking up between 0.7 miles to 1.2 miles when I lost the signal completely.

With the modified radio and external antenna I got good reception up to about 1.7 miles then it started breaking up a bit, but was still receiving good, intelligible speech at 2 miles, after this it got worse and rapidly became unusable.

Obviously this is going to change with terrain. In a hilly area the range is going to be greatly reduced.

However, when I have been the TEC in group ride-outs, with as many as 20 riders well spread out, it is not often I have lost contact with the leader.

If anyone wants a really good range, i.e. several miles, I'd forget UHF, go for VHF, buy a licence, £75 for 3 years, this will cover both UHF and VHF frequencies (allocated by Ofcom) and several riders on the same licence.

Bob

 

[Boon]

The ideal counterpoise is a mirror image of the radiating element..........everything else is a compromise.

Lying a radio flat with a fixed antenna is putting the polarisation at 90 deg to any other radio..........thats a huge attenuation to start with.

The half wave external antenna sounds like the most workable /cheap option.

The 'man' wont come after you if you dabble with PMR 446 stuff.........they have publicly announced that the band will NOT be policed.

There are already repeaters set up,internet links and some folks using MASC on the 446 bands.

So buying a BNC chassis socket and aralditing it onto your PMR446 to fit an external antenna shouldnt get you into trouble