portable radio operation

[hfd921]

Please forgive my question but I do need some input.

Most of our guys are on projects and on the road mostly in vehicles ( moving ,windows up), We use a uhf system to communicate, pretty basic nothing fancy. The system could be better but “it is what it is“. The majority have Motorola HT750 portable uhf radios. And most of the time their mobile and moving on the road. Some of the time traffic is perfect then sometimes its hit or miss on the repeater.

So here is my question….

What is the best way to use and operate portable radios in a moving vehicle……..



Do you hold it up to the roof, hold it against the window??


Is there a proper way, Or I guess what I’m asking what way will work best even if very minimal.

Thanks

[SteveC0625]

Because your employees are mobile and on the road, there's no clear answer to your question. Performance is more affected by the distance to the repeater and the terrain between their current location and the repeater. The height of the repeater's antenna is a factor as well. You could gain substantial coverage and reliability by simply increasing the height a bit provided your license allows that.

The HT750 is a fine radio, but it's possible they've dropped off in power a bit. That is easily checked by your radio tech. When your tech narrowbanded the radios, he (or she) may not have also checked power and deviations. I realize a lot of techs didn't have the time to check each and every radio since so many licensees waited until the 11th hour to jump to narrowband so if you are having performance issues, it may be worth it to bring the tech back to take a closer look at things. BTW, the repeater itself is included in that suggestion.

One other possibility would be to use a vehicle mounted antenna while the operator is in the car or truck. Even a quarter wave antenna on the roof of the vehicle will give noticeably better results.

It's possible that the body of the car is interfering with communications a bit, but with your employees moving about in your coverage area, you are better off looking to other solutions besides posturing inside the vehicle.

[HLA]

the vehicle itself is most likely blocking the tx. You can try an external antennae on a magnet mount or something simple like that or simply get mobile radios

[Jim1348]

http://www.motorola.com/Business/US-EN/ ... sories_tab

[radioeng462]

It's quite easy. Just pickup the radio, press the PTT button and talk!. It works real good.

[Bill_G]

Because your employees are mobile and on the road, there's no clear answer to your question.

I agree with Steve. Portables in vehicle are short range.

[thebigphish]

mobile radios. anything less will be stop-gap.

[Will]

A small mobile mounted on a small cutting board with a 1/4 wave mag mount, and a cigar plug (5 to 10 watts due to the limits on most cigar receptacles in newer cars).

The cutout on the cutting board used as a place to thread the seat belt thru to secure the cutting board/radio from sliding off the seat.