Handheld Radio - Uniden UH620

[PhilH 187]

Is there a need for handheld radios while hunting? Well, I guess, that depends entirely on your hunting style. For Sharon and I, the way we hunt together we decided that, yes, there was a very definite need. Our reasons are as follows. 

 

1/.     I’m am a really deaf old bugger and wear hearing aids. In the field they pick up the wind and make my hearing  useless at times, plus I can’t hear Sharon if she is whispering to me at just about anytime.

2/.     We separate at times when out hunting. Even though we only ever carry one rifle between us, we still do most of our hunting at night. When seperated in the dark it is good to have that communication to know where each of us are.

3/.     Sharon is usually the spotter (her choice) and I am in most parts the stalker. If we are at any vantage point and see an animal and a stalk involves going out of sight of them, the Spotter stays put and observes the animal and guides the stalker in. In the past we have had to try and do this through a series of hand signals or at night subtle movements of a dimly lit red headlamp. With a radio and an earpiece the stalker can be guided in a lot more precisely and without alerting the animal.

4/.    Coordinating with each other when searching for a downed animal in dense scrub.

5/.    Just general safety in being able to communicate with each other, as in Sharon calling me to come and give her some assistance in getting out of a hidden water course that she had fallen into while out this morning; yes we have plenty of these little hazards in one part of the hills we hunt.

 

So, with all the reasons stated, last week we decided that a small set of handheld radios would indeed benefit our hunting.

 

The criteria that we decided on were as follows:

1/.    Reasonable price.

2/.    Small and compact.

3/.    Reasonable transmission range - a very subjective area.

4/.    Simple to use and operate in the field and especially in the dark.

5/.    Sturdy construction, though not necessary to be waterproof.

6/.    Ability to use an earpiece with a remote push-to-talk button.

7/.    Something that we could purchase and have serviced locally - not Aliexpress.

 

After a bit of quick searching and discussion we decided on the Uniden UH620-2. The -2 at the end of the designation just indicates that it comes in a set of two. The price? $NZ152 and for two we didn’t think it was a bad price point. They come with a dual charging dock so both radios can just be dropped in to charge when returning from a hunt. The set comes complete with belt clips and earpieces that have a remote push-to-talk switch. As can be seen from the picture they are small and compact.

 

 

Now for the transmission range. As I stated above, this can be a very subjective issue. For Sharon and I, something that could operate in most terrains over 500 metres is what we were aiming for. But of course, like all of these things, how do you test for this unless you have, or can borrow the radio. The only thing you can go by is the manufacturer's specification and most always, with radios, they quote a distance that is line of sight. Great if you intend talking mountain top to mountain top but very variable in an urban setting, forestry or hilly terrain. The best one can do is make an educated guess. The stated range for the UH620 is given as 13 km line of sight and has a hi-power setting of 2 watts. With my limited knowledge of radio’s I believed - probably more hoped - that these little units would fulfil our desire of at least 500 metres in any terrain. We have only been using them for a day so far but this is what we have achieved with range. 

 

This morning we were both in deep scrub - over eight foot high and extremely dense - searching for a deer we lost on the hillside the previous night. The furthest that we got apart was probably 300 metres but our communication on these little radios was clear with no distortion and very easy to copy. Then later on in the morning, Sharon was working at the kitchen table and I went off to check a pig trap, just on 2 kilometres away over the other side of a forest covered hill. Now in this instance, the reception wasn’t perfect but it was definitely easily readable. Below is a profile of the path and obstacle the radio transmission had to operate over. Nothing like line of sight.

 

 

This impressed me. I was most definitely not expecting to get any reception over this forest covered hll, plus, at the other end, Sharon was sitting at the table inside a brick clad house; that in itself can impede radio transmissions.

 

Are the radio’s easy to operate? The short answer is yes. They come with a plethora of features and setting personalisations, none of which I have even looked at as yet. When I first used them, I just turned them on with a 2 second push of a button, toggled up to the channel I wished them both to use and then started transmitting. The only thing that either Sharon or have adjusted at this stage is a one-press button to toggle between low and high power and adjusting the volume. Whatever settings you have set when the radio is turned off are the exact same settings it has when turned back on again. Couldn’t get much simpler than that.

 

As for construction. The new Uniden UH8xx series - not the UH620 that I am reviewing here - is fully waterproof, can be thrown into a stream, dropped onto concrete from 1.5 metres and run over by a 12 tonne Unimog, and still come up battered but fully operational. There is a video of it on YouTube. Very impressive but they cost twice the price of these handhelds. That said, the UH620’s appear quite solid and well constructed and with a normal care, even out in the bush, I believe these radios will serve us well. They are definitely not toys but serious two way communication handsets.

 

They come with an earpiece socket and are supplied with an earpiece with a remote push-to-talk. The earpiece is one that is often supplied with a lot of cheaper radios out of China. Do they work? Yes, but they are somewhat flimsy and I don’t really expect them to last that long. I will be searching the internet for a more robust aftermarket earpiece. However, the most important point for me is that the handset comes with the ability to be operated from a remote push-to-talk button with an earpiece attached.

 

And then our final criteria. This model Uniden handset is supplied by most large electronic retailers and there are service agents throughout New Zealand. 

 

So all in all it would appear that it has been a successful purchase. All of our criteria have been met, within reason, and from our so far limited use, they are a delight to use and carry. 

 

I shall update this post as we get more use out of them.

 

But the big question begs. Are two-way radio’s a component of your hunting? Given time to consider it and prompted by this post could you see their addition as beneficial? I will be most interested to hear your view.

 

Cheers

Phil  

[steve66 3,085]

Boefengs chinese radios 5w are very cheap and you can get a good distance on high ground , 20 plus miles is not rare when on high ground 

[PhilH 187]

Very co-incidentially @steve66, we have just in the last couple of weeks upgraded to Baofeng. Better aerial choices, they are removable and interchangeable, and accessories are better as in more choice for ear-pieces and microphones....plus they put out 5 watts on PRS (Personal Radio Service). PRS is our equivalent of your PMR466 but we have eighty channels, can transmit on 5 watts and a host of other things. You are right about range. When out on the hill planting trees last week I was able to talk to the Christchurch repeater 78 km away just using the handheld. The Baofeng 5 watt handheld only costs the equivalent of 50 pounds for a set of 2. We have also installed a base set with an external mounted aerial at home and Sharon and I are able to communicate wherever I am out and about the hills. The next step is a mount and aerial for the  car so with access to the repeater our communications will get 60 km plus. We still use them for hunting and with Sharon sitting on a hill with a thermal directing me to animals they have upped our game considerably.

Cheers

Phil 

[fredric55 3]

Any FSR radios will only get you about a mile if you are lucky, I know, I know they say they will transmit 20 or 30 miles and that is complete BS!

I switched to VHF MURS from UHF FSR.

https://nrcradio.co.uk/waterproof-walkie-talkies/

The quality is a lot better then a typical FSR that we were using and the loudness and clarity are way better. Range is slightly better but is still an issue.

I was going to use VHF Marine radio's but found out it is not legal to use those over land. confused2

Here is my review.

Cons:

I wished it had the capability to be charged through a 12 volt cigarette style charger. We drive dealer trade cars and are often on the road all day, so far thought the battery has held up. You do have the option to purchase additional long lasting batteries.

The other thing that I was some what disappointed in was the range on the open highway, about a mile is about all that you can expect to get out of them.

Pros:

The radio is crystal clear with great volume.

It has many options available for those who enjoy the more technical aspects of it, but the reason we really like them is because they are really simple to operate. It has one knob on top which is the on/off and volume, simply turn the knob to the volume you like and forget about it. The other thing that we like about it believe it or not is that the push to talk button is easy to push and feels really solid. The last set of our FSR radios were difficult to use because the push to talk button was somewhat hard to push and you have to push it just right or else it would not work, you would not think that would be an issue, but it was. I had to warn people before they used it about the push to talk button.

The radio feels great in your hand, is compact and really feels solid. I would recommend and have recommended this radio to others.

 

[KimE 487]

I have used radios while moose hunting in a team with 20+ hunters spread over 1500ha, about 2-3 dogs are typically released and their handlers are walking over the area. The radios used can be heared 1-3km.

[wilbur foxhound 480]

Motorola gp340 is what we used when I ran my hounds