No Cell Service Question

[Kdog]

I have a teenager hunting on his own in a blind and I’m not going to be without communication. I bought a SAT FI 2 satellite WiFi and use it to text back and forth. I don’t have service in the bottom I hunt but the other two do, this let’s me communicate with them.

Just googled that, pretty cool looking device. Might look into that some more.

[Kdog]

How does this Wiioost thing work? I'm going to have to look that up.



This is not Briscoe property, however it is close to that ranch you are talking about I think.

Mr Smart pretty much answered it. If you look on Amazon they have several versions.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=weboost&sprefix=we+boost&ref=nb_sb_ss_sc_1_8

[breederbuck33]

He's on a lease in Uvalde... My brother is on a lease in Uvalde. He's not backpacking into Antarctica. My "survival kit" is my cell phone my lease members and a mini roll of Charmin. First aid is electrical tape, dirt and whiskey for antiseptic. And yes a toughguy cooler full of beer and Gatorade on feeder filling day can be a lifesaver as well.


Communication amongst members on work days and hunting days is a luxury I survived without but love the convenience now. Makes for a much more productive time so we can get back to important stuff like the campfire at the end of the day....

.

Smart knows the drill! This is not a huge deal. I enjoy ne cell service because I make a living on the phone. Its just much more efficient, productive, and safe when you can communicate with one another.

[double bogey]

I'm looking at those radios and the 8W version as well. One of my volunteers is a HAM operator and told me about them. I'm also considering a Kenwood handheld radio. A touch more expensive, but better quality I think.

I am not sure the kenwood is worth the price difference. Will it do 8 watts? The baofeng radios are pretty good quality, Most of the competition is $150 and up. Some early models were shipped with the emergency freq's available to transmit on, I don't think current models do.
You will want the programming cable for the baofeng. The 70 centimeter (445 MHz) band may be better for distance. Program several channels, pick them from a band chart and number them 1,2,3 etc. If there is traffic on your selected freq, plan to go to an alternative. In the boonies you will most likely have dead air. Heck, in town there is only traffic on the local repeaters.
You can also get a mobile radio in your truck. 50 to 100 watts. The extra power will give you a lot better chance to reach out.
The license is pretty easy to get, buy a ARRL technicians manual, study the questions, read it, take practice tests online til your comfortable, and pay $15 to your local ham club and take the test. Morse code was eliminated from the testing several years ago in an attempt to get more people into ham radio. 8 year old girls have passed the test.

[SabreKiller]

I am not sure the kenwood is worth the price difference. Will it do 8 watts? The baofeng radios are pretty good quality, Most of the competition is $150 and up. Some early models were shipped with the emergency freq's available to transmit on, I don't think current models do.
You will want the programming cable for the baofeng. The 70 centimeter (445 MHz) band may be better for distance. Program several channels, pick them from a band chart and number them 1,2,3 etc. If there is traffic on your selected freq, plan to go to an alternative. In the boonies you will most likely have dead air. Heck, in town there is only traffic on the local repeaters.
You can also get a mobile radio in your truck. 50 to 100 watts. The extra power will give you a lot better chance to reach out.
The license is pretty easy to get, buy a ARRL technicians manual, study the questions, read it, take practice tests online til your comfortable, and pay $15 to your local ham club and take the test. Morse code was eliminated from the testing several years ago in an attempt to get more people into ham radio. 8 year old girls have passed the test.

I'll probably get the Baofeng radios. I was just curious about the Kenwood because my father, uncle, and grandfather (now deceased) are all amateur radio nuts. My grandfather had a room in his house that was full, literally, o radio equipment and a 40 foot tower in his back yard. As a kid, I'd go in that room turn a radio on talk to whoever would listen. I remember he could dial in and listen on frequencies all around the world. I started to get my license way back then, but I had to learn Morse Code. I'm glad they got rid of that requirement.

We were hunting about 35 miles north of Van Horn for muleys and we always used an obscure frequency to talk with the others in our group when all of a sudden some guy broke in and started talking to us. He was travelling through Texas on his way to California and found us to talk to. He was at least 40 miles away if I remember correctly.

[double bogey]

If you have any kids, try to get them into it. Hobby is really fading, kids nowadays have smartphones, so they usually don't have much interest in ham.
I got my tech license last year that came through just after the shutdown. Almost passed the general test they will let you take if you pass tech, but missed by 2 questions. I still don't know how I passed then with all the pain meds I was on. Now I don't need near as much, but I cannot concentrate enough to do well on the practice tests. Would like the general. but not sure if I will ever take it. I got into it for access to better radios, for stuff like this.

[Possum 1]

No Cell Service Question

Does anyone know if T- Mobile gets better service in Uvalde county then AT&T? My lease is in Reagan Wells on 1051 off of 83. I used to have spotty service there with AT&T. This past Christmas my wife and daughters switched back to Verizon to get new I- phones. Now I have no service anywhere on the ranch. I have a buddy that has a small ranch near Carta Valley that is 15 miles off of 2523 and says that they have both a T-mobile phone and an AT&T phone, and the T-mobile phone works flawlessly. Let me know if you have any experience with T-mobile in Uvalde county.


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[Eagles1181]

There is a radio service called GMRS. It requires a license from the FCC, but a $70 license is good for 10 years, and covers both you and your wife (and anybody else in your family). These radios have a handful of channels (15 I think), but congestion should not be an issue out there. Other advantage is the handhelds run at 5 watt and the mobile run and up to 50 watt. The bulk "blister pack" radios you were asking about only are legally allowed to run at 2 watt.