How test ranges with only one person?

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The Lazy L

Old Cowpoke
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Just you and you'd like to know how far your coms can reach back to your base?

Here's my solution:

I bought a $30 digital voice recorder that had VOX (voice operated switch).

Then I printed off a Google satellite map of my test route. On this map I numbered landmarks and road intersections.

Base station was a Baofeng UV-5R connected to a J-pole antenna. Antenna is mounted in my garage attic. I turned the base station on and placed the recorder (with VOX enabled) in front of the base's speaker.

Portable hand held radio was a Midland FRS/GMRS on a FRS frequency. I drove the route on my Kawasaki Mule. When I came to a landmark or intersection that I had marked on my route map I exited the Mule and made a test call utilizing the number(s) I had mark on the map. Cell tower on my map was numbered six. My test call was, "Test call number 6, test call number 6, test call number 6". Then I moved on to the location number seven to repeat.

Then I drove back home to listen to my recorded test calls. I repeated the test with the same Midland but on a GMRS frequency this time.

On my comms wall I have a laminated combination Topographic and satellite map hanging. Map is custom sized by how far a person could reasonably walk in a day and return. On this map we marked circles based on the recorded tests.

From the Midland hand held radio back to base:

FRS was one mile.
GMRS was 3 miles.
CB SSB (not include in the details above but tested in the same manor) 4.25 miles.

Now if I can figure out how to do the same test procedure but from the base to a hand held. No I'm not going to taped the voice recorder to a hand held, hide the hand held in the road ditch to drive back home to make a test call then drive back to the hand held to move it and then.....
 
For home to mobile unit, do something to keep the mic button depressed on the base unit then turn the stereo on so it's streaming out of the base.
Go out with your handheld. When you no longer hear the stereo, you're at the limit. ;)
 
I think that locking a frequency like you described will likely be unpopular with the other folks in the area even if it is not illegal.
 
For home to mobile unit, do something to keep the mic button depressed on the base unit then turn the stereo on so it's streaming out of the base.
Go out with your handheld. When you no longer hear the stereo, you're at the limit. ;)

It's a thought ...I'll go along with SheepDog on this.
 
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My bad. I thought:
A) it's a rural area with little to no radio usage
B) FRS/GMRS has a lot of channels, most have little activity. On those as well as CB frequencies, I'm lucky if I can pick up 1 channel of activity.
 
I believe manners would require permission from other actors and limited to a single frequency. Hams can be very accommodating because they are, for the most part, self policing and very good at it.
 
My bad. I thought:
A) it's a rural area with little to no radio usage
B) FRS/GMRS has a lot of channels, most have little activity. On those as well as CB frequencies, I'm lucky if I can pick up 1 channel of activity.

You're good. I thought the same thing. I've heard zero traffic too. Just runs in conflict in my low profile gray man type personality.
 
This site might be of help: Radio Mobile Online
You'll need a license and you'll need to sign up. It's free. You put in your antenna height, frequency (or band), wattage, and the height of the other antenna and it will produce a coverage map. Here's an example:

coverage-example.gif


Now, that's not actual testing. But it is helpful in that it takes topography into account.

Your solution for testing the HT was outstanding. I think for testing the base station, you might need to scare up a second person.
 
Different channels might have different results. You need a volunteer. If it helps, remind them that you won't be in the same room so BO won't be a factor.
 
Base station was a Baofeng UV-5R connected to a J-pole antenna
...
From the Midland hand held radio back to base:

FRS was one mile.
GMRS was 3 miles.
CB SSB (not include in the details above but tested in the same manor) 4.25 miles.
How did you receive SSB on a Baofeng? Or did you use a different base station for the SSB test? (maybe that's what you meant by "not include in the details above").

FRS and GMRS are UHF, so line of sight. How far you get with them will depend on that line of sight, what's in the way, and how much power you are transmitting with. Since GMRS is a bit higher power than FRS, one would expect to get a little farther - but you are still limited by line of sight. Note that the radio horizon (e.g. line of sight) is about 25 miles under ideal conditions (like in the middle of the desert, with zero obstructions). You probably won't be able to go that 25 miles with a 4 or 5 watt handheld, but you might be able to with a higher power transmitter and a good antenna. So when you see some cheap Chinese radio advertising "up to 25 miles!", but you only get one mile in your neighborhood (with buildings, trees, interference, a poor antenna, etc.) you'll know where the Chinese ad came from. Theory. Based on curvature of the Earth limiting "line of sight".

CB frequencies are HF. You may be able to get help in propagation beyond line of sight with Sporatic-E bounce at the high end of HF where CB is located. But that would not be something that you could really predict or depend on. But if you did stumble into it, that CB might get you a lot farther than you'd ever imagine. I think CB is in the same neighborhood as GMRS for allowed power (???), but when using SSB on CB vs. FM on the GMRS, SSB will typically get your farther. Getting 4.25 miles with CB SSB would be attributed to the more focused power of SSB, and not to Sporatic-E.

[ See, I did learn something in my recent HAM Technician class! Ha! I'm learning a lot more in my current General class though. A lot more. ]

For home to mobile unit, do something to keep the mic button depressed on the base unit then turn the stereo on so it's streaming out of the base.
Go out with your handheld. When you no longer hear the stereo, you're at the limit. ;)
I hope you are joking about this recommendation (the winking smiley seems to indicate that). But remember that unlicensed people who may have bought a Baofeng would not necessarily know this is a joke.

There are many things that most certainly get you into trouble if you are proposing doing this on HAM frequencies. I would be skeptical if it were even allowed on something as wide open as FRS frequencies.

(1) "Broadcasting" is not allowed (except for CW practice), (2) Transmitting music is not allowed (unless incidental to retransmitting a space station contact - how's that for a specific exception!), (3) Identifying with your call sign is required at least once every ten minutes and at the end of conversations, (4) You have to follow "amateur radio best practices" (even though these practices are not specifically defined!), (5) And in the very first case, if you don't have a HAM license you cannot do any transmission on a HAM frequency (human life endangered or severe injury/property damaging events are exceptions).

But on the "what goes around comes around" front, (1) You would have confirmed to everyone in the radio community that you are a nitwit, and they would hate you for eternity (so much for getting help in an emergency later!), (2) You would probably overheat and fry your radio doing a continuous transmission.

Instead, I might recommend trying to hit distant repeaters - see if you hear the connection tone. You could probably use EchoLink to connect your computer to said distant repeater and thus be able to hear yourself transmitting in real time, as you are transmitting. That way you could evaluate the quality of your transmission. (You must be a HAM to use EchoLink.)
 
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How did you receive SSB on a Baofeng? Or did you use a different base station for the SSB test? (maybe that's what you meant by "not include in the details above").

Yes I used a different base station, mobile and antenna for CB SSB testing
 
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