During my hunt this weekend, the two of us used radios to communicate: A Midland and a Motorola. I had a terrible time hearing what was being transmitted from the Midland to the Motorola. However, the Midland appeared to receive the Motorola just fine.

I am unsure if it was "operator error" on the part of the Midland user, or if the radios are not compatable enough, being different brands.

This happened last year as well.

At this point I am considering buying a new pair of radios and starting over.

So....

1) What do you think the issue was

2) What radios do you use and how well do they work?

FYI, I am familiar with line of sight, range capabilities, and too many leave on the trees as being some common issues. I believe I can rule them at at this point.

When my buds and I go skiing, we use motorolas, never seem to have too much touble with LoS, but we do get a lot of, "Bob, where are you?  I've got the kids and..." until we can find a clear channel...  The radios are pretty sturdy as I can attest when took a header, smakced into a tree, broke my goggles and a pole, but the radio held up fine...  You can get a "matched pair" at wal-mart pretty cheap...

I have a midland and when we all hunt together, I have the same problems w/ Motorola compatability.

Toby uses those and he says he can't hear me ever, but I can hear him just fine.

I've always used Motorola....  never had anythig but good reception no matter what brand other's were using.  Even the cheaper Motorola's were good for me.  For bowhunting we use the headsets and set the rdios on VOX (voice activated) they even pick up whispering pretty darn well.

I don't know anything about the other brands except once in a while, another person asks which brand mine is because I rarely need a repeat.

Sounds like you either used a bad channel (sometimes a certain channel won't work well in a certain area) or the two brands don't work great together.

I like my Motorola.  Its probably 5 years old, but I like it.  I esp. like the weather-band feature.

I'm not sure what I will do.  I am leaning towards getting a new pair.  I guess if I go Midland I can keep the Motorola and vice versa.

I guess I'll let what kind of "toys" come with it and the options for ear buds make my decision.

I like the looks of the throat mic.  Anyone use one?  How does it work for whispiring?

(I'm talking about the deal that wraps around your neck like the cool stuff the forces use in the movies.   8-))

For bowhunting we use the headsets and set the rdios on VOX (voice activated) they even pick up whispering pretty darn well.

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I have never had much luck on the VOX.  It either picks up too much background noise from the wind or moving.  Also, there was a delay when talking and the mic picking the transmission so the first work or two were never picked up.

I turn the boom mic 90 degree so I talk into the tip of it... eliminates all the troubles you mentioned.  (It looks funny but the deer don't care and it won't catch my bowstring that way)  I haven't tried the throat mics YET but I think they would be the bomb.

When we hunt deer, running dogs  we use handheld vhf just like marine boaters use. The range is generally better ( you can get output on them up to 10W) which is great when you are hunting dense cover and need to be able to communicate over miles. While they are more expensive  ( about 100 per unit) they are much more reliable and can be used for boating as well as hunting. The talkabouts are generally good, be can be very unreliable.

When we hunt deer, running dogs we use handheld vhf just like marine boaters use. The range is generally better ( you can get output on them up to 10W) which is great when you are hunting dense cover and need to be able to communicate over miles. While they are more expensive ( about 100 per unit) they are much more reliable and can be used for boating as well as hunting. The talkabouts are generally good, be can be very unreliable.

You hunt deer with dogs?  

I'm thinking he is from the south (don't mean to talk for you jeremyt).  I've seen shows/read magazines about that.

Hunting Radios  I didn't know they were in season>>>>>>OH OH my mistake I misunderstood the post

They're in season all right...at least until the commission puts restrictions on them.  Right now you only need one point...

Yeah we use dogs to hunt deer. I am in the south.  I also still hunt and hunt from stands. Running dogs is a different type of hunt in itself. I have had some good frineds in the military from up north that thought that was just stupid. I took them and they had a good time. Many think it takes the sport out of it, but its not as easy as letting the dogs loose and waiting for a deer to run by. For those who have never participated in this type of hunt I can understand if it does sound stupid to you.

Off the topic of radios....LOL

RE Dog Hunting.....In Canada when we Moose Hunt...Our camp does not have dogs....me being the youngest member of our camp...will Actually "DOG" through the bush to get everything moving....and maybe even bark a couple of times.

We generally employ a filter and I will zig zag through the bush pushing the moose....I will wait about an hour after everyone has headed in to give them time to get to their stands/watches I then will head in with a couple of guys who will back stop dependant upon wind direction.

I will generally be walking into the wind cuz when deer or moose get spooked they will generally run unto the wind so they get a sense of what is ahead of them....

I wear about 85% Blaze Orange and am always in quiet radio contact...Which brings me to the radio question

Try these...they are AWESOME (They are pricey but everyone at the camp pitched in a we got a set for Dogging)

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_97402_400002001_400000000_400002000_400-2-1

A moose drive with you being the "dog"?

You, sir, are clearly more of a man than I!!

I like the Garmin Rino...I just can't justify the cost.  However the features are great.

That, and I have a handheld GPS.

A moose drive with you being the "dog"?

You, sir, are clearly more of a man than I!!

LOL....It is a hell of a lot of sluggin' and there are no younger members joining...It was fine when I was 20....now I am 36.

The Radio/GPS is great for me....especially if someone sees fresh signs and they have a GPS...they radio me the co-ordinates and I can start putting together a plan and tell people to move to different spots if we have a gap somewhere.

The radio/GPS is invaluable for hunting and being new to fishing I am sure I will get a lot of use out of it when I get a boat.