I have a set of Motorola Talkabout MR350 two way radios. I have learned that the “up to 35 mile” range in the woods is really about one and one half to two miles.
Usually, one of us stays in camp and one goes out. Would I gain anything if I had a remote antenna, say up in a tree, and had a wire coming down and plug that into the MR 350? Has anyone taken this bad boy apart yet?
I thought about opening it up and removing the antenna, then mounting a jack that i could use to plug in a remote antenna.
If this is even remotely possible, and if I would gain some range (5 plus miles would be nice), what kind of wire would I run between the “to be installed” jack in the MR350, and what kind of antenna should I use? I need to be able to pack it in, so nothing as large as a refrigerator or a sofa chair.
My thought was to climb up a tall tree, mount the antenna, then drop the wire back down to the ground and plug it into the radio. Am I nuts?
As an aside, it has been reported that the standby time (radio on, no talking) is about 27 hours with 3 AA batteries. I have found that using Duracell Ultra Digital batteries, I have been able to get 48 hours and still show about 1/4 battery life. This is with no talking or receiving at all - just radio on. And no, I do not work for Duracell.
aroid
Being new here I don’t know that much,but maybe the reason you have no response might not be that no one knows how but more that what are asking is against FCC rules by taking the radio apart and modifying it.
My bad. I did not know that it was not legal to do so. Apologies to all.
In a new development, my girlfriend & I may be able to travel to Indonesia in the winter of 2009 or spring of 2010. I thought about bringing the radios with me. We both study botany and tend to wonder off from each other in the field. I worry for her safety. If I do not violate any national or international laws in Indonesia, could I plug in a external antenna and put it higher up in a tree for longer range?
If so, perhaps someone here could refer me to a book I could read on antenna building, antenna propagation? As the weather broadcast will not work in Indonesia (I suspect that is true??), i am only concerned about getting more range between the two Motorola MR350 radios…
I don’t even know if it is legal to carry 2 way radios like this into Indonesia. Anyone know? I am kinda broke, but maybe the thing to do is buy two, more professional radios that would give us more range while in this country?
Any pointers would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
