Oricom UHF 2500 Radio : Product Review
Today I am going to do a review about a product I recently purchased. After so much of online research and comment readings I finally bought this Oricom UHF 2500 radio twin pack for 120 bucks.
This came with 2 radios, charging pod, adopter, charging cables, rechargeable batteries, belt clips, carabiners and user manuals.
First, let’s set up the channel selection. The radio has 77 available channels to communication with other radios. In order to communicate, both radios should be turned to the same channel. When we press the menu button once it will show you the current channel number. Then we can use + & - buttons to select the desired channels. Then we can press on the PPT button to confirm the channel settings.
When selecting channels there is a very important thing we need to keep in our mind. Channels 1 to 8 and 41 to 48 are used only for repeaters. If you want to select these channels you check for local repeater activity to avoid any interference. It is advisable to avoid selecting above channels and channels 9 and above are best choices for general usage.
If you want to know more about channels and frequencies, you better visit this site. Visit the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA)
If we want to make our channel private, the best way is to select a sub channel. We can either select CTCSS sub channel or a DCS sub channel. We can simply press menu button 3 times for a CTCSS channel and menu button 4 times for a DCS sub channel.
In this way we can kind of set our channel private because we can communicate only with the radios which has same channel and sub channel numbers. If you don’t want a sub channel simply set the sub channel to zero.
The radio is only one way at a time. When we want to talk we need to press and hold the PTT button and talk to the radio. Once talking is done from your side, just release the button. When the radio is on, it is continuously on receive mode.
If we don’t want to keep pressing the PTT button to talk we can activate the VOX mode. Press menu button 5 times to activate the VOX mode and press the + button to select the sensitivity. As per the manual at the highest sensitivity level of 3 the units will pick up softer noise. We tested this.
Our testing environment was inside the house without any disturbing noises. If it picks up a noise the TX button appears on the screen. What we noticed was even at the highest level of sensitivity it picked up my voice only when I take the unit very closer to my mouth and I had to talk louder.
We checked the range of this radio in a normal park with average number of trees. This is a normal day without any disturbing wind or other loud noises. The radio worked fine within 01km. Then again we checked it within 02kms, but it wasn’t clear enough.
Another important thing to keep in your mind is channels 5 and 35 are emergency communications only. Emergency services monitor these channels and respond to requests for help.
The radio being waterproof is a very good feature. The LED light flashes when in water and the LCD backlight assist us to locate the radio. This is a very handy feature if you drop the radio into water at night.
Another thing I noticed here was, this little button that actives the flashlight so easily in one press. While holding the radio, if you accidently press it without noticing it will eat through your battery quickly. So, beware. When you are not using the units, it is always better to turn them off to save power.
Hope you found this review helpful!
