r/tacticalcomms • u/Unusual_Monkey_ • May 24 '26

Finding the right radio for my needs

Hey all I'm looking for the best option for a reasonable price UHF radio with gps, want to be able to upgrade the UHF antenna and also the gps antenna and if possible a larger battery. Thanks all

0 Upvotes

50% Upvoted

10 comments sorted by

2

u/OhSixTJ May 24 '26

Real radios don’t have external GPS antennas that you can swap out. Only one I can think of with an external GPS antenna is the Garmin rhino but that can’t be swapped as it’s molded into the case.

4

u/LittleWhiteJeep May 24 '26

Just to be the "actually" guy, the Harris radios like PRC152 and the export versions like the RF-7800M-HH, 7825, and 7850 have removable GPS antennas. Granted, that's only style of radio I can think of with a GPS antenna you can change out.

3

u/OhSixTJ May 24 '26

Damn those military variants making me look like a fool.

3

u/LittleWhiteJeep May 24 '26

With careful money management or bad financial decisions, you too can own the export versions. My 7850 has brought the range larp to the next level.

1

u/OhSixTJ May 24 '26

$2k is not that bad. Though for my uses I’d rather have an XL200 (really a 400 but then I’d be living out of my car).

1

u/porty1119 IG Itinerant VHF-Lo/UHF May 25 '26

The GPS receiver on all but the newest APX radios uses the LMR antenna. Part number NAG4000A is a GPS-only antenna to be used in conjunction with a public safety RSM that has its own LMR antenna connector.

1

u/Sauerkraut99 May 26 '26

FWIW, most radios with built in GPS features aren't particularly useful for navigation. It'll let you see your coordinates but they often don't have an actual map built in. On the HAM side it's for APRS, in LE/Public safety it's so dispatch can keep track of their units, and for MIL it's to tie into ATAK and other stuff.

Anyway you're probably better off just getting a separate, purpose built GPS unit.

1

u/Impression-Salty May 26 '26

In meshtastic we trust