Hello, all. I'm new to this forum and I'd like to ask a question to the survival panel regarding two way radio communication.
What is available to give the best long range performance (50 miles minimum)?
I hold a restricted radio license (aeronautical) which will allow me to purchase a vhf unit if that is the best option but I'd like to ask the opinions of anyone on here who may have the previous experience to steer me in the right direction.
Ideally a 50 mile range will suffice (although the longer the better) and it should be rugged and capable of accepting power from battery.
Thanks.
I suggest you try to locate your local amateur radio club (AKA ham radio) and learn what you can from them. Amateur radio operators normally use an FM signal on the VHF and UHF bands assigned to them. Last time I was involved with aircraft (I think my old radiotelephone license comparable to yours is still in my billfold) planes in the U.S. were using AM signals on VHF, as well as some AM on HF, too, in the larger planes. At that time the emergency frequency monitored by all aircraft usually, as well as by satellites with GPS location capability, was 121.5, but that has all changed now from what I hear. The emergency frequency is in the UHF range, but I don't know if it's AM or FM now.
Amateur radio usually uses FM VHF and UHF for shorter range transmissions than what you sound like you want, and they use HF with a serious antenna of some sort (long wire, for example) for greater distance. The ham VHF/UHF radios are usually small battery-powered units (often extremely small!), but they rely on a repeater station located on a tower, a tall building, or on top of a nearby mountain to receive the signal from roughly 10 to maybe as much as 50 miles away and then retransmit it over a larger area with a lot more watts behind it. If there is a repeater you can use near where you want to be able to talk that might solve your problem. Do it right, though, and get a license first.
There is also something called General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) that usually uses handheld FM radios for communications over as much as several miles, and I've heard that there are a few GMRS repeaters in some places, too. GMRS is almost unlicensed, much like the old Citizens Band (CB) radios were, though in the U.S. I think there was a $25 license fee to be strictly legal. Many ignored that rule I'm sure, if it's still in effect. There was also a low-powered FM band using small handheld radios called the Family Radio Service (FRS) I believe, but often that small band is included on the GMRS radios sold now. I don't know how popular FRS is anymore. It preceded GMRS I believe.
A satellite phone might be what you are looking for, though they are not cheap. Something else you may want to consider is a personal locater beacon (PLB) so somebody can find and rescue you if you are stranded and in trouble, though you will have no regular communication capability with one. One final possibility for you to think about is a VHF marine radio if you are near the coast. They can be purchased fairly easily and many will put out 25 to 50 watts I believe. They are not intended for land communications, though, and are illegal for that purpose in the U.S. Ham radio may be your best bet, but you need some good local advice on that from someone very familiar with the area in which you need to communicate. In the U.S. ham radio is no longer difficult to get licensed in, nor is it terribly expensive. Good luck.
