two way radios

S

slimb

Joined
Jul 28, 2004
Messages
86
looking to get 2 two way radios for my wife and i - just in case. we live in an urban environment and want a way to be able to reach each other in case some SHTF. i started to search on the net and am getting completely confused. FRS/GMRS/UHF/VHF is making me dizzy.

i'll keep going at it until hopefully i understand something - i would be very grateful if someone would share advice on this.

many thanks in advance
 
FRS and GMRS are both use UHF frequencies. FRS radios need no license to operate and are restricted to .5 watts output maximum and not be able to switch antennas. FRS radios actually operate on half of the GMRS frequencies but GMRS radios typically are up to 5 or more watts output in hand helds but you are supposed to get a license to use it. This is only a paper license for $75 fee for 5 years. Their are also amaetur radios that have thier own frequecies allocated but you need to pass a fairly easy test. It opens a tremendous amount of possible means to communicate as well a free use of many repeaters which really increases the range of transmissions.

There is lots more I could talk about if you want more information.

You can also look at the site ARRL

Yes, I am a general class operator. You would want to look at the technician class. No morse code needed.

KR
 
FRS is about 2 miles max. And it needs line of sight.
Everyone is using GMRS without liscences, it's blatant, no one is worried about it. A lot longer distance.
 
thank you very much. i will look into this site. i think something fairly simple to use would be more for us. distance is a consideration. 2 miles is not enough, esp if it is `line of sight'.
 
slimb said:
thank you very much. i will look into this site. i think something fairly simple to use would be more for us. distance is a consideration. 2 miles is not enough, esp if it is `line of sight'.
Click to expand...

You will never get 2 miles out of GMRS or FRS unless the two of you are on different mountain tops with nothing but air in between. :D Through repeaters it is easy to get over 10 to 30 miles depending on the terrain.

Check out getting a technician class license. It isn't that hard and there are many good people out there who would help you and your wife.

KR
 
I had a couple GMRS radios that would run 3 miles to the ragged edge of usability. Did not have line of sight, but no mountains in the way. If you are going the same place at the same time, you will not usually be 3 miles away. YMMV
 
I recently bought a set of the 5 watt GMRS radios (motorola) that were supposed to have a 12 mile range. I tested them at ranges of 2 to 4 miles with practically nothing between the radios to cause interferance - they didn't work at all. E-mailed the manufacturer a couple of times and gave them some fairly direct comments - they replied, but would not respond to their bogus 12 mile range. I would recommend that you use a radio with more power.
 
I use Motorola t7200s and I love them. It is not just line of sight that determines a radios range it is determinate on atmospheric conditions and solar activity, among other interference factors that the manufacturers can not help. Their claims to range are probably fudged a little, but not that much IMO, and they also firgure their ranges under perfect conditions which you will never see.

CB radios normally have a 5 mile or so range sometimes a bit longer, sometimes a bit shorter, under good skip conditions I have talked from GA to Michigan on a normal unmodified uniden CB. What I am saying is that max ranges are just an educated guess, and motorola makes a damn good product. Chris
 
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