What radios are you guys using for coms? I need a good radio for back home around my place. I have some out dated Motorola two ways but think in a SHIFT that would be as good as just yelling to whom ever I needed to talk with. Not looking for crazy security but somthing with more then 22 channels. Also anybody running a radio to Liberators or any other head set that has a com port, if so how is it working. Not really up to speed on radios besides the cheap 2 ways and would really like somthing tuffer with better range then a mile and can set up for hands free running a set of Liberators or Peltors if the situation ever came to that.

Thanks,
Kirch

You should checkout the Ham Radio forum in the Outdoors section.
These radios are a pretty good starting point. Rugged and relatively inexpensive. Even though the OP is four years old, the technical info in the thread is all still relevant.

I'll be one of many, I'm sure that will urge you to get an amateur radio license because of the skill set you need to develop to make the most effective use of radio communication. Ham Radio 101 is a great place to start learning and will answer questions before you even know you need to ask them.

1) how much do you want to spend
2) what radio service do you want to use
  a) do you need interoperability with anyone else, if so, what are they using

No handheld radio you are going to use is going to give you significantly more range than that, maybe up to a couple miles over average terrain max.  Simple physics at work.

There are only a few reasonable options for two-way radio, and none of them are particularly good.

You have what you are using now, which is cheap FRS/GMRS bubble pack radios.  You should really have a license (~$85) for GMRS, FRS is no license.  FRS and GMRS are in the part of the radio spectrum referred to as "UHF".

There are some inexpensive 900MHz spread spectrum radios, which are of similar cost and performance to the FRS stuff, but have the advantage of additional security.  In some cases I have seen better range from these than from FRS, in other situations less.

You can use a higher quality "LMR" radio with more power (5 watts) on GMRS, still limited to the GMRS channels/frequencies of which I think there are 14, and you should really get a license.

You can use a VHF band "LMR" radio on the MURS service/frequencies, there are 5 frequencies available for no-license operation with a maximum power of 2 watts.  VHF doesn't do as well as UHF in urban areas, into and out of buildings and such.

A basic LMR radio for the above will run you roughly $100~$200, more if you want encryption or the like.  There's an option for VHF that is frequently discussed in the ham forum at the lower end of that price scale.

You could get a licensed land mobile radio frequency, which would give you exclusive access to that particular frequency in your immediate area.  Licensing would run roughly $400, and have to be renewed every 3 years at about half that cost each time.  You'd also need some kind of a business application for them, since LMR licenses are not issued for "personal" communications.

Lastly you could take a little time to study communications, and get licensed as an amateur radio operator, along with whoever you want to talk to.  This gives you access to hundreds/thousands of frequencies on numerous bands, 6 of which would be suitable for what you're wanting to do, plus bring you into a vast community of other folks to communicate with.

I'll offer a specific warning against something that someone is likely going to suggest to you.  I would strongly advise against using VHF Marine band frequencies for your land based communications needs.  This is a practice which is spreading rapidly, but is very easy to detect and conduct enforcement against illicit use of, and the penalties are very steep if you get caught (~$10,000 per violation).

Your question comes up frequently in the survival, tactical, hunting, and ham radio forums and only serves to illustrate the glaring need for, and lack of availability of, a good useful no-license radio service with enough channels and performance to serve people's need for limited range two-way personal communications.

Gamma762 - great info that you have posted.

I have a couple of questions that I would like to ask you about the VHF Marine Band radios and type acceptence - I'll probably shoot you an IM sometime tomorrow

also - do you have any radio recommendations

Thanks

Well guys thanks for the help and I know now that I have a lot to learn before making a purchase lol. I'll be reading the Ham 101 and getting an understanding and then make a choice for a good radio.

Can a Ham hand held be set to pick up 2way radios? I know a lot of people around my place use Motorolas and I would like to be able to drop down to there channels at times. Thanks again and I know what I'll be reading in my spare time now. The 25 bucks a year that I pain for my membership here is such a good deal with all the great information that is shared.

Thanks,
Kirch

So then what's a good UHF radio to go with, and what license is necessary, and what's the price of either? The purpose being to have them for me and mine to use in the event of a disaster, be it natural or man made. Long range capacity is a plus.

Something compatible with a Liberator or a Peltor digital hearing protection/mic setup would be nice.

The whole of the Ham 101 thread will be complete information overload for the info you are looking for.


For UHF, the license you need is a GMRS (General Mobile Radio Service) license from the FCC, covers a family/household and IIRC is $85.

Tons of good quality radios out there from the Land Mobile Radio world that would be suitable for GMRS.  I like Icom brand radios for a combination of factors... not the least of which is reasonable availability of programming hardware and software.  Their current basic model would be the IC-F4001, if you get the high cap lithium battery they would probably run a little under $200 each which includes a drop in rapid charger.  If you get the lower capacity NiMH battery and charger they should be about ~$25 less.  You can spend hundreds more for smaller/waterproof/alphanumeric display/more channels/digital/encryption/etc etc if you want.

I'd have to take a look at the specific headsets but most of those kinds of things are available for all the major radio types, the F4001 uses the standard two pin Icom setup which has been used for many years on a variety of radios and is shared with a few other brands of radios as well.

Hence my above post/question

O its not that bad. I'm 2 pages into HAM 101 now and confused as hell. I think I'll go with my first plan, Dixie cups and a string.

Here's a thought as far as a reasonably priced radio.

http://wouxun.us/
These are mostly marketed and sold to the amateur radio community, but they are FCC "Part 90" type approved for Land Mobile, which would also be ok for GMRS licensees.  These cover both VHF-high band and UHF so you can do both GMRS as well as the 5 MURS frequencies in one radio - almost no other Part 90 type approved radio includes multiple radio bands.  If you decide to get licensed as amateur radio operators, they will work on the two most popular amateur bands as well (2 meters and 70 centimeters).

The downside is that the radio is a little more complex to operate, with a lot more controls available that you'll need to learn about.

subscribed.



I'm looking at getting the following for every member in my group to start with:



Cobra 148gtl SSB CB radio



Marine handheld (probably an HX370S)

How far does it cover, and what headsets is it compatible with?

I have an iPhone.

The WOUXUN KG-UVD1P (the 2P and 3P are the same just different case) transmit at 5 watts for VHF and 4 watts for UHF.  They use two-pin Kenwood compatible speaker mics and headsets.

What fits the following criteria?

You're buying into marketing garbage on consumer FRS radios.  22 mile range!! 36 mile range!!... all garbage.

I essentially answered the question several posts back. No one can sell you a radio and say "you get 10 miles range", because the range is almost independent of the radio - it's dependent on the terrain and the physics of radio propagation as well as the local noise level on whatever frequency you are using.  Mountaintop to mountaintop you can talk a hundred miles with a cheap FRS radio, in the worst terrain you might get half a mile or less even from the best handhelds available. A good quality radio will have a better quality receiver, good antenna, and consistent transmitter power so that you get as much as you can, but there will be little practical difference between radios of reasonable quality.

Any good quality VHF/UHF portable radio is going to have similar, terrain-dependent range in a handheld-to-handheld situation.  Over average rural terrains, most will get you one to two, up to maybe three or four miles at the fringe.  Mountains, buildings, thick forests all work to reduce the effective range.  Some bands will have a slight advantage over others in specific situations, and more power up to the typical maximum of 4 or 5 watts will get you a little help as well but probably not as much as you would think.

If you need more range than that, you will have to have some combination of more power, better antennas, and/or adding "infrastructure", all of which radically reduces the practical and legal options.


Can you explain your rationale for spending lots of $ on an expensive high end CB model versus other communications options?  Are you already using SSB CB?  Have you fallen for marketing lies about "80 extra channels"?

I can try, although since you seem to know more than I do, I would really appreciate it if you actually SHARED some information with me, instead of probing me for what I know.  It honestly sounds as if you asked those questions to take shots at me from a superior position of knowledge.
My rationale on the 148gtl:
1)  Its got excellent reviews.  Compared to other offerings in its class, it has less thermal drift than its competitors.  Even though the 148 is now made in China, it still has excellent performance.
2)  I want something that can go from my car to my home seamlessly, but isn't a handheld running on batteries all the time.
3)  I decided that having 80 SSB channels would be good for group privacy, as this radio will be standard equipment for all members my prepping club so we can communicate if the phones go down.
4)  I have used Cobra radios for a long time (mostly the cheaper handhelds) and I like them as a company.
To me, $150 is not a lot of money to spend on a piece of gear that may save my life.
The cheapo CBs are about $50, that extra $100 is a fine price to pay to get the added 80 SSB channels and high quality.
Now, I am honestly looking forward to your response if its respectful and contains knowledge that I don't have.





*Specifically, how are the 80 channels lies?  Please explain, I'm glad to learn if I got it wrong.  I was interested in having the added privacy of non SSB users not being able to easily listen to my comms.
 

Okay so what about my previous post/question? Seems pretty straight forward, bar the "long range" part. In fairness however, the reason I included that detail was because of your first response to the thread Gamma, that being something to do with handhelds not getting you over a mile's worth of effective range.

I would also be interested in an actual answer to the OP.  Seems a lot of rambling about licenses and whatnot and not much listing of a model and configuration that works.  It is up to the individual to sort out whatever licenses are required.

I've got some Standard Horizon HX370s and a Yeasu VX-7R all with speaker mikes. I've also got a Yeasu FT-8900R and a FT-857D set up to run as base, mobile or portable.
I don't know anything about headset compatibility.

There's probably a better way to do that.

SSB would give you a bit more privacy, as there are fewer CB radios that do SSB, but still plenty of SSB capable CBs as well as tons of full coverage HF receivers that can receive SSB, so the difference is probably not a lot.  And as I'll explain below, there are no "SSB channels".

The point I am trying to impress is that (IMO), relying on the CB radio service, regardless of what radio you pick, to save your life or otherwise provide reliable communications is a poor decision.  In a situation which you seem to be describing where you are making a group purchase of your choice in communications equipment with an eye toward emergency use, I would recommend picking more reliable options which are more user friendly, as well as not dividing your communications resources between two incompatible systems.

The "lie" is that there are no additional channels, it's the same 40 channelized frequencies.  Understanding the relationship of SSB to AM will answer the question... let me see if I can explain this.  AM and SSB are "modes" as in modes of transmission.  A way to encode radio signals to convey information.  AM is a very simple mode, which is effectively just a combination of the desired audio signal sinewave along with a radio frequency "carrier" wave.   What SSB is, is a "dissected" AM signal... it takes the encoded AM signal and then removes the RF carrier, as well as one of the two "sidebands"... the sidebands are the mirror image positive and negative halves of the audio signal which have been combined with the RF carrier frequency.  A single sideband then is the most minimal way to send a plain audio (voice) transmission - as such, it's the most efficient way to encode that signal, taking up the minimum amount of bandwidth, as well as making maximum use of the amount of power that is transmitted.

If I've made any sense, you can then see the problem in mixing SSB and AM use on the exact same channels/frequencies - since AM is a combination of BOTH sidebands along with a carrier, an AM transmission on a particular "channel" (fixed frequency) will interfere with an SSB user on either sideband trying to use that same channel.  IF you have a frequency that is clear and free from interference, SSB will give you more range than will AM, since SSB is more efficient as well as because SSB users on CB are allowed more transmitter power.  The problem is that CB channels are usually not free from noise and interference, and that noise and interference will be very evident when you try to use SSB since there is no "quieting" of noise since SSB has no carrier as part of the transmission.  This lack of quieting also tends to make SSB more difficult to use in a mobile environment.  SSB is also not user friendly for inexperienced users due to the fact that it requires exact tuning of the receiver to the transmitted signal, and tuning error causes a distortion of the received audio - for SSB CBs this is typically called the "clarifier" control, and this is what the lower frequency drift that you mentioned earlier will help with.

The biggest issue with CB radio is that it's in a part of the radio spectrum that is subject to a whole variety of wacky intermittent long range propagation methods - that makes it interesting as a "hobby" service, but not so good for folks who just want reliable local communications.  If you're trying to talk car to car at 2 or 3 miles and someone from 500 or 1000 miles away blows away your signals, this would not be a good thing, but that's common on the frequencies that CB uses.


I'm trying to be as helpful as I can in conveying reasonable answers to what are in reality complex questions for which there really are no easy answers.  CB and FRS radios are the legal consumer two-way communications products that are on the market, but both have severe issues with real world performance. Outside the realm of consumer products, you need to make informed choices as to exactly what you are doing with radio if you want to get higher performance as well as be practical and legal (or at least stay out of trouble).  This same subject comes up repeatedly in various forums on this site, and folks who are knowledgeable about communications try to be helpful and get people up to speed but there is just so much mythology, bad information, and blatantly illegal behavior out there that its often a big jump from whatever preconceived notions that folks have up to "reasonably informed".  Busting up preconceived notions and trying to deal with complex issues comes across as harsh sometimes and these threads often go bad, but that's not the intent.

As far as the Marine band radios, I posted a specific warning earlier in the thread against using Marine band frequencies for non-marine communications.  The HX370 and a few others do have the capability of being reprogrammed for other VHF frequencies, so you can use them on the MURS no-license frequencies and/or on the 2 meter amateur band if you have an amateur license.

Thank you, I did go back and found your warning:
"I'll offer a specific warning against something that someone is likely
going to suggest to you.  I would strongly advise against using VHF
Marine band radios for your land based communications needs.  This is a
practice which is spreading rapidly, but is very easy to detect and
conduct enforcement against illicit use of, and the penalties are very
steep if you get caught (~$10,000 per violator)."
I am definitely not trying to get hit with a $10,000 ticket.
So then, if I want a water proof/resistant handheld solution for short distance group comms, what do you recommend?





I liked the marine radios because of the NOAA channel support and the rugged design made to withstand harsh environments...is there a land based equivalent you have in mind?





It seems like getting a marine radio that has the feature to switch to open land frequencies is ideal, that way we can avoid the heat from the FCC, but still have a good radio.  If it hits the fan, the FCC can kiss my entire ass, there will be bigger problems to worry about.





(I have a background in CS/ECE so the physics of the SSB principals make perfect sense to me, and I do get what you are saying about the "lie" of 80 channels, when its really 40 AM bands masked to create what are essentially two duplxed "virtual" channels per band).
 

I already posted a link to the Icom LMR website and specific suggested radio models which would be suitable for MURS or GMRS.  Also a link to an alternative radio manufacturer and radio model which would do both.  The HX370 as also mentioned in the thread would be a suitable radio for MURS or other VHF use as long as you get it reprogrammed and do not use the pre-programmed marine channels for anything other than their legal use.

Here are some more links:
http://icomamerica.com/en/landmobile/
http://www.vertexstandard.com/lmr/Portables
http://www.kenwoodusa.com/communications/land_mobile_radio/
http://www.motorola.com/Business/US-EN/Two-Way+Radios
As I mentioned before, almost any radio made for the LMR (Land Mobile Radio) market would be suitable for many of these uses.  The differences are in details of features, frequency coverage, etc etc.

Leaving it "up to the individual to sort out whatever licenses are required" would be kinda like just allowing freewheeling discussion of NFA firearms and then dismissing discussion of transferability, getting tax stamps etc as "hey that's your problem".  If you want to stay out of trouble and not create a problem for yourself or others it's a vitally important discussion when talking about communications.  What service/s you are using will also dictate the band, frequency coverage and features that you need in a radio.

I'm not familiar with the particular headset brand that you keep mentioning, Plissken, but almost all the time those kinds of products have connection plugs available to fit the majority of two-way radio products on the market.  I'll do a search for their products and see what I can find.

Looks like I should get the following:



*GMRS radio for short distance comms, these are like $50 a pair.  Of course I do NOT expect to get anything like a "22 mile" range, more like 2-4 miles depending on terrain.



*I still want a CB solution for monitoring local conditions.



*VHF marine radios to be used only in a SHTF scenario, cause the FCC won't be a factor under those conditions.



Disagree?

As long as you do not transmit on the actual marine frequencies/channels when not on the water, you should be ok.  The radio just needs to be programmed to use frequencies that are legal for you to use for however you are using the radios.

First, a marine radio is just a VHF band radio that is pre-programmed with the marine frequencies/channels, and "type accepted" by the FCC for use as a marine radio.  With that said, they are a higher-volume "near consumer" radio product so are often available inexpensively.  You just have to get a model that's able to be reprogrammed (not all are) to add additional non-marine frequencies so that you have a way to use the radios off-water and stay out of trouble.  The MURS radio service offers 5 VHF frequencies which can be used without a license for almost any purpose with a maximum of two watts... so you program in those frequencies etc and use them, and you should be good.  The HX370 that you mentioned is a popular choice and low cost, in a waterproof marine radio that can be reprogrammed to use MURS and even 2m amateur frequencies.

Any VHF radio that is programmable can listen to the 7 NOAA weather radio frequencies, as they are just 7 frequencies in the middle of the VHF band just a little above where the marine frequencies are.

Many of the Land Mobile Radio products are water resistant and some are submersible as well, just a matter of picking the correct models.  Most radios marketed to LMR are more expensive than the marine market radios though.

It's just using different modes on the same frequencies/channels.  They can't both be used at the same time on the same channel, so there's not really any additional channels, with one possible exception.  I tend to doubt it, but if the radios in question have enough receiver selectivity, you might be able to use USB, and someone else use LSB, on the same channel at the same time.  You'd both be interfered with by an AM transmission on the same channel, and with the numbers of AM vs SSB users on CB that's the most likely proposition in any event.


Sorta.

I don't recommend ever planning to rely on communications that you can't use in non SHTF, there are a host of reasons why that's a bad idea.

I would suggest just getting one good quality radio and get it set up to use available/legal radio service/s.  If you specifically want a waterproof radio, then get those HX370s or something comparable and reprogram them for MURS.  If you want compatibility with the $50/pair bubble pack radios, then get a good quality UHF radio and program it for the GMRS frequencies.  Or you could get that Wouxun radio I posted and have both in one radio.

It's sensible to have CB capability for monitoring and for communication with others in your local area, but I would not rely on CB for your own communications.

If you truly want longer range reliable communications in a legal personal two-way service, with a GMRS license you can run UHF mobile or base station radios up to 50 watts - car to car with decent vehicular antennas you'd probably get about 10 miles, maybe a little more, and double that or more from a modest base station tower and antenna out to a mobile, and still have interoperability with handheld radios.

Just a thought though, the HX370s are inexpensive because they are discontinued... they are in the process of drying up right now I think.

Did some looking at Peltor's website.

http://www.peltor.com/peltor.com/comm_detail.cfm?prod_family=Adapter%20FL5000&ind_prod_num=FL5010001
Here is a list of adapters that they have which connect their various headsets to various radios.  The list that they have there covers a massive number of the radios on the market, if you know how to characterize the various radios which have identical plug setups.  As an example, they list "FL5097 - Icom IC-M88 Marine Radio", but there are other radios like the Icom F50 and F60 that use the same connector as the M88.

One of the few I'd want to research a bit more is the popular HX370 radio, I've seen mention that it requires the Vertex/Yaesu "screw in" style plug and I don't see it on that list.



I probably have 30+ radios, of both amateur radio type as well as LMR. As far as communications for some kind of disaster, I have amateur radios to communicate with other local amateur radio operators as well as longer range communications to get outside the "disaster zone".  If you're asking what ones my family would be using for personal communications in some kind of emergency that makes wireless phone service unavailable, we would be using a mix of LMR market radios of various vintages and brands (Icom and Vertex).  I have capability of both licensed LMR frequencies (what we'd be using) as well as no-license frequencies.

Thanks for all your help Gamma, I really appreciate it.

Unlocked Yaesu VX 5Rs with T.E.A. LiteII headsets

Yaesu FT817 in portable backpack configuration

Thanks for the informative thread.

What about em?

Does the headset plug right in to the VX-5?  Or does it require an adapter?

OP wanted to know what gear people were using.  

Plugs right in.  TEA made the connector.

I can in No Way offer you the expertise Gamma and others from the Ham Forum can, but will share with you a few opinions.

I'm a radio nerd by trade and breeding CB has been lots of fun for the last 30+ years (began @ 6 years old), but my recent baptism into Ham Radio is Heads and Shoulders above anything I've ever done on CB.

CB-not such a great idea in a WROL environment for primary prep group comms. too many units out there that anyone can turn on and listen.  I have a CB in the truck, and the barn, but in an event I doubt I'd ever use them as primary (back up of a back up of a back up).  I've owned many Cobras (19, 21, 25, 29, 148, etc...) over the years.  I can understand the interest in the SSB allotment, and would recommend a Galaxy 959 over the Cobra 148-YMMV.  It's much easier to use, and a great deal more powerful. (and happens to find itself in my truck now-it is a smoking barefoot radio)

GMRS and MURS (Dakota Alert) all have a place here on the farm, but Ham has become primary, and for the investment in those, you could get rolling in Ham.

Good Luck, and I'll encourage you (all) to drop in over on the Ham Forum, Lots of Good Intel there!

Has anyone suggested misusing Direct Talk phones for short range "tactical" communication?  I don't know anything about it, but this guy thinks it's a good idea for secure communication:

http://www.survivalblog.com/2011/01/establishing_private_radio_com.html

I'm thinking about trying to pick a couple of cheap i355s up to play with.

I've used SouthernLinc IDEN phones in Direct Talk/LincAround  mode.  It works great for 1-2 miles MAX in flat ass Georgia pine woods.  In town the range is less.  That applies to any of the flip model and standard model IDEN type phones.  The big XTS radio sized models with rubber ducky antennas that cost $1000+ new that Southern Co. issues to their linemen will work out to 3-5 miles in my experience with some older models.  They put out 1 or more watt(s) versus 700mw or less of the consumer phones.  They are also much much tougher than the consumer line phones.

XTS are LMR radios.  3-5 miles would be the top end of full power (5 watt) LMR handheld range.  Linemen probably get a bit better if they're 20 or 30 feet up on a pole.

Gamma762 I was talking about the IDEN phones like the R765 that are roughly the same physical size as the XTS series.  As far as I know the XTS series and the IDEN series have nothing in common other than both are made by Motorola.

BTW anyone know the skinny on the XTS radios?  Can they be programmed for civilian legal frequencies & modes of transmission?   Is it legal for a civilian to use one with the encryption board activated on a civilian band?

Ok.  Well it would seem crazy to spend that kind of money on those versus just getting the plain /\/\ 900MHz radios for 1/4 the price unless you need the iDEN capability.

XTS are just a particular model series of radios for Land Mobile Radio (LMR).  If you read through my posts on page one of this thread, there are multiple options for legal use of LMR radios in both the VHF and UHF bands... Amateur radio, GMRS, MURS, licensed local or itinerant business or industrial frequency, etc.

"Can be programmed" and "can I program them" are two different challenges when it comes to Motorola products.  They do not sell programming hardware or software, so any self-programming capability has to come from... shady sources.  Taking them to a Moto shop for programming would likely be expensive.

Yes, although I don't think encryption is legal on GMRS and would likely raise eyebrows in the Amateur service.  To use it in the Amateur service you have to "publish" the encryption key somewhere public like a website or blog. I'm not sure about MURS.  If you have a licensed LMR frequency you can run whatever encryption you like.

You could probably buy brand new Icom LMR radios with NXDN digital boards for less than trying to buy used XTS stuff with encryption and get it programmed and set up for you, and have better range and sound quality on top.  Kenwood also has NXDN products.

So I suppose there's no simple answer to the question/recommendation request "What radio would a group of at least four moving in all terrain (urban/wilderness) be best suited with," huh?

Thanks Gama762.  I wouldn't pay that much for an IDEN phone. They suck as cell phones since being rebanded out of the 800mhz band.  I do have the opportunity to acquire a bunch of used 1 watt ones for the cost of gasoline it'll burn to go get them.  I'm not sure I want to bother though.

If they do the 900FHSS, I would pick them up.  Or I'll pay postage and they can send them to me to play with

No, there's not.

What kind of group doing what, under what conditions at what range?
I can see being 'best suited' with something like these all the way up to this paired with this.
So, do you want the Jennings .22 or the Barrett M82 with the TWS-37?

In between you've got a bunch of manufactures making dozens of models of varying price, capability and quality for several radio bands with different licensing requirements and all with different propagation characteristics.

There have been a few suggestions that would likely work for you but you really have to answer the questions Gamma762 asked in his first post.

Tell me what 900FHSS is in english and I'll find out if they do.  They have at least 8 of them so if they do and I get them I can send you a few to play with.  You''ll only have to pay the postage.

I was given 5 of them. They are digital freq-hopping spread spectrum in the 900mhz ISM band. Other than the delay as the audio is digitally encoded and the typical nextel chirps and beeps, they are a great replacement for FRS radios. Using i355s, I find the usable range better than blister pack FRS. Eavesdroppers would either require similar units or Trisquares. Even then, the lack of a scan function and the number of 'channels' makes your traffic more secure than most other options.

Make sure any i355s you buy have SIM cards. They do not require an active service plan to function in Direct Talk but do need a working SIM.

Wiki entry

As mentioned above, I have been using the 900mw i355s in DT instead of FRS radios. Much better solution, IMO, other than the annoying chirps. My folks also use some while traveling. Their experience with usable range has been much better than FRS but below MURs. Of course, YMMV with conditions.

I would never consider them a reasonable substitute for a 4-5 watt UHF or VHF HT.

I said it right here:

So, price is no object, you are starting from scratch, want to use UHF and no one you want to communicate with already has a radio?