Curious if anyone knows, but what would be the best, longest range hand held comms that would be effective in FL? More specifically a Suburban SE FL environment?

I ask because I've been reading various threads of this nature and the answer to many others is limited due to where they live, and that topographical features aren't conducive to anything but HAM radios.

Given the topography of FL, I figure there might be a solid hand held set that could reliably cover at least a 5 mile range without much issue, that doesn't require a license to operate. Simple is better for this use case. It would be great to have additional features as well but the goal is reliable person to person comms. Weather, alerts etc would be a plus but not required.

Anyone use or know of such a solution?

Probably GMRS. If that. License is cheap and no test. Covers the family. But buildings will mess with distance.
Check around to see if you have a GMRS repeater nearby. And some channels can go 50w with a mobile unit.

I have yet to find a non HAM hand held that even remotely lives up to it’s stated range.  Might as well just use a cell phone.

Was some what disappointed in my GMRS, was lucky to get a mile or so out of it.  Western residential burbs of south PB so no real large buildings to block the signal.  Seems one would need to step up to something better, and this is of great interest to me.

Same.  Only place where it works is like down the turnpike. I have reliably kept in contact with friends over 3-4 miles

Biggest factor will be the antenna. Get it up as high as you can. Power lever really won't make a difference neither will frequency range.

It's pretty amazing to me that in 2021 there is no basic, hand held radio (non-HAM) that can't reliably cover a 5 mile range in a place as flat as Florida.

Then again my knowledge of such tech is virtually nonexistent, which likely explains my confusion.

Cell phones are best for this but of course they depend on repeaters (cell towers) A Ham type radio could work but it would require a ham license etc. So yeah, kinda screwed there.
At the moment all this is more of a physics limitation, radio waves travel line of sight (not really but close enough to be true) Tall antennas fix that (Same reason fire towers are so tall, you can see further that way) The exception is bouncing a radio signal off of something like a layer in the atmosphere. That is a whole different ball park.
Oh, Satellite phones and satellite communications system are a thing. They relay signals all over the world. Give it time, Starlink will open up a whole new of communications. Might be a decade or two before the equipment is easily transportable though.

Frs/grms your gonna be well below the 2 Mike mark once tree coverage buildings come into play.
There's also murs radios.

The 2m HTs we would use when I hosted hikes would easily get out 4+ miles.

More I've been thinking of it p2p comms...I don't see myself being 1++ miles away from others...but having the ability to reach out further is a good thing.

Or do like the retards here and use marine radios lol.

VHF radios, the telephones of the Caribbean...

You shouldn't be.

Start looking for cell antennas. They are absolutely ubiqutious.

In order to cover a county (one that's not heavily urbanized) you need a repeater with an antenna up hundreds of feet (think 400-500 feet up) and 100 watts of power @ the base of the anntena ... if you are in the UHF range.  Higher the frequency, the more power you need.

Good 5 watt uhf portables should just manage, if it's LOS (ish) 2-4 miles. Significantly less if it's not LOS. Pine tree needles are almost a perfect quarter wave for UHF and so soak up signal. Etc.

You might have better luck with VHF, but I dunno if the FCC will let you operate in that range, esp not at 5 watts.

LMR stuff kicks butt on range too, but the FCC forces you to dance their tune to have it.

If you got ham license there is a SarNet all over Florida. its a network of repeaters. You can be in Miami and talk to people in Pensacola.

I use Btech 50x1 50W gmrs mobile radio. One currently in a car another inside my house. HOA prohibits antennas so mine is also inside placed by big window. I can connect for clear comms inside 4miles radius at ground level or 6 miles when on elevated highway. If I was able to place good antenna on my roof I would have 20 miles range easy.

There are amplifiers for handhelds. Cost about $125. Increase range to 3-4 miles at ground urban level.

There are $400 gmrs repeater that can give you 20 miles range between handhelds. But again must be placed elevated for best results.

All in all you have to outline how you want to use radio comm. Would be easier to set it up according your needs.